For fun I quite often shoot fashion in Margate with Madam Popoff and typically use just available light. I normally use my 70-200, expose for the
model and normally get some pleasing natural light images. For this shoot I wanted to try something different - I was after a more gritty look and wanted to retain some exposure in the sky. My main constraint with equipment was that I was shooting on my own so I needed to be able to easily transport anything I used. For all of these images I used a single Nikon D750 body and swapped between the Nikon 28 1.8G and the Nikon 85 1.8G. As someone who regularly works for the local press on camera fill flash is our staple. Not always a great look but it fills shadows and is quick and efficient - it is also easy to carry. For fashion work it would never be my first choice but I have to say I was pleased with some of the results.
My second option was my portable studio strobe. It is a Nicephoto (yes seriously that is what it is called) unit - a cheap Chinese flash with 600ws of power, built in radio trigger and rechargeable battery. It also fitted into my backpack once I removed my second body and zoom lenses! The main problem I have with this flash is that it doesn't reliably synch passed 1/160th which is a bit of a nuisance. I therefore had to use an ND filter whilst using the flash. To shape the light I used a 32" pop up Octabox from Phot-R - this is an umbrella style thing which is quick and easy to assemble and has an S mount. This is the first time I have used it outside and I was very impressed with the convenience and portability.
I did some available light shots too but only when the light was good.
All images were shot in RAW and lightly edited in Lightroom.
Thanks as usual to Madam Popoff for the styling and our model for the day Nicole Larke.
