Flash photography tip: A gradient in your background

Saturday 27 January 2024, 16:32 by Elja Trum | 2,800 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

A completely white or completely black background has its uses in studio photography, but it can also look great to use a gradient in your background. It quickly makes your image feel less static.

Maud - f/9, 1/160s, 100 ISO @ 105mm
You can easily add this kind of gradient by placing a flash on your background as well. For example, let the flash shine onto the background from the side or from below.

Close to your flash, your background will be lit the most, and the further away you move from the flash, the darker the background becomes. You can give your light a colour by using a colour gel on your flash. This turns your light gradient into a colour gradient as well.

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About the author

Elja Trum is the founder of Photofacts and online photography course website Photofacts Academy. He has been writing about photography since 2006. Elja is also the author of (Dutch) books on composition, black-and-white photography, flash photography and portrait photography.

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