When you move from photographing one person to two, the temptation is always to simplify the lighting. It’s an understandable reaction to a more complex photo session. Adding an extra person means you need to start thinking about how two people are posing, do you have enough depth of field to keep them both in focus, will one person cast a shadow onto the other… and so on.
But working with a couple has just as much creative lighting opportunities as working with a solo model. The secret to success is, of course, forward planning. That’s where photographer Gavin Hoey can help.
In this video, Gavin shares so simple but stunning ideas to make your next couples studio portrait session a lot more creative. Starting with a back lit profile look, Gavin shows how you can adapt this basic idea into something with a little more mood by careful use of two lights and a little depth of field control.
For an alternative look, Gavin sets up a one flash, two people portrait. By using a softbox or stripbox as a background, Gavin shows how you can create eye-catching edge lit portraits where the light modifier itself becomes an integral part of the scene.
Gavin Hoey is a freelance photographer, writer, and trainer of all things photographic. His work is regularly featured in photography magazines, websites and videos. Gavin has a real passion for sharing his photography and Photoshop knowledge. In 2008 he started recording and uploading video tutorials to YouTube.
Timestamps and Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:39 Essential camera settings for photographing two people
1:24 First steps in creative lighting for couples
2:02 Two people, moody lighting
3:03 HSS flash with shallow depth of field
3:46 Shallow DOF couples portrait session
4:43 Using a 3’x2’ softbox as a background
6:04 Photo session example of using a softbox as a background
6:48 Switching from a softbox to a stripbox
7:55 Photo session using a stripbox as a background
8:28 Outro
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Follow Gavin Hoey on Instagram
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Model: Jack Marshall on Instagram
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Model: Annabel Marshall on Instagram
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