taking the Flash off the Camera
Flash Brackets On-camera flash is used sparingly because of the flat, harsh light it produces. As an alternative, many photographers use on-camera flash brackets, which posi- tion the flash over and away from the lens, thus minimizing flash red-eye and dropping the harsh shadows behind the subjects—a slightly more flattering light. On-camera flash is often used outdoors, especially with TTL-balanced flash-exposure systems. With such systems, you can adjust the flash output for various fill-in ratios, thus producing consistent exposures. In these situations,
above—Small wired flash units combined with various PC cords, slaves and reflectors. Photo courtesy of ProPhotolife.com. right—moving the flash off the camera, and more importantly, off the lens/subject axis, produces more dynamic lighting. here, bruce dorn used a Strobe Slipper with a Canon 580 eX Speedlite and a radio Popper remote activa- tion unit for his basic lighting. the small flash was aimed into a small softbox, which, when used close to the subject, produces delightfully soft light. dorn had an assistant hold the light, remotely fired from the camera, off to the right and slightly above the subject’s head height so that it produced what is known as a loop lighting pattern. this is characterized by the off-to-the-side shadow under the nose.
the on-camera flash is most frequently used to fill in the shadows caused by the daylight, or to match the ambient light output in order to provide direction to the light.
Wired Flash Triggering Many small flash units (and most studio flash units) support PC connectors, electrical connectors/wires used to connect cameras to the flash units. These convey a trigger current but do not carry digital data of any kind, such as me- tering information. All pro and high-end DSLRs have a built-in PC socket. If your camera doesn’t have one—and many low-to mid-range DSLRs don’t— you can buy a small adapter that plugs into the camera’s hot-shoe mount, al- lowing it to accept a PC cable.
The major camera companies offer limited support for PC connectors, but this is rarely an issue, since PC sockets are purely for manual flash triggering. PC triggering has become increasingly popular again for digital photographers, however, since the LCD screen allows the flash effect to be seen immediately. Another option for creating a wired connection between your camera and off-camera flash is to use a dedicated TTL sync cord. This attaches from the hot-shoe of the camera to the foot of the flash. Although they are substantially more expensive than PC cables, dedicated TTL cords allow you to use all the features of your TTL flash and keep any advanced high-speed flash-sync options in play.
Wireless Flash Triggering If using multiple flash units (to light the dance floor, for instance), wired con- nections will quickly become impractical. Instead, some type of remote trig- gering device will be needed to sync all the flashes at the instant of exposure. There are a variety of these devices available. Light-actuated slaves are sensitive to the light of a flash unit being fired and trigger the flash to which they are attached at the same instant they sense a flash going off. Unfortunately, this can be your flash or someone else’s—a real drawback to this type of remote flash trigger. Infrared receivers are triggered by a coded pulse of infrared light from a transmitter, so they are unaffected by flash-happy point-and-shooters at your event. The infrared transmitters are battery-dependent, but the receivers do not require batteries. Like the flash itself, the transmitter must recycle between
left and above—bruce dorn has come up with a remote softbox that he uses on location called the Strobe Slipper (available from his web site: www.idcphotography.com). the Photoflex softbox is small and maneuverable and uses a Canon (or nikon) Speedlight mounted to a stainless steel plate, which also holds a Pocketwizard receiver. the wire- less transmitter is mounted in the hot-shoe of dorn’s Canon dSlr. the image to the left was made with a Strobe Slipper with the light used facing the model and allowed to wrap around her with no reflector. the strobe exposure is, naturally, balanced with the daylight exposure for a perfect combination of daylight and studio strobe.
left—radio Poppers, starting in the $70 range, give photographers the ability to reliably control nearly any type of off-camera lighting. their flagship PX transmitter and receiv- ers remove the line-of-sight limitations of ettl/ittl strobes, enabling them to be used inside or in direct sunlight at distances up to 1500 feet—all the while being able to take full advantage of high speed sync.
above—the Pocketwizard Plus ii™ trans- ceiver is beautiful in its simplicity. it is “auto-sensing,” meaning it automatical- ly switches from receive to transmit as needed and reliably triggers lights and/or cameras up to 1600 feet away. utilizing advanced digital technology, four 16-bit channels are available for selective fir- ing of lights or remote cameras. images can be captured at up to 12 frames per second—faster then any current dSlr. ultra-fast microprocessors allow for top sync speeds of 1/250 second for focal-plane shutters and 1/500 second for leaf shutters. right—Christian lalonde photographed this couple using a nikon d700 and Sb- 800 flash and a 28–70mm f/2.8 lens. the Sb-800 Speedlight was gelled to warm the couple and cool down the ambient light. a Pocketwizard was attached to a clamp holding the Speedlight. all were mounted to a copper pipe and handheld.
photos; as the transmitter’s batteries near the end of their life, the transmitter’s recycling time will increase. A third type, the radio remote triggering device, uses a radio signal that is transmitted when you press the shutter release and then picked up by indi- vidual receivers mounted to each flash. These are reliable, but not foolproof—a cordless microphone may trigger them accidentally. Radio remotes transmit
the beauty of off-camera flash is that you can use it just off-axis to produce beautiful head-on fashion-type lighting. this image was made by jb and deette Sallee with a Quantum t5d-r at 1/2 power in a small softbox from a few feet away. (nikon d2X; aF dC-nikkor 135mm f/2d; iSo 100)
signals in either digital or analog form. Digital systems, like PocketWizards and Radio Poppers, are much more reliable and are not affected by local radio sig- nals. Some photographers use, as part of their standard equipment, a separate transmitter for each camera being used (for instance, an assistant’s camera), as well as a separate transmitter for the handheld flashmeter, allowing the photog- rapher to take remote flash readings from anywhere in the room. Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS). Some of the latest DSLRs and their TTL flash systems allow you to set up remote flash units in groups, all keyed to the flash on the camera. The latest development in electronic flash is a device Nikon calls the SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander. This enables you to wirelessly coordinate the independent operation of two groups of Nikon Speedlights in close-up mode, or three groups (A, B, C) of compatible Speedlights in commander mode. In either mode, the commander manages the flash output with exceptional precision, automatically delivering the light level dictated by the camera’s me- tering systems and supporting automatically balanced fill flash with compatible cameras. In use, the Speedlight Commander is remarkable because you can easily control the output and ratio between flashes and verify the results on the cam- era’s LCD. With an assistant, you can easily light scenes with multiple flashes and control the output of each flash. This simplifies the task of photographing group portraits—or, at weddings, special moments like the first dance or cake cutting—with sophisticated TTL flash lighting.
nikon’s Sb-900 allows you to control up to three remote Speedlight groups and an unlimited number of compatible Speedlights. it features auto Power Zoom coverage from 17–200mm in the FX-format and is able to discern if it is in use on an FX or dX nikon camera. its distance range is from 2 to 66 feet, depending on the iSo setting and the zoom-head position. it also features flash output level compensation from –3.0 to +3.0ev in 1/3-stop increments in i-ttl auto aperture flash modes. the Sb-900’s bounce capability ranges from +90 to –11 degrees and it rotates horizontally 180 degrees to the left and right.
Mike Colón carries a small arsenal of Nikon SB-800 AF speedlights to every wedding. “I’ve been setting them up strategically around the dance floor at my weddings for a dramatic backlight or using them for my table shots to get a natural look,” he says. “I’ll throw some light on the table from behind with one of the SB-800s, and have an SB-800 on the camera, but powered down to minus two or three stops so it looks almost like the ambient light in the room is hitting the table from the front. If you took out the backlight and shot by avail- able light only, it would look very flat. The backlighting from the speedlights makes the image pop.”
Supporting the Off-Camera Flash There are a variety of ways you can support one or a series of off-camera flash units. If using only one off-camera flash, triggered by the hot-shoe-mounted camera flash, a monopod is probably the most convenient and flexible. Man- frotto makes a full line of lightweight carbon-fiber monopods that are ideal for having an assistant position an off-camera flash. Most small flash units also come with a small stand that can be used to remotely position the flash on a table or other flat surface. On the bottom of these flash stands there is also a receptacle that allows the flash to be conve- niently attached to a monopod or light stand. A word to the wise, however: avoid overtightening, or the plastic flash
taking the Flash off the Camera
Flash Brackets On-camera flash is used sparingly because of the flat, harsh light it produces. As an alternative, many photographers use on-camera flash brackets, which posi- tion the flash over and away from the lens, thus minimizing flash red-eye and dropping the harsh shadows behind the subjects—a slightly more flattering light. On-camera flash is often used outdoors, especially with TTL-balanced flash-exposure systems. With such systems, you can adjust the flash output for various fill-in ratios, thus producing consistent exposures. In these situations,
above—Small wired flash units combined with various PC cords, slaves and reflectors. Photo courtesy of ProPhotolife.com. right—moving the flash off the camera, and more importantly, off the lens/subject axis, produces more dynamic lighting. here, bruce dorn used a Strobe Slipper with a Canon 580 eX Speedlite and a radio Popper remote activa- tion unit for his basic lighting. the small flash was aimed into a small softbox, which, when used close to the subject, produces delightfully soft light. dorn had an assistant hold the light, remotely fired from the camera, off to the right and slightly above the subject’s head height so that it produced what is known as a loop lighting pattern. this is characterized by the off-to-the-side shadow under the nose.
the on-camera flash is most frequently used to fill in the shadows caused by the daylight, or to match the ambient light output in order to provide direction to the light.
Wired Flash Triggering Many small flash units (and most studio flash units) support PC connectors, electrical connectors/wires used to connect cameras to the flash units. These convey a trigger current but do not carry digital data of any kind, such as me- tering information. All pro and high-end DSLRs have a built-in PC socket. If your camera doesn’t have one—and many low-to mid-range DSLRs don’t— you can buy a small adapter that plugs into the camera’s hot-shoe mount, al- lowing it to accept a PC cable.
The major camera companies offer limited support for PC connectors, but this is rarely an issue, since PC sockets are purely for manual flash triggering. PC triggering has become increasingly popular again for digital photographers, however, since the LCD screen allows the flash effect to be seen immediately. Another option for creating a wired connection between your camera and off-camera flash is to use a dedicated TTL sync cord. This attaches from the hot-shoe of the camera to the foot of the flash. Although they are substantially more expensive than PC cables, dedicated TTL cords allow you to use all the features of your TTL flash and keep any advanced high-speed flash-sync options in play.
Wireless Flash Triggering If using multiple flash units (to light the dance floor, for instance), wired con- nections will quickly become impractical. Instead, some type of remote trig- gering device will be needed to sync all the flashes at the instant of exposure. There are a variety of these devices available. Light-actuated slaves are sensitive to the light of a flash unit being fired and trigger the flash to which they are attached at the same instant they sense a flash going off. Unfortunately, this can be your flash or someone else’s—a real drawback to this type of remote flash trigger. Infrared receivers are triggered by a coded pulse of infrared light from a transmitter, so they are unaffected by flash-happy point-and-shooters at your event. The infrared transmitters are battery-dependent, but the receivers do not require batteries. Like the flash itself, the transmitter must recycle between
left and above—bruce dorn has come up with a remote softbox that he uses on location called the Strobe Slipper (available from his web site: www.idcphotography.com). the Photoflex softbox is small and maneuverable and uses a Canon (or nikon) Speedlight mounted to a stainless steel plate, which also holds a Pocketwizard receiver. the wire- less transmitter is mounted in the hot-shoe of dorn’s Canon dSlr. the image to the left was made with a Strobe Slipper with the light used facing the model and allowed to wrap around her with no reflector. the strobe exposure is, naturally, balanced with the daylight exposure for a perfect combination of daylight and studio strobe.
left—radio Poppers, starting in the $70 range, give photographers the ability to reliably control nearly any type of off-camera lighting. their flagship PX transmitter and receiv- ers remove the line-of-sight limitations of ettl/ittl strobes, enabling them to be used inside or in direct sunlight at distances up to 1500 feet—all the while being able to take full advantage of high speed sync.
above—the Pocketwizard Plus ii™ trans- ceiver is beautiful in its simplicity. it is “auto-sensing,” meaning it automatical- ly switches from receive to transmit as needed and reliably triggers lights and/or cameras up to 1600 feet away. utilizing advanced digital technology, four 16-bit channels are available for selective fir- ing of lights or remote cameras. images can be captured at up to 12 frames per second—faster then any current dSlr. ultra-fast microprocessors allow for top sync speeds of 1/250 second for focal-plane shutters and 1/500 second for leaf shutters. right—Christian lalonde photographed this couple using a nikon d700 and Sb- 800 flash and a 28–70mm f/2.8 lens. the Sb-800 Speedlight was gelled to warm the couple and cool down the ambient light. a Pocketwizard was attached to a clamp holding the Speedlight. all were mounted to a copper pipe and handheld.
photos; as the transmitter’s batteries near the end of their life, the transmitter’s recycling time will increase. A third type, the radio remote triggering device, uses a radio signal that is transmitted when you press the shutter release and then picked up by indi- vidual receivers mounted to each flash. These are reliable, but not foolproof—a cordless microphone may trigger them accidentally. Radio remotes transmit
the beauty of off-camera flash is that you can use it just off-axis to produce beautiful head-on fashion-type lighting. this image was made by jb and deette Sallee with a Quantum t5d-r at 1/2 power in a small softbox from a few feet away. (nikon d2X; aF dC-nikkor 135mm f/2d; iSo 100)
signals in either digital or analog form. Digital systems, like PocketWizards and Radio Poppers, are much more reliable and are not affected by local radio sig- nals. Some photographers use, as part of their standard equipment, a separate transmitter for each camera being used (for instance, an assistant’s camera), as well as a separate transmitter for the handheld flashmeter, allowing the photog- rapher to take remote flash readings from anywhere in the room. Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS). Some of the latest DSLRs and their TTL flash systems allow you to set up remote flash units in groups, all keyed to the flash on the camera. The latest development in electronic flash is a device Nikon calls the SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander. This enables you to wirelessly coordinate the independent operation of two groups of Nikon Speedlights in close-up mode, or three groups (A, B, C) of compatible Speedlights in commander mode. In either mode, the commander manages the flash output with exceptional precision, automatically delivering the light level dictated by the camera’s me- tering systems and supporting automatically balanced fill flash with compatible cameras. In use, the Speedlight Commander is remarkable because you can easily control the output and ratio between flashes and verify the results on the cam- era’s LCD. With an assistant, you can easily light scenes with multiple flashes and control the output of each flash. This simplifies the task of photographing group portraits—or, at weddings, special moments like the first dance or cake cutting—with sophisticated TTL flash lighting.
nikon’s Sb-900 allows you to control up to three remote Speedlight groups and an unlimited number of compatible Speedlights. it features auto Power Zoom coverage from 17–200mm in the FX-format and is able to discern if it is in use on an FX or dX nikon camera. its distance range is from 2 to 66 feet, depending on the iSo setting and the zoom-head position. it also features flash output level compensation from –3.0 to +3.0ev in 1/3-stop increments in i-ttl auto aperture flash modes. the Sb-900’s bounce capability ranges from +90 to –11 degrees and it rotates horizontally 180 degrees to the left and right.
Mike Colón carries a small arsenal of Nikon SB-800 AF speedlights to every wedding. “I’ve been setting them up strategically around the dance floor at my weddings for a dramatic backlight or using them for my table shots to get a natural look,” he says. “I’ll throw some light on the table from behind with one of the SB-800s, and have an SB-800 on the camera, but powered down to minus two or three stops so it looks almost like the ambient light in the room is hitting the table from the front. If you took out the backlight and shot by avail- able light only, it would look very flat. The backlighting from the speedlights makes the image pop.”
Supporting the Off-Camera Flash There are a variety of ways you can support one or a series of off-camera flash units. If using only one off-camera flash, triggered by the hot-shoe-mounted camera flash, a monopod is probably the most convenient and flexible. Man- frotto makes a full line of lightweight carbon-fiber monopods that are ideal for having an assistant position an off-camera flash. Most small flash units also come with a small stand that can be used to remotely position the flash on a table or other flat surface. On the bottom of these flash stands there is also a receptacle that allows the flash to be conve- niently attached to a monopod or light stand. A word to the wise, however: avoid overtightening, or the plastic flash
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