flash photography techniques
flash photography tips ~ off camera flash ~ more articles

off-camera flash techniques

The preceding pages mostly deal with how to use an on-camera speedlight to get ‘prettier’ light. And where we can, how to seamlessly blend our flash with our available light.  However, where flash becomes a lot more controllable and perhaps more interesting, is when you move your flash off-camera.

Off-camera flash is quite an extensive topic.  Instead of trying to cover it all in just one article here, this page will serve as a jump-page to other articles on the Tangents blog where the topic is specifically off-camera lighting.

So why would we want to use off-camera flash? The answer is refreshingly simple. With off-camera lighting, we have greater control over the direction and the quality of our light. And that is it in a nutshell. But let’s delve deeper into it …

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off-camera flash – the techniques

balancing flash with ambient light – where do we even start?

This article is a good overview to start us off on this topic.  The simplest approach for me, when I work in fairly flat and even ambient light, is to under-expose the ambient light by a certain amount.  Then we add flash for correct exposure.  So how much do we under-expose the ambient light by?  Well, it depends …

balancing your flash exposure with the ambient exposure

My starting point with on-location portraits is most often is a combination of:  finding an interesting or neutral background; and positioning my  subject so that they are placed in front of / in relation to the background so that it all looks visually pleasing.  And then balancing the exposures for my background and my subject …

the effect of maximum flash sync speed

When we work outdoors in bright light, it is essential that we understand what is happening at our maximum flash sync setting, and why it is a sweet spot when you use flash in bright light.

tutorial: high-speed flash sync

I decided to do a series of comparison photos, so we can actually see what happens before, at and beyond maximum flash sync speed. And we can also see what happens with high-speed flash sync. To do this, I set up very simple portrait lighting using a single speedlight and a large umbrella. A simple white paper-roll backdrop, and our model, Rachel …

using a neutral density filter with flash to control depth of field

Working in bright light, the limitation of having a maximum flash sync speed forces a small aperture on us. That small aperture means more depth of field than we might like. Using a neutral density (ND) filter is our best way to get control over our depth of field again …

effective on-location portraits

When I photograph someone on location, I rely on a simple, yet effective method that will ensure that at the very least, I will get portraits that work. Here is a step-by-step method …

off-camera flash – bringing sparkle on a rainy day

Scheduling an on-location photo session, we are always left at the mercy of the weather.  What gives me the most control though during such a photo session, is the use of off-camera flash. This gives me control over the quality and direction of light … with relatively little effort.

positioning the softbox and flash

The placement of a softbox is generally around 45 to 60 desgrees from the camera; at a height where the light is about 50cm above your subject’s head; and keeping in mind the ‘cone of light’ coming from the softbox, and that you have it hit your subject’s head & shoulders.  In other words, you need to aim the softbox at their upper body and head .. and specifically with that ‘sweet spot’ of the light coming from the softbox, having to point at their heads.

why I love off-camera lighting

The main reason for me, is that you can have perfect lighting on your subject’s face with much more freedom than if you just relied on the available light. I am usually quite particular about the backgrounds to my photos, where it is in my control.

metering for manual flash when using a softbox

An explanation of a simple method for using off-camera flash with available light.  Metering for the available light with a hand-held meter, or using the histogram method, we find our available light exposure. Then I take my exposure down by 1 stop.  I could do this via my shutter speed or aperture or ISO choice .. or a combination of those.

So what are your settings?

What are your settings? -  a question that I am often asked about various images. And quite often, the answer is surprising  –  it doesn’t really matter. Sometimes the specific settings are of importance, but usually much less so than the method of getting to correct exposure of the ambient light and the flash.

overpowering the sun with flash

With a photo session in bright sunlight, I need to clean up the sun’s harsh shadows with flash.

- photo session with model, Johannie
- photo session with models, Sarah & Mark

photo sessions with the Modern Gypsies

During various photo sessions with the Modern Gypsies, I used a variety of off camera flash techniques …

• on the rooftop with fabric banners  -  overpowering the sun with flash
• a visit to Times Square –  on-location lighting with wireless TTL flash, using a softbox
• Bird Girl -  off camera flash, as fill-flash

combinging manual off-camera flash with on-camera TTL flash (wedding photography)

A common technique used in photographing wedding receptions, is to use additional lighting to lift the general light levels in large reception rooms.  The additional lights can be wirelessly controlled TTL flash .. but more often would be manual flashes. Then an on-camera flash can be used, either in manual, or in TTL.

Finding the Light

Another example where I used off-camera lighting (manual flash), with on-camera TTL flash to light up a large venue.

background exposure and flash

There is often a whole range of possibilities in how we can expose for the background, choosing from a range of settings.  In this sense, for some backgrounds, there really isn’t any “incorrect exposure” …

flash and ambient light – reverse engineering an image

Looking at an example image, and figuring out what the photographer did with his lighting.  By scrutinizing a photo, we’ll try and decipher how he set this up …

using direct (unmodified) flash off-camera

When working outdoors, my approach has largely been that of using a softbox or some modifier so that my flash is more diffuse.  But with this shoot, I worked with another photographer who uses direct flash off-camera with great results. It was quite refreshing to try something slightly different than my usual method …

simple on-location lighting techniques – by Chuck Arlund

Chuck Arlund is a fashion photographer who explains approach to on-location lighting in this article. He achieves dramatic results, but with surprising simplicity …

NYC photo session – Sarah & Mark

An extended photo session with two models, (a married couple), at various spots in New York. This blog entry is a view of the approach during a photo session, and how there is no single static way of doing things. Various techniques are used; the lighting too is varied; all to give a wide range to the look of the final images ..

sequence: setting up the lighting during a photo shoot

With this post I want to show the thought process in setting up the lighting for portraits during a photo shoot for a company.  There were a couple of dead ends, and a couple of adjustments as we went along …

Lighting the wedding formals (part 1)

In lighting the formals, I don’t try to get all Rembrandt, but prefer a fairly flat way of lighting everyone. I keep the lighting static for all the images, whether I am photographing one person or twenty. With time usually being a real constraint during the wedding day, there simply isn’t the opportunity to play around too much with the lighting .. and I find a simple predictable way of lighting works best.

Lighting the wedding formals (part 3)

The main benefit of doing the formal portraits (indoors) with manual off-camera flash …  consistency.  Since the flash gives off a specific amount of light every time – it is manual flash after all and not TTL flash – and since the flash is on a stand, and therefore at a constant distance to your subject .. this means that your flash exposure will be consistent.  It will be consistent regardless of YOUR position.  You can move around.

more off-camera lighting at weddings – dealing with reflective surfaces

Rooms with wooden panelling are notoriously difficult to shoot in when using flash.  This is because of the tendency for the light source (flash) to create large hotspots on the wooden surfaces.  Here is how I avoid those specular reflections in the wooden panelling.

Chanel – a portrait

Off-camera wireless TTL flash setup for a portrait of a pet. We had to work fast in the hotel lobby to get a portrait of this beautiful whippet, Chanel, for a magazine cover. We had to be meticulous about the setting-up of the shoot – and still be very flexible during the actual shoot …

the progression of an idea

A glimpse of how I work, showing the progression of an idea. Not just how the actual image was made, but how the idea progressed. And how it was enhanced with off camera lighting …

off-camera flash – discussing an image from a workshop on flash photography

With an idea in mind of how I wanted to position our model in a stark urban setting, I now had to decide on the exposure and lighting. The available light at that point was actually really good – the sun was covered by a layer of clouds, but enough of the sun was coming through to give some directional light. However, we wanted to play with some off-camera lighting and I wanted to use flash to add a touch more drama …

using flash at a fireworks display

Photographing people with fireworks in the background, is just an application of the technique known as dragging the shutter. Our camera settings are dictated by how we want the fireworks to register, and then we add flash to expose correctly for our subjects …

off-camera flash with children’s portraits on location

A description of settings, and the lighting setup, and the thought-process …

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off-camera flash – the equipment

review:  Lastolite Ezybox softbox kit – (2010-06)

review: PocketWizard miniTT1 & FlexTT5 – (2009-04)

review: RadioPoppers P1 – (2008-09)

Photoflex medium softbox with magic slipper

using a Quantum TdD-R on location in Las Vegas

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time to do some homework then – more articles and some recommended books …