EOS R6 Mark II & EL-5 Speedlite: Lighting tips for headshots

[BeccaBoni]

Never have used a flash or have done a headshot.

Hello all,

• I'm very new to digital photography and I've been learning quite a bit on my own.I seem to have some natural talent however, I've always focused on macro and landscape and I've never photographed people or artwork. I've been learning how to shoot artwork for an artist's online portfolio and possibly printing which is much more complicated than I expected it to be. I also was told today that I need to take the artist's headshot tomorrow. I have an EOS R6 Mark ii, the kit lens RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 STM, an RF 50mm F1.8 STM and I have two EL-5 Speedlites as well as an ST-E10 transmitter. I haven't had a chance to use them or even learn about what settings or positions to use. Flash photography is something I'm pretty ignorant about. I've been watching a lot of videos and reading as much as I can so I won't spend 2-3 hours figuring out how to set up, but I'm quite overwhelmed. I did purchase a couple of black backdrops and I have some scrim fabric as well as 2 extra backdrop stands. I also shoot in Raw/Manual. I'm planning on taking a few shots outdoors and indoors. My subject has horrible lighting in her house which is why I wanted to learn how to use flash for indoors. Additionally, I just learned that a light meter is very helpful which I don't have.I really need guidance on where to place them, whether or not I should use the scrim, do I need to invest in a light meter, should I bounce one, etc. This will be for a brochure for her gallery exhibit and online so I want it to come out well. Any relatively easy to understand advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you 

[IndigoEye]

You can still get the job done even without a light meter as long as you can monitor the histogram or check the blown out highlights (enable highlight alert in image playback settings).

2 lights and a scrim is workable, but you didn't mention light stands, so positioning your off-camera lights might be a challenge.

If I were in your shoes, I'd try
(A)
Rembrandt lighting for the main light, bounce off the scrim for the fill light, then use the 2nd flash to illuminate the background, or
(B)
Shoot through the scrim for soft Rembrandt lighting for the main light, then use the 2nd flash as rim/hair light.

Regardless of which setup you eventually go for, try these with a tripod to take self-portraits of yourself so you can figure out the positioning and flash power output before you shoot your client.

If you're expecting to do this regularly in the future, I suggest aiming for at least 3 lights, 1 light stand for each, and at least 1 modifier to soften your main light.

A scrim will soften the light just fine esp. for full-body portraits, but you may also want to consider a softbox with grid for control and ease of use.

[rs-eos · Accepted solution]

Bottom line is you'll need to practice, practice, practice. This is true for any skill.

Start simple: use a single light (be it the available light, or a single flash)

In terms of a light meter... For years, I went without one, but now find it increases my efficiency quite a bit for what I do. I use light setups with up to five lights (soon six), so it's much easier to dial in lighting ratios of individual lights, then lower the output of all lights at the end to get the desired starting exposure. I say starting exposure since per ones vision, you can always further adjust the lights to taste.

[BeccaBoni]

Thank you so much! Yes I do have light stands and a tripod with a remote.