5 Tips for Flash Portrait Photography with Scott Kelby

Professional photographer Scott Kelby shares his flash photography tips to bring your portraiture from amateur to amazing. From camera settings to gear, you’ll learn how to utilize flash both in studio and outdoors! Which do you prefer: indoor or outdoor portraits?

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[BandH]

Which do you prefer: indoor or outdoor portraits?

[markkuvuotila]

2:22 Funny how the background color changes with the gel on :D

[stephborale]

A lot of misinformation here....

1. Daylight is WHITE, not yellow. If you use your flash in daylight, you should absolutely not gel it if you want it to match the sun. Throw some CTO on to match the sunrise or sunset, but to suggest that you should ALWAYS gel your flash outdoors is ridiculous and misleading. Look at the comparison at 02:16—the backgrounds of the shots are different color temperatures, far beyond what a flash can light, which means the global color temp of the second shot was adjusted either in-camera or in post. This is a misleading and inaccurate comparison of "no gel vs. with gel."
2. A gaffer is not the one who "moves things around" on a film set... that would be the grips. The gaffer is the head electrician. This might seem nitpicky, but little details like these clue me in on the fact that this guy might not know exactly what he's talking about, and therefore might not be the best source of information.
3. Your flash does not have to be close to your subject at all. It entirely depends on the situation and shot. There are as many situations where it is appropriate to have a light far away as there are where your light should be right next to the subject. Softness is determined by relative size of the light source to the subject, not distance. This is another silly thing to say to someone starting out in flash photography...
4. It's absurd to say that your flash SHOULD be on 1/4 or 1/8th power. Flash power is determined by many elements including the distance of the flash to the subject. There are plenty of situations where having a flash on full power is perfectly appropriate and necessary to get the shot you want. It's fair to say that many people put their flash on too high, but suggesting specific values seems very irresponsible for someone who is presumably trying to help out some beginners. If they're confronted by a scene where a stronger power is appropriate, they may second-guess themselves if they remember this video. Teach people how to use their tools to get the result they want, not formulas for achieving the same old look every time.
5. Aperture, along with shutter speed/ISO should be set to achieve the correct exposure for the entire scene, especially that which is not lit by the flash. Again, you're teaching another formula. Maybe it works for you, but it sounds like a lot of your shots must be pretty similar-looking. These "tips" aren't equipping beginners in flash photography to actually take great portraits of their own, but only to replicate what you do.
6. 03:39 - "[your flash] should be nice and close so it's soft and flattering"
05:11 - "just putting a flash close to someone doesn't make it soft and beautiful"
So which is it? Softness of light is determined by the relative size of the light source to that of the subject, and nothing more. A diffuser simply scatters the light around the space and allows it to bounce off the surroundings onto your subject, effectively increasing the size of the source. You could put 3 stops of diffusion directly on your flash head and you'd still get a harsh light, because the size of the light source has barely increased. The reason your collapsible diffuser works is because it effectively increases the light source size to 3 feet, or whatever the diameter of your diffuser. Teach beginners how light works and interacts with their subject—this is far more useful, and better equips them to tackle whatever lighting conditions they're working with.

Folks, get a good flash, find a willing (or unwilling but grudgingly accepting) subject, and go out and have at it. Try everything. Whatever modifiers you can get your hands on, bare flash, bounced off the floor, bounced off walls, on-camera, off-camera, rear- and front-curtain sync, everything you can possibly think of. You'll end up with a lot of horrific results as well as a few pleasant surprises, and with every shot you'll have a slightly better idea of what works and what doesn't. In the long run, this will make you a far more competent photographer and will allow you to come up with creative and artistic portraits like the greats do, rather than some boring, formulaic standard setups that make all your shots look the same. You'll also have way more fun.

[melodyphillips]

Scott is my fav! I love his books, too, as they are written in his easy-going conversational style, but are teaching at the same time. Thank you, Scott!!

[Enrique-the-photographer]

One of B&H’s best videos (tutorials).

[wm]

of all the turorials I've watched and there's been many, this is by for the best... to the point and very clear

[ZOB]

Kelby’s Flash book is one of my favorites - super clear and easy to follow (like all of his books), on a topic that can be fairly technical, especially with multiple flash set ups. Great photographer, but I think an even better author and teacher.

[intrudergrid]

No beating about the bush and always straight to the point!👍

[christophercmosley]

Very useful info and straight to the point. Thanks 🙏🏽

[industryousphotography]

Great video, straight to the point, clear, usable information.

[davidabarak]

Grips move equipment, set up rigging, handle camera dollies and handle most of the tasks that involve muscle; gaffers handle the lighting and power distribution. I'm being very general and some of the responsibilities overlap a little (less overlap on union jobs, I believe, but I might be wrong on that). There are specialities like dolly grips, rigging grips, juicers (handling power distribution only). Gaffers work very closely with cinematographers and will often be the ones to closely oversee the choice and placement of lights based on what the cinematographer wants.

[KennethStringer]

I just purchased five of your books based on someone's else comments, I am now a fan and student of Scott Kelby 😀

[chowdryashfaq]

You are my favorite Tutor, Sir. Thank you for this informative video. Greetings from Chowdry Photography, Bangalore, India.

[markledingham]

Thank you, Scott. These tips are so simple - and so brilliant! 😉

[QUINPANO]

His books were hot in my college campus for all the photo classes

[RickMentore]

Jell while shooting outdoors, tip #1 was most useful. I generally fixed in post but this is so simple!

[ksnmurthy]

Scott, these are amazing tips such a simplistic way you presented. Always when I watch your videos they are fully content filled and full of useful information. Thanks for this video. 👍👍👏

[Aarzak]

These are some awesome tips. THANK YOU!

[KennethStringer]

Thank You, you just made me a better photographer by a factor of 5, and I just purchased everything you recommended

[christianrasmussen]

Thank you for the Tips. I think, get a Profoto flash and klick a yellow defuser on your flash 😉 I agree with using Softbox and Reflector