A few months ago I dropped a money bomb at BH photo and invested in a new lighting system. I wanted something that was more reliable and light weight that still gave me a similar look to the larger strobes that I was using. I am so glad that I invested in the new equipment and have loved getting creative with this small light set up. It is amazing how much a little speed light can add to the depth of a photo. This shot was taken with a Nikon D3s using an SB700 speed light held by my assistant on a stand shot through a small softbox and triggered by Pocketwizards TT5. The first shot below was the original test shot. The settings for this shot were ISO 400, aperture at f/4, and shutter speed set at 1/10 of a second. I was happy with the way the light looked but I wanted more of it and I wanted to incorporate more of the scene into the photo. By the way...it really was what dark outside.
In order to brighten up the light coming from the flash I opened the aperture up a few stops to f/2.8. To bring in more of the ambient light in the background I slowed the shutter speed down to 0.6 sec. This is pretty slow for a handheld shot so I held my breath and braced myself on the trunk of the car. I didn't have to worry about Dannie + Jonathan being blurry because they were in total darkness so the camera wouldn't pick them up. Here is the final shot again...
