Portrait Photography with One Light and a White Wall

Photography Tips  •  Portrait Photography

Don’t be discouraged if you do not have buckets of money to spend on extravagant lighting setups, in the nicely made video tutorial below, Mark Wallace is back to share some of his endless knowledge with us. Wallace discusses a couple different ways you can make the most of a single light source when taking portraits by using a simple object that most of us already have in our homes–a white wall. Have a look:

In the photo below, Wallace used his Profoto D1 1000 Watt Second Air strobe aimed at a plain white wall which then bounced the light back onto his model, via some white foam boards that served as a reflector to further soften the light.

As Wallace notes in the video, the light source can be just about whatever kind of light you have such as a speedlight or strobe. It’s worth noting, however, that when using a speedlight, don’t use it at full power or you risk overheating it. If you must use your speedlight at full power, shoot at a slower pace to prevent it from getting too hot, too quick.