Outdoor Portrait Lighting Tips

In this article I will share with you some Outdoor Portrait Lighting tips and a couple of different flash lighting set-ups you may find useful.

Let’s start with natural light Portraiture which if attempted at the right time of day can provide pretty decent results…

If you haven’t quite added Flash Photography to your Portrait arsenal you can still get some flattering results using a DSLR, a lens with a wide aperture and natural light.

The image below was shot on a Nikon 85 mm lens.

The image above was shot a couple of hours before sunset when the sun and shadows are less harsh… You can see that with a little diffusion from a white shoot through reflector you can get a nice soft quality of light.

This type of lighting pattern is commonly referred to as butterfly lighting because of the shape of the shadow under your subjects nose.

It’s often used in beauty photography because it is a very flattering lighting pattern for women.

But if you are looking for a little more drama in your images, adding Flash can really make your images pop… And add extra shadow detail.

The image above is using a Speed light and a Westcott Rapid Box Duo and a voice activated kicker light… The voice activated light is a speed light help by hand, by my videographer and friend Josh who is just standing slightly outside of the picture frame.

The next image below is shot with a Studio Strobe and a Mola Demi white 22 inch beauty dish… You can achieve similar results using a similar sized 22 inch modifier.