Shooting portraits in bright outdoor light is one of the harder problems to solve with a single speedlight. The sun is usually too strong, your flash can't keep up, and the results look forced. Here's a specific technique that sidesteps all of that, and it's simpler than most people expect.
Coming to you from Jiggie Alejandrino, this detailed behind-the-scenes video walks through a real commercial shoot Alejandrino did in the Philippines for Sony Southeast Asia. He was working with just one speedlight, a 120 cm shoot-through umbrella, and a Sony a7R V paired with an 85mm f/1.4 GM II lens. He also used the HNY Variable ND to stay within his flash sync speed without losing flash power. That combination lets him shoot in harsh midday light without resorting to high-speed sync and the power loss that comes with it.
The actual lighting technique is the most useful part of the video. Instead of pointing the flash in the same direction as the sun to add fill, Alejandrino used the umbrella as a blocker, positioning it to shade his subject from the harsh ambient light hitting her face. Once that hard light was removed, the softbox became the primary light source, replacing the harsh sun with soft, wrapped light from the speedlight. The result is cleaner, more controlled light that still looks natural, without the flash looking like flash. He was also alternating between two speedlights to avoid overheating at full power, a practical detail worth knowing if you shoot in similar conditions.
What makes this approach work is how it reframes the problem. Most people try to overpower the sun or match it. Alejandrino blocks it instead, which means the flash doesn't have to be especially powerful, and the light stays soft and flattering. The umbrella does double duty: it modifies the flash output and acts as a physical diffuser for ambient light at the same time. It's a small positional shift with a significant impact on the final image. Alejandrino shows the before and after side by side in real time using footage recorded directly from the Atomos Ninja V connected to his camera, so you can see exactly what the change in flash position does to the light on his subject's face.
The video also covers post-processing using the Rebloom plugin inside Photoshop and Capture One, including a batch retouching workflow across 34 images. Check out the full video above for the complete breakdown from Alejandrino on both the lighting setup and the editing process.
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