In this video I take you behind the camera for a real-world headshot session with London Howard, and I show you two ways to get “studio-style” results outdoors. First, I walk through the hard mode: trying to create a black-frame look outside by dropping ambient light down and then building the image back up with flash. I break down what ambient light actually is (it’s just the existing light you don’t control), why I start by killing it, and why outdoors is a different beast—mainly because you can run out of flash power fast. I’m running an AD400 as my key, an AD200 as fill, and an AD300 as a rim, and even then I’m basically maxed out. I also show why you add lights one at a time so you actually know what each light is doing. Then I switch to how I’d typically handle this with a real client: find a wall (or bring a big 4x6 5-in-1 and use diffusion) and let the background exist so your flashes don’t have to fight as hard. That’s where the workflow speeds up—lower power, faster recycle, easier adjustments, and more consistent results. I talk tripod shooting for headshots, why I shoot horizontal 98% of the time, how I use a clamshell setup, and the business side too: my paid headshot sessions are 15 minutes to maximize profit, clients usually pick two finals, and we wrap once they’re happy.