For portraits, the first thing I do is think about what aperture I want to shoot at for the depth of field. Then I take a photo in Automatic mode and see what my ambient light readings are (ISO, shutter speed and aperture). Based on that I adjust ISO. Go to Manual mode - Low ISO for bright and higher for low light. Once I set the ISO and aperture I want, I fine tune the ambient light with shutter speed until I have the background brightness at the desired aperture and ISO (making sure to keep within the sync speed). I then set the light meter to the ISO and shutter speed, hold the meter under the chin of the subject and remotely fire the flash. I look at the aperture reading on the meter and adjust flash power up or down until the flash power on the subject is set for the desired aperture. You do need a method of remotely firing the flash when using a light meter. One method is that you can set your camera on time delay (10 seconds or so), sync cable or have a 2nd remote for the flash.
It’s easier if you have TTL and HSS-capable flash/strobe because you don’t have to worry about sync speed. Part of how you use that is dependent on the model of flash/strobe you use.
Jun 09, 2026 at 05:13 AM
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