mixing strobes with available light
- Aaron Fairooz
- Oct 31
- 1 min read
Ever wonder how the pro photographers get those shots where the lighting just looks perfect but also matches the location naturally?? This is how we do it! Below is the simple step by step process of how I approach mixing strobe light with available light.
1st White Balance: I white balance my camera to the color temperature of the available light. In this case tungsten (3200)
2nd Exposure of Location: I expose my scene WITHOUT my lights to get a slightly underexposed background.
3rd Add Gels: I add CTO gels to my daylight balanced lights in order to match the tungsten temperature.
4th Expose Lights: Now I turn on my lights, position them and expose them for the camera settings I have set for the background.
5th Problem Solve: We had to hold a diffusing reflector over the models head to soften the hard light from the stores lights. The results are you get natural looking lighting, while maintaining light direction and shape.
Tips:
Make sure you place your lights at angles where you keep the light from spilling onto the walls behind the model
Grids on your soft-boxes are a must!
Gear:
