Nathan
I once was convinced that to be make good images of people I needed some really special stuff…
I believed I needed a huge camera, with great lenses and some wonderfully expensive off camera lights.
Besides that I needed great models, awesome locations and a new personality.
I Think I Was Wrong
Now I believe a bit differently.
Any light can be a good light for a portrait.
Anyone can make a decent model. 🙂
Flashlights work pretty decently for off camera lights.
I Was Also Right
To be sure, if I had my druthers about it I would be shooting a phase one camera, with great off camera lights and great models. Those things are all quite nice when it comes to trying to create an image that is powerful.
Nice, but not essential.
But if those are the kinds of things that are holding you back from creating images of your friends and family… I say its a bunch of baloney. Go ahead and use the things that are at your disposal and try to make a good image of one of your friends!
The Creation of These Images
Now, I don’t claim that these are the best portraits ever, but they were all created using my Sony NEX 6, a 50mm f1.8 lens, a tripod and a flashlight.
It was just past sunset, so the light levels were quite low. I asked the guys to hold still and then fired away shooting a bracket of exposures and shooting a number of shots each time. This way I could pick through them to find the exposure I liked and be sure that my model was also not blurry.
The RAW files came into Lightroom and were converted to Black and White.
And here they are! (Click an image to view it larger.)
Vernon
Clayton
Philip