Night portraits are often unpredictable. Light shifts, colors flare, and every setting demands balance between exposure and mood. In this breakdown, you see how a simple one-light setup can turn a busy carnival into a controlled and cinematic scene.
Coming to you from Eli Infante, this detailed video walks through how he used a single Westcott FJ80 II speed light and a Sony a7R V paired with the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM II lens to craft a portrait that glows against the carnival lights. He keeps his setup minimal: one light, one modifier, one subject. The aperture stays wide open at f/1.4 to soften the background, while the shutter speed sits at 1/160 second to hold ambient exposure. ISO rests near 400 to keep noise down without losing the atmosphere of the fairground. The video explains how he dials in exposure for the environment first, then layers the flash power until the subject and background meet in perfect balance.
Infante’s choice of the Westcott 36-inch Beauty Dish gives the light a silver punch while keeping shadows smooth. The power output lands around 1/64, just enough to lift the subject from the ambient carnival glow. His advice about using the modeling light to help focus in low light will save you time the next time you’re on location. He stresses that speed lights aren’t just compact; they give you creative control fast. When your background bursts with color, being able to move your light easily matters more than owning multiple strobes.
The video also covers how Infante treats post-production as an extension of lighting. Inside Capture One, he lifts shadows, reduces contrast slightly, and shapes color with a mix of orange midtones and teal highlights. He then moves into Photoshop for fine-tuning: frequency separation, dodge and burn, and subtle adjustments to tone. He doesn’t rely on heavy edits or filters. Instead, each correction supports the lighting he captured on set. When he says most people think more editing goes into it than it does, he’s right; the impact comes from understanding flash, not from pushing sliders.
There’s a story woven through this shoot too. The best frame almost didn’t happen. After packing up, Infante remembered something he’d heard on a podcast: “Just one more.” He turned back, took one last shot, and that image became the favorite from the entire session. That moment sums up the video’s quiet lesson: creative decisions don’t always come from planning but from staying open to trying again, even when you’re tired. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Infante.
7 Comments
Why is everything "stunning" these days?
The first of just a handful of images I've seen that was truly stunning was an original Ansel Adams darkroom print. I was a decent darkroom printer at the time, and I had seen reproductions of Adams' images in books, so I was familiar with the work. But, when I walked in the front door of the gallery and saw a print hanging on a wall across the room, it stopped me in my tracks and I thought, "Holy sh!t". It was that gorgeous. A large original print of Josef Koudelka's "Man with horse" at the International Center of Photography in NYC had a similar effect. I would give my left nut to have a good reproduction of that one
https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6018128
but I don't think anyone would pay $22,500 for my left nut.
What is it that appeals to you about the Koudelka photograph?
Social media and the internet in general has devalued many words in the human lexicon. The never ending need to attract attention to things online has made people use these words to attract audiences and as such those words have pretty much lost their meaning.
For example: every one calling any one that doesn't strictly agree with their world view a "Nazi". The word Nazi has almost completely lost it's impact. It used to have significant impactful meaning. Now that every one and their brother/sister is tossing it around the internet like a hot potato, it has no meaning. Calling John Doe a nazi because he said that he prefers gas cars to electric is the kind of stuff i'm talking about.
This can be applied to any word that magnifies the presence, existence, or effect of anything. None of theses types of words have the same impact like they used to because they've been squeezed dry of their impact for shock value and click bait.
No these images aren't "Stunning". They are very good but no would seriously describe them as "stunning". A stunning image is, like what you have given a fantastic example of, something that stops you in your tracks or makes your drop drop in awe.
Another great example of two words in conjunction that have lost their meaning is "breaking news". It used to be used when something of great significance happened. Now it's used for every small little thing that happens. Since everything is "breaking news" now, nothing is and no one cares.
You are, of course, right. But, it's worth holding the headline writers at professional sites to a higher standard than 3rd graders on daddy's phone.
That is absolutely a fair statement.
Apparently, Michael Defeo doesn't like my question. Maybe he finds EVERYthing "stunning". Must be interesting to go through life as an adult with a baby's mind, with every experience new and mind-boggling.
Either that or he hates the work of Ansel Adams and Josef Koudelka, in which case why is he here?
Ed -
For some reason, I couldn't reply directly to your post, but this is for you.
I don't know why I like Koudelka's "Man with horse" so much. Maybe it's the grainy B&W. Maybe it's the visual tension between the large light shape and the small dark one. Maybe it's the way the two figures seem to be in wordless conversation. Maybe it's the overall texture and the similarity to my own B&W photos made in India. Maybe it's because I rode horses in my youth. Maybe it's the nostalgic appeal of a bygone era.
I just love it and consider it a true classic.
FWIW, I also love the B&W work of Manuel Alvarez Bravo and highly recommend it to anyone interested in studying the history of photography.