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Drew Forsyth – symmetrical composition of a dancer on a rock

“As soon as I walked past that rock with the hill in the background, I knew I wanted to shoot there – the symmetry was amazing!” – recalls the author of this shot, Drew Forsyth. To most people it may seem that no additional light source was used in such a situation and that it is just a nice photo taken in the available natural light, but this is not the case.

Drew used only one light for this photo – a Profoto A2 with an attached Clic Softbox Octa. A2 is the smallest monolight in the Profoto offer. The lamp is super light and extremely compact so you can take it with you and create really soft light everywhere.

Step 1
Place the tripod on the side of the model on the same side as her face and mount the Clic Sofbox Octa on it and attach it to it using the built-in Profoto A2 magnets.

Step 2
Attach a trigger like Connect Pro or Profoto Connect to your camera’s hot shoe to wirelessly connect your camera and flash.

Step 3
Raise the light source with the Clic Octa Softbox on a tripod to illuminate the silhouette of the model on the platform.

Tip
To create an effect in which the dancer stands out from the background of the stage, place the lamp on the left side, almost at the very edge of the frame, on a tripod. Use a backpack to weigh down the tripod, preventing it from tipping over due to a stronger gust of wind.

See more by Drew Forsyth, visit his website.

Sony ILCE-7RM3
Exposure settings: 1/250s, f/4, ISO 100
Dancer: Ashley Shaw
BTS: Naomi Kane
Casting: Jenna Lee

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