Understanding the basics of flash photography opens up a world of creative avenues. This tutorial uses some basic concepts but also applies knowledge of color temperature and practical lighting.
In this video from portrait and wedding photographer Jiggie Alejandrino, we are shown how to use the subtle difference in tone that blue hour gives us in order to create emotive and dynamic portraits. Here, Alejandrino gels his speedlights with CTOs — orange gels — and sets his camera's white balance to tungsten mode, which is around 3,000 K. This means that the orange lights will appear whiter, but the sky will become even bluer than it appears with the naked eye.
What I love about this tutorial is the fact that there are so many lessons to be learned from it for someone who's beginning their flash photography journey. From balancing the ambient light with the speedlights to making sure that his subjects aren't becoming distorted by his choice of lens, Alejandrino thinks of everything in order to pull off his idea.
When you practice shooting like this, being able to come up with ideas on the fly will become second nature to you. This can be especially beneficial to wedding photographers who work in unfamiliar or dynamic environments but need to come up with a "wow" shot to impress their clients.
