Two Minute Tips with David Bergman: Using negative fill to create more dramatic portraits

 

 

In this week’s episode of Two Minute Tips with David Bergman, David will show us how to use negative fill to add drama to your portraits.

When you are first learning how to light a subject, one of the simplest and most dramatic steps you can take is moving your flash off camera. When you light a subject from the front, it’s often the case that the lighting is flat and there isn’t a lot of depth. If you move the light off camera and point it at your subject from a less direct angle, you create shadows on the face. Learning how to create pleasing shadows is an important part of the process.

In prior videos, which can be seen here, Bergman has discussed fill light. This is when you reflect light from your source back onto your subject to add more light without using an additional source of light. On the other hand, negative fill light involves absorbing excess light and trying to prevent it from hitting your subject. In the video below, Bergman uses a black v-flat to reduce the amount of light which bounces back onto the subject, allowing him to shoot with deeper and more dramatic shadows.

(Via Adorama)