Creative portrait with flash and… flour!

Do you want to make a super creative portrait? All you need are three portable flashes and some flour .

The very fine dust suspended in the air, in fact, follows the movements of the portrayed subject – a dancer – allowing us to capture his action and enhance his movements .

Setting up the set and shooting portraits like this one isn't too difficult. However, we must learn to arrange the lights, suggest the poses to the subject and use the powder in the most effective way. Lighting plays a decisive role . Although it seems like a complicated setup, we'll only need three inexpensive portable flashes and a couple of umbrellas to "guide" the light .

Plus, there's no need for a studio. Any medium-sized space or even an outdoor space at night is fine (obviously if temperature and humidity allow). We shot in an underground car park and the location offered the undoubted advantage of simplifying the cleaning operations after the session.

Step by step creative portrait

1 – We find the most suitable location

We need a low light environment with a black background (we shot in an underground car park). We do everything possible to stem the spread of the flour, suitably arranging the polyethylene sheets and the oilcloth to protect the scene.

2 – We arrange the lights

In our three-flash set-up (set in Manual mode), the front one was directed at the subject through a white umbrella, the rear left one was reflected by a silver umbrella, and a beauty dish was mounted on the rear right one.

3 – Portrait: we use manual exposure

We use flashes separate from the camera by setting manual exposure. We start from a shutter speed of 1/200 of a second. Then we adjust the flash power, aperture and sensitivity until the exposure is correct. In our case we chose f/6.3 and ISO 400.

4 – We sift the flour

To be "scientific", we tried two types of flour but we didn't notice big differences between the normal one and the one with the dosed yeast. Passed through a sieve, they both stay in the air longer. Our model held some in his hand to let it go dancing and jumping.

5 – We choose a skilled model

A shot like this is only possible with a subject aware of his movements. By being able to trust the model's ability to strike interesting poses, we'll also be freer to focus on timing and composition.

6 – Creative portrait: let's have fun with the lights

Cutting lights and backlighting give this very clear outline on both sides of the body. The model should assume positions that make the most of this lighting by turning his head to one side or the other. A frontal position would not work.