I am a photographer based in Shanghai, specializing in portraits of children and women.

In my work, I have long been accustomed to using natural light.

Over years of working with natural light, I have developed a particular love for backlighting at sunset.

The beautiful sunlight creates a glowing golden outline around the subject—so incredibly charming.

While backlit shots like this are full of atmosphere, they have one clear drawback: the subject’s face usually turns out dark, since the light comes from behind.

My usual solution was to brighten the face in post-processing to balance the exposure.

However, if the face was severely underexposed, boosting it later would compromise image quality and introduce noticeable noise.

This had long been a frustration for me—until I discovered the B10X outdoor flash and OCF Octa softbox.

When it comes to flash photography, most natural-light photographers, especially women, feel somewhat intimidated.

They worry the light will be harsh, look unnatural, or simply don’t know where to start.

I had the same concerns when I first tried Profoto.

But once I held the compact B10X and experienced the warm, soft light from its octagonal softbox, all my uncertainty disappeared.

In its place, I felt eager to learn how to use it to fill in light and perfect my backlit portraits.

Scene 1

In a secret forest, under a towering old tree, a father and daughter are playing, as if a little forest concert is taking place.

In such an enclosed space, light is generally weak.

Sunlight filters through the trees from behind, creating beautiful bokeh on the leaves, but leaves the subjects’ faces in shadow.

Here, we set up the B10X to easily fill light on the face and achieve clean, high-quality results.

Scene 2: Extreme Backlighting

On a bright sunny afternoon, natural light shines on the model from behind, creating a dreamy effect. However, the stronger the backlight, the higher the contrast, which tends to leave the face in deep shadow.

We placed the B10X with an OCF Octa softbox at the front side of the model to gently fill light on her face. The fill light blends perfectly with the dreamy rim light, creating a charming and romantic atmosphere.

Scene 3:

Add a gentle side light to sculpt and define the facial features.

When shooting outdoors, I love to find paths with a strong sense of depth. Combined with backlighting, they create beautiful bokeh. I often have my model sit comfortably and naturally by a country lane.

When shooting from the side, I always want just the right amount of light to brighten the face. This is something sunlight can’t always do, but the B10X is always ready to help.

This way, my subject can move freely without having to adjust for the light direction,

and their face stays perfectly lit—no more underexposed, dark faces.

Scene 4:

Darken the ambient light to create any mood you desire.

Of these two photos, one was taken with the B10X to darken the ambient light, and the other with natural light alone.

Both are beautiful—natural light delivers a bright, clear look, but with flash, I can switch freely between the two styles.

Even on a bright, sunny day, I can create a quiet, deep, and elegant mood, offering my clients something unique and different.

This is the magic of mastering light—when a photographer finds the right partner.

As client expectations rise, photographers increasingly need consistent, high-quality work to meet those demands.

Artificial light has made this possible for me, allowing me to create light rather than just compromise with light.

This fills me with confidence and creative passion.

After seeing my outdoor oil-painting style portraits, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s not as difficult as it seems.

The soft, gentle light from the B10X, together with the easy, intuitive operation of the OCF Octa softbox,

lets artificial light blend naturally into the scene and work beautifully with natural light.