Direct Flash Editorial

Put the flash on the camera, get close with a wide lens, and let a real place do the rest.

The flash is the point of view. Stand close, go wide, tilt up, and let the subject look past the lens rather than into it. Keep the frame slightly wrong: a cropped foot, a lens flare, a shadow across the wall. Do not soften the light, do not grade the blacks down, do not clean the location up. If it looks like it could have been shot in a studio, move.

Director's note

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

1. 01Low-angle wide shot on a rooftop in full sun, the subject in an orange nylon jacket leaning on a blue water tank, flash cutting a hard highlight on the fabric, the sky held deep cobalt, the city behind
2. 02Close wide shot at a roadside fruit stand, the subject sitting on a red plastic chair in lime track pants and a printed shirt, flash lifting the crates of oranges and limes, mountains and a pickup truck out of focus behind
3. 03Medium shot in a laundromat at night, a metallic green dress and a clear umbrella, flash bouncing off the chrome of the machines, neon and rain in the window, tiles wet
4. 04Low-angle wide shot under a concrete overpass at dusk, a powder-blue suit and yellow boots mid-stride with a bunch of tulips, flash throwing a hard shadow onto the pillar, the sky indigo with the last light
5. 05Wide shot from the ground at a coastal pull-off, the subject leaning into the open door of a camper van in a silver pleated skirt and coral jacket, flash against bright sun, the sea blown to glitter

One flash on the hot shoe, pointed straight at the subject. In daylight, expose for the sky and let the flash fill the subject so the blue stays deep. At dusk, the same, with the ambient a stop under. No modifiers, no bounce, no reflector. The hard shadow behind the subject is part of the picture.

Light

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

1. 01A rooftop with tanks, pipes and a skyline
2. 02A roadside fruit stand or corner shop
3. 03A laundromat, diner or arcade at night
4. 04An overpass, car park or petrol station at dusk
5. 05A coast road, a camper van, a beach car park in hard sun

One loud garment per frame in a fabric that catches flash: nylon, satin, metallic pleats, patent leather, wet-look jersey. Colour at full volume, orange, lime, cobalt, silver. White trainers, chunky boots, sport sandals. Sunglasses in daylight. Nothing tonal, nothing muted, nothing that disappears against the wall.

Wardrobe