Trial and Error is the way to learn in photography. You cannot take great shots unless you have taken terrible ones. That same night on purchasing the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G, along with my new speedlight, the Yongnuo YN560-IV speedlite, I was having a photoshoot with my younger brother.

I was not thinking about the lighting, nor did I think about the pose or his position. I tried to achieve a shallow depth of field with a nice bokeh, so I positioned my brother away from the background and set my aperture to f/1.4. I bounced the speedlight onto the ceiling to avoid harsh shadows and created a soft light around my brother.

I was not too fond of the images I shot that night. However, after culling the photos on my computer, I realized that I had created a nice-looking picture. I didn't realize there was a background light in the back giving him a nice vignette effect. I didn't realize that he was below a second light, giving him a hair light that separated him from the background. The speedlight created a soft light that wrapped around him. Furthermore, the reflected light from the speedlight on the mirror glass behind him gave him a glowing effect. Who would have thought that this could happen?

Accidents can happen. But this was an awesome accident.

Pointed in this image are the light positions used in this image.

The Gear I Used

I hope you learned a lot from this blog. If you are interested in a one-on-one training session, drop me a direct message on my Instagram account.