So you want to fire off some off-camera flash while you are out and about eh? It's not hard, you just need a few things.

Here is an example using a Sony 828 camera and a Sunpak 383 flash. You can use anything you want, any camera and flash combo that works. I am currently using a Canon 20D and a Sunpak 555 flash.

So the first example is the flash on the camera. You will no doubt recognize this look:




What we will do is get the flash off the camera and on a light stand using a PC cord to trigger the flash. Lets first start with the camera. If your camera does not have a PC port, then use the hotshoe. Just install a PC to hotshoe adapter and connect the PC cord to the adapter.




Next is the flash. Put the lightstand in the position you want it, connect the umbrella adapter to the light stand and then mount the flash to the umbrella adapter. You can also mount an umbrella if you want bounced light.




This is what the whole setup looks like:




And this is what the camera sees with the new lighting. A big difference.




Now if you want to trigger the flash wirelessly, then you don't need a PC to hotshoe adapter and you don't need the PC cord. You will need a wireless set, in this example a pocketwizard plus transmitter on the camera and a receiver on the flash is being used. (Note: the umbrella is mislabeled, it is actually a 32")




This is showing the transmitter connected to the camera via the hotshoe.




Here is a list of pieces and parts that may be helpful for you if you are trying to generate a shopping list:

Basics
10 foot light stand - alienbees.com # LS3050
Umbrella Adapter - B&H # SPBRACK
Shoot through umbrella - alienbees.com # U32TWB

Wired------------------------------------------
Wired to 383
PC to hotshoe adapter - B&H # HAHSPCA
MS-PC10 PC to ( 2.5MM ) Microsync (10 FT) from paramountcords.com

Wired to 555
HS-15S Hot Shoe to Household ( 15 FT) from paramountcords.com


Wireless------------------------------------------
pocketwizard receiver - B&H # WIPWP
pocketwizard transmitter - B&H # WIPWPT

Pocketwizard to Sunpak 383 Cable:
sub-mini to miniphone cable - B&H # WICSM1

Pocketwizard to Sunpak 555 Cable:
Household to Miniphone Cable - B&H # WICHHM16

Now all of this is suggestions and samples. Please feel free to choose alternate, better, cheaper equipment to suit your needs and desires.

Shay,

Sending you a PM imploring you to make this into a dgrin.smugmug.com tute.

Originally Posted by DavidTO Shay, imploring you to make this into a dgrin.smugmug.com tute.

Ditto -

Originally Posted by DavidTO Shay, Sending you a PM imploring you to make this into a dgrin.smugmug.com tute.

It's done!

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1166287

Shay, David can edit as needed. Thanks

Shay
Awesome Was looking into something like this very nice
Now just have to add up the cost

Thanks
Fred

Nice work Shay... As usual this is well written, pratical and it is always good to "see" how it is done.

I bought some similar equipment when you posted something similar on that other forum.

Thanks,

Lee

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens So you want to fire off some off-camera flash while you are out and about eh?

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens So you want to fire off some off-camera flash while you are out and about eh? It's not hard, you just need a few things. Here is an example using a Sony 828 camera and a Sunpak 383 flash. You can use anything you want, any camera and flash combo that works. I am currently using a Canon 20D and a Sunpak 555 flash.

Have I told you lately that I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!! Amm I mean Dgrin.
I was fishing around this topic here

This has helped me tremendously!

Originally Posted by Andy It's done! http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1166287 Shay, David can edit as needed. Thanks

so sneaky.

[FONT=Arial]I am having a hard time finding a class on photography lighting. I would like something that is more like a continuing education, were I don't have to apply to be accepted kind of thing, but not a one day seminar (I would like to learn more than what can be taught in a day), and not an on-line course (I want something hands on). Do you know anyone that teaches small or one-on-one classes about lighting? I would buy lights and keep experimenting until I figure out what I'm doing, but they are crazy expensive and I'm afraid of buying stuff I don't like or need.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]I appreciate any info you can give me.[/FONT]

guess I should have mentioned... I'm in Houston

No, I have no idea on something like that. My suggestion would be to start simple, with a single light. The expense is much easier to deal with and you have all the time in the world to research, experiment, and gain experience.

As you gain experience, you will then know when to buy, and what to buy. A few months with a light will teach you books worth of info in a relatively short time if you apply yourself.

Start simple, work your way up to more complicated setups, and gain experience. That is the best way I know of.

Originally Posted by Giselle [FONT=Arial]I am having a hard time finding a class on photography lighting. I would like something that is more like a continuing education, were I don't have to apply to be accepted kind of thing, but not a one day seminar (I would like to learn more than what can be taught in a day), and not an on-line course (I want something hands on). Do you know anyone that teaches small or one-on-one classes about lighting? I would buy lights and keep experimenting until I figure out what I'm doing, but they are crazy expensive and I'm afraid of buying stuff I don't like or need.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial]I appreciate any info you can give me.[/FONT]

When you say a single light, should that just be a flash for the camera with a bracket thing to offset light or should I get the setup you talked about in this thread?

The farther you can get the flash from the camera, the more creative uses you can put the light to. The ultimate in creative freedom comes when you can place the light anywhere you want.

Originally Posted by Giselle When you say a single light, should that just be a flash for the camera with a bracket thing to offset light or should I get the setup you talked about in this thread?

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens The farther you can get the flash from the camera, the more creative uses you can put the light to. The ultimate in creative freedom comes when you can place the light anywhere you want.

Driving through Los Feliz last night (oustide of Hollywood), I drove by a film or TV shoot. They had a huge balloon, well, 15-20 feet across that they were raising on a tether with a light in it, to light the nighttime shooting. That was cool. What a wonderful soft light that was!

EDIT: Like these.

Thanks Shay. I will get setup you have here... the balloons would be cool to experiment with!

make this SO easy to understand. Thank you Shay! You're the greatest!

I'm pondering my first flash purchase and am bewildered by slave, peanut, flash, pc cords (I have a Mac, does that matter? ). How to or what to put the flash on, a bracket? What does a slave look like, how big is it. What does guide number mean. What guide number do I need to shoot a group from 12 feet? Do I need a diffuser? Do I want to lug a stand and umbrella around? How much does an umbrella cost?

Any flash I buy needs to work with any future dSLR I get in a couple of years. All kinds of questions like that.

Of course I want the best for the least amount of money!

I'm planning a trip to a local camera store to at least see what all this stuff looks like -- so seeing pictures of what the wireless thing looks like, and where it goes, was extremely helpful.

So minimum, I'll need a stand, and a special thing that fits on the end, but has the thingie for the flash unit to slip into, right?

If I didn't want an umbrella, I could put the difusser on the flash, which is on the light stand, right?

Then to complicate matters, I could buy 2 flash units, 2 stands and 2 difussers -- do then do I need 2 slaves? Will a slave work on the camera if I don't want to use light stands?

See how complicated I make all this?

Hi Giselle,

Although these are not exactly what you are looking for, I found them quite helpful.

This is a thread on Fred Miranda that shows many beginner and pro lighting setups and their associated results. I found it helpful:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/144181/000

Also there was a thread on dpreview that showed some results of pictures with a similar setup to what Shay is describing...

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=13048501

I hope that helps...

Thanks,

Lee

Originally Posted by Giselle When you say a single light, should that just be a flash for the camera with a bracket thing to offset light or should I get the setup you talked about in this thread?

Thanks for you help guys, now I have a good excuss to go shopping!

I'm pondering my first flash purchase and am bewildered by slave, peanut, flash, pc cords (I have a Mac, does that matter? ). How to or what to put the flash on, a bracket? What does a slave look like, how big is it. What does guide number mean. What guide number do I need to shoot a group from 12 feet? Do I need a diffuser? Do I want to lug a stand and umbrella around? How much does an umbrella cost?

As Yoda would say, you must unlearn what you have learned.

You have so many key words here, they are clouding your thinking. When it comes to lighting, start simple and keep it simple. Simplify, master, then you are ready to complicate things with more "stuff"

The vocabulary used in lighting is fairly non-intuitive and it results from shortcuts, shorthand, and slang. So the person coming in from the cold is hit with what almost seems like a new foreign language. So before you can really dive into the world of lighting, you need to learn the language.

• Slave: A device that fires off when commanded to by another device.
• Peanut: A small optically triggered slave unit that can tell a flash when to fire. A peanut is a stand alone device that only looks for flash signals and when it sees one, sends an electrical signal ("I saw a flash, so go do your thing") to whatever it is plugged into.
• Flash: A flash unit provides a very short burst of light that is used to illuminate a scene or subject.
• Bracket: Typically a device used to mount a flash to a camera.
• Umbrella adapter: A device that mounts to the top of a light stand and provides a place to mount an umbrella and a cold shoe to mount a flash. Most units also pivot in the center to allow aiming the light/umbrella. Can also be used without an umbrella.
• Guide Number: Used in flash calculations. To determine the aperture to use, you divide the guide number by the distance to the subject. For example, if your flash at full power has a guide number of 100 and your subject is 12 feet away, the aperture used to properly expose the subject at full power would be 8.33 or rounded to f/8. You can also go the other way around, if you know the aperture and distance you want to use, the multiply the aperture by the distance to get the guide number. So let's say I want to use f/2.8 and light something 12 feet away, 2.8x12=33.6 so I would need a flash that had a guide number of at least 34 in order to get a good exposure, more if I wanted to use smaller apertures like f/8.
• Diffuser: A light modifier used to make the light spread out over a wider area. A typical diffuser will drop your light output 1 to 2 stops. If you get light falloff at the edges of your image using flash, then using a diffuser will help spread the light out so the full frame of the image is illuminated.
• Light stand: Used to hold a light independently of the camera, allowing the photographer to move around without changing the direction or intensity of the light since the light is no longer mounted to the camera.
• Umbrella: A light modifier used to make the size of the light larger resulting in soft less contrasty light. The closer the subject is to the umbrella, the softer the light will become. The larger the source of light, the softer the light will be. The smaller the light source, the harder the light will be
• Soft Light: Light that does not have parallel rays, it comes at the subject from many angles making the transition from light to shadow soft and gradual. The softness comes at the expense of contrast.
• Hard Light: Light that has parallel rays, it comes at the subject from one angle. The transition from light to shadow is hard and sharply defined. The greatest amount of contrast is had with hard light. Some people mistakenly call hard light "harsh light" which should be avoided as it unduly taints the use of hard light. Hard light and soft light are both valuable and one is not prefered over the other, they each have their place and should be used as needed.

Any flash I buy needs to work with any future dSLR I get in a couple of years. All kinds of questions like that.

Using a flash that is intimately tied to a cameras exposure system will by nature limit the universal use of the light. If you get a light that is not TTL or one of it's variants, then it becomes usable on any camera system. If you shoot manual, you have the ultimate freedom of using your flash with any camera. If you want the convenience of auto exposure, then you must trade that universal freedom in for a brand and perhaps line of camera that is compatible with a certain kind of flash.

Of course I want the best for the least amount of money!

Lighting is not cheap and never will be. Learn this now and forget about any hopes of doing it on the cheap. Your choices more realistically will be between expensive and very expensive.

I'm planning a trip to a local camera store to at least see what all this stuff looks like -- so seeing pictures of what the wireless thing looks like, and where it goes, was extremely helpful.

Do not let a camera store clerk tell you what to get. The only person who can realistically tell you what you need is you. The more you rely on others, and especially those with a profit motive, to tell you what to get, the more money you will spend for things you won't use or don't need.

So minimum, I'll need a stand, and a special thing that fits on the end, but has the thingie for the flash unit to slip into, right? If I didn't want an umbrella, I could put the diffuser on the flash, which is on the light stand, right?

Light modifiers come in all shapes and sizes and do all manner of things to the light. If you want to light a large area, use a diffuser that covers the flash opening, if you want to light a close subject with soft light, use an umbrella or softbox or diffusion screen.

Then to complicate matters, I could buy 2 flash units, 2 stands and 2 diffuser's -- do then do I need 2 slaves? Will a slave work on the camera if I don't want to use light stands?

When you take a light off the camera, you need a way to trigger it to fire when the camera needs it. You can do this via a wire (PC cord) between the camera and the light or with a flash sensor (optical slave) or wirelessly (with a radio slave).

Either way, each light you want to use has to have a way to know when to trigger itself. Some lights come with built in slaves (usually optical that fires when it sees a flash go off) some only have an electrical socket. For the lights that have an electrical socket, you can connect to it an optical slave like a peanut or a radio trigger like a pocketwizard.

You can mix and match triggering mechanisms (slaves) but for simplicity, using all the same method is more convenient. Using cords is the easiest, least expensive, and most unreliable method of triggering lights. Optical triggering is the least expensive wireless method of triggering and works well for many indoor situations, but you are limited in the distance and obstructions can block the signal and using it outdoors during the day can greatly reduce the distance it can reliably operate. Radio is the most expensive way to trigger lights, but you have the greatest distance (1600 feet), least interference, and it can operate indoors or out, during darkness or light.

Shay - thank you for all the information you've provided. I do have a couple of questions though -

I would like to get some BASIC studio lighting to experiment with that will eventually be used as a portable studio to do some BASIC portraits for business cards and stuff. The threads and linked threads answered several questions but I got just a few more! -

First question - at what point would you go with a studio flash unit over a hot-shoe flash? I currently have 1 Canon 580 Speedlite and I'm wondering if I should just get the transmitter and mount the flash remotely or should I get a studio flash unit? Since it will be portable, would the 580 be better since it's battery powered?

Second question (actually fourth!) - Umbrella or Softbox? Would the umbrella have softer light or is it just based on the amount of area you need to cover?

To get started, is one flash off to the side enough for basic portraits? Should I plan on a second flash for the opposite side or just us a reflector?

Thank you again!!!

- Kevin