A Humble Wall as a Portrait Photography Studio

Photography Tips  •  Portrait Photography  •  Studio Photography

Sometimes, the simplest of setups can be the most effective. In this video from photographer Gary Fong, we see how to use two simple off-camera flashguns, a snoot, some color gels, and a plain wall to create a dynamic and interesting look for a photo shoot:

To set up his simple studio Gary does the following:

• He places one of the Canon flashguns low down in front of the wall and attaches his own brand Powersnoot attachment and a colored gel.
• He then sets the flash exposure manually via the slave unit to get a deep rich color from the flash on the wall.
• The second Canon flash is positioned to the right of the wall, high up on a pole pointing toward the model’s position.
• The model is asked to face the second flash light or toward the camera.

The resulting images demonstrate how effective and dramatic this simple lighting setup truly is.