CliveStJohn wrote:
Normally, I would achieve this with the usual three light setup (main, fill and background), but I'm trying to expand my use of just a single on-camera Speedlight. I'm achieving some fairly good on-camera Speedlight boudoir, but I'm wondering if anyone has achieved/seen dramatic portraits (Rembrandt style or other) using just a camera flash? I've tried bounce but have yet to achieve a good result.

When I have a lighting question I usually search out videos by Peter Coulson.
https://www.youtube.com/c/PeterCoulsonP … her/videos
I don't know if he's the best but he tends to shoot styles I like and there are a lot of videos on various lighting setups including on camera.

Maybe the answer might be shooting the subject close to a wall or something which you can use to bounce the light by turning your flash sideways or up. Maybe using a bracket to get the flash off axis to the lens might help.

I often turn back to using only available light as well. If shooting outdoors you can just walk around and see the light on your model. Or indoors where you have available light you could do the same. I prefer natural available light over flash as it's the most beautiful in my opinion and the simplest to work with in some cases. If I shoot too long using flash and then do a shoot with natural light a little bulb goes off in my head reminding me of what I've been missing while using flash. Of course if it's dark outside what else could we do?

Mark Salo wrote:
Can you post a few of your results?

I'll upload a couple of images in the next few days of a simple portrait using door light on one side and bounced flash on the other.

P R E S T O N wrote:
Largish scrim, up close (for fall off) probably with a diffuser on the speedlight.
Or full-on Terry Richardson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YszyHUQVYeI
Depends what you mean by dramatic I guess.

Not an on camera flash, but my avi shot of Nadine is one 400ws monolight through a Larson 42" shoot through white umbrella. One could use the speed  light with an umbrella positioned close to the subject, but separate the light from the camera.

Direct on camera flash, without a diffuser, from 5 feet, is disastrous without 7 days of Photoshop.

Lighting tips from Terry Richardson are only slightly better than from Sponge Bob.

Jefferson Cole wrote:

P R E S T O N wrote:
One could use the speed  light with an umbrella positioned close to the subject, but separate the light from the camera.
.

The engagement photos starting with the one below used off-camera speedlight through a translucent umbrella held by my assistant. I routinely shoot with speedlights for the sake of portability and flexibility in on-location shoots (both outdoor and at clients' choices of indoor locations).

Here's the first of several examples folks can scroll through if they'd like to see the results. https://www.instagram.com/p/CeOeQaKLoTk/?hl=en

(Also, had to sad-laugh at the Terry Richardson comment. I did have one setting/set of poses from a graduate's farewell shoot that really came off in his style. But I think I managed to mask that with some "special" effects. The client liked it, so I put it on IG. https://www.instagram.com/p/CeP4ykxuYLo/?hl=en)

Good discussion here. More to the point of the OP - finding the right surface against which to bounce (and adjusting white balance as necessary) can be a challenge, but rewarding sometimes. Rarely, though, do I find that I have a truly white wall or ceiling, and the white light of the flash sometimes creates multiple WB/coloration effects. Those can be wonderful, or dreadful, or merely distracting. Experiment and learn, though, has been my practice.

Yours,
Bill

Mark Salo wrote:
Can you post a few of your results?

Here's a test I did - just took four shots which all looked like this. Subject sitting with a door open on one side and a camera-mounted Speedlight room-bounced on the other. It's okay considering, but I'm just wondering if anyone has achieved better results. Some of the modifier examples in the discussion seem to produce very nice results but I'm wondering if there is a Speedlight modifier specifically for dramatic portraits.   Having found one yet on my searches.
I've uploaded it temporarily at https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/47606724

CliveStJohn wrote:
Here's a test I did - just took four shots which all looked like this. Subject sitting with a door open on one side and a camera-mounted Speedlight room-bounced on the other. It's okay considering, but I'm just wondering if anyone has achieved better results. Some of the modifier examples in the discussion seem to produce very nice results but I'm wondering if there is a Speedlight modifier specifically for dramatic portraits.   Having found one yet on my searches.
I've uploaded it temporarily at https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/47606724

It looks great to me. The lighting is perfectly fine. You could tinker with it in editing and get a few different looks if you wanted but not saying you need to.

Jefferson Cole wrote:
Lighting tips from Terry Richardson are only slightly better than from Sponge Bob.

Well said.

sospix wrote:
I think this was a single speedlight, although it probably wasn't attached to the camera body  .  .  .



.  .  .  I used to shoot quite a bit using a single light source for dramatic effect  .  .  .

SOS

Looks superb - loving it.

I think I'll try DIY restrictors on a Speedlight for increased control - otherwise I may have no option to go off-camera. Still - I haven't given up yet, so my search continues... Thanks to everyone for the kind suggestions and examples.

CliveStJohn wrote:
... otherwise I may have no option to go off-camera.

Why are you so determined to stay on-camera?
How about mounting a speedlight on a walking stick in your left hand while you control the camera in your right hand?

And be sure to read those Neil van Niekerk books. Remember that books and courses are hardware for your mind.