Portrait: Deluka in Brooklyn, 2010

Portraits of the UK band Deluka, photographed in Brooklyn on June 20, 2010 by photographer Todd Owyoung. (Todd Owyoung)

Here's one photo from a promotional shoot I did with the band Deluka in mid-2010.

The funny thing about this photo is that all day we were working with a Profo AcuteB 600 and a Creative Light 5′ Octabox, but this snap shot with 100% ambient light turned out to be one of my favorites.

Photographer's Notes:

Exposure Time: 1/200
F Number: 5.6
Exposure: Manual
ISO: 200
Flash: No Flash
Focal Length: 48.0mm

Cameras Used:

Lenses Used:

Lighting Equipment Used:

  • The Sun

Lighting Equipment Almost Used:

  • Profoto Acute B 600
  • Creative Light 5′ Octabox

While shooting a few different looks with strobes on location in Brooklyn, I switched the natural light just to get a few different looks.

We'd been shooting all day and the sun was beginning to set – low enough to produce a warm, airy look. To help capture this look, I let the sun come into the frame and flare up in the lens. To this end, the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 did beautifully, giving a nice, naturalistic glow to the scene without any distracting or distinct artifacts.

For me, this image just goes to show – sometimes, for all the good planning of lighting direction and beautiful pieces of kit like the Profoto Acute B 600 and Creative Light 5′ Octabox, sometimes you just have to unplug and go au naturel.

Or to put another spin on it, you don't need a fancy $2,000 Profoto power pack and strobe – or even a small flash – to make band portraits you love.

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