LONG EXPOSURES

 

Long exposures and dragged shutters (also in this section) are the same with one small change, in these the camera is static (on a tripod). In these shots I leave the camera on a tripod, the shutter open for a second, and the strobe going off at the beginning of the exposure. When the strobe goes off, that flash will freeze your subject. If you have a bit of dim ambient light in the room, that will leave those unpredictable glows and light trails since the shutter is still open for a second! To enhance those trails, have your model move from side to side as the shutter is open! The power that you set your strobe or flash on (yes, you can do this with just a flash) will depend on how much ambient light is in the room and how strong you want the strobe/ambient balance to be.

5D III + 50LTo light these shots I had an Octobank softbox to her right and a reflector to her right. That left me with directional light without a rough, harsh look. I also had a bit of ambient light in the room so while the shutter was open after …

5D III + 50L

To light these shots I had an Octobank softbox to her right and a reflector to her right. That left me with directional light without a rough, harsh look. I also had a bit of ambient light in the room so while the shutter was open after the strobe popped, the ambient light created a glowing trail when she moved!