My name is Jon. I have been chasing light for the last 6 years. When I first got into photography, I was particularly drawn to light. This was before I understood what was happening. I noticed scenes in movies where light was used not just as an aid but almost as a character. I learned the basics by wandering around Downtown Los Angeles with friends that I met on Instagram. Just over a year ago, I was introduced to Off Camera Flash. I have been using it for almost every session since. One of my favorite light shaping tools is the Glow EZ Lock Collapsible White Beauty Dish.
Photographing sports is my main focus these days because the environment perfectly aligns with my goals of getting creative with light, having fun with colors and special effects, and delivering excellent images to my clients.
Creating Engaging Social Content
When creating this carousel for Instagram, one of my main goals was to highlight the Glow EZ Lock Collapsible White Beauty Dish. Additionally, I wanted to show off a few of my favorite images. Images that have been captured with the help of these tools. The first image of my carousels is always a standout. It could be a favorite image from a session or something that shows off a unique aspect of my style. As an avid creator, I understand how important first impressions are. I sat down and drew out my ideas for this post. I knew immediately that I wanted to use the iconic GLOW yellow for the font. This would add a pop of color that would permeate the entire carousel.
Photographing the Glow EZ Lock Collapsible White Beauty Dish
I drew up a plan to use a high-contrast yellow to highlight the light in my studio. I was using a white paper backdrop, a key light off to the left illuminating the softbox. Additionally, I used a Nanlite FC-120C with a spotlight attachment to create a soft, yellow effect in the background. It was vital that I showed off the softbox in a unique way. Further, it needed to be in the early slides of the carousel. The headline at the top is also a nod to my style. I keep things straightforward and a bit cheeky. I’ll get more into that later in the post.
The full image above lets you see exactly how I create the types of carousels that I do. I don’t want every image to have the “cut in half, drag to see more” effect, but I try to throw in at least 2 per carousel. Why? A little nod to my past as a yearbook teacher and a little bit about the human brain: We love to be told what to do, just not with words. Half an image, or half a caption, tells our brains to keep going, to uncover what else is there. I also believe that it is a fun way to portray something, and I despise cropping my horizontal images, preferring to show that whole puppy off! I loved adding a few arrows and bts image into this set, as well, to give that real behind-the-camera feel to the post.
Where to Get Started?
When I started the post, I started thinking about all the details that could help give more insight to my process, and two major points stood out: My gear placement and my camera settings. In the photo above, the high shutter speed and wider aperture give more insight into the way that I was able to capture this image in broad daylight using the softbox.
I was using the Godox 600 BMii for this session, which is one of my favorites when working in direct sunlight. Even though it does not have TTL mode, it is definitely one of Godox’s heavy hitters. With powerful lights and the right diffusers, I am able to capture soft light on my subjects that really makes them stand out. This beach volleyball image is also my most popular image of all time, racking up millions of views between several posts, so I made sure to include it in this carousel.
This second horizontal addition was another favorite image that only used a single strobe with the sun as a rim light. The soft light of this image stood out to me and reminded me how valuable it can be to have two diffusers on my key light. I also love using a warmer light in my images because it is a natural excuse to give back some warmth to skin tones and the atmosphere.
Image Breakdown
The above images were taken indoors. This allows for a more controlled environment. I used a lower shutter speed, less strobe output, and a lower aperture. This gave my subjects a nice glow without burning out the batteries. This is a common pitfall when outside and battling the sun. Using the egg crate feature with a single diffuser helps limit light spill, which can make or break your images, in my opinion. Lighting is all about control – you have the power to control every single thing – and I want everything you see to be a result of my choices.
Start with What Works
My key light placement, almost always on my left, only gets moved when my client has a “good side” that I might not be lighting. I just got some heavy-duty wheels to go on my heavy-duty C-stand, so it’s not a problem. The image above was a 3-light setup. It included one key, double diffused, and two rim lights.
Adding in a few more money shots of the softbox in the carousel allowed me to show it off a bit more, but it really just set me up for my next joke.
Doing a poll on my post was an option that didn’t really work out, but getting the audience involved keeps things interesting. My goal, though, was to show off the range of images I’ve taken while using this softbox. All of them may appear different because my style shifts from session to session, but the quality is always high. I also only wanted to post images on the carousel that were taken with the softbox.
To wrap things up, a little shoutout to Adorama and a hint that there will be more, because there will. The basketball image is from one of my most recent sessions, and I was using a single key light and a backlight to create a fun spotlight effect.
LIGHT IT UP
The Glow EZ Lock Collapsible White Beauty Dish was obviously the star of the show, but it’s always about more than just the product. Creating a vision before a session, unpacking your gear, dialing in your settings – it’s all extremely valuable. In this post, I laid out my decision-making in the photography process as well as the content creation process. I’ve found that peeling back the curtain just a bit, but definitely not all the way, doesn’t harm you, but helps people make their own magic.
My key lights, softboxes, light modifiers, and more can all be found on Adorama – and you can learn more about me on my Instagram: @bleajphoto.
Peace!
All photos by Jon Blea
