Photographer’s Notes

A combination of five Nikon speedlight flashes were used for this setup: four remote SB-600s controlled by a single on-camera SB-900 in commander mode. This is Nikon’s CLS system in full effect.

Since we had all of 15 minutes of shooting time, all of the shots used the same lighting configuration:

Two bare SB-600s as backlights
One SB-600 bounced into a 45″ reflective umbrella camera left (fill)
One SB-600 shot into a 15″ Lastolite EZYbox Softbox on boom high camera right (key)

The position (height )of the EZYbox gave the images the dramatic shadows need to fit the setting while the modifier itself enlarged the light coming SB-600 enough to soften it significantly. The EZYbox was mounted on a monpod and held very close to the subject – just barely out of frame. The closer and larger the source, the softer the light.

For more examples of the EZYbox in action, check out Todd’s portraits of Dragonforce.

End Notes

A huge thanks goes out to The Energy (Adam, Ian, James and Zack) for putting up with us while we barked orders for 15 minutes straight.

Related posts:

1. Band Portrait: August Burns Red
2. The Energy
3. The Energy