Portrait lighting with 2 Flashes

I have Maxxum 5D , Maxxum 5400xi flash and Nikon SB26 Flash

I plan to set up portrait lighting with these 2 flashes as follows :

 

The Maxxum 5400Xi will be mounted on the camera and on manual mode ( 1 to 1/32

power adjustment), the Nikon SB 26 ( also set at manual mode and will be

triggered by built-in sensor )will be mounted on a stand and will be position

at 45 degree either on left or right site . I can adjust the power output of

these two flashes manually .

 

There 2 possible setups :

 

1. The on-camera flash (Maxxum 5400xi ) will be main light and SB26 will be

fill-in light .

 

2. The on-camera flash Maxxum 5400xi ) will be fill-in light and SB26 will be

main light .

 

I would like to know the advantages that one will have on the other .

 

What setup would be the best for certain situations .

 

Thank you for your helps .

Dominic,

 

By definition the Main or Key light is positioned off the camera to the right, left, or above the subject and the Fill light is positioned on the lens axis or, in your case, on the camera.

 

You'd be able to create more flattering light if you bounced into umbrellas or used scrims or softboxes for both the Main and Fill lights.

The key light is the light that creates the modeling. It is by convention, not definition, off the camera. If your key light is on the camera there will be no modeling for the fill light to fill so in essence you are back to one light photography.

Dominic,

 

First of all, it's great that you are starting portraiture and learning lighting. Like others said, if your main light is on the camera, why have the "fill" flash? Well, try it and see for yourself what happens. Another suggestion is to have the main light on the camera and have the second flash as a "rim" or "hair light".<BR><BR>

 

With only two flashes, try to get a sync chord. This will help expand your creativity.<BR><BR>

 

Good luck, and have a great time learning!<BR><BR>

 

Kimberly

Considering your current equipment, I would recommend using the on-camera light as a fill light and the off camera light as a key. I don't know if I would go 45 degrees off-axis for the key, though. Try around 30 degrees off axis horizontally and 20-30 degrees vertically for a "conventional" portrait. This will result in a noticeable but not huge nose shadow and should get the main light into the eye sockets. Set the fill at around 30-50% power, the exact setting is going to depend on your taste and the effect you are going for.

 

A better option, IMO, is to use your on-camera light (I'm assuming it is able to tilt and swivel) bounced against a white card, light-colored wall, or other reflective surface. Try to set up your angles so you get an angle of incidence of around 30-40 degrees on your subject. This serves the dual purpose of getting the key light away from the lens axis and softening the light considerably. In many cases, this will provide a nice, flattering light and you won't even need to use your second flash. Alternatively, you could use the second flash for a rim light or back light but you would need to beware of causing flare with the second light.

 

The attached photo was lit with a single speedlite bounced off a wall/ceiling.

Thanks for all responses. I would like to have some more questions :

 

1. I plan to buy a stand/umbrella set . For typical flashes such as Vivitar 285,Sunpak 383 , Sb26... , (the output power is not strong compared to monohead), what size of umbrella should be used ? I heard that the large umbrella would produce softer and flatter light but the light output to subject will be reduced a lot . What relector should be used ? Silver or white ?I heard that silver reflector will reflect 90% of light output from flash unit and should be used for these flashes.

 

2. In general , what is the distance from subject to back drop ? 5' ?

 

3. For backdrop lighting, can I use a flash (set at low power output, triggered by optical sensor ) or an tungsten halogen light?

Could you recommend any simple lights availabe on market for back drop lighting?

 

4. For hair light mounted on a boom , could you recomment any simple lights ?

 

5. Another set up I could think of is : Use flash/umbrella as main light positioned at 30 degrees on left side ,use a silver reflector panel on right side at 30 degree , and the on-camera flash is set to minimum output (1/32) just for triggering the other flash units . Do you have any comments on this setup ?

 

Once again, thank you ,all of you, for the inputs .