Lighting up the Bluebell Woods
What beautiful weather over the bank holiday weekend. A few showers, but in the main we were treated to bright sunshine and a spring freshness to the air. I had an early photo shoot booked for a client and his two dogs which involved a visit to a bluebell wood.
This was a new location to me, so I arrived in good time to test the light and look for likely locations for the photographs. My husband and the dogs came along too so that I could test some shots before they went off walking while I worked with my client.
I love natural light. From the subtle nuances cast across a scene, to the catchlights reflecting off a subject’s eyes, natural light is a powerful ally in a photographer’s kit. For this shoot though, I wanted to try some flash photography shots as well as natural light. The approach might seem unnecessary; why use a bright light when there is plenty of daylight? Bear with me…
The photograph which follows is the first one I took, using an aperture of 1.4 on my 50mm portrait lens, and no flash. The colours in the images are striking. The small f-number has created a fine blur to the background, with a bokeh effect visible through the leaves of the trees.
The picture is nice enough, although the dogs’ eyes are a little blank and there is a slightly 2-dinemsional feel as a result. I could edit some catchlights into the image, but I decided to try the same sort of set up again but using a speedlite flash.
Again, this was taken with my 50mm portrait lens and an f-stop of 1.4. There are, of course, similarities such as the background blur and bokeh. However, the overall difference is striking. The colours on the dogs’ coats are much richer, and their eyes reflect the light of the flash in such a way as to bring the faces to life. The natural light, meanwhile, is not wasted as it is enhancing the scenery behind the dogs.
When packing for a day out photographing, I always advise taking a flash. Using the extra light to complement rather than replace the daylight can really add some vitality to photographs. Adjusting the white balance and exposure compensation as needed will help maintain the impact of the flash without washing out the subject of the picture.
Crikey! What a splendid difference. Very clever and shows how your knowledge of what to do and how to achieve the best, quite stunning results, is demonstrated here. Superb!
Incidentally Ellie on Countryfile last Sunday was thoughtlessly trampling through bluebell woods in Warwickshire. Looked a very similar location.
Dad xx
Thank you! You’ve touched on the theme of my next post which will cover the principles of the League of Landscape Photographers. Watch this space! xx
Hi Em, could you not have achieved the same result by using a positive EC of say 1 or pushing the ISO a little higher?
Loving the blog by the way
Hi Andy. Thanks for taking the time to comment, and for the positive words!
You’re right that different settings will achieve similar results. In a gloomy environment, the exposure compensation is always a useful tool as the camera bases its readings on ambient light. Modern cameras can be set to incredibly high ISO without compromising image quality. My main concern on the bluebell wood shots was to generate vibrant catchlights in the dogs’ eyes. I used a diffuser and the flash was angled at around 70 degrees away from the dogs’ line of sight a) so as not to blind them, and b) to avoid glare in the photograph.
Having said that, not everybody has access to a flash or the capacity to carry with them on all shoots. I always carry a head torch with me and this will work to create catchlights in situations where the natural light isn’t quite enough. It clearly won’t illuminate as much of the picture but where there are live subjects, the eyes really are the windows to the soul and it’s so important to breathe life into them somehow!
Thanks for reading and commenting. I take it from your thoughts that you are a keen photographer too?!
Hi Em, well I confess to a love of photography – once even thought of it as a possible career path way back in the 1980s, but the furthest I got was my Photography “O” Level (and as a former Girl Guide you’ll appreciate proudly my Boy Scout’s Photographer’s Badge 😉 ). Though I still have a great interest in photography though.
Your use of flash has indeed captured the catch-light in the dog’s eyes.
Keep up the stunning work and wishing you every success in the new career path