Speedlight Tutorial: Artificial Sunlight Technique

Wireless off-camera lighting with Speedlights may seem like a daunting proposition at first glance, but its easier than you might think. With Nikon’s Creative Lighting System, you can easily set up a Speedlight or two (or more) and control their output right from your Nikon D-SLR camera. A pair of Speedlights and a minimal amount of effort can add a dramatic look to your images.

David Tejada is a location shooter. Mainly a corporate photography specialist, his subjects are found on job sites, industrial factory floors, executive offices and more. Using a minimum amount of gear, he’s able to create photographs that look as if the lighting were more complex than it actually was.

Bring in the Sun

Just because the natural light isn’t cooperating doesn’t mean you can't make images with dramatic lighting. David will explain how the addition of just two Speedlights, using CTO (Color Temperature Orange) gels to warm the light output, along with a cuculoris (also known as a cookie) or gobo to add a bit of a dappled effect, looks just like warm afternoon sunlight, as it passes through tree branches, and into your image. The sharpness of the shadows from the cookie is dependent on how far away the light source is from the cookie. The closer the light source to the cookie, the softer the shadows, the further the distance, the sharper the dappled shadow pattern will appear.