{"id":14035,"date":"2013-04-16T17:30:17","date_gmt":"2013-04-16T21:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=14035"},"modified":"2020-06-13T18:56:16","modified_gmt":"2020-06-13T22:56:16","slug":"using-off-camera-flash-photo-shoot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/using-off-camera-flash-photo-shoot\/","title":{"rendered":"Using off-camera flash on a photo shoot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"New<\/p>\n

Using off-camera flash on a photo shoot<\/h1>\n

Someone emailed me to ask a few technical details about this family photo session<\/a>.\u00a0How did you expose for the family photos? Was a soft-box used? Or did you expose for the shadows and use fill flash? For those who regularly follow the Tangents blog, the thought-process here should be familiar. Let’s take a walk through the process.<\/p>\n

As described in the article,\u00a0controlling bright daylight w\/ direct off-camera flash<\/a>, when trying to\u00a0over-power the sun with flash<\/a>, the best algorithm is usually:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0maximum flash sync speed<\/a>,
\n– lowest ISO,
\n– find the aperture for your brightest area that you want to expose correctly for,
\nat that specific shutter speed and ISO.<\/p>\n

Because the sun was hard, and high up already, the best start was to have their backs to the sun. This ensured no one would be squinting, and<\/strong> that I’d have a fighting chance with a single speedlight inside the Lastolite EZYBOX 24\u00d724″ softbox<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>)\u00a0as the light-source I could directly control.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

camera settings: 1\/250 @ f\/5.6 @ 100 ISO with manual flash, off-camera<\/p>\n

I knew I’d have to squeeze every last photon out of the speedlight (through the softbox), to get enough light on them. I did want to use the softbox, so that the light would be more flattering and easier to deal with than hard direct flash.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the speedlight was set to full output in manual mode. A quick recap: manual flash is controlled by 4 variables<\/a> that have to be balanced for correct exposure.<\/p>\n

However, I didn’t\u00a0go through a rigorous metering process here. From experience, working with the same speedlight and softbox combo, I have a pretty good idea at what distance I should have my softbox for certain settings. It’s not a wild guess anymore. I placed the speedlight & softbox at a good distance, and then with a quick chimp of a test shot, I adjusted the distance until I had correct exposure for the required f\/5.6 @ 100 ISO<\/p>\n

But how did I know I needed f\/5.6 @ 100 ISO ?<\/p>\n

Let’s take it a step back again to a previous article:\u00a0photography technique \u2013 taking photos in bright sunlight<\/a>. Yes, this stuff comes up time and again! It’s all inter-connected. (And not just via hyperlinks on the site.)<\/p>\n

As described there, when I have a back-lit subject in bright sunlight, then 1\/250 @ f\/4 @ 100 ISO is usually a pretty good short-cut. I am fairly close without having to wildly turn my camera dials while looking through the viewfinder at the meter. There’s a certain consistency here. Experience will help us out!<\/p>\n

Knowing all this, I set f\/5.6 as a start aperture. A few test shots without flash showed that I retained enough of the highlights. Cool. That’s the aperture then. My subjects would be under-exposed … but that’s why I brought along awesome and easy-to-use off-camera lighting.<\/p>\n

Bam! Done.<\/p>\n

This stuff becomes second-nature when you keep to a specific method.
\nThese are techniques that are accessible to everyone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo gear (or equivalents) used in this photo session<\/h2>\n