Backlit Rain

G

gpc1

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,289
Name
Greg
Edit My Images
No
Hi
I’m having a senior moment and needed to post a question re backlit flash.
I’m looking at doing a portrait in the rain thats backlit with flash.
2 scenarios
1 – Backlight only but I want the light to wrap around to that it’s not a silhouette. I want the flash to be blueish and pick out the raindrops
2 – If 1 is too much of a silhouette I may need a little fill. Will this kill the rain drop?
How to I gel the flashes?
Do I put an orange gel on the backlight flash and set the camera to approx 2500 or 3000K? Do I gel the backlit flash and leave the fill bare?

Got myself in a buggers muddle with this ....

Something likes this
http://hofferphotography.com/2013/10/20/oops-we-did-it-again-a-photo-story/
 
1. You may or may not want the portrait bit to be lit by ambient light. If so, all that you need to light is the rain. Getting TRUE backlighting can be technically difficult, and unnecessary - what we normally do is to rimlight it, i.e. with the light coming mainly from the side but also partly behind, this does everything you'll need. The technique involves having the light that highlights the rain considerably more powerful than whatever other lighting is in the shot, which means having enough power to do it - especially when you're going to gel the light, which will soak up roughly 1 stop of that power. And the light will need to have a honeycomb grid on it too, otherwise you'll get lens flare from light hitting the lens.

2. Fill won't kill the effect of the light on the rain, but it will reduce its effect to some degree. As long as you don't overdo the fill, it will be fine.

3. Shoot at the colour temperature for the ambient light and gel the light on the rain blue
See how we did it here.
I wanted drama, so had the light on the rain about 2 - 3 stops brighter than the ambient, but 1 stop would be fine for a more subtle effect. And, if you use too much power on the rain then the effect of the blue gel will be severely reduced.
 
sorry, should have listed my kit
580ex2
YN568EX2 - X 2
Radio Triggers (yn622)
5D2 X 2
Stands
Brollies
Softbox
Rogue flashbender
Rogue Honeycombs for Speedlights
Gels
Various L Lenses


Thanks Garry good tips there.

The pullback shots that i have seen in this type of shot seem to be a single speedlight behind the person / couple (wrapped in a bag) set to wide to catch the rain. What i cant seem to find is if / how they are gelled and whether a fill light is used (be it flash or some ambient light coming from a building behind the camera position).

I will be most likely doing this at night, although dusk may be an option.

I guess i need to get outside in the garden, set it up, turn the sprinkler on and experiment....

i suppose if push comes to shove i go with bare flashes and can PP and mask the colour temp in PS. I would prefer to get it right in camera though...
 
Last edited:
If all you've got is hotshoe flashes then it will need to be at dusk, bright ambient light won't be an option.

You attach the gels using the standard professional tool - masking tape.
 
Garry Edwards said:
If all you've got is hotshoe flashes then it will need to be at dusk, bright ambient light won't be an option.

You attach the gels using the standard professional tool - masking tape.
Click to expand...


cheers gary, its not so match the attachment, i have the pro tools for that (blutack and elastic bands) its the colours to use and the camerasetting.

To turn the light 'blue' do i use the orange gell and dial in 2500 or 300k in the camera. If so, what would happen to the fill light (if it was another flash) would i need to gel that orange too, or , if i kept it bare, would it screw up the skintones.

I think the easient this is for me to have a experiment.

Im looking for a blue backlight, but 'correct' skin tones with either fill or no fill....
 
As I said above,
3. Shoot at the colour temperature for the ambient light and gel the light on the rain blue
Click to expand...
To get the maximum blue effect, use the darkest blue gel you can. Make it lighter, if required, by using more power.
 
Of the above, I'd have gone with the tungsten on the front flash rather than the blue on the back one (as with Mike not Garry).

And the reason for this mega technical decision (taking sides between two experts)?

I generally have a tungsten gel with me and rarely any other colour (the gel set sits in the drawer at home).;)

Technically I'm certain there's not a lot in it (I'm sure both would work equally as well).
 
Phil V said:
Of the above, I'd have gone with the tungsten on the front flash rather than the blue on the back one (as with Mike not Garry).

And the reason for this mega technical decision (taking sides between two experts)?

I generally have a tungsten gel with me and rarely any other colour (the gel set sits in the drawer at home).;)

Technically I'm certain there's not a lot in it (I'm sure both would work equally as well).
Click to expand...


good point, i dont have a blue gel!!!

i have cto though.

So if i stick an orange gel of the on camera flash and leave the back flash ungelled and set camera to 2500 or 300k this will keep skin tones nice but give a blue backlight?
 
gpc1 said:
good point, i dont have a blue gel!!!

i have cto though.

So if i stick an orange gel of the on camera flash and leave the back flash ungelled and set camera to 2500 or 300k this will keep skin tones nice but give a blue backlight?
Click to expand...
Yep!


(As long as the 300k was a typo);)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top