How to Create Gorgeous Flower Images using a Flashlight and a Reflector

By: Vickie Lewis

In this tutorial, I’m going to share with you some simple and inexpensive ways to create beautiful flower images. You will learn to add light by using a flashlight and a reflector. If you add in some imagination and patience, you will soon be creating gorgeous flower images of your own.
In addition, you will gain insight about seeing light, and how and recreate it on your own.
The techniques I am going to share are reminiscent of light painting and burning (from film days printing negatives), but in this tutorial we are going to take advantage of the ambient light, combined with light from flashlights to create some great effects.

Setting up

You will need to put your camera on a tripod, and find a nice surface near some window light to photograph your flower. Set up to shoot using a shutter speed slower than 1/15th of a second, and it’s much easier if you use a cable release or use your camera’s self-timer feature.

Here’s my set up, above. I chose an easy location, perpendicular to a window, providing some nice light. I used a prop to hold the flower up.

Window light only. Exposure was f/4 at 1/4.

I did a test shot, above, to determine my exposure using just ambient light. I slowed the shutter speed down just a little bit to see what results I would get.

Window light only. Exposure f/4 at 0.40 seconds.

Add a reflector

It’s a little brighter at this exposure, but notice that the shadows are still quite strong.

To soften the light, I added a white fill card below, and to the side of the flower. It’s also called a reflector. Almost anything white can be used as a reflector. The idea is to fill in the shadows, and to make the light feel softer.

Window light with fill card. Exposure f/4 at 1/4.

This exposure above was taken with the fill cards in place. Compare it with the two above, and notice that the lightness/darkness is similar to the longer exposure. It’s pretty amazing how much light can be added to a photo just by using reflectors.
More importantly, note the quality of light. By that I mean, notice how the shadows are still present to the left of the center of the flower but are not as prominent. Also be aware of how  nicely the shadows are filled in from the bottom.

Create a feeling that matches your subject

Flowers are soft. They are feminine. When we tell stories about our subject, we want to convey that feeling. One of the ways we convey feelings in photographs is in how we use light. Notice how the feel is different in the photos with the fill card and without. The second exposure feels softer and more feminine, and thus, supports the story of a feminine flower.

Add light from a flashlight for more drama

Now, to add a backlight with a flashlight. Make sure to position the flashlight in such a way that it doesn’t cause lens flare (the light isn’t hitting the lens directly). Make sure the light is pointing entirely at the flower, and not reaching your camera lens.

Flashlight with backlight, no fill cards or reflectors. Exposure f/4 at 1/4.

This is with a strong backlight. Notice how dark the center of the flower seems.

We can use a second light to fill in the center of the flower. I recommend using a slower shutter speed, 1/15th or less, and moving the flashlight while the exposure is made. If you don’t move the light, it will appear too strong and create harsh shadows.

If the light appears too strong and too direct, use a diffuser over your flashlight. I used a kleenex to soften the light.

Flashlight as a backlight, with a second flashlight as a fill light in the front. Exposure f/4 at 1/4.

How does this feel to you now? Notice how I brought the exposure of center of the flower up, just by doing a little light painting. If you ever worked in a darkroom, you will notice this is similar to manipulating an image in an enlarger called, burning, but we are doing it live at the capture stage.

Let’s see what our flower looks like with a backlight that isn’t as strong. I used a kleenex diffuser on the flashlight in the back.

Using a softer backlight by diffusing with tissue.

Can you see how much softer the backlight is?

In this image, I added a little bit of fill with a flashlight and kleenex diffuser.

This is very, very subtle. But move your eye back and forth between the two. Can you see the one directly above is a little bit softer? The difference isn’t huge on a computer screen, but makes a big difference in a large print.

Get creative with light and composition

At this point, it’s time to get creative with your framing and play with light.
In composition, you want to decide what your center of interest is in the photograph, and draw the eye to that point. Notice how dark the center of the flower is in the top image, so let’s add some fill.

The center of the flower is lighter now (above). Which image do you like better?

Notice the stamen of the flower above. Can you see it’s just a black blob? What happens when we add just a little bit of fill with a flashlight?

The center of interest becomes more pronounced.

Let’s try another one.

Dark stamen.

A little bit of fill.

A new angle with no fill.

A little bit of fill light, highlighting the center of interest.

A few more examples

Let’s go back to this simple lighting setup.

I used this setup on several different kinds of flower and I likde this white rose the best.

Can you see the beautiful light and how translucent the rose looks?
I like the overall feel to the image, however, there is a lot of contrast between the center of the flower and the outer petals. You want your viewer’s eye to go toward the center of interest, which is the middle of the flower, so I placed a reflector right in front of the flower.

You can see how the light reflects back in, and brightens up center of the flower. I also like this frame better because it feels softer.
This technique can work outdoors, too. Just use your reflector and your flashlight, and see what works.

There is no right or wrong when deciding where to put your light, but it’s usually best not to shine your main light from the camera angle. In this photo, the light is to the right and it feels to harsh to me. There are strong shadows on the flower that don’t add to the feel of the photograph. I moved myself in order to move the position of the light source, the sun.

I added a fill card, and see how the stamen starts to stand out. This is much better, but I decided to play with camera angles to see what that would look like.

I liked this better, especially how the light created patterns on the petals of the flower, but I wanted my interest in the center of the flower. It still just seemed to dark.

In the photo above, I used a reflector to fill in the shadows and used my flashlight to add a little bit of light.

Then, I changed the angle just a little bit. This is with no fill (above).

Here is the same flower with a reflector and flashlight filling in the dark areas.
There is no science to this. It’s all about playing to see what works. Here are a few more example that I shot, these images have no corrections. They are straight from the camera to help you see my process better.

Without a fill.

With a fill.

This final photo used several reflectors, as well as using a flashlight in the center of the flower.

Now you have some great tips, and inspiration to create a gorgeous floral photo of your own. You’ve seen how you can use simple fill cards to add light and soften an image. You’ve learned how light impacts the story you are telling, and you’ve learned how a simple flashlight or two, plus a kleenex, can take your photos to a new level.
Let’s see your floral photos, please share in the comments below.

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How to Make Dramatic Photos with Backlight

By: Mat Coker

Most people don’t notice light. But visual artists do. Light is one of the essential ingredients in your photographs.
Light can be tricky to deal with until you understand camera settings. But once you’re familiar with your camera, light is wonderful to play with in your photos.
Personally, I love backlight. It adds a sense of drama and beauty to your photography.
I’ll show you examples of backlight with food, landscape, and portrait photography (studio and outdoors).

In order to achieve backlight in your photo, have the main light source behind your subject 

coming toward your camera. In this photo, you can actually see the warm setting sun as 

the source of backlight.

What is backlight good for?

I love backlight because it adds depth and drama to an otherwise flat, two-dimensional photo.
Backlight helps to bring out the texture of objects that you photograph (sidelight is good for this as well). Texture is created through a combination of highlights and shadows. Since photographs are two dimensional, texture adds depth to your photo.
A strong burst of backlight adds drama to your photo. Think about the bursts of light at a rock concert or other performances. The temperature of the backlight (warm or cool) adds to the drama of the photo.
The backlight source might be in your photo along with your subject (as with the sunset photo above). Or the light source can be outside of the frame (as long as it illuminates your subject).
Any source of backlight can be used creatively, but sunlight, windows, and strobes are among the most popular.
The principals of backlight are the same no matter what camera you’re using, even your phone.

This ice-covered tree is backlit by the sun. Without backlight shining through the
branches, this tree would not have stood out so much.

Food

It’s great to begin practicing backlight with food. Backlight can be used to illuminate steam and bring out the texture of the food.
While any light source will work, many photographers love using window light to illuminate food.

The light source is not visible in this photo, but there is a window backlighting the food and 

making the steam visible.

This food was photographed while still in the oven. The warm backlight is coming from
the oven light.

This is an example of soft backlight produced by a large window. I wanted to bring out the
texture in the cookies. An iPhone 4s was used to capture the image and Lightroom was used
to process it.

Your food photos will be less flat and have more pop to them when you use back (or side) light. 

Just look for a window or any other light source. Get creative and use the light from fridges, stoves, and lamps.
The great thing about practicing backlight with food is that if you can’t reposition the light source, you can easily reposition yourself and the food.

Landscape and Nature

Once you get the hang of backlight with food, use it to add drama to your landscape photos. In most cases, you won’t be able to reposition your backlight source since it will likely be the sun. However, you can always reposition yourself in relation to the sun and your subject.

I saw this scene as I looked in the rearview mirror. I couldn’t resist pulling over to take a photo. 

The setting sun is the light source for this scene. You can’t see it in the frame but it’s behind 

the trees to the left. Notice how the electricity wires are shining and standing out from the 

dark trees in the background.

The setting sun behind this crab apple tree caught my eye during a walk. I came back with my 

camera and found a perspective where the sun was visible filtering through the tree. An 

aperture of f/11 was used to create the starburst effect.

A combination of backlight and water droplets on the lens created this special effect. 

I don’t recommend letting your lens get wet, I was using a waterproof case. The case was 

still wet from using my camera underwater.

Portraits

I love to incorporate backlight into portraits to accent the emotion. Beautiful or intense moments are brought out even more with the use of backlight.

Studio

The best part about backlight in a studio is that you can position your light source any way you like.

Two off camera flashes were used to produce this dramatic backlight.

Superheros are dramatic characters by nature. Using harsh backlight instead of soft front light 

is better for bringing out the nature of the subject.

Natural light

When using natural light, you’ll have to position yourself and your subject according to the light source.

This little guy is backlit by the setting sun, while the big open sky in front of him illuminates
his face.

Troubleshooting

One of the biggest problems about backlight is that your photo may turn out as a silhouette when you don’t want it to.
You’re likely using a semi-automatic setting such as aperture or shutter priority. Your camera sees the bright backlight and meters itself accordingly. You can use exposure compensation to help you avoid unwanted silhouettes. Try setting your exposure compensation to +1 or +2. You’ll need to experiment according to the light conditions.
If you’re experienced then manual mode might be the best option for you.

The main light source is the sky in the background. The sun has not risen over the horizon yet.

Practice backlight with everything

Once you get the hang of it, you can introduce backlight into all sorts of situations. Use it to bring
out texture and to heighten dramatic moments.

Concerts are a wonderful place to have fun with backlight. The rapidly changing lights will 

create a challenge for you. Take lots of photos and be happy with the few that work out.

I love how golden hour can add a nostalgic feel to photos.

Use a combination of low angles and backlight to make your photo more exciting.

I always wait until evening to visit the beach. That way the sun isn’t shining straight down 

onto the sand. Instead it shines down at a lower angle, creating texture through shadow and
highlight.

I love my little guy’s hair. There is a window just above him as the source of backlight.

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How to Travel Safely with Your Camera Gear

By: Tim Sullivan

One of our favorite things about becoming photographers is the way the entire world seemed to open up once we picked up a camera. We currently live wherever we’re shooting. Over the past year, we’ve visited 10 countries on three continents, and countless cities in between. While we love the freedom of travel, our biggest concern is always how to travel safely with our gear. Whether you’re hopping on flights every other week or want to keep your camera with you to document your kiddos around town, there are some simple hacks to keep your gear in good shape and out of thieving hands.

Make a list and check it twice

Before you leave the house, make a detailed list of every piece of equipment you’re taking with you, along with all the serial numbers. It’s helpful to be able to tally the list up whenever you’re in transit. There isn’t a worse feeling than hopping on a train and realizing you thought your 50mm lens was in your backpack when it is actually waiting for you on the kitchen table. Make a list, run through it, and save yourself the effort of keeping every piece of gear in your own head. Having the serial numbers recorded will help you report and track them should they ever go missing.

Our travel gear checklist changes depending on how long and far we’re traveling. When we took a six-month honeymoon in Asia last autumn, our list looked very different from when we fly to say, New York to shoot a wedding. Our two checklists look something like this:

Personal Travel Checklist

• 2 Canon Mark IIIs – one for each of us, though sometimes we get crazy and only bring one body.
• 50mm f/1.2 lens – ALWAYS. We never leave home without this lens as it affords us the greatest flexibility to shoot any scene.
• 45mm f/2.8 tilt-shift lens – When we travel through cities, having a tilt-shift is ideal for us, and since we also love shooting portraits with it, it somehow became one of our most versatile lenses.

Professional Travel Checklist

• 2 Canon Mark IIIs
• 50mm f/1.2 – If pressed, we could probably shoot an entire wedding with it!
• 45mm f/2.8 tilt-shift – Again, awesome for setting scenes and for individual portraits.
• 35mm f/1.4 – Shooting couple’s portraits with this one sets a slightly more interesting scene than the 50mm and allows you to get better environmental details. It’s also our go-to for dance floor shots.
• 85mm f/1.2 – Though we wish this one had a faster focus, it is just nuts how gorgeous this lens is. It takes portraits to an entirely new level. But it also weighs roughly one million pounds, so we use it less often than we’d like because it’s just too heavy for casual personal travel.

Depending on the size and scope of the project, we may also bring:

• 70-200mm f/2.8 – This is a battle because we definitely prefer to not carry it. But it’s a great catch-all lens for shooting from the very back of large ceremonies or capturing wedding guests from a distance and staying out of a scene.
• 17-40mm f/4 (we use this wide-angle lens less and less, but occasionally it provides a good way to grab an entire wedding ceremony or a building from closer up. We’re increasingly turning to our 35mm for the work we used to put on the wide angle.)

Our lighting setups are the most difficult part of travel, and inevitably earn us a long date with security. If we’re bringing our bare minimum, it includes the following:

• Canon Speedlite 600EX-RTs – We have two matching Speedlites and the ST-E3-RT Transmitter. These serve us well for most weddings, but if we have to bring something a little heftier, we’ll also add . . .
• Profoto B1 setup – This light is amazing. But it adds one more whole bag to carry on with us and we try to leave it for home studio work as much as possible to reduce our carry-ons. with the Profoto 36″ RFI Octa Softbox. The B1 also requires a . . .
• C-stand –These are heavy as heck and a huge hassle to fly with, so we normally end up leaving it at home and just renting it wherever we land. For some equipment that is just too bulky, heavy, or awkward, consider the relative costs and benefits of renting it at your shoot location. For us, the $20 or so to rent a C-stand far outweighs the hassle of traveling with it.

Before you leave for any trip, whether personal or professional, it’s imperative to know your ideal outcome for photos. We don’t bring a zoom lens or flashes on personal trips because we don’t shoot wildlife or anything that would require long lenses. We use only ambient light whenever possible and prefer our night photography to only incorporate the light that already sets the scene.

Even for professional projects, we pack very carefully and keep our projects in mind as we put our gear together. Some large weddings or events might require a wide angle lens or a longer zoom, but if we can avoid bringing a lens we will. This requires more work on the planning end, working closely with our clients, and knowing our equipment really well. But it’s worth it when we can pack all of our gear into a little bag and be very confident that we can produce great work with it!

Downsize

On that note, pre-travel is a great time to downsize your gear. Take only what is most important to you, and consider the images you’ll be aiming for while you travel. We never leave home without our 50mm f/1.2, but depending on the kind of trip we may also bring along our tilt-shift lens or our 1950s Yashica film camera as well. You want to have options, but bringing along your entire catalog of gear without a specific plan for it will only add stress to your life. Keep it light, and use what you’ve got.

We got this case used for $20 at a camera shop and it has the best repackable/removeable 

foam pads in it.

If you’re flying, this is especially true. Keep your gear minimal enough to fit in your carry-on luggage. We would rather crawl to a destination than check a bag containing our most precious gear and let it out of our sight. Yes, it’s a super hassle to run your gear through security (they always seem to be blown away by light sets, old film cameras, and unusual lenses), but it also leads to some good conversations, and the extra time is worth the peace of mind.

Going through customs

A thought on customs forms: If you enter a country that may have an iffy relationship with journalists, lay low and don’t mark “photographer” or “journalist” on their customs forms. Drawing attention to your camera gear and your ability to use it will often create more hassle at the airport when you land. While we don’t encourage anyone to lie on their entry forms, the more you can stay under the radar the better.

Protect your data

We carry LaCie Rugged hard drives with us everywhere and back up whenever we can. We use online storage when we can find fast internet, but good luck finding wifi strong enough to upload a thousand raw files when you’re high up in the Burmese mountains. I keep track of this thing just as closely as I keep track of my passport. Why LaCie Rugged? The last thing we need is a hard drive failing because the dirt road was too bumpy when it was sitting in the back of some mud covered jeep.
Note: Price LaCie Rugged drives on Amazon.com and B&H Photo’s websites. 

We also use large memory cards that we back up every night. We always have a backup card in our briefcase, but as long as our cameras are with us, the memory card is as well. 

Make your gear look cheap

Avoid fancy, overdone camera cases and accessories. Anything with brand logos or obviously expensive features will draw attention to you. While you move your gear into your new low-key camera bag (there are lots of solid options out there that look like a regular bag, or you can buy protective inserts to slip into the old backpack that’s already sitting in the back of your closet), make a couple of tweaks to your gear that will instantly make it look less conspicuous:

• Remove your logo-covered camera strap (I mean, unless Canon is paying you to advertise for them, you don’t need their logo on your strap) and replace it with something more personal.Cover up your camera brand on the body with black gaffer’s tape (or even duck tape if you’re super committed). Not having that white print will make your camera look more average and take the attention away from how much you might have paid for it.

• Scuff it up, baby! We’ve been shooting on our Canon 5D Mark IIIs for over three years now, and they are certainly showing the wear and tear of being dragged all over the world—and I love it! It’s like that well-worn sweater that everyone else thinks is a bit too beat-up, but you love it more every time you wear it. Those scuffs and marks mean you’re using your gear and that it’s serving you. Don’t rush to polish it up or replace it when it looks old. That charm is hard-earned and will cause anybody eyeing your gear to think it’s worth less than it probably is. Double win.

Safety at your location

Of course, getting to a place in one piece is only half the battle. Once you’ve landed, you have to keep your wits about you and work wisely. A few brief thoughts on shooting safely once you arrive:

• Just like at home, don’t display your camera gear in a way that invites attention. Keep it close to your body, on a strap, or zipped into a bag that’s close to you. It’s amazing to me how many people will wander around with their cameras on full display, which doesn’t just make you look like a tourist, it’s inviting thieves to follow you.
• Don’t talk to strangers about your stuff! We sat next to some drunk and friendly travelers in a bar once who wanted to show us their big zoom lenses they just bought. They made fun of our tiny 50mm, but we couldn’t help but feel like we’d get the last laugh as our camera setup was (though more expensive than theirs) tiny, inconspicuous, and less appealing to thieves who don’t know the difference.
• A thought on tripods: we never, ever travel with them. They are awkward to set up in public areas, invite unwanted attention, and in 99% of cases aren’t actually necessary. We use makeshift tripods – things like banisters, tables, rocks, bar tops, etc., to get a steady shot when needed. We too often see other photographers making a big deal out of setting up a tripod Hi, thieves! We’re over here!) when they could have gotten just as excellent a shot with a slightly faster shutter speed. Strongly consider whether or not you need a tripod and make the best decision for yourself, and if you do bring one, keep your camera strap around your neck while you shoot. 
• While you should always be careful in unsafe neighborhoods, we also recommend that you do not limit yourself to only visiting “safe” areas while you travel. Not only can theft happen anywhere, but you’ll miss some of the best parts of travel if you restrict yourself too much. When shooting in neighborhoods with a higher likelihood of crime, be alert. Walk confidently with your head up and avoid hunching around your gear as if you have something to hide. Keep your bags zipped and always be aware of pick-pockets, no matter where you are. Shoot confidently without inviting too much attention to yourself. 

Capturing all the beauty and hidden corners of this world is one of the most satisfying things about becoming more proficient with our gear. Though there are risks anytime you leave the house with pricey items strapped to your shoulder, this gear is made to be used, to show some wear and tear, and not to be thought of as so precious that it’s left at home.
How do you protect your gear when you travel? Please share your comments and tips below.

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