[For Dental Professionals] Taking 'Upper Body Portraits' with a Single Strobe ① Required Equipment and Shooting Methods

This guide explains how to take "upper-body portrait photos" of patients after dental treatment.

[Equipment Used]

*1 You can use the same manufacturer or model as the camera used for intraoral photography.
*2 Please select a mount compatible with your camera manufacturer.

[Shooting Preparation]

Now, let's prepare for the shoot.

① Assembly

[Umbrella Mounting Direction]
Translucent Umbrella: Facing the subject
Reflective Umbrella: Facing away from the subject

② Pairing

1. Next, pair the flash and the commander. With the flash powered off, press and hold the "Power ON/OFF button" and the "Operation Lock button" simultaneously. The pilot lamp will flash yellow, and you will hear a beeping sound.

2. Next, with the commander powered off, press and hold the "Power ON/OFF button" and the "Operation Lock button" simultaneously. The pilot lamp will flash yellow.

3. Once you release your fingers from the commander, the flash will stop beeping, both units will start up, and pairing will be complete.

③ Flash Settings

[Group Settings]

To set the "i60A" flash to group "A," turn the mode dial and select the "A" in the red circle.

[Wide Panel]

Pull out the wide panel stored under the flash head of the "i60A." Pulling out the wide panel fixes the flash zoom position (illumination angle) at 16mm.

④ Commander Settings

1. Use the "M/TTL" button on the bottom left to set to "TTL" (automatic light intensity adjustment). Since you are controlling the Group A flash remotely, adjust the scale to the right of "A" on the commander. The center position is the proper exposure at "0.0." Turning the center dial changes the intensity in 0.3EV increments.

2. Turn the dial clockwise to brighten the subject's exposure, or counter-clockwise to darken it. This adjustment is called "Exposure Compensation."

Now that you know how to adjust the light, let's practice portrait lighting.

[Shooting] Basics of Upper-Body Portrait Photography

The "Basic Setup," "Camera Settings," and "Lighting Settings" for upper-body dental portrait photography are as follows:

The photo taken with these settings is shown below.

When using only one flash, you have to prioritize something; for dentistry, we focused on making sure the "mouth area is clearly visible."

We used a translucent umbrella to diffuse the flash light, but we paid attention to two things to ensure the mouth is clear: First, not setting the flash too high, and second, aiming the umbrella axis (the center of the light's direction) at the neck. This makes the mouth area appear bright and clear.

The advantage of a translucent umbrella is that, because it is placed in front of the flash, it saves more space than a reflective umbrella and creates a larger catchlight in the subject's eyes.

<Regarding Background Brightness>
If you want to brighten the background, simply add another flash pointed at the background. Firing a flash at the background helps eliminate or minimize shadows cast by the subject.

While you can increase the ISO sensitivity to brighten the background with just one light, please note that the color of the ambient light might affect the subject's skin tone. If you are only using one light, using a black or gray wall where shadows are less noticeable is one effective approach.

[Points to Keep in Mind During Shooting]

1. Balance between Clothing/Background and Brightness

The flash operates in TTL mode (the commander's setting mode). While TTL is a convenient mode that automatically adjusts flash intensity, it is not a cure-all. Since exposure changes based on the "background color" or the "color of the subject's clothes," which make up a large part of the frame, you must perform "exposure compensation" to get the proper exposure for the person. Please refer to the "Commander Settings" above for exposure compensation.

Adjustment Tips

・When photographing women, there is a tendency to prefer brighter exposures that make wrinkles less noticeable.

・If the background or clothing is white, the camera judges the exposure to be bright, resulting in a lower flash output and a dark face. Therefore, positive compensation is necessary.

2. Orientation of the Light Stand Legs When Attaching the Umbrella

The translucent umbrella is attached in front of the flash; when doing so, match the orientation of the light stand legs with the direction of the umbrella.

By pointing the legs in the same direction as the umbrella, the stand is less likely to tip over, and even if it were to fall, it would not fall toward the subject.

3. Light Leak and Color Casting from the Umbrella

Since the translucent umbrella is a light-diffusing accessory where the flash is pointed forward, light leakage can sometimes be a concern.

Light leakage is more likely to occur if the flash mounting position is far from the umbrella or if the flash is positioned toward the side.

While you want to fill the entire surface of the umbrella with flash light to increase the light-emitting area and make the light softer, this can happen. If you see it appearing in the shot, please make adjustments.

Also, depending on the size of the room, if the walls or ceilings are colored, the leaked light may reflect and cause color casts. In such cases, you may need to hang a white cloth in front of the walls or ceiling.

4. Using a Lens Hood to Prevent Flare and Ghosting

As in this shoot, when there is a bright light source (flash and umbrella) close to the front of the camera lens, light entering from the side—even if the source is outside the frame—can cause diffuse reflections inside the lens. This can make the entire image look whitish and unclear (flare) or cause whitish bright spots (ghosting) to appear in one or more places.

Using a lens hood is effective in preventing these phenomena. If flare or ghosting still occurs even with a lens hood, place a shading board (anything flat and black will do) between the lens and the light source so that the light source is not directly visible to the lens.

Also, if the lens or the filter attached to it is dirty with fingerprints, the entire image or parts of it may appear unclear, as if covered by fog. If oily stains are present, please clean it with a commercially available lens cleaner (cleaning solution and paper). (Do not use other detergents or solvents, as they may damage the lens coating or surrounding parts.)

Equipment Used

Flash: i60A*2

Commander: Air10s*2

Umbrella Holder: FT-01

Light Stand: LS-50C / LS-55C / LS-65C

Umbrella: Translucent or reflective

That concludes the basics of taking upper-body portraits with a single flash. There are many other creative ways to use just one flash, so I will introduce more in the future.

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Update History:
May 25, 2021: Added "4. Using a Lens Hood to Prevent Flare and Ghosting"

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