How to get decent portraits with on-camera flash

     So you've decided to get a speed light to go with your camera, but you don't have a way to use it off-camera, or you don't have the space for a portrait.

    What do you do?

    Gavin Hoey, one of the photographers featured on Adorama's Youtube channel (disclaimer: I am not sponsored by Adorama, but its channel is a good resource) goes over some ways to get flattering light with a camera-mounted flash.

    (Note: This is for flash units mounted on the camera's hot shoe. If you're using a pop-up flash, these tips will not work for you, but check out the diffuser we featured earlier.)

     What Hoey suggests is essentially bouncing the flash, preferably off a white or neutral-colored wall or ceiling. If you bounce off a colored wall, you're going to get a color cast.

    But what I found interesting was Hoey's suggestion for bouncing off a wall behind you if the room's small enough. Along with creating a softer light by bouncing it off a larger reflector, this over-the-shoulder move can also allow you to avoid the harsh look of a subject against a black background since the foreground/background light are now more balanced, thanks to to the inverse-square law.

    For those not familiar with this law of physics, light falls off at the inverse square of the distance from the light source. At 3 feet away from the light source, the light is 1/9 the brightness it would have at 1 foot. As you go farther out, the difference decreases, so you can actually get a more even lighting the farther back the light source.

    You do have to pay for that with either a wider aperture or a higher ISO.

     Another tip Hoey offered for overall studio photography is to first take a test shot with the settings you plan to use but no flash. The goal is to have the frame completely black, which means that the ambient lighting will not have any effect on the picture, and that all lighting will come from the flash. That can also be helpful if you're in a situation with mixed light sources. 

Get better portraits with DIY clamshell lighting setup

     One way to get good portrait lighting is to use "clamshell" lighting, and there's a way to do it without without triggering Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

    It's a lighting technique that can work with all sorts of portraits. What it does is uses a light source from above and one from below to light the subject. It's a relatively soft light and does not create harsh shadows.

    But you don't need an elaborate studio setup to pull it off, as Alastair Currill, an English photographer, demonstrates in this Youtube video. You can do it with one flash, a modifer to soften that light and a reflector to bounce the light back up to the subject.

    You can use a speedlight for the flash, and if you don't have an umbrella, you can use the DIY softbox and light stand we talked about earlier. As for the bottom light, you can use a table with a white cover or a foam board from the local big-box or dollar store.

    He also has another video demonstrating the principles behind clamshell lighting, albeit using more expensive studio gear.

Light tent for shooting people

    There's been talk on some of the photography websites about a portable studio that's about seven feet by four feet.

    The Konseen Photo studio, includes a tent, backgrounds and LED light system. The larger size goes for about $380. The concept is not bad, considering light tents have been used in product photography before, so it could be used for portraiture, especially when you have limited space for a proper studio.

    But the price tag could be a bit off-putting, especially for people whose Gear Acquisition Syndrome is kept in check by their wallets. It was disappointing to see another DIY photo website highlight this product without suggesting a cheaper way to get the same effect.

    That's why I'm here.

    Taking a quick look at Home Depot's website, you can get enough PVC pipe and fittings to construct the frame for less than $25. It's essentially a larger version of the tent I recommended for product photography. For the side walls, I would go with shower curtain liners from your local dollar store, and I would suggest using whatever light system you have, be it clamp lights, speed lights or some other rig.