Three Ways to Use a 2nd Flash - Take and Make Great Photography with Gavin Hoey - Vide

[Martin Vronsky]

Quote

A single flash is a great place to learn how flash works but a time will come when you really need a second flash to achieve the lighting look you’re aiming for. Using two flashes also opens up a whole new world of lighting possibilities and in this video portrait photographer, Gavin Hoey shares three ways to use two lights, with one background.

Working against a dark background Gavin’s first use of a second light is the lift his model away from the black background by using a hair light or separation light as it's also called. 

The second use of a second flash is as a simple background light and so Gavin takes it up a notch and uses a fast lens with a shallow depth of field. To make that work both Flashpoint flashes are set up for HSS or high-speed sync flash photography.

Finally, Gavin adds a wash of color by placing a blue gel on his second flash while the key light still has the standard white light. The result is a subtle blue-toned portrait with a splash of natural skin tones breaking through.

Timestamps and Chapters  

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:03 One light portrait problem 
• 1:36 Setting up a hair light or separation light   
• 3:31 Key light + separation light portraits
• 4:30 Setting up a background only flash
• 5:20 High-speed sync with two flashes
• 6:09 Key light + background light portraits
• 6:58 Setting up a gelled fill flash
• 8:22 Key light + fill flash with colored gel portraits
• 9:10 Summery and Subscribe