An Introdution to O-Camera Flash PIET VAN DEN EYNDE
Contents 1. Introdution: Please Take O Your Flash 2. Charateristis o Light 3. Fundamental Flash Form Formulas ulas 4. The Fundamentals at Work in Everyday Use 5. Basi O-Camera Flash Gear 6. Setting Up a Nikon or O-Camera Flash: Seven Easy Steps 7. Setting Up a Canon or O-Camera Flash: Seven Easy Steps 8. Shooting Pitures with O-Camera Flash: A Failsae Ten-Step Approah 9. Nine Cases c. Conlusion: And Now... It’s Up To You!
An Introdution to O-Camera Flash PIET VAN DEN EYNDE
Contents 1. Introdution: Please Take O Your Flash 2. Charateristis o Light 3. Fundamental Flash Form Formulas ulas 4. The Fundamentals at Work in Everyday Use 5. Basi O-Camera Flash Gear 6. Setting Up a Nikon or O-Camera Flash: Seven Easy Steps 7. Setting Up a Canon or O-Camera Flash: Seven Easy Steps 8. Shooting Pitures with O-Camera Flash: A Failsae Ten-Step Approah 9. Nine Cases c. Conlusion: And Now... It’s Up To You!
1
Introdution: Please Take Take O Your Flash
I don’t know about you, but ash used to scare
on the eternal question o ash versus avail-
ambient light, to supplement ading evening
when you start experimenting with o-camera o-camera
me. I ound it to be complicated, difcult to
able light: “Available light is any light that is
light, or to substitute or a complete lack o
ash and luckily, you don’t have to: you can
pre-visualize (I’m talking about the pre-digital
available,” (i.e., including a ash, i you have
light, an o-camera ash is a very reassuring
get started or as little as USD $250 or a basic
era here), and lacking quality results. O course,
one). In the case o Joe, that oten translates
ace to hold up your photographic sleeve.
o-camera ash set. And that includes a ash!
I only put my ash on my camera and the ur-
into a truckload o ashes, by the way. Since ash is just another light source,
However, the most important part o the book
my ash behind me. I worked on ull auto be-
This eBook is meant to help you get the
this means that it ollows the same un-
is the case studies in chapter 9. They were
cause I ound all the rest way too complicated.
most out o your hot-shoe ash, and an
damentals and descriptors as light. In the
all taken with just one ash o-camera.
important frst step in that quest is to take
next chapter we’ll briey revisit these.
thest I got to sotening the light was to bounce
When you start o with o-camera ash, I
So, I was an available-light photogra-
it o your camera. This means you’ll need
pher or a long time. Not so much by
a way o fring that ash remotely remotely,, but
Flash is all about the quantity o light.
recommend you do so one ash at a time.
persuasion as by lack o understanding
don’t worry, we’ve got that covered.
O-amera ash is about the quality o light.
Not only is it cheaper, but rom a learning perspective it’s best to tackle it one step at a
and, thereore, lack o alternative. Now is a great time to learn about o-camera
Flash may be just another light source, but it
time. Learn to master using one, and then
I you have a similar attitude to ash, then
ash. Although you still cannot see the ash
diers in one important way rom ambient
bring in more. The biggest “wow actor”
this eBook is or you. Because— other than
until it actually fres, you can see the results
light, and that’s in the duration: a ash hap-
you’ll experience will be going rom zero to
fring a ash at ull power into someone’s
seconds later on your camera LCD. So, the eed-
pens momentaneously, whereas ambient light
one ashes. Keeping it down to one ash also
eyes—there really isn’t much to be araid
back loop is much shorter than it used to be.
is continuous. We’ll discuss what this means
means that things still remain portable.
o. Puzzled, maybe. Intrigued by the pos-
in terms o control in the third chapter.
sibilities? Defnitely! Enthused by your
Viewing ash as just another light source
In a uture eBook, we’ll explore more com-
frst endeavours? Absolutely. Stimulated to
at your disposal is the best answer to the
Ater the introductory chapters, there will be
plicated set-ups that include more ashes
experiment? By all means. But araid? No.
question “Why would I use ash?” You are
a couple o chapters on suggested gear that
and more advanced gear. But the basics cov-
doubling your options (rom one light source,
should satisy even the biggest o geeks. In
ered in this eBook will still apply, whether
The biggest thing to realize is that ash is just
ambient, to two), opening up a wealth o
this eBook, we’ll stick to the basics, both in
you’re using one ash or a hundred.
another light source. Or to quote Joe McNally,
opportunities. Whether Whether you use your ash
terms o triggers and in terms o modifers.
legendary Nikon o-camera ash shooter,
to fll in harsh shadows created by noon
Ater all, you don’t want to break the bank
. 1
Nikon D90 | 10-24mm /3.5-4.5G | 12mm | Manual exposure /8 @ 1/200s | ISO 400 | Undiused external ash at hal power, triggered by camera built-in ash.
^ O-camera ash used to complement
Saying “I don’t need ash beause my amera goes to ISO .5 zillion” is missing the point: it’s not about the quantity o light, it’s about the quality o light. Two are apable o more than one. The same applies to light soures.
existing light (coming rom behind). Since ambient and ash light come rom dierent angles and in dierent amounts, this simple set-up “three-
2
Charateristis o Light
So, i ash is just another light soure, let’s onsider some o the main harateristis o light in general. Ater all, photography is the language o light and what better way to learn a language than to study its basi grammar and voabulary? The basi harateristis o any light (inluding ash) are size, quality, diretion, and olour. .. Size and Quality Size (big or small) and quality (sot or hard light) are re-
light (or sotbox light in ash equivalent) coming rom a typi-
in a church or mosque, light sources, both natural and man-
lated. We call a light sot when it gives sot shadows.
cal 45° angle to harsh sunlight (or undiused ash) thrown
made, have a certain colour temperature. Balancing—or
The sotness o any given light depends on the relative
straight at your subject. The frst will reveal dimension, the
expressly unbalancing—your ash with the ambient (avail-
size o that light source compared to the subject.
latter will have all the subtlety o a driver’s license picture.
able) light by adding coloured flters to it will allow you
By itsel, the sun is a pretty big light source, but because it’s
Similarly, late aternoon raking light (almost parallel to the
chapter 9, case 7) to special eects with contrasting colour
so ar away, it actually is a harsh light on a cloudless day.
subject), or a strategically placed ash, will reveal texture
temperatures (that we’ll cover in a sequel to this book).
Add some clouds, and suddenly the clouds become the e-
(see chapter 9, case 8). Another thing to keep in mind with
ective light source. That same sunlight is now diused
direction is that light, unless it hits something, always
As you can see, these undamental characteristics apply to all
through the clouds and thereore gives a much soter light.
wants to travel in a straight line. This means that you can
light sources. The main dierence between ash and ambient
As a photographer, it’s your duty to recognize this qual-
determine the location o a light source by the shadows it
light is that, or any day and location, the ambient light is most-
ity o light and act upon it, because non-photographers
creates. Especially with regards to photographs that are lit
ly a given and largely beyond your control (unless you’re work-
will react dierently. Ask any wedding couple i they’d like
by small ashes that don’t have the so-called “modeling
ing with reectors and scrims), whereas you can independently
clouds on their wedding day. Most likely, their answer will
lights” their big studio counterparts have, this allows you
control the quality, quantity, direction, and colour o your ash.
be “No.” Now, ask their photographer the same question!
to pre-visualize the shadows that your ash will create.
to create anything rom harmonious ash-lit pictures (see
Another dierence is that ambient or available light is
.. Diretion
.3. Colour
continuous and thereore “previewable,” whereas o-
Direction o light is another key eature that will greatly inu-
Lastly, all light is not white. From the cool morning light
camera ash is momentaneous and by lack o pilot lights
ence the look o your picture, especially when combined with
to the amous “Golden Hour” evening light, and rom the
(as ound in studio strobes) cannot be previewed.
the quality o light: just contrast, in your mind, the sot window
greenish light in an ofce building to the yellow candlelight
. 2
3
Fundamental Flash Formulas
We’ll try to keep the math to a minimum, but there are a ouple o things about light in general, and ash in partiular, that you should be aware o. So, asten those seatbelts! 3.. ET = E A + EF This one is actually a lot easier to pick up when you write it in ull: Total Exposure = Ambient Exposure + Flash Exposure. Or, to really simpliy: when you make a picture with ash, there are two exposures (sources o light) that contribute to the fnal look o your image: there’s the ambient exposure and there’s the ash exposure. It’s really up to you to decide
=
+
how much o each will contribute to the fnal picture.
You can kill your ash, which leaves an ambient-only exposure. Or, you can decide to set your aperture, ISO and shutter speed in such a way that no ambient light comes through, and that any light you see comes rom your ash. And o course, you can choose any o the in-between combinations as well.
Total exposure equals ambient exposure plus ash exposure. In this example, the ambient exposure ats as a kind o fll light to make the ash exposure less dramati and the ash look less obvious. There is no “best” mix: it’s a matter o taste.
For comparison, this image shows the ambient-only picture, with exposure increased in Lightroom, to give us an idea o what a correctly exposed, ambient-only picture would look like. In this large white room, with no directional ambient light (e.g. window light), the picture looks rather dull and at. That’s one o the vocations o o-camera ash: adding an extra quality (and sometimes quantity) o light.
3
Fundamental Flash Formulas
3.. Aperture Controls Flash, Shutter Speed Controls Ambient This is a rule you might have heard beore.
ISO and your aperture. Because the ash fres
ing the other variable—the aperture—will...
ambient light exposure would be the same,
It’s more o a slogan, really, and as with all
in such a short time (shorter than the sync
And since, as ar as ambient light is concerned,
right? Opening two stops up on the shutter
slogans, it could do with some nuance. First o
speed), its exposure is not aected by the dura-
an increase/decrease in aperture can be o-
speed, cancelled out by two stops down on the
all, it only applies when you’re working with
tion the shutter stays open: the amount o ash
set by a decrease/increase in shutter speed,
aperture. The aesthetics might change (depth
manual ash. (Because, in through-the-lens
light that hits your sensor will not increase
you get the notion that “aperture controls
o feld) but the overall ambient exposure will
metering (TTL), no matter what variable you
because you use a shutter speed o one second
ash, shutter speed controls ambient.”
remain the same. However, since the ash, still
change on your camera, your ash power will
instead o 1/250 o a second. A longer shutter
automatically be adjusted by your camera’s
speed will only let more ambient light in.
at quarter power, now has to travel through an An example to illustrate: you want to pho-
aperture that’s two stops smaller (i.e. our times
tograph a model in an old industrial ware-
as small in total) 2, it will now eectively be less
So, the only thing that determines how
house. You want the picture to have that
powerul, so less ash will hit the sensor. That’s
What this rule actually means is the ollowing:
much ash light hits your sensor is the
typical ashion, ash-lit look that consists o
the long story to the short “aperture controls
your ambient (non-ash) exposure is controlled
sensitivity (ISO) and the aperture: the
underexposing the ambient and then cor-
ash.” It does, when you’re in manual. Other-
by the ISO-aperture-shutter speed triangle. It’s
smaller the aperture, the less light will
rectly exposing the model using ash (see
wise, your clever camera will just compensate
these three elements that determine how much
reach that sensor or a given ISO.
chapter 9, case 6 or a real-lie example).
(up to your maximum ash power, o course).
Continuing along, i we keep the ISO con-
Let’s say your ambient light metering at ISO
Each camera has a maximum ash sync speed:
stant, there are various shutter/aperture
100 tells you that a two stops underexposed
this is the astest shutter speed you can set
combinations that will give you the same
ambient exposure should be 1/125 at 11.
that will still allow you to fre your ash.
ambient exposure. Yet, when adding manual
For most modern DSLRs, this sync speed is
ash at a given power setting, each o those
You bring in a model and you want to
about 1/200 or 1/250 o a second. Check
combinations will result in a dierent
light her with ash. Let’s assume you have
amount o ash light hitting the sensor.
to put the ash at quarter power to light
electronics. That’s the whole point o TTL!).
o the ambient light will all on your sensor.
There are even ways o fring ashes beyond the sync speed o your camera. We’ll discuss these advanced eatures in a separate eBook. 1
your camera manual i you’re not sure.
1
her as you want at 11 and ISO 100. As long as you stay on or under (slower than)
So, or any given ISO, as long as you stay below
this sync speed, the amount o ash exposure
your sync speed, changing the shutter speed
I you were to change the shutter speed to
that hits your sensor is only controlled by your
will not aect the ash exposure, but chang-
1/30 and close down the aperture to 22, your
One less stop o light actually means hal the amount, so two stops less means a quarter o the original amount. 2
. 2 . 3
3
Fundamental Flash Formulas
3.3. Angle o Inidene = Angle o Reetane This and the next ormula are actually also valid or ambient light, but they’re especially relevant to ash photography.
This ormula is important or when you start to bounce light: o a wall, a reector, or even the groom’s white shirt at a wedding. Light behaves like a ball in snooker: when it hits a surace, it bounces back in the same, but opposite angle. And, in the process, it picks up the color rom whatever it bounces o.
3
Fundamental Flash Formulas
3.4. The Inverse Square Law We’ve saved the best or last. The inverse square
bring it in closer, to two eet rom your subject
cal mindset, just try to remember these practi-
the more energy they lose along the way to their
law states that the power o light alls o at a
(halving the distance), your ash output would
cal consequences o the inverse square law.
fnal destination: the backdrop. All o this is a
rate equal to the square o the distance. What
eectively become our times more powerul .
this means in plain English is the ollowing:
So, i you don’t want to blow out your subject,
•
you’d have to adjust your ash to 1/16 power.
dimmest setting, move it urther away.
direct consequence o the inverse square law. I your ash i too powerul, even at its
Suppose you need to set your ash to quarter
•
I you want to light a group o people who are
standing one slightly behind the other, then you I your ash is too weak, even at ull power,
power to light someone correctly rom our
As with the second rule, the inverse square law
•
eet away. I you decide that, or whatever
is something you’ll only become aware o when
move it in closer: putting it at hal the original
shouldn’t put your light too close to them, or the last one in line runs the risk o being under-
reason (or example, your ash is showing up
working with your ashes in manual mode:
distance will make it our times as powerul.
exposed. Instead, increase the distance rom the
in your composition), you want to light him
when working in iTTL or eTTL modes (the high-
This one is also handy to remember even i you
light to the group so that the distance between
rom eight eet instead, then you will have to
ly advanced automatic ash exposure modes o
work in one o the ancy TTL modes: ater all,
the group’s members is small compared to the
set that same ash to ull power! The distance
Nikon and Canon, respectively), your camera
your camera’s electronics can only compensate
distance between the light source and the group.
is doubled, and the inverse square law states
does all the measuring or you and will auto-
up to the maximum absolute ash power!
that the power alls o at a rate equal to the
matically compensate or the inverse square law.
The inverse square law and its consequences
square o the distance. The square
•
I you only have one ash, and
also have to be seen in conjunction with the
o 2 (double the distance) is 4.
you want to control your subject
other determinants: moving a light closer to
and the background (e.g. a backdrop,
a person will not only make that light more
a wall) as independently as possible,
powerul, it will also make it soter. That
move your subject as ar away rom
may or may not be something you want.
Thereore, the power o the ash is our times weaker. Since, at your original setting, only 1/4 o your light will reach your subject, you
You an orget about the atual “ormulas” as long as you remember their pratial onsequenes.
the background as possible. In other
should set your ash to our times
words, make the distance between
Conversely, moving a light away rom a
its original power to compensate.
your subject and the background
group o people because you want the ex-
bigger in relationship to the distance
posure on their aces to be relatively equal,
Conversely, using the same example, i instead
The inverse square law is less complicated than
between the light and your subject. Like any
o moving your ash urther away, you decide to
it sounds. Even i you don’t have a mathemati-
traveller, the urther the photons have to travel,
will make that light source relatively hard.
4
The Fundamentals at Work in Everyday Use
As said beore, don’t bust your head over the atual ormulas and “laws,” it’s their pratial appliation in your everyday photography that ounts. Even i you don’t ully grasp the math behind the ormulas, just make sure you get their overall impliation. Use the undamentals to your advantage, whether you’re making high-end fne art photography or just a produt piture or an eBay ad or... a sreenshot o a amera LCD or an eBook on o-amera ash. A little urther into the book (chapters 6 and 7), you’ll see
helped me out here: frst, the background was already a
some screenshots o the Nikon D7000 and the Canon 60D
dark color; second, the choice o modifer (a sotbox) let
LCDs. While they’re ar rom advertising quality, they are a
less light spilling around than an umbrella would. Third,
lot better than a straight-on ambient-only snap would be.
the sotbox was pointing down. This was done to reveal the shape o the buttons (direction o light—yet another
Using ambient light, no matter where I put my camera,
one o the undamentals), but it had the bonus eect o
I always had a reection in the LCD. So, I decided to
causing any spill to travel mostly downward (out o rame)
kill the ambient light in my exposure. Remember, total
and not to the wall. Last, the distance between the light
exposure = ambient exposure + ash exposure, so by put-
and the subject (the LCD) was ten times smaller than
ting the ambient at zero (selecting a shutter/ISO/aperture
the distance between the subject and the background
combination that would make a shot lit without ash
(don’t let the distorted view rom the wide angle setup
pure black), the picture would completely be lit by ash.
shot ool you). That let the inverse square law kick in big time: even i the sotbox light had been turned straight at
Next use o the undamentals was to run the ash
the wall, by the time the light hit the wall it would have
through a small LumiQuest sotbox. It’s small by itsel,
been only a raction o the light hitting the subject.
but it’s the relative size that matters. Because it’s so close to the tiny LCD, it’s now a huge light source.
Keep these undamentals in mind when you’re creating
It’s so big, there are no nasty reections and it makes
your own pictures, or when you’re studying someone
the camera bathe in sot, yet directional light.
else’s. They’ll be a great help in getting you out o many difcult lighting problems you encounter.
Finally, I wanted the background to be dark and not to be inuenced by stray light rom the ash. Four things
4
The Fundamentals at Work in Everyday Use
Below you’ll fnd a walk-through o some examples. The aim o these examples is to give a reap o the undamental laws, they’re not meant as a ourse on portrait photography lighting setups.
1. There’s a reason why straight,
2. Bounced on-camera ash (increasing the ash
on-camera ash has such a bad
power to compensate or the loss o light): when
rep: the harsh rontal light throws
bouncing your ash, the surace you’re bounc-
an ugly cast shadow behind the
ing o becomes the eective light source.
model (even worse when you put your camera in the portrait
Bouncing improves the sotness o your light, but doesn’t
orientation, as we did here).
give you that much control: ater all, a wall is hard to move. In this setup, the light now comes rom almost everywhere.
The catchlights are tiny. Also remember that light picks up any color that it The harsh rontal light also does
hits. So much or trying to bounce your ash in a
not give any defnition to the ace.
room with dark blue walls or wood panelling.
4
The Fundamentals at Work in Everyday Use 3. Now let’s start with mov-
4. Same picture, same settings, but we’ve added a Lum-
ing the ash o camera.
iQuest SotBox III to the ash and increased the ash power to compensate or the loss o light the sotbox induces.
We use a bare ash, placed at a 45° angle, zoomed to about 50mm and
The hoped-or sotbox eect (soter light qual-
eight eet away rom the subject.
ity) is marginal and hardly noticeable: at this distance, the sotbox is still a very small light
The light becomes more directional, revealing highlights and shadows, but the shadows are relatively hard, because the light source is small.
source and hence projects hard shadows.
4
The Fundamentals at Work in Everyday Use 5. We’ve moved the light fve times closer. The inverse square law predicts
You also notice the background becomes darker. In the previ-
that the ash output should be dropped to 1/25 o the original power
ous picture, the subject was about halway between the ash and
to achieve the same exposure on the ace, and eectively… I had to
the background. In this picture, she’s much closer to the ash than
dial the ash down rom ull power to between 1/16 and 1/32 power.
to the background. Thereore, the ash light that correctly exposes her has lost a lot o power by the time it reaches the wall,
The picture becomes more moody, because placing the light
which is, in act, almost completely lit by the available light.
source closer increases the contrast between lit and unlit areas but does so in a sot way: the shadows become soter because
This 45° placement o the light source also produces the typi-
the relative size o this light source is now a lot bigger.
cal “Rembrandt lighting” triangle below the model’s let eye.
4
The Fundamentals at Work in Everyday Use 6. When working with ash, it’s always interesting to
7. As we’ll discuss in chapter 8, always set up your
explore dierent setups. Here, the light comes rom
lights in a multi-ash setup one by one. Here,
a 90° angle. With a subject acing the camera, this
we’re back to the lighting setup (5) but we added
would result in what we call “split lighting” (one side
a second light to give some lie to the hair.
o the ace lit and one not, or only by ambient light).
By turning the subject towards the light, though, we now have a very dramatic lighting setup that is great or showing the structure o cheek bones. It’s a simple light setup that works great in black and white.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
Over the next pages, we’ll over some o the essential gear you’ll need to explore the world o o-amera ash. We’ll start o with the ashes themselves. From the moment you take your ash o the amera hotshoe ontat, you’ll need a way o triggering that ash. This is disussed in the aptly named “Triggers” setion. Ater that, we’ll have a look at the various ways you an modiy the quality o the light that omes out o your ash. Lastly, we’ll over some useul aessories.
5.. Flashes It’s impossible to cover every ash known to man in this eBook.
The act that you can get up to three manual ashes or the
manually (i.e. no TTL)—but it does so very efciently: it packs
Nor is it necessary. Instead, I’ll cover some o the basics, dis-
price o one TTL ash makes it very difcult to choose.
the same power as the top Canon and Nikon ashes and has
tinguish between the two main categories (TTL versus manual
our dierent ways o being triggered (including a slave eye).
ashes), and list some o the criteria that might be important
When you start working with more than one ash, try to
Priced at about a third o a brand ash, this is one o the
when you go ash hunting. Some o this inormation will
limit the number o dierent versions: not only do dierent
cheaper entry tickets into the world o o-camera ash.
only become relevant when you dive deeper into the world o
versions have dierent power settings (not ideal i you want
o-camera ash, yet it’s useul to know beore purchasing.
to symmetrically light something), but they also have dierent controls and menus and you really don’t want to have
5... TTL versus Manual
to deal with those during the heat o a multi-ash setup.
The biggest choice you’ll have to make is between a ash that oers both TTL and manual control versus only manual
5... Brand versus Third-Party Flash
control. The latter, such as the LumoPro LP160, costs less
The ormer distinction o TTL versus manual roughly
than hal o the ormer, but o course you lack the option o
also boils down to the choice between a (same-) brand
TTL control. While I do recommend you start out working
ash versus a third-party one, although some third-
manually with o-camera ash, there are some occasions
party developers, such as Metz, make ashes that are ully
when TTL comes in very handy (see chapter 9, case 6). When
compatible with the TTL systems o other cameras.
you buy only one ash, the price dierence may not be that important, but when you start adding a second, third,
In the “all-manual” third-party department, LumoPro is a
and ourth ash to your setup, the costs start to add up.
name to remember: the LP160 only does one thing—fre
nikon.com | canon.com | lumopro.com
. 1 . 5
The top-o-the-line Nikon and Canon ashes with enhaned TTL possibilities, anked by one o the available third-party manual ashes: a LumoPro LP60. The power output o these three is omparable. The brand ashes win on the eature ront (allowing or TTL measuring and remote triggering by ompatible ameras) but ome at a prie premium: they ost roughly three times as muh.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5..3. Flash Buying 0 I you haven’t gone and bought a ash yet,
•
Can it be optically triggered by your camera’s
least controllable) way o remotely triggering
you, you’ll soon be geek-speaking along), a
below is a list o important criteria:
built-in pop-up ash? This is also an important
a ash. This eature can come in very handy
swivelling head can allow you to fre remote
eature: i your ash can be optically trig-
in those situations where you have more
ashes behind you or to your side, some-
gered, you don’t (at least not immediately)
ashes than triggers. You just set the ashes
thing a pop-up ash is less likely to do.
pressed in a GN (guide number) at a specifc ISO
need a triggering system. A ash that can be
that don’t have a trigger up as slaves. Provided
and zoom setting o the ash head. The higher
triggered optically by a compatible camera,
they see the burst o the ash that does have
•
the number, the more powerul the ash.
such as is the case with Nikon’s and Canon’s
a trigger to it, they’ll also fre. O course,
important when you buy only one ash, but
proprietary optical triggering systems, might
you’ll have to set the power level manually.
when you start working with more than one,
•
•
Flash power: The ash power is usually ex-
Recycle time: How ast does the ash recycle?
•
weight and space considerations can become an
not be much more expensive than a manualonly third-party ash that does need a trigger.
Thermal protection: Some ashes oer
Is the size convenient? This may not be so
•
Do any accessories come with it? You might
think o the ubiquitous rosted plastic cap
issue: there’s a big dierence between packing our SB-900s versus our SB-700s, or example.
thermal protection to keep you rom rying
•
your ash. This can be a good thing to have,
nection (such as a 1/8 inch audio cable)?
actually quite worthless or o-camera ash—
•
as long as the manuacturer does not program
A PC jack is a connection that allows the
although chapter 9, case 3 shows you one
High-speed syncing or ocal plane syncing
the thermal protection to be too protective.
ash to be triggered remotely, e.g. by a radio
example where I did use it. No, I’m thinking
means that you can use your ash at higher
transmitter like the PocketWizard Plus II.
more in terms o a (basic) colour flter set.
than the normal sync speed and still get good
•
TTL and manual versus manual only:
Is there a PC jack or other type o con-
that you can put on your ash, but that is Does the ash have high-speed sync abilities?
exposures. This is especially important i you’re
The LumoPro LP160 even eatures both.
As noted above, this is one o the main di-
Oh, and the “PC” in PC jack has nothing to
•
erences. The frst kind is more exible, but
do with computers. It’s short or prontor-
Flexibility o your ash head is most impor-
sunlight, at wide open apertures, or high shutter
compur. And yes, I had to look that up, too!
tant when you trigger it optically, especially
speeds. We’ll discuss this in a uture eBook.
does come at a higher cost. And you don’t always need that exibility: i all you ever
Can the ash head be swivelled and tilted?
planning on using your ash outside, in bright
i the optical receiver is on one side o the
want to do is use your ash outside to com-
•
ash. A 270° swivelling head will allow you
•
pete with the sun, a manual ash (or even
esting eature to have: i you can set your
to always put the receiver in the direction o
good thing to have, though not a deal
better: a lot o manual ashes) might be all
ash to slave mode, this means that it will
the triggering ash. I you use another ash
breaker. With upgradeable frmware, you
you need, as you’ll rarely have to dial them
automatically fre when it detects another
as a commander (see the upcoming section
can download and install improvements to
down below their ull power capacity.
ash that fres. This is the cheapest (but also
on triggers i this sounds like geek talk to
the ash’s behaviour and menu structure.
Does it have a slave mode? Another inter-
Is the frmware upgradeable? Always a
Manual or TTL?
There are two schools, or should I say religions, with
triggers, or Nikon’s or Canon’s own optical trigger-
regards to o-camera ash: there’s the all manual
ing systems, you have the luxury o changing the
camp and there’s the TTL camp. As in many polarized
power remotely (i.e. you don’t have to walk over to
situations, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
your ash), but still maintain ull manual control.
I your ash only works manually, you don’t have much o a choice, but even i you do have the latest
Once you get better at using o-camera ash—or
and greatest Nikon or Canon and use a TTL-capable
in situations that don’t change much (or change
triggering system, such as the proprietary Nikon and
all the time), making manual control almost im-
Canon systems we’ll cover in this eBook, or the lat-
possible—TTL gives you a much better chance o
est generation PocketWizards we’ll cover in another
getting at least in the ballpark with your exposure.
title, I’d still advise you to start out manually.
And that’s always better than no exposure at all.
The reason is simple: TTL and especially the even
I also tend to switch to TTL when I only have
more advanced iTTL or eTTL variants take into
one shot at making a picture. Yet, I’ll oten inu-
account a zillion dierent parameters (and even
ence my TTL settings by dialing in exposure
compare those to a built-in database o dierent
compensation, both to the ambient metering
scenes) and pop out a ash value. Slightly changing
and to the ash (see chapter 9, cases 6 and 7).
your composition (or example ater having checked
Manual or TTL? It’s not a head-to-head war kind o thing. It’s more a hand-in-hand kind o ing: knowing and using both ways o remotely triggering your ash will make you ous less on the proess and more on the result. This piture also shows that all o my ashes have Velro attahed to them, neessary to attah some o the lighting aessories. I you don’t like to stik stu onto your ash, you an use a dediated Velro loop
your LCD) may slightly change these variables and
The whole discussion can be compared to car
thereore change the database “blueprint” that the
transmissions: i you’re used to a manual gear
actual scene is being compared with. This might
box, you’ll have ar less trouble renting a car that’s
lead your ash to react dierently. While TTL may
equipped with an automatic one. On the other
be great or ast-paced action shots where you can’t
hand, i you’re used to an automatic gear box and
calculate everything, while you’re still learning to
all o a sudden you have to drive a manual shit,
juggle the o-camera ash variables it’s best to do so
I would not want to be driving behind you!
one at a time and this means setting power manually. Ideally, you should have a working knowledge With the old radio triggers, you don’t have a choice but to work manually (and go over to your remote ash every time you want to change its power), but
o both.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5.. Triggers From the moment you take your ash o your camera hotshoe, you’ll need something else to trigger it. There’s a plethora o options, with varying degrees o reliability and price. We could fll an entire eBook by deep diving into the dierent options, but we’ll just cover some o the basics and leave the more advanced (and pricier) options or a uture title. Put very roughly, you have our ways to trigger your o-camera ash: one wired and three wireless.
5... Are You Wearing a Wire? The wired option simply consists o connecting your ash to your camera with a so-called TTL sync cord, such as Nikon’s SC-28 (which extends to nine eet) or Canon’s OCE-3. Manuacturers tend to oer dierent lengths. The advantage is that you can fre your ash manually as well as with TTL. TTL cords are also relatively inexpensive
Nikon’s SC -28 Speedlight sync cord
and since there’s a physical connection between the ash and the camera, they’ll almost never ail to trigger your ash. For shooting events, receptions, parties and even weddings, a sync cord will give you much more creative control over the angle, direction and relative size o your light than simple on-camera ash will. O course, that physical connection is also the main drawback: you’re limited by your cable’s length as to how ar you can put yoursel (and your light source) rom the camera.
Speedlight or Speedlite? Speedlight is the way Nikon reers to hotshoe ashes. Speedlite is Canon terminology.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5... Wireless Triggering, the Inrared Way3 5.... Nikon’s Creative Lighting System
dedicated commander unit such as the SU-800.
Speedlight with me and triggered it with
to work in manual, TTL, or Nikon’s latest and
As with many things, the uture o ash photog-
Nikon’s CLS system allows or independent
the built-in pop-up ash rom my D700.
greatest iTTL. You just have to set your built-in
raphy seems to be wireless. Sure, you can hook
remote control o up to three dierent groups,
up sync cords to some extent to allow or more
where each group can consist o an unlimited
Another advantage o the CLS system
remote. I you have an expensive D3, D3s, or
exibility, but in the long run they’re just more
number o ashes. The photographer can set
is that you can sync your ash at up to
D3x, you’ll have to shell out some more to
cables you could trip over, and longer cables
and change the power o these groups rom
1/8000 o a second via an advanced set-
either buy an SB700, SB800, or SB900 and set
can also draw some o your ash’s maximum
his camera, and can choose between manually
ting called High Speed Sync, which we’ll
that up as a commander, or get the dedicated
output. I you’re really into this o-camera ash
setting power (in third-stop increments rom
leave or another Crat & Vision title.
SU800. Ah, the price o owning pro equipment!
thing, then you’ll want to move to the wireless
ull power to 1/128 power), letting the iTTL
way o triggering your ash. Not only will you
system determine the power (with optional
I your camera doesn’t have a built-in ash or
mend you go or an SB 700 or SB 900. Both
have more reedom and be able to put yoursel
ash exposure compensation), or using a com-
has a built-in ash that doesn’t support CLS,
can be used as commander as well as remote
and your lights arther apart, i you happen to
bination o both, e.g. have group A fre at a
as with entry-level models, you can use an
and, contrary to their older amily members SB
have the right combination o camera and ash,
manually set power and group B fre with iTTL.
optional inrared transmitter called the SU-800
600 and SB 800, it’s incredibly easy to switch
it’ll actually cost you less than buying a dedi-
CLS uses an inrared signal to communicate.
or another Speedlight to command the remote
them to the desired mode (the older models
ashes. The act that the pop-up ash on the
required quite some thumb strokes to set up).
cated cable because in many modern DSLRs and
ash to commander and your Speedlight to
When you’re looking or a Nikon ash, I recom-
With CLS, you can stick a ash in a tree, fre a
camera can unction as a commander (without
test shot and i it’s too bright, you don’t need
interering with the actual exposure) is one o
A complete explanation o CLS and how to
Nikon was the frst to equip its ashes and
to climb the tree again! You just dial down
the things I adore about my D700. It’s the only
set up your ash and camera can be ound in
cameras with so-called CLS (creative lighting
its manual power (or its TTL ash compensa-
ull-rame camera I know o that has this option.
your user manuals, but I still want to show
system) technology: a way o letting you wire-
tion) rom the comort o your camera LCD.
lessly trigger one or more remotely placed Nikon
It’s a system I used and came to love during
I you have a D70, D200, D300(s), D90, D700, or
the basic setup procedure or a D7000 and an
Speedlights by using either the built-in ash o
my one-year PortraitsOAsia bicycle tour. Be-
a D7000 and an SB600, SB800, SB900, or SB700,
SB700 (see chapter 6). I you have a dierent
your Nikon camera, or another Speedlight set
ing on a bike really limited the amount o
you can enjoy the wonders o o-camera ash
model, work by analogy or check your manual.
up to act as a so-called commander, or even a
gear I could take, so I only took one SB-900
without extra expenses, and you’ll even be able
ashes, the inrared triggering is already built in.
you how easy it is by walking you through
Both Nikon and Canon also have dedicated macro ashes that can be triggered remotely. They 3
For many users, it’s a pleasant and welome surprise that they have wireless triggering untionality built in
. 1 . 2 . 2 . 5
^
^
I your Nikon camera has a pop-up ash and supports Nikon’s CLS (such as the D70, D80, D90, D200, D300, D7000, and D700), using that pop-up ash as a commander is among the easiest and cheapest ways o triggering a compatible remote Nikon Speedlight such as the SB-600, SB-700, SB-800, or SB-900. In chapter 6, we’ll walk you through the basic setup procedure or a Nikon D7000 or similar camera. In chapter 7,
I your camera doesn’t have a built-in ash (like the high-end D3 range) or the built-in ash does not support CLS (like the D3100 and D5100), you can put another SB-700, SB-800, or SB-900—set to “commander”— on your camera hotshoe to trigger remote ashes. This means you’ll be needing at least two ashes (or a ash and an SU-800), so this option is
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5.... Canon’s Wireless Flash System Canon was a little later to join the party and
at much wider angles than suggested (see chap-
come up with an answer to Nikon’s CLS,
ter 9, case 2). However, this will not always
called the Canon Wireless Flash System. Until
work, especially in bright sunlight, where the
quite recently, you needed a Speedlite like the
inrared signal is less easily picked up by the re-
580 EX or a dedicated ST-E2 external trigger
ceiver. There are ways to try and counter these
(the Canon equivalent o Nikon’s SU-800)
limitations, such as bouncing the commander
i you wanted to wirelessly trigger a remote
signal rom your built-in ash with some white
Canon ash with some degree o control.
cardboard, or switching to a proper Speedlight/
With the advent o the 7D and later models
Speedlite as a commander (which gives you
such as the 60 D and the 600 D, Canon also
the ability to rotate its head and hence the
lets the built-in ash trigger a remote ash.
direction o the commander signal. Some
Chapter 7 will walk you through the basic
photographers such as Joe McNally even hook
setup or a Canon 60D and a 580 EX ash.
up a Speedlight, set to commander, to a ash
For other models, the procedure is similar.
sync cord, which gives even more exibility.
Regardless o whether you own a Nikon or a
Still, there will be situations where inrared
Canon, optically triggering an o-camera ash,
triggering won’t work. I your livelihood
especially i you can use your built-in ash to
doesn’t depend on it, that won’t matter to
do so, is a very attractive and cheap proposi-
you, but i reliability and 100% repeat peror-
tion, but it’s not without its limitations:
mance really is an issue (like in a commercial
I you have a 7D, 60 D, or 600 D, your built-in ash can remotely fre a compatible remote (“slave,” in Canon parlance) Canon Speedlite, such as a 270EXII, 320 EX, 430EX, 430 EXII, 580 EX, or 580 EXII.
environment), then it’s saer to stick to the Because the signal is inrared, it requires some
manuacturer’s guidelines or... choose a totally
line o sight between the commander and the
dierent way o wireless triggering: radio.
slave ash. I ound the recommendations in the Nikon manual to be very conservative and I’ve been able to shoot without line o sight or
I your Canon’s built-in ash doesn’t support the Wireless Flash System, or your Canon simply doesn’t have a pop-up ash, you can use a 580 EX or EXII Speedlite as a master, or use a dedicated Canon trigger such as
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5..3. Using Radio The alternative to using inrared to trigger
Knowing that you’ll need at least two (one on
the proprietary Nikon and Canon sys-
TT5 system (available in a Nikon and Canon
remote ashes is radio. A radio signal travels
your camera and one or every ash you want
tems with the reliability o radio.
version) costs only slightly more than the all-
arther (more than one hundred meters) and
to fre remotely), you can see the bill adds up
doesn’t require line-o-sight. So, you can stick
quickly. Especially considering that the original
The frst to oer TTL and remote control via
in terms o exibility and control, making it
a ash behind a soccer goal and fre it rom
radio triggers only did that: they triggered the
radio were the aptly named RadioPoppers. I
the most logical choice between the two.
across the feld i you want. Radio triggers
ash at whatever power you set it to manually.
cannot comment on them as I haven’t used
come in dierent price categories: rom cheap
No remotely changing the power nor working
them mysel, but a lot o people seem to be
radiopopper.com
(and not always as reliable as radio would
in TTL, and... strictly working at (or even slight-
using them to their satisaction. PocketWizard
pocketwizard.com
lead you to believe) triggers that are mainly
ly under to be sae) your camera’s synch speed!
now also has a system that will be discussed
gadgetinfnity.com (Cactus)
manual Plus II system and oers much more
in a ollow-up to this eBook. For now, sufce
sold on eBay, giving them their name “eBay triggers,” to the industry-standard but pricey
Recently, manuacturers started to look
it to say that, i you do own a Canon or a
PocketWizards that cost about 200 dollars each.
or ways to combine the ease-o-use o
Nikon, the new TTL-enabled PocketWizard TT1/
Manual-only radio triggers come in all shapes and prices. These entry-level Cactus triggers (let) are but one type o a huge oering o radio triggers. They cost me... about $40 or one receiver and one transmitter. Two PocketWizard Plus IIs (right), the industry standard or triggering manual ash by radio, will cost about eight times as much.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5.3. Modifers Modifers are things you put on your ash or between your ash light and your subject to inuence and shape it, or to redirect it. They come in all shapes and sizes... and price categories.
5.3.. Sotening Modifers Unless you’re lighting an ant or a matchbox car, a ash is a pretty small light source, relative to most subjects. That means its light will be hard, contrasty and the shadows it provokes will be harsh as well. While this can be something you want in a picture, very oten you’ll want to soten your light to make it nicer and gentler. Putting any translucent (not transparent) surace (a shower curtain, a ash umbrella) between your ash and your subject will turn that modifer into the eective light source, sotening the light. The price you pay is a loss o power.
I you’re starting out with o-camera ash, the best light modi-
^
fer would be an umbrella. Countless models exist. Personally, I very much like the collapsible reversible ones rom Westcott: they’re very compact, and can be used as a shoot-through as well as a reective umbrella when you add the included black
A Westcott collapsible reversible umbrella. It extends to a 43-inch diameter umbrella, yet collapses to a mere 14.5 inches. I had one with me during my one-year Asian odyssey by bike, ready to be taken out at a moments notice.
cover. It’s a very well-spent $25 to give the harsh, unorgiving light o a bare ash a very pleasing light quality that looks much more expensive than the actual price tag. I encourage you to play with umbrella light. Just don’t stop there, because there are other modifers waiting to be discovered.
In terms o value or money, exibility, and instant “wow” eet, a $5 ollapsible reversible umbrella is one hard-to-beat light modifer.
. 1 . 3 . 5
^
^
Umbrella light is sot, but also sae, sometimes a little too sae… Take or example these pictures: a lovely little girl, photographed with the sun as a rim light coming rom behind and a sotbox to
Then put the same girl in ront o a gritty, textured wall and put a bare ash parallel to the wall so the light just rakes across the wall and her ace. Convert to a contrasty black and white or
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5.3.. Sotening Modifers – Continued A LumiQuest SotBox III, shown here on a stand. I very oten use mine handheld. For anything up to a head or headand-shoulders portrait, this little sotbox goes a long way to sotening your ash output. The centre has extra diusion, to minimize hotspots.
Still in the sotening range o modifers are the sotboxes. Just like umbrellas, they come in various sizes and models. They also produce sot light, but the quality is dierent: since the light is contained in the box, it doesn’t bounce around (spill) that much across the edges like umbrella light does. It also produces square catchlights that many photographers fnd more proessionallooking (because they look more like window
^
light). I you really want to mimic window light, try gaer-taping a cross in the middle o your
At 8 x 9 inches, it’s a small sotbox in absolute
sotbox ront cover! Sotboxes are more expensive
terms, but it’s still 20 times bigger than your bare
and also slightly more difcult to carry. Thereore,
ash and approaches the size o a human head.
I’ll only talk about one specifc sotbox here—one
When placed close enough, this little sotbox
that complements the above-mentioned umbrella
really can behave like a sot light source and, even
really well—and I’ll leave a more thorough dis-
at a ew eet away, it will soten your light consid-
cussion o the sotboxes I use or a uture title.
erably. Another advantage o the LumiQuest SB III
The graph shows these modifers true to scale. See the little square on the let (1)? That is a bare ash head. The yellow oval (3) is an average human head. It’s easy to see that no matter how close you put your bare ash to a person (e.g. or portraiture), it’ll always be a small, hard light source. The LumiQuest SB III (2), small by itsel, is actually about as big as a human head. When placed close enough, it can make or a sot light source i the subject is not too big. At 43 inches, the Westcott collapsible reversible umbrella(4) is a relatively big modifer that allows you to sotly light anyone rom the waist up.
is that it is light, and thus hand-holdable (or wedA 43-inch umbrella turns your ash into a very
ding/reception work). It also olds completely at,
big sot light source. Yet, there are occasions when
and has Velcro that allows you to hook it to a Vel-
such a huge light source is difcult to master: say
cro loop (such as the Honl Speed Strap) that you
you’re working alone without a light stand hand-
tighten around your ash. Or, i you’re like me,
holding your ash, or you’re in a windy environ-
you’ll just stick Velcro to your ash right away.
ment. In these cases, I very oten turn to my other avourite light modifer, the LumiQuest SB III.
jwestcott.com | lumiquest.com
Sot light is nie and sae. But do experiment with hard light soures. Make your light math the mood you want to onvey. Or, take it one step urther and use a ontrasting light soure.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5.3.. Restriting Modifers When you start out with o-camera ash, so-
umbrella or sotbox in new ways: try to y it
cardboard, or you can buy them ready-made
tening modifers like umbrellas and sotboxes
overhead instead o at a typical 45° angle. Move
rom David Honl (www.honlphoto.com),
are very tempting to use: frst o all, they really
it in closer or urther than you normally would.
amongst others. In a pinch, even your assistant’s
make attering portraits, so it’s instant gratitude
Work with the “edges” o your umbrella instead
hand will work, as demonstrated in chapter
rom your subjects. They take your pictures
o the centre by turning it slightly arther away
9, case 8. In a uture title, we’ll cover restrict-
up a notch or two, so when you’re insecure
rom your subject than you normally would—
ing modifers that oer even more control.
about your photography skills and prone to
the bulk o your light will pass by your sub-
sel-doubt (“I’m no good, my photography
ject and you’ll be working in the allo zone
sucks”) that all photographers and artists sooner
o the light towards the edges o the modi-
or later are conronted with, a $25 umbrella
fer, which can lead to more dramatic results.
will do more good or your troubled soul and sel-esteem than a ten-hour session with a
Another way is to explore the options
shrink. In act, you might as well save the
o hard light. The simplest and cheap-
shrink money to buy some PocketWizards.
est option is just to use a bare ash. I your ash has a zoom head, zooming
Lastly, umbrella light is not only orgiving to
that head to its maximum (e.g. 105 or 200
aws in your subject, as it smoothes out wrin-
mm) will tighten the beam o light coming
kles and bathes people in sot light, it’s also
out o it (and make it more powerul in the
quite orgiving to your own aws as a photog-
process). Some ashes, like Nikon’s SB-900,
rapher: your angle o light needn’t be spot-on.
allow you to control the ash distribution pattern to tighten the beam even more.
Ater a while however, you’ll fnd that sae can sometimes become a little predictable, maybe
Sometimes, ags are used to prevent the ash
even boring. Two things are possible when
light rom entering the lens and causing are.
you get to this point. The frst is to use your
Flags can be made rom black light-absorbing
Look at your ash rom the position o your model. I you an’t see the light soure, then the light soure an’t see your model.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5.4. Other Really Useul Stu 5.4.. Gels
5.4.. Light Stands and Brakets
Gels might seem like a gimmick, but once
CTO (color temperature or-
I won’t go into a lot o detail as
you start mixing ash with ambient light,
ange) gel to your ash. Chapter
there are many dierent models
you’ll really have to learn to use them. The
9, case 7 shows you the typical
around and they don’t really inu-
colour temperature o your ash is daylight-
use o a CTO gel.
ence the look o your picture.
is the only light source. In post-production
As always, there are various
I like the Manrotto Nano light stands
(or by switching the white balance setting
ways o getting gels: a starter
as they are relatively lightweight and
on the camera), you can change the colour
pack might be included with
old up nicely. When choosing an
temperature o the entire scene easily. But
your ash, as Nikon does with
umbrella bracket, make sure it will ft
what i you start mixing ash with ambient
most o its recent Speedlights.
your ash (some ashes like the SB900
light? At noon, on a sunny day, not much
Rosco, traditionally a manu-
have quite a big ootprint) and that it
o a problem still, but what i you use ash
acturer o large gels or stu-
will also accept your light modifer.
indoors, in a scene that’s lit by incandes-
dio lights, has a set o gels or
cent (household) lights? You’ll have a mix-
Speedlights called the Rosco
5.4.3. Sandbags
balanced. That’s not a problem i your ash
ture o white ash light and yellow ambient light. Making the ash light warmer in post by changing the white balance o your
^ The Rosco Strobist Collection is a collection o 55 colour gels, available or under $10.
raw fle in your raw converter will make your
Strobist Collection. You can
Umbrellas and breezes will never make
also cut them yoursel i you’re
good riends. So unless you want your
the DIY type and i you’re not,
umbrella (and your ash and your trigger)
David Honl also has gels in his
to go AWOL on you, sandbag your light
background too yellow. Choosing a colder
correcting hundreds o pictures in Lightroom
product range that have Velcro attached to
stand, or put a heavy camera case or bag on
white balance will neutralize the ambient-lit
or Photoshop using layer masks and selections,
them so you can quickly slap them on to
it. Seriously. Do it. Lots o people I know,
parts o the photo, but will make the ash-lit
there’s a simple solution: gel your ash to the
any ash that has either Velcro or a Honl
mysel included, have lost expensive gear
parts too cool. I you want to avoid manually
ambient colour, in this example by adding a
Speed Strap.
to concrete, rivers, pavements, and other ash-unriendly environments this way.
. 2 . 4 . 5
An umbrella attached to an umbrella swivel bracket, placed on a light stand. (1) Knob to tighten the bracket to the spigot o the light stand. (2) This knob allows the bracket to swivel, making it point upward or downward. (3) Knob to tighten the umbrella shat in the opening. This opening has a small slope. Always put your umbrella so that there is convergence between the umbrella’s axis and the ash head’s axis (yellow lines). Turn knob tight enough, but not too tight, as you risk damaging the hollow shat o the umbrella. To prevent this, some manuacturers, like Westcott now make the bottom 2 inches o the shat solid instead o hollow. (4) Tightening knob or the hotshoe. (5) Inrared receiver: when triggering optically (see 5.2.), always make sure this receiver points towards the commander unit. Use the tilt and swivel capabilities o your ash head i necessary.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5.5. Adding It All Up Ater reading these chapters, you might come
triggering), and you can use the ash in TTL
to the conclusion that o-camera ash is
mode as well as manual mode, both on- or
expensive. Well, it can be, but it needn’t.
o-camera. Cheaper still is to buy a third-
O-camera ash isn’t dirt cheap. But then
party manual-only ash with some cheap
again, you didn’t choose photography be-
eBay triggers, but you give up the option
cause you wanted a cheap hobby or career,
o ever using TTL. And o course, there’s
did you? Even i you’re DIYing your modi-
also the second-hand market. Just make
fers, there’s still some essential hardware that
sure you know who you’re buying rom.
needs to be bought. The bare minimum kit (third-party ash + cheap “eBay triggers” +
On the other hand, i you already have
an umbrella + light stand) will set you back
a ash, then the investment needed is
$200 to $300. I you move up to the brand
minimal, and the return you get in terms
solution (brand ash that can be triggered
o photographic options is tremendous.
optically) and add a medium sotbox, you’re
Having your own little portable sun opens
now looking at $500. Add two PocketWizards
up a world o opportunity and will al-
and you’re neighbouring $1000. Spending
low you to improve your pictures in a
fve times as much as the “starter kit” won’t
way that ew gear investments can.
make your pictures fve times better, it just adds exibility, reliability, and ease o use.
I’d much rather spend less on a camera and have an o-camera ash set than the other
I your camera allows it, starting out with a
way around. As much as I love my D700, i
brand ash that can be optically triggered
money was a concern, I’d gladly trade it in or
is a very versatile solution: you can always
a D7000 or a D90 with an o-camera ash kit,
add radio triggers later i you want (when
actually saving me some money that I could
you start running into the limits o optical
use on going places to photograph things.
When two umbrellas meet.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5.. Less Is More This title reers to two things: not only is less gear sometimes better (always good to remember ater a multi-spread gear smorgasbord), less light on your picture can also make more o an impact. You’re probably amiliar with the concept o contrast: the dierence between the dark and bright parts o a photograph. Contrast is mostly thought o as something you add in post-production. But contrast can also be used during capture, with your lighting setup: then it reers to the dierence between the lit and the unlit parts o a photograph. Ater all, why would you put a big vignette on a picture in post-production to ocus on the subject, when you can do it during capture?
Sure, playing with the big, broad light sources is sae and pleasing, but ater a while, start to experiment with a bare ash. Or, restrict that bare ash by adding a snoot or a grid to it, so you have an even tighter beam o light. Use the shadows as a graphic element in your composition. Snoots and grids are among the cheapest light modifers (in act, you can make them yoursel i you’re halway handy—a prerequisite that immediately excludes me, by the way).
A grid (such as this one rom Honl) makes a very concentrated light source. It’s also eective to help avoid spill light causing are.
5
Basi O-Camera Flash Gear
5.7. My Travel Setup At home I have our Speedlights and a
weight umbrella swivel adapter on my Gitzo
LumoPro LP160, an extensive array o light
Traveler tripod as a makeshit light stand.
modifers, light stands, backdrops, and PocketWizards. However, when I’m travel-
Does this setup go up as high as I want
ling, I have to make choices. I like to travel
it to? No, but most o the time I can ask
by bicycle, so I’m limited (probably even
someone to hold it higher or me.
more than someone travelling on oot or public transportation) as to what I can take.
As ar as light modifers go, I carry a Westcott collapsible reversible umbrella, a LumiQuest
I want to include this setup because I don’t
SotBox III, a Honl Speed Strap, and some
want you to think that you need all the stu
Honl flters and gobos. My choice o camera
rom the previous pages. Most o the pictures
and lens nowadays is a D700 with a 16–35
in this eBook (and in act, all the “exotic”
F4 VR, an 85 mm 1.4 or 1.8 and sometimes
ones) were lit with only one Speedlight,
a 50 mm 1.4. I have a 24–70 and a 70–200
an SB-900, triggered by the built-in ash
but rarely take them with me or travel.
o my D90 or D700. Did I miss a ew shots
The lens kit I use now, including the ash
because the optical didn’t work? I sure did,
and the umbrella, weighs about the same
but I also made a ew shots in challeng-
as those two 2.8 lenses and oers me much
ing circumstances I thought would never
more exibility in terms o depth o feld
work, and where I’d never dream o lugging
and wide-angle ocal length. And the ash
all the heavy stu to in the frst place.
allows me to enhance the existing light.
I don’t carry a light stand with me when trav-
All o this gear nicely fts in or on
elling. I usually just ask my partner or a pas-
my ThinkTank Speed Racer, which to
senger or assistance. Sometimes I use a light-
me is the ultimate camera bag.
^ This is my lightest travel setup: (1): Nikon SB-900 Speedlight (and other miscellaneous items such as Honl flters) (2) Westcott collapsible 43-inch umbrella (I almost always use it shoot-through), tied to the handle o the bag with rubber bands or to an optional ThinkTank Skin Chimp Cage (not shown here) (3) LumiQuest LQ3 Sotbox (4) 85 mm 1.4 or 1.8 (5) Filters / 50 mm 1.4 (6) Nikon D700 with battery grip and 16–35 F4 VR (7) Hoodman loupe (8) The bag that holds it all: the ThinkTank Speed Racer.This bag has a modular belt, so i I need to carry more gear, I can add extra pouches to the belt. Most o the travel pictures in this book were shot with this “minimalist” setup, or a variation thereo.
6
Setting Up a Nikon or O-Camera Flash: Seven Easy Steps . Just to show you how sim-
. Press the Menu button.
ple it is, we’ll give you a quick
Depending on where you last
walk-through on how to start
were, it might be necessary
working with o-camera ash
to press the let side o the
with a Nikon D7000 and an SB-
directional pad until one o
700 Speedlight. You only need
the seven menu items is high-
three buttons: the Menu button
lighted. Then press the pad
(1), the OK button (2), and the
up or down until the pencil
directional pad (3), which can
icon (the icon or the Custom
be pressed upwards, downwards,
Setting menu) is highlighted,
to the let, and to the right.
and press the OK button or press the right side o the pad.
3. Scroll down (by repeatedly
4. Scroll down again until
pressing the pad downwards)
you’ve reached custom setting
until you reach custom setting
e3: Flash cntrl or built-in ash.
e: Bracketing/ash. Press OK or
Press OK (or press the right
press the right side o the pad.
side o the pad) to enter the submenu shown here. Navigate
(When you’re in a menu, pressing
to the bottom by pressing the
the right side o the pad will dive
pad downwards until you’ve
deeper into that menu, pressing
reached the last option, Com-
the let side is like an escape key,
mander mode, and press OK.
returning to the previous level.)
6
Setting Up a Nikon or O-Camera Flash: Seven Easy Steps 5. Fields that are highlighted in yellow can be changed by pressing up and down. Committing those changes and moving on to the next feld is done by pressing let or right. First, set the Built-in ash to Mode ‘--’, so it will only trigger remote ashes, but not contribute to the exposure. Then, move to Group A and set that up how your want. Best choices are M (where you can set the power in the Comp. feld) or TTL, where you can dial in any ash compensation in the Comp. feld.
. Pop up your built-in ash and then
7. You have to assign the ash to a group (you’ve
grab your Speedlight, because now it’s time
determined the ash mode and power output o
to turn on that SB700 and set it up as a
that group in step 5). The Sel button allows you to
remote. The great thing about recent Nikon
highlight the GR (Group) feld or the CH (Channel)
ashes is that they have a dedicated lever
feld. When highlighted, you can change groups (or
switch to turn the ash on in normal mode
channels) by turning the rotary wheel let or right. To
or into Remote or Commander mode.
applying the changes, press the OK button. Make sure
In order to turn the lever to Remote or
the channel setting corresponds to the one you have
Commander, you have to press down the
on your camera (step 5). The Zoom button, combined
button inside the lever and turn it at the
with the rotary wheel, will allow you to change the
same time. It’s a saeguard to prevent you
zoom setting. Now, put the ash on a light stand
rom accidentally entering these modes.
(or handhold it), attach any modifer you like, press the shutter, and see the wireless magic happen!
7
Setting Up a Canon or O-Camera Flash: Seven Easy Steps . Just to show you how
. Press the Menu but-
simple it is, we’ll give you
ton. Depending on where
a quick walk-through on
you last were, it might be
how to start working with
necessary to push the let
o-camera ash with a
side o the rocker switch
Canon 60D and a 580EX
until the letmost icon (a
Speedlite. You only need two
camera and one white dot)
buttons (the Menu button
is highlighted. Then use the
(1) and the OK/Set button
rotary wheel to highlight the
(2)), the rotary wheel (4),
last option: Flash control.
and the rocker switch (3) inside the rotary wheel.
3. Press the Set button to go
4. Scroll down with the
into the ash control menu.
rotary wheel to the item
Using the rotary wheel,
called Wireless unc. Press
scroll down to Built-in ash
Set to enter its menu. In this
unc. setting and press Set.
menu, use the rotary wheel to choose the third option: this symbol means that the built-in ash will unction to trigger your remote ash, but it will not participate in the actual exposure.
7
Setting Up a Canon or O-Camera Flash: Seven Easy Steps 5. In the Built-in ash unc. setting menu, you’ll also fnd the other important controls, such as: •
Flash mode: lets you select between fring your remote ash in E-TTL mode or Manual mode.
•
Channel: lets you set the channel that is used or communication between your onboard ash and the remote ash.
•
Firing group: lets you assign ashes to dierent groups (A, B) and control their power independently.
•
Flash
output/exp. comp: lets you set the remote ash’s output manually or lets you enter an exposure compensation amount (i you’re in E-TTL mode).
. Pop up your built-in ash and then
7. Make sure the channel is set to 1. I it’s
grab your Speedlite, because now it’s time
not, press the ZOOM button twice until the
to turn on that 580 EX and set it up as
CH. icon blinks. Change the channel with the
a remote. Just switch on the ash with
ash’s rotary wheel and press the center but-
the On/O button and set the dedicated
ton o the rotary wheel to apply the changes.
switch below (just above the tightening knob) to Slave. “Slave” will show up on
Pressing the Zoom button three times will allow you
the LCD Screen. I you have a 580 EX II,
to go into the slave settings, where you can assign
there’s no longer a dedicated switch and
the ash to any o the three groups (A, B, and C).
you have to press the ZOOM button or a couple o seconds: a menu will appear that lets you set the ash to remote.
8
Shooting Pitures with O-Camera Flash: A Failsae Ten-Step Approah
In hapters 6 and 7 we looked at the atual “button-pressing” sequene o setting up a ash to be optially triggered. I you’re working with other amera models or radio triggers, please reer to their manuals. One you’ve got your ash and your amera talking to eah other, either via a proprietary optial system or through an interpreter like a radio trigger or even a syn able, you are ready to shoot pitures with o-amera ash. The purpose o this hapter is to give you a more theoretial walk-through o the steps involved in making a piture that is—at least partly—lit by o-amera ash. O-camera ash isn’t that much more complicated than other orms o photography, especially considering the extra control and possibilities you get.
First o all, remember that ash is just another light source, albeit with some particular characteristics we discussed earlier.
Some o your options will be dictated by your gear, or others you’ll have a choice. As always in photography, it’s a matter o priorities.
Most o my pictures start out as ollows… I normally work
. Setting the Ambient Exposure
3. Chek Your Triggering System
For starters, leave that ash turned o and frst determine
Make sure your triggering system is working. I you’re trig-
how much (i any) available light you want in the picture.
gering optically, that means ensuring the inrared receiver
You can either work in ull manual mode or in aperture or
o your remote ash is acing your commander ash.
shutter priority. In the latter cases, use exposure compensation to change the ambient exposure rom what your meter
4. Fire a Test Shot
suggests. Choose a combination o -stop, shutter speed, and
Assuming you work manually, you could start with the lowest
ISO that suits your needs. Do you want more or less depth
power setting o your ash, but as that is almost always be too
o feld? Do you want to reeze action or not? When setting
low, I would generally start anywhere rom 1/16 to 1/4 power.
shutter speed, make sure not to exceed the sync speed, un-
When working with TTL ash, I’ll very oten start at one stop un-
less you’re working with a system that’s capable o high-speed
der the camera suggestion, using ash exposure compensation.
sync. We’ll discuss high-speed sync in an upcoming eBook.
in manual mode and I’d advise you to do the same, at least until you have wrapped your head around how all the variables interact. Then you can shove all that careully built knowledge aside and surrender yoursel to the whims o TTL o-camera ash. Just kidding! Both TTL and manual have their place in a workow. As with lenses, it’s a matter o choosing the right tool or the right job.
. Set Up the First Flash
5. Inspet the Test Shot Chimp at (sorry: careully inspect) the image on your
Then switch on your ash. I you’re going to use multiple ashes
LCD. (By the way: it helps i you’ve matched your cam-
in dierent locations, start with the most important one frst.
era LCD brightness to that o a calibrated monitor.)
Choose a modifer that suits the mood you’re ater and apply any gels needed or creative or colour-correction purposes.
8
Shooting Pitures with O-Camera Flash: A Failsae Ten-Step Approah
. Adjust Your Flash Output When Needed, or… Flash power too low? Dial up your ash. Flash power too high? Dial it down. Pretty simple, huh?
background): moving the light closer to the
tion light or a fll light), and repeat steps 2
subject will make the ash-to-subject distance
to 8. Don’t set up all your lights at once: i
relatively short, and the ash-to-background
you run into lighting problems, it will be di-
distance relatively long. This means the light will
fcult to know which ash is causing them.
all o more quickly, causing your background
7. Adjust the Flash-toSubjet Distane and Position, or… There’s another way o changing your ash power, i you think back to our discussion o the inverse square law: ash power too high? Move ash arther away. In act, increasing the ash-to-subject distance by 40% will halve the power o your ash. Doubling it will put it to 1/4 o its original power. Bear in mind that this will also make the quality o your light harder. The relative size o your light source diminishes, remember? It’s all interconnected!
to become darker. This needn’t be a bad thing.
Changing the eective power o your ash by moving it arther or closer is something
important i you’re already maxed out and only have one ash. Put your ash closer: halving the distance will make that ash our times as powerul. Again, this move will also change the quality o your light and the lighting o your background (i you’re working with a
Start with the ambient, then add your ashes one by one.
that only works in manual mode: in TTL, your almighty camera processor immediately compensates or any changes in distance. Again, a good thing when time is o the
1 to 9 is really all there is, but “nine
essence, less so when you want control.
steps” sounds kinda o, doesn’t it?
. Use a Combination o Both… In practice, you’ll soon fnd yoursel combin-
Flash power too low? This one’s especially
0. ...
It’s just something you have to be aware o.
ing both: changing ash power to quickly get you in the ball park and then fne-tuning your ash’s distance (and orientation).
9. Add a Seond Light and Go Bak to Step Make sure everything is set beore you add another light (e.g. a so-called rim or separa-
9
Nine Cases
In this hapter I’ll have a look at nine pitures that used at least some amount o o-amera ash. Sometimes that light was a pretty important part o the total exposure, at other times you hardly even notie it’s there (that is, until you would atually take it away)... I’ll always inlude the Exi ino and either desribe or show the light setup. I hope these pitures will enourage you to experiment with o-amera ash. All o these were lit using one Nikon SB-900, optically triggered by the on-camera ash o either a D90 or a D700. The only modifers I used were a LumiQuest SotBox III and a Westcott collapsible reversible umbrella. For a complete look on my travel set, see 5.7.
I you use one o the entry level or top o the line Nikons, or a dierent brand o camera or ash alltogether, you still could have made those pictures. You just might have needed a dierent triggering system, as discussed in Chapter 5.2.
We’ll end this chapter with a bonus case that announces some more advanced techniques that
. 1 . 9
Young Guitar God at Temple: Sot Light rom Above...
9
Nine Cases
. Young Guitar God at Temple: Sot Light rom Above... Near Yogyakarta, Java’s cultural hotspot,
his eet show that the light is indeed coming
I met this young boy while I was visit-
rom the top. This very symmetrical, even
ing a ruined temple. He played his guitar
light gives an open, young eel to the sub-
with such zeal, pose, and devotion that
ject but the shadows are still distinct enough
it made Guns N’ Roses look like a bunch
to give the image depth and some drama.
o debutants. The modernity o the electric guitar and his youth contrasted
Had I had a second ash with me, I could
beautiully with the old crumbling ruins
have used it as a rim light to separate his
o the temple. I asked his parents i I
dark hair rom the temple stairs but to
could take his picture and they agreed.
paraphrase a well-known photography book: the best ash is the one you have with you.
I wanted the light to come rom above and in ront o him, so I improvised a boom (a light stand that you can y over your subject) by attaching my ash and umbrella to a bracket, which I in turn put on my ully extended Gitzo Traveler tripod. Instead o opening the tripod’s legs, I let them together and asked the boy’s ather to stand behind me and extend the whole rig above me, in ront o and over the boy, just out o rame. The umbrella is a sot light source, but part o that sotness is lost because o the distance between the modifer and the subject. The relatively sot shadows below
^ A mobile phone BTS (behind the scenes) shot. Umbrella rigged to a ully expanded tripod due to a lack o a proper light stand. Improvisation rocks, as does this boy!
When you’re travelling, you an’t put a whole lighting studio in your bakpak. Improvisation is not only mandatory, it’s un! To contrast with the medium-sot light, I gave the raw fle you see here a a contemporary, desaturated, and gritty postproduction, letting the chrome on the guitar and the crumbling rocks stand out.
. 2 . 9
...versus Hard Light rom Below
9
Nine Cases
. ...versus Hard Light rom Below Warning: this picture may dam-
tive wasn’t an option, so I decided to
age your appetite!
emphasize the butcher by lighting him.
I don’t know i this only happens
I wanted to put my Speedlight behind
to me, but I oten fnd that the pic-
the metal bowl on the counter but there
tures I doubt are worth taking end
were puddles o blood all over the place.
up becoming my avourites. The idea o literally rying my ash in blood I saw this scene rom the corner o my eye,
did not appeal to me. Luckily, the butcher
because I was speeding down some South
saw my agony and gave me a plastic bag
Indian hill on my bicycle and the potholed
to rest the ash on. I normally carry those
road demanded the bulk o my attention.
with me but I had run out o them.
I squeezed the brakes and nodded my head
I returned to my position and trig-
towards the camera, the universal sign
gered the ash using the built-
language or “can I take your picture?”
in ash rom my camera.
This open-air butcher shop had a slightly
This isn’t your average sae “45° up and
apocalyptic eel to it. There were carcasses
over” sot umbrella light. It’s harsh light
everywhere and I wanted to portray that.
that comes rom below and throws a
So that called or a wide angle lens. But
harsh, spooky shadow. About as harsh
shooting wide exaggerates distance, so I
and spooky as the actual scene was.
knew the butcher, who is also an important part o the image, would wind up rather
Choose your light’s position and its quality
small in the rame. Backing up and using
(hard or sot) to match the atmosphere.
a telephoto lens to compress perspec-
Paking a ouple o 0-ent Ziplok bags goes a long way to protet a $400 ash rom rain... or blood.
Flash wrapped in Ziplock bag and put in a pool o animal blood behind the metal tile. Many times, when triggering a remote ash with inrared, you can go beyond the manuacturer recommendations that state there should be line o sight between your commander and remote ash. Many times, but not always: i you need 100% consistency, as in commercial shoots, you’ll want to invest in radio triggers. Systems such as the new state-o-the-art PocketWizard TT1/TT5 combo (available or Canon and Nikon) allow you to combine manual and TTL control rom your camera with a range o up to 100 meters without need o line o sight.
. 3 . 9
The Tiniest Cobbler Shop in the World: Bouning and Slow Shutter Speed
9
Nine Cases
3. The Tiniest Cobbler Shop in the World: Bouning and Slow Shutter Speed This Iranian cobbler’s shop must have
is eat up a lot o power. When used straight
ognizable. I love wide-angle
been the smallest shop I ever set oot in.
on outside, they don’t really diuse a lot,
portraiture, because it shows
I think it was maximum fve eet by fve
they just waste lot o light through their
people in their context.
eet. The lighting was difcult: outside it
sides. But in very confned quarters like this
was pitch black and inside there was just a
shop, the diuser sends light in all direc-
I think I spent hal an hour
household bulb dangling rom the ceiling,
tions, which can then bounce against the
in the shop, until my legs
high above the man. So, we had a relatively
nearby walls. The light also picks up the
cramped up... In situations like
distant, small, unsotened light source right
colour o the walls it hits. These walls were
these, you’re bound to draw
above our subject. That
a crowd. I you’re
means without any extra
insecure about
light, the eyes would be dark and lieless, because
Take your time to build a rapport with the people you’re photographing.
asking people to take their pho-
they’d be in the shade
tograph, just ask
caused by the light bulb.
one and chances are the others will ask you
So, I set up an SB-900. There was no
covered with all kinds o posters, but I knew
to have their photograph taken.
way I could diuse the light with an
I was going to give the picture a vintage
umbrella without the diuser show-
post-processing treatment anyway, so col-
One year later, I revisited this city on
ing up in my ultra wide-angle view, so
our accuracy was the least o my concern.
another trip and I thought it would be nice to bring him some larger prints
I decided to bounce the ashlight. As I wanted to convey motion, I used
than the usual PoGo prints I oer peo-
This is one o those rare occasions where
a relatively slow shutter speed. Slow
ple. The shop hadn’t changed a bit. Nor
I used the little diuser that comes with
enough to have the hammering motion
had he—still lovingly mending shoes
many ashes. Don’t use them outside, in
shown as a blur but still somewhat rec-
in the tiniest shoe store in the world.
the sun, because the only thing they’ll do
^ One o the ew times I used the diuser dome.
. 4 . 9
When in Doubt: Leave Leav e the Light Stand, Bring the Light
9
Nine Cases
4. When in Doubt: Leave the Light Stand, Bring the Light I fnd it harder and harder to carry lots o gear. It’s one o the main reasons I was contemplating buying a Leica M9 last year. But then I thought o all the un stu I’d be missing, like this whole o-camera ash thing. Sure, you can put a PocketWizard on a Leica but it’s really not a pretty sight. I’ll reconsider when PocketWizard brings out a vintage-loo vintage-looking king version!
Nevertheless, I try to keep my weight down. I did a search through my Lightroom catalog that showed me what ocal lengths I use a lot and, based on that research, I now tend to leave the heavy 2.8 zoom lenses at home in avour o an F/4 wide-angle zoom, an F/1.4 50 mm, and an F/1.4 or F/1.8 85 mm. I rarely bring a proper light stand. I do carry a light-weight umbrella adapter and my Gitzo Traveler tripod because, in a pinch, the Gitzo can double as a light stand. (But I wouldn’t want to carry the kind o light stand that can double as a tripod...)
Oten, I just ask a passerby to hold my light or me. It’s always a lot o un and makes or an instant connection, connection, even i you don’t know the language.
^ You generally don’t have to look ar to fnd a voice-activated light stand (VAL). The only thing to watch out or is that your VAL’s hand does not accidentally cover up the inrared receiver (encircled in red on the inset in the picture), i you’re using inrared to trigger.
. 5 . 9
Cath Those Cathlights
9
Nine Cases
5. Cath Those Cathlights I the eyes are the window to the soul, then
subject, the larger the catchlights will be
just taped a cross onto the ace o the sotbox
catchlights are the window to the eyes.
and the more lively the person will appear.
using black gaer tape, making its catchlight resemble a classic our-pane window.
Gather ten portraits you really, really like.
The same holds or ash-induced catchlights:
Now gather ten more that you fnd OK, but
the catchlight o your on-camera ash will be
When you’re eeling romantic, you could try
not completely.
cutting out a heart
I something’s
in an otherwise
missing in
black piece o
a portrait, it very oten is
Cathing a athlight in your subjet’s eyes will make your photograph ath the eyes o its viewers later on.
a catchlight.
cardboard and tape that to your sotbox. Just bring it in close enough
Creating catch-
and people will
lights with ambient-only light is a matter
but a pin in the eyes o your subject, which
see hearts in your subject’s eyes... O course,
o trying to position your subject in relative
might be more o a nuisance than something
you’ll stand little chance o passing the im-
shade, acing a large bright object, such as
welcome. I you want bigger catchlights, use
age o as one that was lit without ash.
a white wall, a window or... a reector.
a larger diuser or bring your subject closer. Dean Collins, the guru o ash education in
The closer you place that white reective
the eighties, even had a cool technique to
surace—be it a wall or a reector—to your
make a sotbox simulate window light: he
. 6 . 9
Four Weddings and a Fashion Shoot: Classi Umbrella Light or a Classy Lady
9
Nine Cases
Four Weddings and a Fashion Shoot: Classi Umbrella Light or a Classy Lady No an, no running water, no electricity: guest-
their ashes to complement the ambient light,
On a Nikon, when you set exposure com-
house inrastructure really wasn’t South Javanese
trying to make that “perect” fll-in ash.
pensation, the camera will think you want
Pantai Balekambang’s (Balekambang beach)
to darken the whole scene (including any
main draw. But the view, oh the view! The beach
However, that may not be how you want
ash you might want to add). So, you have
with its picturesque water temple appeared to
to render the scene. Luckily, there’s such a
to compensate or that, i you want to have
be on every Indonesian photographer’s list that
thing as exposure compensation (EC) and
a “correct” amount o ash on your subject.
day. In one hour’s time, no less than our wed-
ash exposure compensation (FEC).
Say you underexpose the background by one
ding photographers showed up, allowing or a
stop, you’re better o dialing in + 1 FEC on
much-needed gear and geek chat. But that was
A very common technique when working TTL is
your ash. Simply put, the +1 on the ash
^
nothing compared to the ashion team that set
to underexpose the background by one or two
will cancel out the -1 you dialed in on your
up shop later that aternoon. In between two
stops (as I did in this picture) and then bring
camera. The result should be an underexposed
shoots, I took my chance and asked i I could
out the subject with ash. This makes or an
background and a correctly exposed subject.
take a shot. I was allowed the proverbial one
instant dramatic, obviously ash-lit look that
Thanks to me orgetting to set my pop-up ash to commander, I now actually have a picture that shows what the ambient-only (without ash) exposure looks like.
minute, which stressed me out so much I almost
automatically pulls the eye to the subject. It
Canon tackles this dierently: (ambient)
orgot my camera controls! I decided to play it
looks spectacular and is quite easy to achieve.
exposure compensation and ash exposure compensation are two separate things. In the
sae and put up an umbrella to the model’s let. I underexposed the background by about one
There’s just an important dierence in the
same example as above, you’d just have to
stop and let Nikon’s CLS TTL magic do its thing.
way Nikon and Canon TTL ashes work.
set your ash to TTL and only underexpose the background by one stop.
When you’ve only got a minute, there’s not much time to be brave or innovative. You just press and pray!
When you’ve only got one shot at it, play it sae, press and pray.
bear in mind. First o all, most camera manuacturers program
are so many variables contributing to the calculation o the ash out-
When working TTL, there are a couple o important things to
Yet, this is theory. In practice, there
For me, that’s working TTL with a slightly underexposed bakground.
put in TTL that, along with theory, you’ll need some experience to get predictable and repeatable results.
^ Belgian photographer, wearing a highly unashionable mix o ip-ops, detachable travel pants, and orange checkered shirt, about to lose big time in a game o “my modifer is bigger than yours.”
. 7 . 9
Gelling Your Flash to Math the Ambient
9
Nine Cases
7 Gelling Your Flash to Math the Ambient I very rarely pay cash or photographs. I
his ashgun and put it on his camera. I can
giving your wallet to your girlriend in an
preer to give people a print rom my port-
only guess what the resulting pictures must
Iranian bazaar is not recommended) at a
able PoGo printer. It makes or a much
have looked like: underexposed and blurry
45° angle above him and to his right.
warmer, riendlier, and longer-lasting
(in the case o the non-ash ones) or at,
thank you than handing over cold cash.
Xerox-like driver’s licence style mug shots.
When asking people to act as a VAL (voiceactivated light stand), the single most
For that reason, I wasn’t planning on taking
Because I thought the guy deserved better,
important thing to check is that their
a picture o this man. He was standing in an
I opened both my wallet and the Westcott
fngers don’t cover the inrared receiver.
open-air square o a bazaar in Esahan,
I warmed the light o the ash
Iran. Everybody who
by adding some amount o CTO
photographed him had to pay a little baksjiesj (a tip). And boy, did this guy make a good
The dierene between this piture and the ountless others made o the same man lies in using o-amera ash and a heap, $5 umbrella.
cal and international photographed him.
the warm light o the bazaar shops behind the man.
A couple o months later, this
living or what: tons o tourists, both lo-
flter to make it better match
$5 also makes the dierene between a snapshot that won’t even make it to Flikr and a over photo or a national magazine.
image was used as the cover or a national photography magazine.
It wouldn’t have eatured there i I hadn’t had my umbrella with me.
Some used no ash, which was quite a challenge because the ambient light was
collapsible reversible umbrella I almost al-
quite low. Others used pop-up ashes, and
ways carry with me and asked my girlriend
there was even someone who whipped out
to hold it (the umbrella, not the wallet:
. 8 . 9
Introduing the Stoned Cylist
9
Nine Cases
8 Introduing the Stoned Cylist The Balinese temple Pura Maduwe Karang is a
There was still some spill let, but I took care o that
pretty little temple in its own right, but or cy-
in post production by dragging in a graduated flter in
clists, it has extra appeal. There’s a sculpture o a
Lightroom at about a 45° angle rom the top let corner.
man riding a bicycle with ower wheels on one o the temple’s sides. We arrived there—on our slightly less poetic bicycles—during the day, when
Subjets don’t have to be alive to be lit.
the sun was high and the light all but attering.
I had a very specifc image in my mind o how I wanted to portray this sculpture: I wanted the eeling o late-aternoon, low sunlight that would gently rake along the edges o the sculpture, nicely revealing texture and orm. However, what I got is shown in the square picture on the right o the page. So much or my vision. Waiting until sunset was not an option (cycling ater dark in Bali is something only the locals and tired-o-lie Westerners do).
So I asked my girlriend Ruth once again to be a voice-activated light stand. The light, on which I had put a CTO gel to mimic the golden aternoon sunlight, was almost placed parallel to the sculptured wall. A frst test showed too much light spilling rom the ash directly onto the let side o the pic-
^
ture so I used a VAF (voice-activated ag, i.e. Ruth’s
Using a hand as an impromptu ag to prevent light rom spreading to undesired areas in the rame.
hand) to keep the light rom spilling too much.
^ The scene as it actually looked with the ambient “white” daylight.
. 9 . 9
Two Lights or the Prie o One
9
Nine Cases
9 Two Lights or the Prie o One Photography is still mostly a two-dimensional me-
ing into the sun, the sun became an automatic
dium. Reality, however, is three-dimensional. The
rim light, nicely separating the woman’s shoulder
trick is to translate that third dimension, distance,
and hat rom the crop behind her, and separating
as well as possible onto your at photograph. One
that crop in turn rom the mountains behind.
could easily fll an entire eBook on various ways to add depth back into a two-dimensional image.
Photographing against the sun also would have
In act, that book’s already been written by David
plunged her ace in shadows, so I used a bare ash
duChemin and it’s called A Deeper Frame. It’s a rec-
to lighten up the oreground. I was working alone
ommended read, available rom Crat & Vision.
without a light stand so I had to handhold the ash. The resulting raw fle was not completely what I had
Now, specifcally with regards to lighting: ask any studio
in mind, but I decided it was worth trying to salvage
photographer how they’d separate (and thereore add
in Lightroom and Photoshop. Since the scene was
depth to) a dark-clothed woman rom a dark background
already lacking in colour anyway, I decided to convert
and they’ll immediately say: add a second ash as a rim
it to black and white. I also brightened the oreground
^
(or separation light). But what i you’re in an Indian
area that was out o reach or my ash and I dark-
village at 10,000 eet, and you only have one ash?
ened the camera let part that had too much ash.
Well, you may have only one ash, but you have two
The whole post-processing took about an hour
light sources: the second light source in this picture
and a hal. It’s those lengthy post-processing
was o course the low setting sun. By photograph-
experiences that are humbling reminders
What I saw on my LCD, and later on my monitor, wasn’t really what I had envisioned: a oreground that was way too bright, and haystacks to the right that were dull, lieless, and underexposed. Still, I thought the picture was worth trying to salvage so I remembered the old adage “I you can’t get it right in camera, fx it in Photoshop.” So, one could actually say that there were three light sources used in the fnal picture: the setting sun, the Speedlight and the digital light added in Photoshop!
that it’s better to get it right in camera.
Enhancing pictures post-capture by lightening certain parts and darkening others is almost as old as photography itsel. It’s still a process that requires patience and skill, and above all, a good vision o what you want the fnal picture to say, and a undamental knowledge o how pictures are interpreted by viewers. I use dodging and burning so oten that I’ve not only created my own custom Photoshop palette or it but I’ll also dedicate an entire Crat & Vision eBook to the subject.
c
Conlusion: And Now... It’s Up To You!
First o all, ongratulations or making it so ar. The world o o-amera ash is a highly intriguing one that opens antasti reative opportunities. I’ve tried my best to lay out the oundations (and even some more advaned topis) to get you on the road. Now, it’s up to you. Don’t be tempted to go and buy the expensive goodies right away. As noted above, the basi kit really isn’t that expensive. In at, you might already have all you need to get started. Now put this book away (or take it with you) and start
Models are everywhere. Go to your local ballet school or
practicing. Team up with a riend and go shooting together.
skate park. Oer to work on a TFP 4 or TFCD5 basis. That’ll
Start inside, where it’s easier to control the ambient light.
give you some shots to add to your lighting portolio.
Share your gear... and your ideas with other photographers.
Always think things through. Think o the undamental laws and how you can use them to your advantage.
Take along a laptop or iPad so you can review your images ater a couple o hours. On your LCD, every-
When you eel confdent enough inside, take your gear
thing looks great. It takes a bigger screen to notice
outside so you can learn to work with (and sometimes
aws. Learn rom your mistakes and write them
fght with) the biggest ambient light source o them
down. Build up a mental “do and don’t” list.
all: the sun. Start out when the sun’s not at its brightest: in the mornings or evenings, or in shaded areas.
Next time, take your in-progress lighting portolio with you, and you’ll have even less trouble convincing peo-
Working with small ashes in really sunny condi-
ple to pose. Ater a while, people will ask you and, i
4
tions poses its own set o problems, and oppor-
that’s your aim, you might even start charging or it!
5
tunities like we saw in the last case study.
All pictures © Piet Van den Eynde, unless noted otherwise Oh, and don’t orget to turn your ash o every once
Team up with a riend and share your gear: two ashes
in a while and work with “true” available light.
last longer than one. But more importantly, two minds are smarter than one: share your ideas. Alternate between being a photographer and being a voice-activated light stand.
TFP = (Model’s) Time (in exchange) For Prints TFCD = (Model’s) Time (in exchange) For (a) CD (with images)
Enjoy!
Thanks to you, Ruth, or your continued support. My gratitude also goes out to the many people portrayed in this book and to the lovely olks o YourPix.be photo studio. My simple set-up pictures o chapter 4 don’t do your great place justice. And I have to come back or that rain curtain!
C
! s u n o B
Bonus Piture: Sunburst at Noon. When One Light Just Won’t Do… All o the images up to now had a number o actors in common: they were shot at or below sync speed, using only one remote ash. They all used a manuacturer-specifc (in this case Nikon, but you could have done something similar with a Canon) triggering system and used a limited range o modifers.
This limited gear already allows or a very immersive experience with o-camera ash. But there’s a lot more to be discovered: as you can see rom the Exi ino o this skater picture, there might be reasons to choose dierent triggers or higher-than-sync speeds. You might also want to use more than one ash. We’ll cover these more advanced eatures like working with more ashes, overpowering sunlight, and high-speed syncing in a ollow-up to this eBook. We’ll also introduce you to some more modifers and, to prevent you growing tired o travel pictures, we’ll add some new themes. The book will also eature interviews with, and tips and advice rom, our other photographers that are knee-deep into o-camera ash.
Nikon D700 | VR 16-35mm /4G | 16mm | Manual exposure /22 @ 1/320s | 2 SB-900s at ull power
