Learn How a Simple Diffusion Panel (Or Two) Can Make a Big Difference in Outdoor Portraits (Video)

Many portrait photographers employ a portable light to boost ambient illumination and fill in shadows when shooting outdoors. In the four-minute video below you’ll see how simple diffusion panels can modify the quality of light and give you exactly the look you’re after.

Francisco Hernandez is an experienced Texas-based pro with a large bag of tricks for better portraiture, and in this video he explains the difference between “soft light” and “hard light” and how diffusion panels enable you to override Mother Nature and refine the supplemental light from your strobes.

After a brief introduction there’s no dialogue in this tutorial: Hernandez relies upon on-site images with captions to demonstrate everything you need to know. You’ll see the difference in the effects created when using one diffuser, two diffusion panels, or none at all.

The different effects are easy to discern, and there’s obviously no one “correct” approach. This simple technique is all about gaining more creative control to suit your personal preferences.

You can find more helpful tips from Hernandez on his YouTube channel, and be sure to watch an earlier tutorials of his we shared with some quick and effective Photoshop retouching techniques.

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