Photography Tips - Off Camera Speedlight
I have already looked at bounce flash technique, which is a useful technique for adding light to a photograph without it becoming overpowering. In this photography tips article I shall take things one step further and take the flashgun off the camera altogether and trigger it remotely. This is normally considered a quite advanced technique, and it does require a separate flash gun and (for most cameras) a remote flash trigger/slave. More on that later...
Before I get into the technicalities, I want to point out why this technique is worthwhile; most great photographs make use of side or back lighting because it adds texture and depth to the subject, but it usually requires some way of filling in the shadows and balancing the light in the picture.
In most situations nature provides you with one lightsource - a window, lightbulb, the sun etc. You then have to use a reflector or another flash to create the balance. However, both on-camera flash and reflectors have limitations:
Reflectors will only work if it can be positioned in the light path in such a way as to bounce light where you want it.
On-camera flash creates tell-tale catchlights in the eyes and really needs to be turned right down to produce acceptable results.
In many situations you need more flexibility. This picture of Lottie, for example, was taken in a dark barn where the light coming in through the door was not falling on the point where I wanted to shoot her. By using off-camera flash, I was able to place my Canon 430EX Speedlite behind her and use a reflector to bounce the doorway light onto her face and body. By controling the flash exposure I was able to have it about 2 stops brighter than the reflected light to create a bright highlight along the right side of her arm and face. This adds the depth and contrast that I wanted from the shot.
Remote Triggers for Controlling Off-Camera Speedlites
The simplest way of controlling a speedlite off-camera is with a wireless remote trigger system. The big studio light manufacturers sell systems costing hundreds of dollars, but I picked up a simple RF-04 set on ebay for less than £20.
Operation is simple - you slide the transmitter onto the camera's hotshoe and connect the receiver to the speedlite. Set both to the same channel and test; when you press the camera's shutter release the flash will trigger remotely.
Correct Exposure and Controlling Remote Speedlite Power
As there is no longer the direct connection between the camera and flashgun, the automatic ETTL function will not work (ie the camera cannot judge how much power the speedlite should use) so you will have to do a bit more work than usual. Fortunately with Digital Cameras it is very easy to take a test shot, examine the results, make an adjustment and re-take the shot.
There are two things you need to achieve:
- Correct overall exposure (in the example above, I wanted a darkish image but with enough light to bring out the tone of her skin)
- Correct balance between the ambient light and the flash. In most cases you will want the light behind / to the side of the subject to be a bit brighter than the frontal lighting.
As with all flash shooting though you need to bear in mind that the camera has a maximum sync speed for flash - that is to say a maxiumum shutter speed during which it can guarantee the flash will fire. In most cases this is around 1/125th of a second. You will therefore need to
- Use either shutter priority (Tv) or Manual (M) modes.
- Set the shutter speed to 1/125th
- Set the lens aperture and ISO to give you the desired exposure for the shot. I no longer use a light meter - I find it as easy to start at f/8 then take a few shots to get the correct exposure...
- Then adjust the flash power to get the balance between ambient light and flash.
Balancing Speedlight and Ambient Light
In some cases you will not be able to get the balance you want by simply adjusting the power output on the Speedlight.
If you find that the flash is too bright, reduce the shutter speed (eg from 1/125th to 1/60th second) and increase the aperture accordingly (eg from f/8 to f/16). As the flash burst only lasts a minute fraction of a second, any shutter speed below the sync speed will record the same amount of flash, but the longer the shutter is open the more ambient light will be captured.
Additional Accessories for Off-Camera Speedlites
Most Speedlites come with a plastic foot that will allow them to stand alone on flat surfaces, but I also found that a tripod mount came in very useful - there was no suitable surface to put the flash on in the barn for instance. The model I have also has a way of holding an umbrella too so that I can fire through a diffuser or bounce the Speedlight off a reflector.
The other thing you will need is lots of batteries - both for the Speedlite and the remote trigger.
See more examples in the Boudoir Photography Gallery
Or go back to Photographic Lighting
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Photography Tips - Off Camera Speedlight
I have already looked at bounce flash technique, which is a useful technique for adding light to a photograph without it becoming overpowering. In this photography tips article I shall take things one step further and take the flashgun off the camera altogether and trigger it remotely. This is normally considered a quite advanced technique, and it does require a separate flash gun and (for most cameras) a remote flash trigger/slave. More on that later...
In most situations nature provides you with one lightsource - a window, lightbulb, the sun etc. You then have to use a reflector or another flash to create the balance. However, both on-camera flash and reflectors have limitations:
Reflectors will only work if it can be positioned in the light path in such a way as to bounce light where you want it.
On-camera flash creates tell-tale catchlights in the eyes and really needs to be turned right down to produce acceptable results.
In many situations you need more flexibility. This picture of Lottie, for example, was taken in a dark barn where the light coming in through the door was not falling on the point where I wanted to shoot her. By using off-camera flash, I was able to place my Canon 430EX Speedlite behind her and use a reflector to bounce the doorway light onto her face and body. By controling the flash exposure I was able to have it about 2 stops brighter than the reflected light to create a bright highlight along the right side of her arm and face. This adds the depth and contrast that I wanted from the shot.
Remote Triggers for Controlling Off-Camera Speedlites
The simplest way of controlling a speedlite off-camera is with a wireless remote trigger system. The big studio light manufacturers sell systems costing hundreds of dollars, but I picked up a simple RF-04 set on ebay for less than £20.
Operation is simple - you slide the transmitter onto the camera's hotshoe and connect the receiver to the speedlite. Set both to the same channel and test; when you press the camera's shutter release the flash will trigger remotely.
Correct Exposure and Controlling Remote Speedlite Power
As there is no longer the direct connection between the camera and flashgun, the automatic ETTL function will not work (ie the camera cannot judge how much power the speedlite should use) so you will have to do a bit more work than usual. Fortunately with Digital Cameras it is very easy to take a test shot, examine the results, make an adjustment and re-take the shot.
There are two things you need to achieve:
As with all flash shooting though you need to bear in mind that the camera has a maximum sync speed for flash - that is to say a maxiumum shutter speed during which it can guarantee the flash will fire. In most cases this is around 1/125th of a second. You will therefore need to
Balancing Speedlight and Ambient Light
In some cases you will not be able to get the balance you want by simply adjusting the power output on the Speedlight.
If you find that the flash is too bright, reduce the shutter speed (eg from 1/125th to 1/60th second) and increase the aperture accordingly (eg from f/8 to f/16). As the flash burst only lasts a minute fraction of a second, any shutter speed below the sync speed will record the same amount of flash, but the longer the shutter is open the more ambient light will be captured.
Additional Accessories for Off-Camera Speedlites
Most Speedlites come with a plastic foot that will allow them to stand alone on flat surfaces, but I also found that a tripod mount came in very useful - there was no suitable surface to put the flash on in the barn for instance. The model I have also has a way of holding an umbrella too so that I can fire through a diffuser or bounce the Speedlight off a reflector.
The other thing you will need is lots of batteries - both for the Speedlite and the remote trigger.
See more examples in the Boudoir Photography Gallery
Or go back to Photographic Lighting