Creative Flash Photography

Workshop 29

Simulating the Sun

▸ How to simulate sunlight using simple tools

▸ Modulating your artificial sun

The light used for food and tabletop shots is often very similar to daylight, and often it is modulated to give it a soft look. The simplest way to produce soft light is to shine it through a diffuser or bounce it off a reflector. If you deliberately let some light from the flash spill over to light the subject directly, it can help give the scene a sparkling, sunny look. The downside is that the contrast increases and is more difficult to control, which often results in overexposed highlights. In situations like this, shoot in RAW format if you can. It will give you the most leeway for adjusting proportions of the shadows and highlights ...