Alternative Portraiture: Artistic Lighting and Design for Environmental Photography

In this book, Benny Migliorino teaches readers how to work with speedlights—lightweight, relatively inexpensive, and powerful palm-sized flash units—to create dramatic, dimensional, flattering lighting. 'Migs' presents 60 portraits shot in a wide range of environments—from cramped quarters and fluorescent light, to dimly lit rooms, to makeshift “studio” spaces in a client’s home or office. Readers will learn critical lighting skills from reducing the contrast range and creating softer, more flattering light; to re-creating traditional studio lighting patterns in varied existing-light scenarios; to adding fill for a rounder, more dimensional view of the subject; to overpowering the existing light; and working in mixed-light scenarios. Whether you’re working solo or with an assistant, with one speedlight or multiple units, using “bare” (unmodified) small flash or harnessing its power via flash-mounted or freestanding light modification devices, you will learn how to make quick work of creating professional, evocative portraits that bring out the best version of your subject and highlight the personal connection he or she has to their personal environment.