A speedlite flash unit allows you to add more light to a scene and control the illumination of the subject. They are useful in low light conditions, but can also transform images in bright sunny conditions by filling in shadows and helping to balance exposure throughout the scene. Up to this point, its usual use.
This time I wanted to use it in the studio and for that I tested the new Godox flash, the V860III. This new model still maintains all the original features and other interesting new ones, such as the front modeling light, with 2W power, balanced at 5300ºK, with 10 brightness adjustment levels.
I started using the flash without any modifying elements. I placed it frontally over the camera to achieve what is called a Paramount or Butterfly lighting scheme. This light scheme produces a small shadow on the lips in the shape of a butterfly, hence its name. It was also frequently used in the Hollywood studios of the 1940’s, with hard, direct light sources. In this case, it is the light produced by a speedlite without accessories, the background was far away, so it was a bit darker. And the shadow of the model’s body was hidden behind her.
The difference with the following image is that I moved the flash to the left of the camera and in an oblique direction to the model. I then placed a conventional 100×100 diffuser in front of the flash and thus achieved a larger “apparent surface” of illumination. The larger the size of the light source, the softer the quality of the light and the lower the contrast and saturation of the colors.
Then I wanted to see how this flash performed with a beauty scheme. I placed the flash again in oblique frontal position, as in the first picture, but this time I placed the diffuser in front of it and below the model I placed a white reflector to reduce the general contrast.
The background was a bit dark and to make it lighter, with a slight circular gradient, I decided to use a second flash unit. I placed a Godox AD300 Pro as I did not have another V860III unit. The amazing thing about the Godox system is that I can synchronize them in different ways. This flash maintains its control options as a transmitter to easily control other Godox flashes remotely within the brand’s wireless X system. It can also be remotely controlled by another Godox V860III flash or any other Godox flash with Master function.
The background was a bit dark and to make it lighter, with a slight circular gradient, I decided to use a second flash unit. I placed a Godox AD300 Pro as I did not have another V860III unit. The amazing thing about the Godox system is that I can synchronize them in different ways. This flash maintains its control options as a transmitter to easily control other Godox flashes remotely within the brand’s wireless X system. It can also be remotely controlled by another Godox V860III flash or any other Godox flash with Master function.
The next step was to recover some volume and for this I moved the light laterally and placed it a little higher than the model’s height. I placed the diffuser in front of the flash again, but this time I placed a large white reflector on the right to illuminate the back a bit.
The next variant only changes the clothes and the background, but to make the background a little darker, I moved the model and the light away from the background. According to the law of “the inverse of the square of the distance”, the loss of light intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. the loss of light intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Hence, by moving the light away from the background, the background becomes darker.
To finish the session I tried another fantastic flash from Godox, the Macro Ring Flash MF-R76. For medium shots the result is amazing! I placed a diffuser behind the model with a second flash behind the diffuser that eliminated the small wraparound shadow of this type of circular flash. The frontal shimmer it produces on the skin is very beautiful and leaves the face very flat as well as shiny.
Finally, I turned up the power of the flash behind the diffuser paper and thus achieved a lighter, brighter and more gradient background. It is very interesting how versatile these small and handy flashes are. The Godox V860III, on a single charge of battery power, delivers up to 480 shots at full power with a recycle rate of just 1.5 seconds.And it uses the same battery as the Godox V1 round head flash, with the Godox VB26 Lithium rechargeable battery being one of those responsible for the improved performance.
