There are many different styles of photography out there and I would have trouble deciding on which one I like to shoot the most, but using a strobe outdoors is definitely in the top three. There's just something about how surreal the end result looks that draws me to this style so much. I am admittedly a beginner in this style, but I love it none-the-less. As I mentioned in previous blog posts, I love godox and the AD200 pocket strobe has been one of my favorite purchases. This strobe has helped me create some of my favorite images in studio and on location.

Similarly to rembrandt lighting, I tend to set the light at a 45 degree angle on either side from the model/s and 45 degrees downward on to them. Though I do change up the angle at times. For the shot on the left I held the light myself while my partner, Kim, did the shooting. I mostly followed her stood behind her and held the light up above her and aimed it toward the subjects. Regardless of where the light is positioned, firstly, I expose my shot for the back ground and then adjust the strength of the strobe so that the model/s are perfectly exposed. On this the settings are f/2.0, shutter speed 1/250 and ISO 100 with the strobe at 1/8 power. Of course, the settings will vary on location but that should be a good starting point for you. One of my favorite things to do is to stick a CTB color gel on the strobe and adjust the white balance accordingly. That's how we were able to manage such a beautiful orange glow in the shot that Kim took in one of the images below. For the beach shot I had one of my budget light stands with me and as a result the wind proved to be too much for it to hold the AD200 and the softbox attached. We got by with me holding the light stand and my partner Kim doing the actual shooting. I wanted to make sure I had every opportunity to shoot as much as possible so we wised up and upgraded to a much more sturdy stand for the next shoot. The main photo up top was taken at a park and we used the heavy duty light stand with no fuss. I was able to set up the light up and not worry about the wind knocking it over. As a result I got to do my fair share of shooting and that image was my favorite from that session. Either way I will link both stands below as you could have a partner or assistant hold the light stand for you.

What you'll need:

How to use it:

Firstly, after you've posed your models and composed your shot, you may expose your shot for the background. (this means you set your shutter speed, aperture and ISO accordingly so that the background is lit the way you want it, regardless of how under-exposed your models will be.)

When you have your desired exposure set, the second step is to bring in the light as close as you can without ruining the composition.

Third step is to then adjust your power settings until the models are perfectly exposed along with the background. It may take a few test fires to find the perfect balance.

Camera Settings: