Opposite page: The final shot of I’Kia in Eno River State Park. Above: Sarah and Cammel light
I’Kia with two Profoto B2 lights.
DIFFUSE YOUR LIGHT
for a softer, more flattering light
on your subjects.
PRACTICE VARYING THE POWER
of different lights from different
directions. With the Air Remote, it’s
significantly easier to change your
lighting on the fly.
IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING WITH
blown highlights, underexpose your
image and boost the light in post-production.
WHEN SHOOTING BRIGHT
SUBJECTS, trying manually activating
Active D Lighting Mode (Nikon) or
Highlight Priority Mode (Canon) to
preserve details in your highlights.
TIPS &
TRICKS
TURNING CHALLENGES INTO
AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE
BEAUTIFUL IMAGES.
1
2
3
4
SUBJECT
LIGHTING SETUP
PROFOTO B2
(2X3’)
OCF SOFTBOX PROFOTO B2
(BAREBULB)
CAMERA
www.profoto.com
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BEHIND THE SCENES
AS A PORTRAIT
PHOTOGRAPHER,
I place a great
emphasis on
expressiveness,
using light to better
showcase the spirit of
my subjects.
Take my
portrait of I’Kia, for
example, whom I
photographed at
Eno River State Park in Durham, North
Carolina. I’ve photographed I’Kia before for
commercial campaigns, but for this portfolio
shoot, I was aiming for more of an editorial
style. Against the tall brown grass and
expanse of trees, I needed a softer light to
make this scene beautiful and dreamy. It
was not a pretty day, however; dreary and
cold, the park looked gray and flat under the
overcast sky.
My studio manager, Sarah, stood in front
of I’Kia with a Profoto B2 Flash and an OCF
2x3’ softbox, casting light at an angle across
her face. My assistant, Cammel, stood
behind I’Kia and to her left with a second B2
bare bulb. I triggered both B2 lights with my
Air Remote TTL-N and shot the scene with a
70-200mm f/2.8 lens.
I’m always looking for ways to highlight
expression by lighting the eyes and using
rim or backlighting to better help my
subjects stand out in their environments.
I’Kia is glowing on this bleak day, and you’d
never guess the weather conditions we
were shooting in.
When I first started shooting, I got pretty
obsessive about learning to light portraits.
You can have the best scene in the best
location, but if you don’t light it properly, you
miss the full impact. I practiced, practiced,
practiced, practiced–and I’m still practicing
on every shoot.
To see the video on how Tamara
captured the image and for more
information on Profoto Off-Camera
Flash System, visit www.profoto.com/
offcameraflash.
TAMARA LACKEY TRANSFORMS AN
OVERCAST DAY WITH THE PROFOTO
B2 OFF-CAMERA FLASH SYSTEM.