Mix Flash and Ambient Light To Create Stunning Portraits

[@Marcelo_Salup]

Great lesson. This is one of the points of contention with many beginners who don't realize that the key to mixing ambient and flash is the shutter speed. The speed limit analogy is very good and I'm stealing it.

[@SalCincotta1]

Glad it was helpful!

[@AadDs-tr8kr]

দ

[@PM-dg7cy]

La modèle est juste magnifique 😱😱😱

[@barkyvonschnauzer2188]

Great shots. In just a few moments I have learnt more than I have watching an hour video. Thanks Sal.

[@SalCincotta1]

glad you loved it!!

[@finixking777]

Learnt something new👍

[@AndyJTPhotographer]

This is a great technique, been using it for years. There's a few techniques that develop from it, but you will find the one you love I'm sure.

[@Keith80027]

Adding flash light to ambient is how you make your images stand above the rest. Learn this with film while doing weddings and these are the images that sold me to new brides.

[@hawg427]

Great video Sal, loved her dark Goth makeup that blends with her dark outfit :-)

[@SalCincotta1]

Me too!

[@VGarden]

The best tips and trick I've ever learnt, so I liked and saved this videos for my photography {shutter speed is the key}! Thank You For Sharing!

[@SalCincotta1]

Glad it was helpful!

[@themenadarre]

I love this ! What power was your light on?

[@brandontroutman1771]

exactly

[@binaryinfections]

This the one I been waiting for

[@SalCincotta1]

awesome!

[@ronald7482]

GREAT video You can see also increase the ISO, why did you chose the shutter speed lowering instead of the ISO?

[@SalCincotta1]

dragging shutter for ambient light - highlight this in the video.

[@kennyconfidence7567]

Nice one ,omo you have such a steady hand to be shooting at 1/50 without getting blurry shots

[@cecilemuntu5401]

Thank you Sir 😊 I've learned a lot ❤

[@SalCincotta1]

Glad to hear that

[@davidmunoz-sm9hf]

AWESOME!!!

[@nycks1]

Sal you the man!

[@SalCincotta1]

appreciate you

[@izgil7541]

Very helpful video. Thank you.

[@SalCincotta1]

Glad it was helpful!

[@steveperryphoto431]

Always great tips!

[@SalCincotta1]

Glad you like them!

[@cuongnguyentan246]

Thank you sir. Im stucking at where my background being very dark. With this method i may get more light for the background. But i still dont know why you can stay 1/20 without blurry

[@SalCincotta1]

gotcha. so... think of it in two stages... camera exposes for the scene... so thats your 1/20th... going to let in all that ambient... etc... but then the flash fires at basically 1/200th of a sec and freezes the subject. make more sense?

[@cuongnguyentan246]

@@SalCincotta1 Thank you for your reply! I Kind of understand, but still confuse the machenical here, since the camera sensor only captured 1 shot at the speed of shutter speed setting 1/20s. What the flash firing is only light at the speed of 1/200, but that is light only, so How can it provide the ability of freezs the subject?

[@cuongnguyentan246]

I just did a little research on this and kind of understand that, during the shutter speed duration 1/20s the sensor will capture what ever exposed to it and that is the at 1/200s where the subjected is exposed to the flash. Is it a right understanding, sir ?

[@SalCincotta1]

@@cuongnguyentan246 bingo! now go experiment and play!! :)

[@fountainvalley100]

Awesome images.

[@SalCincotta1]

Many thanks!

[@fr0xk]

Damn that's so Gothic looking model

[@nicklisboayt]

Dear Sal, I want to focus more on dramatic portraits. I already have my ND filter and would like your opinion. Can I do things like in your video, and also more dramatic on brighter days, with just my speedlight, or will I certainly need to buy something stronger like an AD200, for example. Could you help me? Thank you very much!

[@SalCincotta1]

you can do it for sure. depends on the time of day... high noon... you will need something more powerful.. i use the westcott fj200, but as sun starts getting lower... 5pm or later... a speed light will do just fine. go get em!

[@SusanneGeert]

Thanks for this great video! I am a bit confused after seeing another video recently: The photographer there explained that even though the flash freezes the motion on the subject you still can't use too slow/low shutter speeds since there can be created blur (as I remember he said from the ambient light). So, is that because it's so dark that you can photograph at shutter speeds of 1/60 and 1/20 sec. (and would you not ba able to to this is daylight even if you wanted to create a more dramatic look with less ambient light and more flash light)? Thanks a lot in advance and thanks for all your great and super helpful content 🫶

[@SalCincotta1]

Not sure what video watch, but that video is probably someone accurate. It depends on overall brightness of the scene so because it’s so dark here we get away with it and you can’t see any of that blur because we frozen the action however, if it were a little brighter you wouldn’t be able to get away with it, but if it were a little bit brighter, I’m more than likely wouldn’t be shooting at 1/60 of a second. Does that make more sense?

[@SusanneGeert]

@@SalCincotta1 Thanks for such a quick reply 🙌 Yes, it does make sense. Just to be sure I understand - how low a shutter speed would you typically expect to be able to shoot at images like these in day light (with an adult model standing still or moving slowly)?

[@SalCincotta1]

@@SusanneGeertso... you have to apply more context to what you are trying to do... so for this example... im shooting in very dark conditions.. if the shutter goes at 200/sec she would be on a BLACK background and we lose the environment... so the flash hits her and then the shutter remains open (because its slower) allowing all that yellow light in fromm the background. if it were brighter... this wouldnt be used at all. you would start moving into whats known as high speed sync. a different technique all together.

[@barrymcdonald1495]

Beautiful shots. Curious what power setting you had your strobe set to?

[@SalCincotta1]

really not sure. i always adjust as needed.

[@MoD_Master_Of_Disaster_]

Those settings don’t matter, since every scene will be different (assuming you asked this question to replicate the result).

[@Ib3119cz]

Good.. but if 1/60 is still to much and we do not want to close aperture? Nd filter or hss?

[@SalCincotta1]

both options have the opposite effect. they are going ot let LESS light in. your goal here is to let MORE ambient in... so the solution would be to increase ISO. hope that makes sense.

[@johnawareness]

Sweet ❤❤❤

[@m77ast]

That analogy was great. It will be good if a similar analogy can be given for how long lenses bring the background in.

[@MyWorld-bu4ib]

Will the 1/50 or 1/20 prevent motion blur if the flash was on camera instead of using a large softbox?

[@SalCincotta1]

will more than likely have the same effect of freezing the action - assuming your flash exposure is correct.

[@DmitryBrodsky007]

Great video. I understand the flash will still hit your model at fast speed and freeze her. However, is camera shake still an issue under these conditions?

[@michiuno2238]

It's a a question of what your proportions of ambient vs flash are on your subject. If you're blocking out almost all your ambient, you're freezing the foreground. The background is purposfully out of focus (F1.2). What little camera shake might happen, it will influence the background only where you don't care whether it's a bit more out of focus. However, if you capture a lot of ambient and only brighten the shadows on your subject a little bit with your flash, your subject picks up a lot of ambient light as well which means camera shake is visible on the subject.

[@DmitryBrodsky007]

@@michiuno2238 make sense. Then we are not only talking about a camera shake but also about a subject 'shake'. I remember learning long time ago that generally people just naturally move and it is hard to get a perfectly still photo of a person at shutter speed slower than 1/60. When I say hard I mean it is possible if your subject is perfectly and I mean perfectly still but it is hard. Going back to Sal's example, if he lowers the shutter speed to 1/25 or 1/20 as he said at the end, you introduce enough ambient light that can capture the model 'shake' at such speed?

[@michiuno2238]

@@DmitryBrodsky007 That would depend on so many factors: focal length, distance to object, ratio of intensity of ambient to flash, distance to flash, and probably many more. As a general principle: If the portion of ambient is significant in relationship to the light from the flash on the subject, the impact of camera or object shake can be significant. Whether it is or not depends on whether you would observe motion blur on the subject without flash (how steady are you and the subject, distance, focal length, IBIS, shutter speed)

[@SalCincotta1]

shake can always be an issue... but if you follow what im showing you - the flash freezes them. of course... its all relative.. if they are moving like in sports - there is going to be some action blur, but that might be the look you are going for. my advice is to get out there and play with this technique to learn its limitations!! enjoy!

[@reverton77]

How your speedlite was setting, please?

[@SalCincotta1]

not 100% sure. I know i was in manual mode... adjusting power as we were shooting. all tied to the ambient light.

[@derekrowanphotographics]

Would you light meter the ambient light first then set flash to 4:1 or to taste ?

[@SalCincotta1]

always to taste... you have so many creative options using this technique and this time of day. to the metering... the fastest way to get to your shot is taking that first shot without flash. you can do it with or without a meter. just keep in mind - this time of day - light is fading fast... so you might find yourself re-metering every 10min. thats why i like using the two shot approach i show here. either way - you will get some magic!!

[@jasonshemnitz5886]

Ate you using TTL or manual on the flash?

[@SalCincotta1]

manual.

[@StaceyBrooklyn]

rear sync?

[@SalCincotta1]

normal.

[@KhanshahYousafzia]

Nice work

[@coreymatthews]

Love this Sal. You make it seem effortless. The mix is of light looks really great!

[@SalCincotta1]

Ty so much!

[@mominsheikh898]

​@@SalCincotta10:1hiłap8

[@KASMUSIK]

I wish you put your power setting on flash

[@SalCincotta1]

i promise you it will never matter... unless your ambient is exact to mine, and the distance of the light is exact to mine and the models skin is exact... etc it will never help you recreate. id rather see you learn the techniques and experiment to grow that way. trust me... its how i learned. :) but i will work harder in future videos to try and bring that up.

[@toykellie3]

What not use HSS?

[@SalCincotta1]

How does hss solve this problem? Hss is used when your shutter speed is OVER 200th of a second. So if you make your shutter speed faster what happens to the ambient light? Gone.

[@saucelove]

Lauren has amazing eyes. I hope to attend shutter fest next year, and I can meet you.

[@SalCincotta1]

I hope so too!

[@saucelove]

@@SalCincotta1 I did PPA & WPPI. Now it’s time for shutter fest. I live just 1.5 hours north of Chicago. So it’s a short drive to St. Louis.

[@tolookatyou]

What strobe and modifier is that?

[@SalCincotta1]

that is the FJ200 from westcott!!

[@snelson4u]

How do you determine the settings for your flash?

[@SalCincotta1]

i shoot w manual mode on the flash - so im controlling power manually. but you could use a light meter as well. for me, working in this particular environement... im winging it a bit if im being honest. :) test shot... see what looks right and GO!

[@shahidabano4734]

Amazing

[@1990GreenAngel]

Wow! Amazing! Love the photos!

[@SalCincotta1]

Glad you like them!

[@MartinV.]

Gret Video!

[@SalCincotta1]

tyty

[@dt_kathybrown]

Spot-on, and super helpful even to a seasoned photographer. Cameras, lenses and lighting all changes making this a great reminder on how to get that great shot.

[@SalCincotta1]

ty ty!!

[@SumanShakya-ju4if]

Z99o

[@smooth111012]

Do you get a sharp image with only 50th of second

[@SalCincotta1]

as crazy as it might seem - YES. the reason is that there is not enough ambient to light your subject... so the flash ultimately FREEZES them and gives you a sharp image like you see here.

[@julioisraelcardoso3180]

Hey Sal why not to up iso?

[@SalCincotta1]

Increases shutter speed and loses ambient. Literally the entire point of the video :)

[@Frank19747]

Great video Sal. I like how you explained sync speed to speed limit.

[@SalCincotta1]

Glad it was helpful!

[@-lx4lj]

اكتب عربي

[@masalachannelofficial]

❤❤🎉🎉🎉

[@صالحمحم-ع3ص]

Good

[@Attitude_Gril_Hasina]

Sr kash me bhi odishn lepati

[@mohamedhadri5939]

shutter is 1/50 it's to shaky, what's the secret of sharpness in this pics?

[@SalCincotta1]

you have to understand whats happening... FLASH freezes the action at 1/200th of a sec... then the remaining time the shutter is open is letting in the ambient.

[@mohamedhadri5939]

@@SalCincotta1 thx for responding, but, i hope you make a video explaining that point sooner, because the video ( mix fash and ambient) is so helpful. Thank very much sir.

[@alanwalker8930]

I'm guessing you could reduce the power of the flash and increase the iso if it gets a bit darker?

[@SalCincotta1]

correct. or move the light closer or further away. etc.

[@malthus101]

You know this guy just loves some pasta fazool

[@SalCincotta1]

haha youre not wrong. :)

[@razerone49]

Surprisingly, the tighter shots looked better. Odd considering the location

[@sofianbadi1178]

😮😮

[@هديل-ص8ي]

What is ur camera type plz ?,

[@SalCincotta1]

canon r5

[@هديل-ص8ي]

@@SalCincotta1 thank you so much

[@SajidAliS7Ok]

Nice😅😊

[@besmorpheous]

I was worried about blurry pictures because you dropped the shutter so low , but now I understand the flash staying at 200

[@siyandamayeza3168]

Hi Beamorpheous, I don’t understand how the flash is staying at 200… could you please explain more

[@besmorpheous]

@@siyandamayeza3168 I meant to say shutter not flash

[@hectorespino3740]

What a beautiful model!! Photos are great, but she makes them perfect! Could you share her Instagram?

[@reynaldomercado]

Great lesson!! It's me, or the quality of the video is at new level?

[@SalCincotta1]

It is! THANK YOU!

[@sahilking6892]

Model name please

[@1A_B_C1]

No

[@juffugugbbhobyy]

​@@1A_B_C1😮😮😮😢

[@PM-dg7cy]

lauren.smiles

[@binaryinfections]

Could you use HSS with this method ?

[@SalCincotta1]

no. the whole point is to drag the shutter below your sync speed this lets in the ambient. when you go with HSS you are above the sync speed - meaning faster.

[@ritalakra2]

ASK HER IF SHE IS IN ONLYFANS ❤❤❤

[@TanjimSarker-w7y]

Oh

[@myYouTubechannel2504]

😢😢😢

[@SalCincotta1]

tears of joy?!?!?

[@talhabiswas8036]

⁶

[@mohonRahman9990]

.।..।

[@dhrubo9140]

She is so white that she doesn't require flash 😂😂

[@lailaarjuman1176]

It is a obsence dress

[@SalCincotta1]

so dont wear it, right? wear something you feel comfortable in instead of trying to shame someone else.

[@nelsono4315]

Sal strikes again! Very nicely done. Thanks!

[@SalCincotta1]

You bet

[@Sajjad76-d4i]

❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

[@fidodido664]

Your example at 1:00 was so bad that many people will get confused.

[@SalCincotta1]

So you don’t like my speed example? Well… many thought that simplified it. So sorry. Been teaching this concept for 15 years all my students have light bulb moments. Sorry it was moving too fast for you. Maybe your sync speed is off. :)