Rock Star Lighting

"Rock Star Lighting". It's one of my favorite setups. It's really quite simple but has amazing impact.

It's basically using remote flash firing directly at the camera to throw a separator halo around the subject. I often use it the during the first dance at weddings to really pop the couple away from what usually is a dark background.
It's also a fantastic way to pull attention off of a less-than-ideal background to the subject.
Cautions are that it shows every single hair and speck in the air but it's amazing for shooting exits with bubbles.

{Photo IQ Info: I usually shoot the backlight on manual at about 1/16 power, it really depends on just how much Rock Star you want. The second light is either on camera or off but should be pretty close to the axis for a dance. For single portraits I almost always shoot off camera and up-left or up-right. The key flash can be TTL and I usually set it at between -1 and -2 stops. These were shot with no key so they would feel more dramatic. The closer your rear light is to the subjects, the more light will creep around to the front to light faces, etc.}

This wedding was for Eliani and Oswaldo Samaniego.
I'll post more Rock Star lighting examples in the near future.

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