The Shoot
Photographer Sandra Åberg was at Knabackshusen, a beach in Southern Sweden that has been described as the Thailand of Sweden. Sandra wanted to play with this concept and create an image as carefree, summery and romantic as the Swedes’ notion of their favorite travel destination. She also had a clear idea of what kind of light she wanted. “I tend to go for a soft, natural and romantic kind of light,” she says. “I also shoot a lot against sunlight or with a strong backlight. It gives the image a dreamy feel that I like.”
The Challenge
Even though Sandra’s images looks effortless and natural, she usually uses some sort of tool to enhance the feel she is going for. “A lot of people think I shoot with only the available light, but that’s not true. Most of my shots are done with Profoto lights. You just don’t see it. And the reason why you don’t see it is because I like it like that.” But of course, there are no mains outlets at Knabackshusen beach, and contrary to what you might think, the Swedish summer sun can actually be pretty strong.
The Solution
Sandra had brought a Profoto B1 off-camera flash and an Umbrella Deep S White to the beach. The model sat down in the swing with the setting behind her. Sandra attached an Air Remote TTL-C to her camera’s hotshoe. She positioned the B1 on a stand to the left and slid the umbrella into the B1’s built-in umbrella mount. “There wasn’t much time until that perfect sunlight was going to disappear. Luckily, the setup is extremely fast. The umbrella is mounted in a matter of seconds, and setting the exposure is a piece of cake with the B1’s TTL functionality.”
The Gear
1 x B1 Off-Camera Flash
1 x Air Remote TTL-C
1 x Umbrella Deep S White