How would you set up the lighting for shots like these?

[Brad93]

Hi all, first post, I do a lot of carp fishing most of it at night, so all photos have to be done in the pitch black in the middle of nowhere.

This is a picture my friend took for me recently on his canon 600d with canon 50mm lens and a canon speedlite, how could i improve these photos when i get my own setup similar to the above but with a sigma 30mm 1.4? As you will see the photo is a little dark and there is a lot of flash glare off the wet surface of the fish.
Also I need a shallow depth of field, to blur the background out which the Sigma lens and a wide aperture should do? The ISO was set low on this occasion, ISO 100 i think so that could have been raised a bit I guess without making the photo too grainy.

Await any advice you guys have.

 

[Brad93]

I was wondering if maybe a remote flash placed off to the side aswell as the flash on the camera would work? Using a set of YN-622C and a flash on a tripod? Along with something to maybe soften the light?

 

[HoppyUK]

I was wondering if maybe a remote flash placed off to the side aswell as the flash on the camera would work? Using a set of YN-622C and a flash on a tripod? Along with something to maybe soften the light?

Yes, softbox to one side should fix the light, then adjust aperture/ISO for correct exposure.

Shooting at f/1.4 will blur the background but the very shallow depth of field might also make it difficult to get both fish and fisherman's face sharp - make sure they're both same distance from the camera.

On the other hand, the background will always be very dark or black, unless you light that separately.

 

[Brad93]

Thank you for your reply, i was planning to shoot at a little higher aperture than F1.4 but i guess i can sort that once i get the camera and lens and figure out which is best. Not so worried lighting the background but would like the fish to be better/more evenly lit. Should i still use a speedlite on the camera as well as the one off to the side?

What could i do to reduce the glare coming off the fish in future, tissue over the speedlite?

Thanks for your help

 

[HoppyUK]

Thank you for your reply, i was planning to shoot at a little higher aperture than F1.4 but i guess i can sort that once i get the camera and lens and figure out which is best. Not so worried lighting the background but would like the fish to be better/more evenly lit. Should i still use a speedlite on the camera as well as the one off to the side?

What could i do to reduce the glare coming off the fish in future, tissue over the speedlite?

Thanks for your help

The point about the background is it's going to be very dark or black anyway without additional lighting so whether or not it's out of focus is kinda moot.

To get rid of the reflection, move the light off-camera. Light bounces off a surface at the same angle it strikes, like a snooker ball off the cushion. That's why it's coming straight back at the camera.

To soften the light and make it more attractive, the light source must be much larger. A tissue over the flash won't do much at all - that can work indoors as it diffuses the light all around and a lot of it bounces off ceiling and walls etc, effectively creating a much larger light source, and hence softened shadows. That obviously doesn't work outdoors.

For location working like this, practical considerations reduce the ideal size of the light. Basically you have to choose between a softbox or similar on a stand (best) but that'll be off over the water in anything but a light breeze. So the other much easier option is something smaller that you can hold up in your left hand. Numerous options either way - check out Lumiquest and Lastolite.

 

[Brad93]

Thanks for your help Will adjust setup to suit and report back

 

[specialman]

Can you sack the fish? Obviously taking into consideration the welfare of the fish is paramount, but if you can sneak a bit of dawn light into the shot, it'll have a bit more 'oomph' to it and will mean the dominance of the flash is less.

From a personal POV, having the background in shot is much more desirable than a plain black background but as mentioned, then you start relying on additional lights... have it close enough to pick up the flash hitting the angler/fish and then you're relying on very low f-stops to get some background blur, or you just have to accept that the background is going to be in focus or nearly in focus due to DoF. It's the peril of low light photography...

RE: reflections - as Hoppy says, large apparent light sources are good but with big fish you need pretty massive light sources to fully envelope the side of the fish and that just isn't an option when you're outdoors and possibly working alone. I'd make a compromise and go with a modifier such as a 12" softbox that will at the least give some diffusion without being too large that it'll get blown around and also, it won't suck up too much flash power.

 

[gpc1]

dont forget these fish live in dark waters in dark surroundings. Be mindful of what their eyes can handle.

I would use a large softbox myself, with a tripod so you use as little flash power as poss.