THE MISSION
Use a flash to light a landscape in several places then combine your shots in Photoshop
Time needed
Two hours
Skill level
Advanced
Kit needed
• Tripod
• Portable flash or Speedlite
• CTO gel
• Light stand
• Umbrella
• Remote shutter release
• Wireless flash trigger
We often hear portrait photographers talk about underexposing the ambient light, then using a flash to pick out the subject. It’s a technique that can result in wonderfully atmospheric portraits with bold skies. So we thought, why not use the same method to create a bold landscape? This way, we can underexpose the scene for a dramatic evening sky, then pick out parts of our scene with flash.
The problem is – like the neolithic burial chamber here – subjects in landscape photos tend to be larger than people, meaning that a single flash may not be big enough, or strong enough, to light the entire thing. Thankfully, there’s no need to bring along an arsenal of flashes.
One of the advantages to landscape photography is that – apart from the movement of clouds or foliage – the scenes in front of us tend to remain still, for the most part. So we can capture our scene in several exposures, then piece it together afterwards with Photoshop.
This story is from the July 2021 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
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This story is from the July 2021 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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