The Power of Light in Photography

It's been a long while since I wrote... No excuses. I'm guilty of over-indulging in my theoretical and practical aspects of making pictures - namely strobe and portrait work.

Which brings me back to the topic... Simply put, without light, there would not be photography. But the topic goes further than that. After years of candid and snapshot photography, it is only now that I begin to understand about the importance of good light in either making or braking your picture. It is only now that I appreciate that light to a photographer, is like what paint is to a painter.

Over the past couple of months, I've delved into the nether depths of strobe and flash lighting. I'm truly fascinated at how one can control the outcome of one's image if there is a deep sense of understanding and mastery of light. Truly, if given a choice now of investing in either a new camera or new lighting equipment, I would jump straight to new lights. A camera can only take you so far. Lighting is limitless.

Take the image above as an example. Some might say this was photoshopped and pasted on a background. Yes, there was some Lightroom work, but there was NO funky Photoshop stitching, layering or any other mumbo jumbo. There were only the cursory WB correction, highlight and shadows adjustment, vignetting etc. This was the actual image taken on site.... at 740 am, with the sun up.

This was about making the image from 2 exposures, with a single click of the shutter... (what black magic is this, you say?) - 1 for the background, which I underexposed by using a low ISO, and high shutter speed, and another to expose for the model, simply by controlling the off camera flash output together with the aperture size.

It was that simple, and it was made even more simple by the magicians (oops, technicians) at Fujifilm, by including a Leaf Shutter into the X100F.

I love this camera. Love it, Love it, Love it to death. A small, tiny package, which packs the punch of Mike Tyson. A pocket rocket. THIS, my friends, is the photographer's paint brush. Or in the words of another photographer, THIS is a Strobist's wet dream.

This is not a tech review. It' is about a camera that forces me to use the cliche Je ne sais quois. I don't know what it is. It's like it came from Merlin's bag, putting out images which are only limited by the photographer's vision and imagination. Imagine syncing your flash to 1/4000th second.... Heh...did a double take there?? Flash at 1/4000 of a second???

Yes. Like the image above. The sun was at 10 o'clock position, not the 6 pm position you would assume just looking at the image. 1/4000th allowed me to underexpose by 2 stops..killing the sun. Then all I had to do was adjust the flash output to get the desired effect on the model.

I have been fascinated, and ogled at images such as those above for years, trying to emulate, but always failing miserably. But all that has changed simply because of a shiny, retro-looking tiny package...the X100F. To me, THIS is the ultimate camera. So much so, that I swapped my beloved X-Pro 2 with the 55-200 Fujinon for an XT-2, which now holds my Fujinon 35mm f2. THIS is my complete gear, apart from a novelty of a lens in the Helios 44-2 58mm f2 for that extra special portrait.

In fact, my camera bag is now lighter, but my lighting bag has grown... 3 YongNuo 660s, 1 YongNuo Wireless Flash Trigger (603), one FUji EX-8 (to slave trigger my flashes for that quick portrait with my XT-2), 1 Nissin i40 (as slave for either my XT-2 or X100F), one old Nissin Di760 (again to be used as a slave as my hair/rim light, 1 Rogue Gel Kit, 1 set Rogue Flashbender with optional softbox and grid, 1 Magsphere, 1 Magbounce, 1 Mag Gel and Grid set, 1 3-in-1 33 cm Umbrella, 3 light stands with the various clips and holders... Truly, the light has taken priority in my life...and broken my wallet and back!! :-)

I know. Most of you would scoff at my list, and immediately diagnose me with GAS... or at the very least, sneer and discount any resulting work from my cameras mentioned above as too barebones to get any decent result...especially for Portraits... The old me would have concurred, but the new me would argue with you all night long... Here is an example of why....

Made with Fuji X100F, ISO 100, f4.0, 1/4000th second, Off camera flash (camera left) at 1/16th power... Jason Lanier, eat your heart out!! Because of the leaf shutter, I did not not to have my flash output in HSS... just regular flash, which meant faster recycle times and longer battery life, at a relatively higher output. And I can reproduce this consistently, with just one speedlight... Simple, effective, CREATIVE photography...

I dare you to show me one other sub-$2000 package with this same ability.

To sum it up, buying this camera has been like a second coming for me. I'm now constantly coming up with new projects and themes, finding excuses to push this little beast even further... And all I need is this camera, one light, a lightstand - and I'm ready to PAINT....

Go get one. It will change your life...

Cheers!

J