Brain Maggots

Off-camera Flash: Why

May 04

P NutLighting 101, Photography 101, lesson, off camera flash, strobist 1 Comment

I know a number of photographers who, once they’ve bought their external flashes, would stop exploring the various usage of that powerful light. I’m saddened by the fact that they’re already content with using their flashes on-board their camera and not realizing their little speedlites can do more than that. 

Speedlites these days can be triggered without them having to be on top of your camera and that’s one of the strengths of today’s technology. Furthermore, if you’re using your camera’s proprietary speedlite, you enjoy the benefit of letting the camera adjust the power of the flash for you.

I love the versatility and the quality of light the small speedlites give me. I can have a studio in the middle of the forest, at the beach, or anywhere else for that matter. You don’t have to lug around long cables and heavy equipment to set up your lights. You can place them in small places and make a big difference in your photo. 

For comparison, I made an impromptu shoot during work and took different shots of my friend using flash (so forgive me for the extremely horrible portraits) and here’s what happened:

Please note that I used the same settings here — Shutter speed is at 1/200 to ensure that no ambient (natural) light would influence the photo and the aperture is set at 5.6 if my memory serves me correctly. The only variable would be the type, placement, and apparent size of light, ie. flash, being used.

This is the type of photo that you normally see during parties. Pop-up flashes can be a big help especially in tight situations but most of the times, when not handled well, they produce a very unflattering light and harsh drop shadow.

This shot was done by placing a speedlite on my camera and pointed the flash directly at the subject. To my eyes, there’s not a lot of difference when it comes to the quality of light except for the placement of the shadows. Since the external flash is a few inches away to the left, the subject’s shadow is a few inches to the right compared with the pop up flash. Still the harsh drop shadow is there and made the subject look flat.

For the third picture in the series, I directed the flash head up to bounce off from the ceiling — making the ceiling my light source instead of the flash. The result is a more natural-looking light and a softer shadow because the light coming off from the ceiling makes for a bigger, thus softer, light. The problem here would be the “racoon-eyes” caused by the light coming from the top and not hitting the subject’s eyes. This can be easily solved by placing an ombnibounce (something I’ll probably write about on a later date) to scatter the light more evenly.

Placing the light a feet away from your camera gives you more control than placing the light on your camera since you will not be entirely sure where your light is pointed at when you’re shooting on camera flash. For this shot, I placed my speed light a couple of feet from my left and angled it to face my subject. The result is a very directional light. The shadows are very well defined. However, the shadows at the back is still harsh as a result of the flash being bare. 

An umbrella in front of my flash disperses the light and gives you a bigger apparent size thus giving you softer shadows. Upon closer examination, the shadow behind the subject is almost gone. If I move him forward a few feet, I can completely eliminate the shadow. And with the help of another speedlite, I’d be able to separately light my background — that gives me total control over how my subject and background will look like. 

I hope this post helps you try out the different things a small speedlite can do for you. I’ve only covered the very tip of the iceberg and there’s tons more you can do with those little buggers. The next time you see a photo on a billboard, magazine or whatever, look at the shadows and try to figure out where the light was placed and how big the apparent light source is.