Outdoor model shoot at night

Shooting models outside is fun, challenging and the results can be brilliant. But it is not straightforward. First you need a model so look back at March 9 for advice on this.
Gear needs
Once you've found a model brave enough to go out at night, possibly in the cold, you need to sort out your lighting. It is a good idea to have a friend or fellow photographer on hand. This applies to both male and female photographers and an extra pair of hands can be really handy to hold flashguns and look after things during the shoot.

A powerful torch will help you focus. Just shine the light at the subject – not directly into the model's face and focus. It is worth considering shooting using manual focus for this subject, because autofocus might continually adjust and throw the subject out of focus once the torch is switched off.

Your tripod is handy here too, especially if you want to mix flash and ambient lighting. That said, blurring the ambient light can be an effective technique.

Flash modifiers, coloured filters and lighting stands will find a use too. Modifiers such as those from Honl, Stofen and Gary Fong are all popular.

You will also need some way of triggering the flash if it's not mounted on the camera's hot-shoe. Some cameras might let you control a dedicated flashgun and give through-the-lens flash metering. Most don't so you will need something like the Seculine Twin-link that works on infrared and radio wavelengths and lets you trigger the flash wirelessly even from some distance away and you do not have to be in 'line of sight' as you do with solely infrared triggers.

As well as on-camera type flashguns, there are several studio quality flash units that run off portable batteries. For example, the Elinchrom Quadra Ranger, the Interfit Xtreme 300 and the Bowens TravelPak system. These are more powerful that a typical flashgun and worth trying.

Technique
You will have obviously primed the model regarding poses, clothing and the location that you will be shooting in. If you haven't, you should have. You need to think of their comfort, dealing with the weather, keeping warm in between shots and so on.

You need to shoot quickly and have fresh batteries in the flashgun. Minimal messing around is a good idea too and show the model the effects you are getting as you go along.

One the big problems of using flash at night – apart from the attention (sometimes unwanted) that it attracts – is that a flashgun can pump out too much light and burn out the subject. You need to watch this and use flash exposure compensation to cut down the amount of light if that is the case.
Camera flashguns usually have TTL, auto aperture and manual modes so you need to check what your offers.

Another important thing to remember is the inverse square law – double the distance between the flash and the subject and the power output falls by a factor of four, not two as you might expect. You've read the article, now go take some fantastic images. You can then upload the pictures, plus any advice and suggestions you have into the dedicated Photo Month forum for everyone at ePHOTOzine to enjoy.