lighting for on-location photo sessions – pick your battles

When doing a photo session with a couple on location, I mix up the lighting often. With some photo sessions I may:
- shoot available light only;
- or I may decide with a photo session to use direct on-camera flash,
with some sequences available light only; or
- with some photo sessions I use off-camera flash with a softbox,
with some sequences just the available light.

Even in varying the way I may use the available light and flash, I still aim to have a consistent look to it all. My specific style has to be apparent. Or perhaps, in the way that I work, my style becomes apparent. The one way that I help make things easier for myself, and remain consistent, is that in working with the available light; or working with the available light and flash (both on-camera and off-camera) … I pick my battles. I don’t try and make *everything* work. Rather, I specifically choose where I pose a couple, or what I have as the background.  All of this in relation to the existing light and my flash.

camera settings for the image at the top:
1/250 @ f/4.5 @ 100 ISO … TTL flash, off-camera

With these photos of Licet and Daniel, taken at different spots in Central Park in New York, my approach was the same – shoot against a background that is back-lit, with parts of it blowing out. Then I use off-camera flash with a softbox to bring the expose of the image up to the correct level. The softbox helps give me studio quality lighting on location, pretty much every where I place the couple.

camera settings for this image:
1/250 @ f/5.6 @ 400 ISO … TTL flash, off-camera

By turning them against the light from the sun, I get some rim-lighting, and I let the TTL flash pick up the exposure. In this photo, parts of her arm is over-exposed, but this doesn’t bother me. It is more important for me to capture their expressions and how they interact with each other. At some level it is even more important for me to keep the flow of the photo session going, rather than micro-adjusting my settings and how they are positioned.

Nikon D4 (B&H); Nikon 70-200mm f2/2.8 VR II (B&H)
Nikon SB-910 Speedlight (B&H);  Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)
Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Kit (24″x24″) (B&H)
(PocketWizard TT5 units for radio triggers) – TTL output

With this image, the compression of the 70-200mm lens at the longest focal length, helped. There were also groups of people in this part of Central Park, but by laying down on the ground and shooting up, and using the long lens, I was able to eliminate distractions and simplify the composition. This way, it looks like they were the only people there.

The long lens and off-camera flash help to give the photographs some snap.

camera settings for this image:
1/250 @ f/4.0 @ 200 ISO … TTL flash, off-camera

For all three preceding images, the exposure metering for the background weren’t too specific. There’s about a 2 stop leeway in terms of what would’ve looked good. So if a test shot looks good, I’m happy. I don’t drive myself nuts trying to meter for a background that has large bright areas. They can blow out.

Then I let the TTL flash take care of the exposure for the couple. TTL flash really helps in making a photo session in various locations move faster.

While looking for interesting backgrounds and good spots for the images, I am very aware of what the available light is like … and if it works, and I don’t need additional light from my flash, then even better.

Here I had Licet and Daniel under the arches at Bethesda Fountain. The available light is coming in from a perfect angle. No need to do anything to the light.

camera settings for this image:
1/250 @ f/4.0 @ 400 ISO … available light only.

Deeper in under the arches, the light is very even. But the light levels are much lower.

camera settings for this image:
1/125 @ f/3.5 @ 1000 ISO … available light only

Posing Licet and Daniel at a 90 degree angle to the direction of the available light, gave more dramatic light. But it did need subtle posing to make the most of it.

The photo above is one of the two images I selected from this sequence. The image below is one of the steps working towards this. I liked the light, but Daniel’s shoulder was blocking the light on Licet’s face. So with that pose, I quietly asked them not to move … don’t change a thing … then I told him to pull his shoulder back by an inch or two. That subtle movement opened the light on her face. Perfect.

camera settings for these images:
1/100 @ f/2.8 @ 1000 ISO … available light only

Nikon D4 (B&H); Nikon 70-200mm f2/2.8 VR II (B&H)

Again, with this image on the steps, I used the longer focal length to eliminate clutter, and simplify my composition.

In posing them, I started by positioning Daniel … and then adding Licet, by having her lean against his leg. I usually start with only one person first, when I pose a couple. Then I add the second person.

In terms of lighting – simplicity again. It’s a Lastolite softbox and a speedlight. I used TTL flash.

camera settings for this image:
1/200 @ f/6.3 @ 800 ISO … TTL flash, off-camera

Nikon D4 (B&H); Nikon 70-200mm f2/2.8 VR II (B&H)
Nikon SB-910 Speedlight (B&H);  Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)
Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Kit (24″x24″) (B&H)
(PocketWizard TT5 units for radio triggers) – TTL output

Here is the pull-back shot, and the photo without flash, just for comparison.

From Central Park, we explored a little bit of the Upper West Side, visiting the areas they know, as a backdrop to their photos.

The main idea here in this article is that, while I look for variety in the images I give a couple, it works in my favor if I keep it fairly simple and consistent in terms of my lighting. The simplicity helps me in working faster. The consistency helps in maintaining my style.

I’m able to keep it all quite consistent, by specifically “choosing my battles”. I don’t try to make everything work. I just make about a dozen setups work, with different angles and poses … and then move forward.

More images from this photo session:
- Licet & Daniel – Central Park, New York – photo session
- Facebook album: Licet & Daniel – photo session in Central Park

equipment used during this photo session:
Nikon D4 (B&H); Nikon 70-200mm f2/2.8 VR II (B&H)
Nikon SB-910 Speedlight (B&H);  Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)
Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Kit (24″x24″) (B&H)
(PocketWizard TT5 units for radio triggers) – TTL output

related articles:
- top 5 tips on shooting engagement photo sessions
- posing normal, everyday people for portraits
- the next step – going beyond just posing people
- the flow of a photo session
- making your images pop – through choice of lens
- why I love TTL flash
- “using the available light” is not random
-  photographing in bright sunlight – find the shade!
- off-camera flash – bringing sparkle on a rainy day
- why I love off-camera lighting
- technique – using lens flare for effect

- examples of engagement photo sessions

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

TTL flash for the simplicity and speed

Okay, true strobists might recoil in horror, but I often prefer using TTL flash to sweeten an image when shooting on location. I just get to the final image faster than if I had gone the more methodical route of manual flash.

For some situations, manual flash is the only way to go. For example, when your subject is static in relation to your lights and you have to get consistent lighting, image after image, then manual flash makes the most sense. But for times where you want to shoot faster, and shoot on the run, I find that TTL flash is the easiest and most fun option for me.

This image of Aleona was from a recent individual photography workshop in New York. As a starting point in explaining how to balance flash and ambient light, we initially work with an easy scenario where the available light isn’t harsh, but also not all that exciting. Now we can easily finesse it with a bit of flash from a softbox …

The technique is simple in this case – under-expose slightly for the ambient light. A stop or so. Maybe 2/3rd stop. Just a bit. And then let the TTL flash, diffused by a softbox, pick up the difference in exposure. This screen capture from Bridge will show the same image without flash, and then with flash added.

Of course it helps in using sensible camera settings:
1/200 @ f/4 @ 200 ISO
Equipment used:
Canon 5D Mark II;  Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II  (B&H)
Canon 580EX II speedlite, triggered with RadioPopper PX units,
Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Softbox Kit (24″x24″) (B&H)

With a multi-shooter setup like a workshop, the RadioPopper PX units turned out to be the most reliable in use.

Back to the image at the top. I’ve been playing around with the new Lightroom presets from Totally Rad, called Amped!

I wanted a cross-processed look that would help give the photo a more edgy feel. I like these presets since they give me a good starting point for a specific look, and then I can change it however I feel. You can use the discount code: MOMSDAY to get $50 off any product more than $99. This discount is valid until May 16, 2012

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

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Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

Fashion photography lighting and styling

A shout-out for my good friend Chuck Arlund – one of the most innovative photographers that I know of when it comes to lighting. His styling with Fashion photography is also outstanding.

Chuck is presenting a 3-day long photo retreat planned for Aug 6-8 at the Lake of The Ozarks in Missouri. Details on Chuck Arlund’s blog. (The code: BEFEARLESS gets you $300 off.)

Now you may well wonder about the techie details for these images ….

click through the images, and you’ll see the accompanying lighting diagram. Chuck regularly posts these on his blog. Check them out.

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

review: Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT

Summary: Right off the bat, let me say it – this speedlite, the Canon 600EX-RT (B&H), is going to change the industry. Nothing is going to be the same again.

A speedlite that has radio transmitters built in, has been anticipated for quite some time now. It just makes sense.  So it was just a matter of time before one of the big camera manufacturers did this … and Canon is the first. And they didn’t drop the ball on the rest of the speedlite’s features, or with the functionality of this piece of gear. It’s easy to use, with an obvious menu – even for a complex flashgun like this.

Before the Canon 600EX-RT, we had various options how we could trigger our Canon Speedlites, but right now our option is clear – it’s the the Canon 600EX-RT  (B&H)

About the photo at the top …

I attended another of the shoot-outs arranged by the Hudson Valley Click group. (I’ve used images from their past shoot-outs in various articles here.) This weekend the theme was a Retro-Futuristic CyberPunk, and I had the pleasure of photographing Karyn. And as you can see, her outfit was in fact full-body paint, courtesy by Kelly Torres of NY Body Art.

We were shooting at a disused foundry, which turned out to be a great setting for the theme. I chose to isolate Karyn with a longer focal length, in the one open factory area. There was enough distance to have the background completely melt away.

camera settings:  1/40 @ f/3.5 @ 1600 ISO
Canon 5D Mark III (B&H);  Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II (B&H)

The majority of the light on Karyn was from the late afternoon light streaming through the windows. I purposely posed her into the light … and then used a  Canon 600EX-RT (B&H) for that rim-light around her and to create a subtle hot-spot behind her. This really helped etch her outline against the out-of-focus background. With the dust in the area, it gave that slight halo effect around her body.

Here’s the pull-back shot where you can see the windows, and where the speedlite was positioned on a breeze-block.

The speedlite was controlled by an on-camera 600EX-RT as the Master.  I had the Master flash’s output disabled so it doesn’t add any light. I just wanted to fire the flash in the distance behind her.

This is the kind of set-up where just using the built-in optical wireless system of a flash like the Canon 580EX II, would’ve been a limitation. It might be just out sight there. Which meant, I would’ve had to use radio transmitters of some kind. This always implies more cables, connectors, cradles, batteries, settings. It’s complicated. With just two Canon 600EX-RT speedlites (B&H), I have the same kind of control … but it is much easier to set up and control.

I didn’t have an ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter (B&H) yet to try out, so I used the on-camera speedlite as Master. I’m a little ambivalent about the separate Speedlite controllers like the Canon ST-E2 or Nikon SU-800. It just seems like you’re half-way to buying a speedlite anyway. Besides, you could always use another back-up speedlite.

I used the speedlites in a basic way here, just so I could enhance the available light.

Related articles on using flash and ambient light:  flash photography concepts

an overview of Nikon and Canon speedlites

When I moved from the Nikon system to the Canon system several years ago – Nikon D2x to Canon 1D Mark IIN – the one thing that truly revolutionized my photography, was that the Canon 580EX Speedlite could rotate 180 degrees to either side. The Nikon SB-800 was limited to 90 degrees in the one direction. That extra90 degrees had a huge impact. I could now be specific about the direction of my light when I used on-camera bounce flash. As I said .. this was huge!

Then Nikon updated the SB-800 to the phenomenal Nikon SB-900 which brought in a lot of extra features, but most importantly, allowed the flash-head to rotate 180 degrees to either side.

Then Canon updated their flash to the Canon 580EX II, and honestly, it felt like a step backwards. The 580EX was so easy to switch from Master to Slave, and back to normal. With the 580EX II though, it felt like I had to relearn how to do this if I didn’t use the flash like this for a few weeks. It was obscure.

Equally obscure was the menu system of the 580EX II. Well, the 580EX was also obscure with the various custom functions which you needed the manual or a cheat sheet to know what they affected. The SB-900 on the other hand, was dead easy to set up with beautifully clear and obvious menu system.

So with the Nikon SB-900 and Nikon SB-910 Speedlight (B&H), it really felt like Nikon was steps ahead of Canon in terms of the ease of use of their speedlights. Definitely in how Nikon allows you to control the individual Slave flashes in discrete levels, made more sense.

But the one area where both systems were hampered, is that their built-in optical wireless systems were limited by line-of-sight constraints. Bright sunlight also affected how well they worked. So you had to resort to various wireless radio triggers to get past these constraints.  Until this bold step by Canon!

Better yet, the Canon 600EX-RT speedlites (B&H) has an obvious menu system with obvious controls. This is important!

Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT features

1. Ease of use.
As mentioned earlier, the previous Canon speedlites where a pain when you had to change custom settings, and had to refer to the manual or cheat sheets. The Canon 600EX-RT changes all that with a clear menu systems, and clearly marked controls. Surprisingly, for such a complex machine, the speedlight is easy to understand if you have some knowledge of the previous Canon speedlights.  I was able to set the two speedlites to Master / Slave modes, and be sure that they were linked, without reading the manual. I like that. Basic functions need to be obvious.

2. backwards compatibility
Another wonderful thing about the way the Canon 600EX-RT works, is that you can use it with cameras prior to the Canon 5D Mark III.  It works just as well with the Canon 5D Mark II, and the other Canon SLRs.<

Also good is that the Canon 600EX-RT works with the older optical wireless controlled speedlites like the 580EX / 580EX II. However, you can’t have it work with both the radio and optical modes simultaneously.

3. High-Speed Sync
On p.51 of the manual it states that for cameras prior to 2011 then the max flash sync speed is one increment lower.  I assume this means that for cameras like the Canon 5D Mark II , the max flash sync speed with the 600EX-RT is now 1/100. In fact, a (!) warning signal appears on the speedlite’s display at any shutter speed higher than that. The manual also states that HSS isn’t possible.

Well, I can confirm that HSS is indeed possible. And from a few tests I have done, it seems like the output takes a small knock at 1/200 and HSS .. perhaps 1/3rd of a stop by the looks of it. At 1/250th, there is a distinct drop in flash output. This is consistent with how speedlites work in HSS mode. So I’m not sure if I am missing something here, but I would have to disagree with the manual on this. HSS is indeed possible with the 5D Mark II, and quite possibly then with other previous models as well.

4. Group mode (Gr)
With this mode, you can control up to 5 groups of flashes, and each group can be set independently to E-TTL or manual. This is only possible with newer cameras, such as the 5D Mark III and 1D-X.  I haven’t tested this mode yet, but will try it out and update via future posts.

5. color filter / gel holder
Similar to the Nikon SB-900 / Nikon SB-910 the Canon 600EX-RT offers a holder for a filter that corrects for Tungsten light. These are keyed to the camera’s AWB settings to adjust the WB of the camera if it detects a gel on the speedlight.

6. flash firing restriction due to over-heating
When shooting in bursts, the flash may overheat. The 600EX-RT limits the tempo with which the flash can be fired, is slowed down to help prevent the flash head from damage from over-heating.

As I mentioned earlier, I used the speedlites in quite a simplistic way here just to enhance the available light. But as an indication of how well the speedlites work and how easy they are to set up, I am quite impressed already. The options and capabilities are endless. This is going to be an interesting piece of gear to explore, and I’ll continue to add more articles relating to it.

My final verdict might be quite a bold statement, but for me, this is an automatic upgrade from the Canon 580EX II. There are so many improvements in the handling of the flash, that it is much easier to use and set up. And then, the cherry on top of it all is the radio control of the slaved units.

You can order the Canon 600EX-RT speedlite from this B&H affiliate link.

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

exploring the spinlight – a new video

A new video on how to use the Spinlight, has been put online by the maker of the Spinlight. (You can view the higher-resolution clip here.) To order the SpinLight 360, here is the discount code for readers of the Tangents blog.

I’m always very happy to feature Chuck Arlund as a guest on Tangents. Anyone who knows Chuck in person will tell you about the crazy energy he has, (a good kinda crazy), and how inspiring and innovative he is in his lighting.

Check his work on his website, and on his Facebook page for senior photography.

Chuck is presenting an intensive 2-day workshop in New York – Don’t Be Afraid Of The Light. (There’s even mention of a bonus 3rd day!) The fee for the workshop is $750 … but for photographers following the Tangents blog, there is an incredible $250 discount code: NEILVN which brings the fee for the workshop down to $500. Incredible value for anyone wanting to learn more about lighting.

lighting patterns in photography

by Chuck Arlund, Kansas City photographer

Back to basics. When shooting a portrait or any person for that matter it is good to understand some light patterns to help determine what kind of mood you would like to create.

Basically there are 6 light patterns.

• Butterfly / Paramount
• Loop
• Rembrandt
• Split
• Monster
• Profile

So why do I need to know these? It’s not necessarily knowing them but being able to recognize them will help educate yourself on how a photograph was lit if you are trying to learn lighting. It also can help to know exactly what you are looking to create in your own photograph.

“Nice” light is what most of us photographers are searching for, but novice photographers might not know what makes light “nice”.

Well, one thing that makes light nice is the way light strikes a face.
Remember a couple of things. Light travels in a straight line and you can shape it.

One of the reasons I do not love lighting diagrams is they are geared towards that one specific photograph. Every time I tried to recreate a portrait from a book by following the light diagram, I ended up with a flat image. I was once told to “just put a light up where you want it” I thought at the time the photographer was just being a snot but he was correct. If I need to light up some hair, I put a light on it. If I need to put a light on a chair, I turn a light on.

Our job is to figure out how to shape that light.
Is it going to be diffused or harsh?
How narrow or broad is the light?
What color is the light?
Stuff like that.

So lets get down to some light patterns.

Quick Rule ( even though I hate Rulez!)
Broad vs Narrow Light
Narrow light or short light will generally make your subject appear thinner. You accomplish this by turning your subject toward the light source so the shadow of the nose is facing the camera.

Broad light is basically the opposite where the subject will appear to be larger. Do this by turning your subject away from the light so you see the lit side of the nose.

What is better? Well, that is up to you and in fashion both styles are used fairly equally even though narrow light is considered to be more flattering.
Part of knowing what you want to do is understanding your light patterns.

Chuck’s favorite: Loop Lighting!

I personally like loop light because it is just a bit off center and gives you some dimension.

Drama I believe comes from the height of the light. Think as the sun rises and sets. Higher light gives a downward shadow and that adds drama and that light is usually harsher. As the sun sets, the direction of the shadow changes and the light will get more diffused. With flash we have the control to make any kind of light we want at any time.
Think about shadows.

Think about how close the light is. The closer the softer the light will be and you will not need as much power. Close light also concentrates the light more on the subject and less on surroundings allowing more “shape”.

Diffusion:
Diffusion is created by how you modify your flash or any light for that matter. Types of diffusion include Soft box, Umbrella, Beauty Dish, Grids. There are tons of ways to modify light. I use mirrors and a interstate street lamp a lot of times. Soft light is generally more flattering than harsh light. Soft light can have direction, just think about placement and how high you want it.

Think about what kind of look you are going for, an edgy fashion style image or perhaps a more subtle portrait. Test your modifiers. Take a photo with a umbrella and then see what it looks like without any modification. This is the best way to learn what kind of “look” you like. Think outside of the box also. What would happen if you opened the top half of a soft box and let the other side stay diffused?

One more little rule about hands.
I just recently shot an image that I loved but her hand looked a little scary. If you ask your subject to roll her hand you will take attention away from it. The back of a hand is basically a giant white spot that draws attention to it, and that in turn could take away attention from where you intended.

Chuck Arlund – workshop info – May 22-23 (plus 24th)

The discount code NEILVN gets you $250 off.

other Tangents guest articles by Chuck Arlund:
- Fashion photo shoot, using multiple lights
- Inspiration and Homage
- simple on-location lighting techniques – reflector & flash

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

more still about flash photography

I presented another Master-Class this year at WPPI in Las Vegas. I rather audaciously chose the title of my talk to be:

Flash Photography – The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth

As a photographer, there are certain inescapable essentials we absolutely have to know before we can progress in understanding light and lighting. In this presentation, Neil barrels through the conflicting advice you’ve received, offering the essential building blocks to help you truly grasp the power of flash and lighting done right.

That does seem rather bold now! Very ambitious. With the presentation I pulled together a number of key concepts which are essential to understanding flash photography. So there wasn’t an overall theme in this case – just ten different concepts which I think are important.

The presentation over-ran by about 45 minutes, with all of the questions that had to be answered. The response to my presentation was very good. One of the emails I received afterwards said: “I took your platform class at the WPPI this year and I have to say, it was my favourite by far!!” And that is so good to hear!

With this, I have decided to add the material to the flagship articles here on flash photography.

flash photography concepts

It is mostly links to the related articles – but all the information is there. Time to explore!

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

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using the guide number of your flash to determine flash exposure

GN  =  distance  *  f-stop

Your flash’s Guide Number (GN) is determined at 100 ISO, when it gives correct exposure at a certain distance, multiplied by the f-stop

The idea that we can figure out the manual flash exposure by the combination of distance and aperture (for a given ISO setting), was covered in these recent topics:

- getting the most out of your flash / speedlite / speedlight
- practical tutorial: controls for manual flash exposure

In these articles, we relied on the display on the back of the speedlight to show us the distance we need to hold the flash from our subject. A flashmeter / lightmeter would’ve given us a similar answer. (There might be a discrepancy, since the manufacturers tend to be a little bit optimistic about what the flashgun is capable of.)

Now, the question is, what do we do if our speedlights don’t show the distance / aperture relationship on its display, or if we don’t have a lightmeter on hand?

Well, if we want to be more methodical than just looking at the back of our camera display, we can use the Guide Number of our flash.

Keep in mind that the GN is given for a specific zoom setting on the flash-head. Zooming from wide to tele on our flash, changes the Guide Number!

The specs for the Nikon SB-910 speedlight (B&H) is given as:

Guide number of 34/111.5 (at ISO 100, m/ft., 35-mm zoom head position, in FX format, standard illumination pattern) for high flash output volume

This means that our GN (in feet), is 111.5
So if we are using our flash at full power, at say 10 ft from our subject, then we have to use an aperture of 111.5 / 10 … which gives us an aperture of f11

The specs for the Canon 600EX-RT speedlite (B&H)is given as:

Guide Number: 197′ (60 m) at ISO 100

(None of the websites that I’ve seen, currently says at which zoom setting this would be. I’d guess this would be with the zoom head at maximum focal length. It makes the flash sound so much more powerful on the spec sheet, than if quoted at a wider focal length. Marketing people!)

Working through the example again, if we are 20 feet away from our subject, then our aperture is 197/20 = f10

Simple as that. The math isn’t scary. We all have smart phones with us, and they all include a calculator.

If you want all of this in a handy form on a website, here is the Flash Power Calculator on Canon Europe’s site.

And if you want to read up more about Guide Numbers for flash, the Wikipedia entry is thorough.

Now the question remains … what is the Guide Number of your flash?
Time to find that instruction manual again! But firing up Google might just be easier.

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

getting the most power from of your flash / speedlite / speedlight

This might be obvious, but the most power (or light) that you’re going to get from your flash, is at full output in manual. Then the flash dumps everything it has. Full power. You could of course zoom your flash-head a little tighter and get more power / range, but essentially, you’re at the limit.

This is useful to know when you’re balancing flash with bright sunlight. With this portrait of Shawna, out on the Las Vegas strip, I wanted that sun-flare look … but I also wanted to balance the super-bright background with flash.

Since we were using only a single speedlight, a softbox wouldn’t have worked. The softbox cuts down too much of the flash’s output.  So we used direct, unmodified flash. But we used it off-camera, instead of on-camera, so we could get more interesting light than direct on-camera flash would’ve allowed.

The technique here is essentially the same as when we photographed Shawna earlier on, inside the hotel room, using on-camera bounce flash. (See: bounce flash portrait – a consistent technique )

• find your background that you’d like to use in the image;
• since we’re using flash in very bright light,
  we’ll be at our lowest ISO, and using maximum flash sync speed;
• now we just have to find our aperture to give us correct / good exposure for the background;
• now, for that aperture, find the distance for which the flash (in full manual output), will give you correct exposure.

That last sentence there might need a bit of explanation:

Manual flash is controlled by 4 things: power, distance, aperture, ISO

Of those 4 things,
- we have our ISO (lowest ISO since we’re in bright light);
- we have our power … full manual power so have have the max output!
- aperture … how we want to expose the ambient light
 - we now need to find the appropriate distance! 

Fortunately, most of the larger, better speedlights will show the distance for that aperture / ISO combination.

With this image above, our settings were:
1/250 @ f10 @ 200 ISO
(since this is the Nikon D3s I was shooting with, and the base ISO is 200.)

for the Canon 5D mk2, the equivalent settings would’ve been:
1/200 @f8 @ 100 ISO
(With Canon D-SLRs, the base ISO is 100.)

With the off-camera Nikon SB-900 and SB-910 speedlights, you could go into the menu of the flash to set the ISO setting, and read the appropriate distance for the aperture you enter. But that’s a mission.

With the Canon 580EX II speedlite, there isn’t a way to directly set the aperture and ISO readings on the flash.

Sure we could calculate this from the flash’s guide number … but that too is a mission.

Here’s the short-cut.

With that off-camera flash ON your camera, (so it can read the ISO and aperture you set), look at the scale at the back of the flash.

Note that I kept the flash zoomed to 50mm. So for full power from the Nikon SB-900, at 200 ISO, I have to be 13 ft from my subject for the flash to deliver f10 worth of flash.

For the Canon 5D mk2 equivalent, the display would’ve looked like this on the Canon 580 EXII speedlite:

Again, for 100 ISO, I have to be around 20 ft from my subject to get correct exposure for f8

The 580EX II only displays the aperture setting when the flash is in E-TTL mode. It’s an odd quirk.

Don’t make too much of the difference in distance shown here. The Canon speedlite’s display is more ambiguous about the specific distance. Also, the various manufacturers tend to be slightly optimistic about the output of their flashguns. So you DO need to check the back of your camera to see if your exposure is correct. Or close enough to correct.

That’s the process … find the aperture you need for your ambient exposure (at max sync speed and lowest ISO), and then for that aperture, find the distance on your flash when set to full manual output. Simple, really.

Now, shooting against the bright sun like that, all cameras will hesitate in their focusing. ALL cameras. What I do then, is rely on the depth-of-field of shooting in the f8 to f11 range as in this case, and then I focus on my subject’s feet.

No strong back-lighting to contend with, and I can lock my camera’s focus … and then get the shot.

other articles on flash photography

Recommended telephoto zooms:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II

Nikon 70-200mm f2.8G VR II

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update: Spinlight 360 – new how-to videos added

Just to let everyone know that the creator of the Spinlight 360 has added five more how-to video clips to the site. This should answer many of the questions on how to use it and how to assemble it.

There is a discount code for readers of the Tangents blog.
More info on the Spinlight 360, and info on how to order one

I’ve recently been using the Spinlight 360 at the weddings that I’ve photographed.

Now onto something … more … um … I have no words really …

Fake Chuck Westfall reckons that the Spinlight videos should’ve been juiced up, with me as a vampire hunter. But I’m not so sure my face would even scare a baby, nevermind a vampire.

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.