Outdoor Photography with Elinchrom: Forest Lighting Techniques

There’s something distinctly special about photographing a product in its natural environment — especially when the product is a purpose-built electric bike. This shoot was all about crafting a moody, premium look that matched the performance, attitude, and design of the bike itself to share as an announcement on social media to accompany the launch of the bike. 

I didn’t have much direction from the marketing team so there was freedom to showcase the bike how I best saw fit. With that in mind, my goal was to create imagery that felt powerful and grounded, evoking the kind of terrain and atmosphere that riders associate with biking.

“Lighting in the forest can be tricky, especially when it is sunny.”

Shooting outside of Whistler, British Colombia, Canada, I found a forest that was dense, textured, and naturally dramatic on its own, which made it perfect for creating a contrast between the clean design of the bike frame and the layered complexity of the environment. The natural tones of moss, bark, and shadow worked beautifully to showcase the crisp details of the bike’s design.

The Elinchrom THREE has been my go-to light for various shoots over the last year. It is small and I can easily carry it in my camera backpack, can use full size modifiers and in most instances it has more than enough power. For this shoot I was working by myself but was close to the truck, so weight wasn’t much of a consideration when packing. The second light that I use is the Elinchrom ONE, it has the same form factor, so even with both lights the entire kit is still portable.

Lighting & Approach

After getting the bike positioned and the framing, I wanted for the hero shot, I proceeded to set up my lights.

Lighting in the forest can be tricky, especially when it is sunny. The tree canopy filters the light and gives you a mix of contrasty bright highlights and dark shadows. As the sun gets higher in the sky this can sometimes cause unwanted hot spots. This wasn’t an issue for the first hero shot as there was still a mountain blocking the direct sunshine view. However, as the day went on this became a problem, so I set up two large black oval reflectors to block the sun and create shadow on the bike. This then allowed me to control all the light that was hitting the bike.

My main light for this shoot was the Elinchrom THREE with the Rotalux Deep Octa Softbox 100cm. I positioned this at the front end of the bike but slightly behind. Since it’s a big light source it created nice highlights but doesn’t create harsh shadows as it warps around the subject.

After a bit of positioning, it gave me the highlights on the front forks of the bike I was looking for. The Deep Octa Softbox has become one of my top modifiers of choice, especially if I’m looking for soft light. With the deep design, it allows me to easily control the falloff and direction of the light, while still having a nice soft source. With the first light placed I set up my second light to finish lighting the bike. This light was used as a subtle fill to light parts of the bike that the THREE wasn’t hitting.

Using the Elinchrom ONE with a Rotalux Strip Softbox 35x100cm, I positioned this at the rear end of the bike and aimed it so it would create a highlight across the back tire, as well as the rear of the seat post. The Strip Softbox allowed me to still have a soft source of light, but a relatively narrow beam of light with minimal fall off, enabling me to hit certain parts of the bike while avoiding others.

For my exposure and flash settings, I first took an ambient light reading and then dialed it back by and set the flash power accordingly so I could have the bike be brighter than the background and not get lost in the busy forest. Since the forest was fairly dark and I wasn’t trying to freeze motion, I didn’t need to use High Speed Sync or shoot above my camera’s sync speed.

When possible, I often try to shoot tethered to a laptop with the images coming directly into Capture One. This allows me to easily check my lighting and even apply a style to represent how the end product is going look. Reviewing the photos on my computer, I noticed parts of the bike frame were still too dark. They caught some highlights, but the shadows remained deep. Since the Deep Octa Softbox was positioned opposite them, I added a white reflector to bounce light back into those areas.

“From set up, to shooting, to break down, I want to work with gear that makes my job easier and doesn’t take away from what I am shooting.”

From set up, to shooting, to break down, I want to work with gear that makes my job easier and doesn’t take away from what I am shooting. I’ve found that both the Elinchrom lights and modifiers have allowed this to happen. From the easy-to-use menu and adjustable power on the trigger to the quick setup of Rotalux softboxes, the gear doesn’t slow me down—so I can stay focused on the subject.