The Flash Book

Before You Aim a Flash at Your Background, You Have a Decision to Make

You need to decide what background look you’re going for. Do you want a tight spotlight effect or a smoother, wider, wash of light across the background, like we have above? This decision determines which accessories (if any) you’ll need to create that look, and tells you how far your flash needs to be from the background. It also tells you if you’ll need more than one flash. But, first, it’s helpful to know why we light the background in the first place. Probably the most important reason is to create separation between the background and our subject, so our portraits have ...