Unlike the first three portraits in this series, where I used available ambient light — this one is visibly different. Instead of a soft image with background detail, Sydney is crisp with almost no background. The difference is due to the lighting setup.

Juan, the organizer of Drink and Click, brings several LED lights scattered strategically around the venue — often crowded with multiple photographers vying for a spot. After the crowd moved on, I had a quieter session with Sydney.

The LED light, without any diffusion, is quite harsh — it creates a higher contrast portrait. It’s not necessarily my favorite setup, but I often work with what’s there. So ironically, you can call this an “available light” portrait since I used the available LED without modification.

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