Web Photo School is pleased to present guest contributor Steve Kurtz of Kurtz Photographics.

Steve is a member of the Photoflex Pro Showcase. View his work here.

To learn more about Kurtz Photographics, click here.

The Lighting Setup
For this lesson, I used two extra small octagonal soft boxes, each attached to shoe mount flashes, wireless receivers and light stands.

The soft boxes were Photoflex's latest OctoDome NXT: Extra Smalls, the flashes were Canon 580EX-II Speedlights, and the wireless receivers were Pocket Wizards, which were controlled by a Pocket Wizard remote transmitter mounted on the hot shoe of the camera. Each soft box was supported by a Photoflex OctoConnector, which was then connected to the shoe mount flash and LiteStand by way of Photoflex Accessory Hardware and a Shoemount MultiClamp [figure 1]

The XS OctoDome is made with a silver interior, which helps keep the light loss to a minimum. The white baffle in the middle of the box helps to soften and spread the light before it's transmitted through the front diffused white panel. [figures 2 and 3]

The XS OctoDome is very compact, even with the flash and radio slave attached. The soft box measures only 18 inches in diameter (across the face) and 9 inches deep. Because of the high heat-resistant fabric, you can use portable flash units like the Canon Speedlights or continuous hot lights.

The photo at the left shows the unit completely set-up with the front diffusion panel in place. [figure 4]

With the two OctoDomes set up, I was able to create lighting on the couple that is similar to what you might find in a studio lighting situation. The light on the left side of the photo was the main light and was set about 1-stop higher than the fill light on the right side of the photo. This produced a three-dimensional look to the couples' faces with detail in the shadows. [figure 5]

Notice in this setup shot how the main light was placed above the couple’s heads. This helped to create a drop shadow below the their chins and project light across their faces. [figure 6]

From this side view shot of the set-up, notice how the main light is set closer to the couple than the fill light. Also note that the fill light is place at a lower level than the main, about the same height as our subjects. This light would serve to fill in the darker shadow areas in their faces. [figure 7]

The prom pose has the woman with her back to the man. [figure 8]

For the dance pose, the couple faces each other. I personally prefer the dance pose, since the couple can be a little closer and more intimate. Remember, they are on their way to becoming married. [figure 9]

The photos below show the difference in the intimate feeling for the couple that each pose produces. The prom pose is on the left [figure 10] and the dance pose is on the right. [figure 11]

I found some trees across the street at the end of the complex. My intention was to use the distant trees as the background. [figure 12]

The lighting here was set up the same as in the previous portrait. However, here I wanted the background even blurrier than before and turned the flashes down to 1/2 power in order to achieve f/5.6 1/3 as my f-stop. And as before, I used a 70-200mm lens at 200mm to blur out the background trees. [figure 13]

As you can see, the resulting portrait is similar to the first shots taken, but has a more natural looking background. [figure 14]

The two images below show the difference between using lighting [figure 15] and simply using existing natural light [figure 16].

As you can see, you have much more control over the exposure levels in every area of your shots when you add lighting to your outdoor portraits.

By moving less than 20 yards away, I was able to use the barn red wall of the building for my next series of portraits. The lighting was configured the same way as the first set-up, with the flashes turned up to full power.

Notice here, though, how the lights have been moved back in order to allow head-to-toe light coverage of the couple. This allowed me to shoot from head-and-shoulders to full-length portraits without having to move the lights. [figures 17 & 18]

With a setup like this, it's easy to launch into a series of portraits without having to stop to move the lights or the subjects. You can use the zoom lens to adjust the perspective or just move closer or farther away to achieve the crop you prefer.

The two portraits below are the basic “looking into the camera” portrait. [figures 19 and 20]

After you've captured the basic dance poses, you can then move on to capture the more intimate portraits. I find that in most cases, it's best to do the classic “looking at the camera” portraits first. This gives the couple some time to warm up and get comfortable with the posing. You’d be amazed at how difficult it can be for two people — in love, remember — to open up and relax in front of the camera.

Most engaged couples aren’t models, so they need some coaxing to pose naturally and to show variety. Sometimes you have to get them to pretend you’re not there, that they’re not being watched, in the hopes that they’ll loosen up for the camera. Once they've been close to each other for a few minutes, they usually loosen up and become more intimate with each other. [figures 21 - 24]

Once a series has been photographed, you can take some time to shoot creative variations. The image below is an example of a modified lighting and positioning setup from the previous series. [figure 25]

Getting Creative
Once a series has been photographed, you can take some time to shoot creative variations. This next example shows a modified lighting and positioning setup from the previous series.

Here, I had set the two lights so that each one landed on a subject. Both lights were metered and set at exactly the same setting. [figure 25 and 26]