Multiple Flash Work Diary

In this shoot I experimented with the technique of multiple flash, where one single long exposure is used and several flashes are used to capture the subject in different stages of movement. In order to do this I had to set the camera to the bulb setting. I then measured the aperture level of the flash from the light source with a light meter. This then told me that I was acquired to set the camera to F11. The lights were then turned off and then I was ready to begin shooting. Initially I used a soft box as the source of the flash however the flash was spread out in a large direction, causing the background to also receive some light and in some cases cause the image to look over exposed. I then replaced the soft box with a snoot which then narrowed the direction of the flash, concentrating it more on the subject instead of the background. Therefore allowing the background to be much darker, ensuring that the figure will be more clear.

In this photograph I attempted to capture the movement of the subjects face as she turns her neck. I used 5 separate flashes in order to capture the movement clearly and it seems that there are many faces on one body. However due to the hairline/fringe of the model, the faces dont blend together, instead they seem separated. This also creates an interesting effect as various shapes can be seen. The great contrast with the background allows the subject to stand out and allows the different images to be seen. Also I like how the subject is slightly placed to the left of the composition and it almost gives the effect of the subject looking over her shoulder into the darkness behind her.

In this attempt at multiple flash photography I experimented with ways in which I could capture the body moving. Initially I thought of someone dancing however the flashes were not quick enough in order to capture the moving subject. So I then got my model to simply slowly move her arms from her side to be having them up. I took 5 different flashes with equal intervals between them in order to make them look the same distance apart between each arm. This technique shows a pattern which the straight lines of the arms as they appear to all converge towards the centre of the composition. Also a sense of symmetry/reflection can be noticed if you cut the image down the middle, both sides would look almost identical. I enhanced the blues of the denim dungarees and the whites of the t shirt in order to allow the subject to stand out from the dark background. The majority of the background appears to be black, apart from the bottom left hand corner where it seems to be more faded and lighter than the rest. To improve this piece I could perhaps take it again and ensure that no smears/fades are visible in the background and I would also like to attempt to take even more flashes in order to make it seem like there are more arms coming from the body.