recap: Photography workshop – Charlotte, NC (2015)
A group of photographers in Charlotte asked if I would like to present a flash photography workshop there. We arranged a really nice venue – The Getty Center, in Rock Hill, SC – and settled on a date, July 25th (Sat). Everything in place for this, the first workshop away from NJ / NY since the workshop in Amsterdam two years ago.
With two models, and a relatively small group of 8 people – just how I prefer the workshop size, we could cover the photography workshop syllabus in a relaxed tempo, and be sure everyone had the opportunity to shoot and learn. With the focus on balancing flash with ambient light, we spent time on off-camera flash, as well as best techniques with bounce flash.
Thank you to everyone who attended, and our two models, Courtney and Madi. And an especially big thank you to Jeni B for making this happen.
In the evening we worked with on-camera bounce flash in the lobby area of the venue. Those old mailboxes make an interesting background.
- 1/125 @ f/3.5 @ 1000 ISO … on-camera bounce flash
- Nikon D810
- Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II / equivalent: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II
- Nikon SB-910 Speedlight / equivalent: Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite
- a BFT (black foamie thing)
Bouncing flash off those mailboxes was a bit of a challenge – occasionally there would be an unpredictable hot spot … yet, the results were really good for such an unusual bounce surface. Of course, the white balance had to be tweaked to get around the color cast introduced by the bounce surface.
Here is a pull-back shot to show the environment, and the surface to the left of the camera that was used to bounce the flash off. The BFT was necessary to get directional bounce flash for this portrait of our one model, Madi.
- 1/125 @ f/3.5 @ 1000 ISO … on-camera bounce flash
- Nikon D810
- Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II / equivalent: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II
- Nikon SB-910 Speedlight / equivalent: Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite
- a BFT (black foamie thing)
An example from the setup shown in the behind-the-scenes photo right at the top. The lighting gear used in the workshop, allows for 4 speedlights with different configurations (or doubled up.) This is the result the relatively small softbox gives.
- 1/160 @ f/2.8 @ 100 ISO … off-camera flash
- Canon 6D
- Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II / equivalent: Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G AF-S
- Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite / equivalent: Nikon SB-910 Speedlight
- Canon CP-E4 battery pack / equivalent: Nikon SD-9 battery pack
- Profoto RFi Speedrings for dual speedlights, with a Profoto 1.3′ x 2′ softbox
- Manfrotto 1052BAC – medium light-stand
Photography workshops
- More info about upcoming photography workshops.
- Recap of previous photography workshops.
- Feedback about this workshop: Making the dream happen.
Just curious what your flash power was in the photos that you bounced the flash off of the mailboxes. ETTL…..FEC?? Or did you choose Manual flash?
TTL flash. (Probably around 0 FEC.)
Neil, great stuff as always. I often find that the relatively slow sync speed of 1/180 on my Canon 6D to be limiting when mixing flash and ambient. Sometimes I’ll cheat the sync and shoot at 1/200. Aside from that, are there any other work-arounds or is this a case of “it is what it is”?
There are no work-arounds to the limit of maximum flash sync speed. You could play with the hyper-sync option that some radio triggers allow, but this is a work-around without huge impact.
That said, the lower max sync speed of the Canon 6D has a slight implication in terms of action stopping … but not hugely so in terms of flash range. Read this article where a maximum sync speed of 1/200 is compared to 1/250. It’s the same incremental change going from the 5D mark 3 to the Canon 6D. Not as huge a concern as many try to make out.
Neil, do you sometimes set the WB for the surface you’re bouncing off (with expo disc) before shooting?
Johan … that would be ideal for an easier post-processing workflow, but it isn’t all that practical to do so at an event where you move around … and hence the WB changes as you bounce your flash off various surfaces.
Neil, thank you so much for taking the time and effort to teach the work shop in Rock Hill, SC. Having been in a class with you before, I knew I was in for treat and I was not disappointed. I was happy to have techniques reinforced and to learn new ones. I appreciate your concise and to the point style without your being like a used car salesman pushing products.
Thank you so very much for coming to Rock Hill to teach me your ways Obi Wan! I feel like I learned so much and am working to implement the techniques already. I love that the workshops are intimate, and that you take the time to make sure we are getting something out of the class. I’m sure I’ll have roadblocks or detours, but I’m happy to know that you are willing to help if I need it! You ARE a rock star photographer! :D
Feedback about the workshop: Making the dream happen.
I always appreciate these tutorials, Neil. I love these articles.