Video: Using a speedlight for outdoor portraits

In this great video, portrait photographer Manny Ortiz shows just how useful the humble speedlight can be when it comes to shooting outdoor portraits in bright midday light.  

Ortiz's setup is as simple as it gets  - a speedlight, a trigger and a modifier.

Unsurpringly with a setup like this you won't get the results that you might with a dedicated monolight (and especially one with high speed sync), but the results with a speedlight can still be quite impressive.

The main issue to be aware of is that your speedlight might not have enough power to compete with the sun when you're shooting outside, so the key is to keep your speedlight and modifier close to your subject. This potentially will limit you to tight, waist-up portraits, rather than environmental ones. 

if you're new to artificial lighting or simply don't shoot portraits a lot, a speedlight and a cheap modifier can make for a great combination to begin to learn lighting and to explore the possibilities.

You can see more of Manny Ortiz's videos on YouTube.