Portrait of a modern woman and her horse.

I shot this last night for a friend. I used only 3 speedlite strobes one at camera left and 2 for back lighting.

Great setting and atmosphere. As I am still fumbling with my one Speedlite, I'm in awe of your lighting.

Very nicely done. My only minor niggle would be that her face seems just a touch bright. Other than that, nice!

Thats a LOT of strobes!!!! I like it. The face is just a tad bright but the bike is killer. What did you use for triggers?

That's a great shot!

I need to more flashes...

I like it very much. No critique from me.

Thanks Everyone! :-)
This was quite a simple setup using hard light, no diffusors. I used a Canon 550EX on a light stand at 1/8th power to light the front of the subject and the motorcycle. There are 2 Sunpak 4000AF's at 1/16th power to the left and to the right of the motorcycle to add rim light and also separation from the dark background. :-) The key thing is to get the flash off the camera hotshoe and on to a light stand. I could have used only one flash for this, but then shooting a black leather jacket and a black motorcycle against a wall of dark trees would have meant that the subject would be lost in the background. I could have added a 4th flash, or kicker light, to add more detail into the lower portion of the bike, ie: brake discs, chain etc. I am using Cactus remotes. I won't buy Pocket Wizards, they are way overpriced for what they actually do.

Good stuff!

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Originally Posted by nomad358

Thanks Everyone! :-)
This was quite a simple setup using hard light, no diffusors. I used a Canon 550EX on a light stand at 1/8th power to light the front of the subject and the motorcycle. There are 2 Sunpak 4000AF's at 1/16th power to the left and to the right of the motorcycle to add rim light and also separation from the dark background. :-) The key thing is to get the flash off the camera hotshoe and on to a light stand. I could have used only one flash for this, but then shooting a black leather jacket and a black motorcycle against a wall of dark trees would have meant that the subject would be lost in the background. I could have added a 4th flash, or kicker light, to add more detail into the lower portion of the bike, ie: brake discs, chain etc. I am using Cactus remotes. I won't buy Pocket Wizards, they are way overpriced for what they actually do.

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Thanks for the detailed set up :) Nice work..
:offtopic: I had no luck with the Cactus remotes and went to cybersyncs

I also like the lighting you used! We had a motorcycle photographer do a tutorial at my photoclub a few months ago. He used a technique that I tried a few days later for a friends wedding.... He sets a really long shutter speed (10 sec) and while the shutter is open, he will quickly walk in front of the camera and hand fire a flash 3 or more times at the subject. I liked the effect I got when I tried it (especially since they were in front of a fountain. Does anyone know if a shorter shutter speed (3-5 seconds) and hitting the strobe would create a similar effect to what we see here?

I quite like this shot. Just curious, are there shots of the subject looking at the camera, I think that would work as well.

Photovioilin, I would guess that a shorter shutterspeed is doable by modifying settings/distance from subject etc. but there's less time to fire the flashes...why does this matter to you?

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Originally Posted by photoviolin

I also like the lighting you used! We had a motorcycle photographer do a tutorial at my photoclub a few months ago. He used a technique that I tried a few days later for a friends wedding.... He sets a really long shutter speed (10 sec) and while the shutter is open, he will quickly walk in front of the camera and hand fire a flash 3 or more times at the subject. I liked the effect I got when I tried it (especially since they were in front of a fountain. Does anyone know if a shorter shutter speed (3-5 seconds) and hitting the strobe would create a similar effect to what we see here?

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While the flash on takes fractions of a second to reach the camera, the time you need to run around and fire the flashes, 2 seconds 5 seconds, should be kept as short as possible. I'd be interested to see the 10 sec. shot you took. Keeping a modle still, and therefore sharp, for that long period seams like an impossibility.

This is a great image, the lighting is pretty good and the model expression is fantastic. Did you gat another shot with some road behind?

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Originally Posted by jlabel

This is a great image, the lighting is pretty good and the model expression is fantastic. Did you gat another shot with some road behind?

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Thanks! I did get some road shots, but they were in motion and using only natural light. This particular shot I did with only 3 speedlight strobes. I am going to do another one soon with a sunset in the background using a really large softbox. I'll be sure to post it here. :-)