Easy Portable Flash Setup

Shay Stephens · January 30, 2006

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.

DavidTO · January 30, 2006

Shay,

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

Bodley · January 30, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

Shay,

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

Ditto -

Andy · January 30, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

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

USAIR · January 30, 2006

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

Thanks
Fred

Lee Massey · January 31, 2006

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

Shay Stephens wrote:

So you want to fire off some off-camera flash while you are out and about eh?

Stormdancing · January 31, 2006

Shay Stephens wrote:

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!

clap

chrisjlee · January 31, 2006

Andy wrote:

It's done!

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

Shay, David can edit as needed. Thanks

so sneaky.

Giselle · February 2, 2006

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.
I appreciate any info you can give me.

Giselle · February 2, 2006

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

Shay Stephens · February 2, 2006

Take your time
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.

Giselle wrote:

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.
I appreciate any info you can give me.

Giselle · February 2, 2006

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?

Shay Stephens · February 2, 2006

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.

Giselle wrote:

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?

DavidTO · February 2, 2006

Shay Stephens wrote:

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.

Giselle · February 2, 2006

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

Dee · February 2, 2006

Pictures and labels
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?

Lee Massey · February 2, 2006

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/read.asp?forum=1025&message=13048501

I hope that helps...

Thanks,

Lee

Giselle wrote:

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?

Giselle · February 3, 2006

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

Shay Stephens · February 11, 2006

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.

THE TOUCH · May 18, 2006

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

Shay Stephens · May 19, 2006

THE TOUCH wrote:

First question - at what point would you go with a studio flash unit over a hot-shoe flash?

When I did not need the portability. If you are out and about, there is typically no AC outlets around, so a battery powered flash makes a lot of sense to use. But if you are in a studio like setting with ready access to AC power, the idea of changing out batteries all the time is enough to drive you batty. So out come the cords to power the studio lights with AC power for worry free power.

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?

See the answer above. Where do you need to shoot?

Since it will be portable, would the 580 be better since it's battery powered?

What should I use, a fork or a spoon? You can't answer that until you know what I intend to eat. So too, use the tool best suited to your needs. And keep in mind the portability issue with power. It all comes down to power. Where do you get it, how much of it is there, how much do you need?

Second question (actually fourth!) - Umbrella or Softbox?

Fork and spoon! An umbrella is cheap, it's soft, and it can throw light a long way (beam like). A soft box generally has softer light, does not throw as far (less beam like), tends to be built more robustly, and doesn't have the pointy bits that an umbrella has.

I have and use both, but tend to use the softbox more often because of the robustness. But I started with umbrellas because they are easy to get on a budget.

To get started, is one flash off to the side enough for basic portraits?

Absolutely! I use a single light a lot. And if you have any ambient light, you can use that as a second light.

Should I plan on a second flash for the opposite side or just us a reflector?

A reflector is as effective as a flash for short distances. If you need to light something far away (like a background) or need a harder light or more options, there is little substitute for a second light.

THE TOUCH · May 19, 2006

Shay Stephens wrote:

See the answer above. Where do you need to shoot?

Awesome! What other useful knowledge can I pull outta ya!!??

I guess I should have mentioned, we are trying to do some real estate photography but instead of the agents calling for property photos, they're calling for portraits of themselves. We've discovered that business card photos & advertising photos are a big market! Unfortunately, "studio" work was not in our business plan!

Now I'm taking crash coarses in lighting, setups, etc. Luckily my wife worked in a portrait studio for a while so she has some great experience with setups. She's been a huge lifesaver for me!!!

The plan is to be 100% portable since we do not have a place of business (or a home for that matter!).

I'll go ahead and stick with the 580, get the transmitter & a softbox. Since the umbrellas are pretty cheap, I'll experiement with those as well. From what you described, the softbox is probably more ideal for close-up portraits.

Thank you for all the info!

Shay Stephens · May 19, 2006

THE TOUCH wrote:

I guess I should have mentioned, we are trying to do some real estate photography but instead of the agents calling for property photos, they're calling for portraits of themselves. We've discovered that business card photos & advertising photos are a big market!

I did on-location portraits for a big firm in NYC early on with studio lights (AC powered). Trying to find an open AC socket was a pain. It was also after that that I went battery powered flash and never looked backed for on-location work. I have not used my AC powered studio lights in well over a year now.

THE TOUCH · May 19, 2006

Shay Stephens wrote:

I did on-location portraits for a big firm in NYC early on with studio lights (AC powered). Trying to find an open AC socket was a pain. It was also after that that I went battery powered flash and never looked backed for on-location work. I have not used my AC powered studio lights in well over a year now.

Perfect. I could see how finding power would be a problem!

Got one more question if you don't mind...

I'll do some experimenting with this one but if we are doing portraits outside, in the sun or shade, is it worth using the softbox or could you just leave the flash on the camera and use as a fill? Basically, would the softbox have any effect outdoors?

Thanks - Kevin

Shay Stephens · May 19, 2006

THE TOUCH wrote:

Perfect. I could see how finding power would be a problem!

Got one more question if you don't mind...

I'll do some experimenting with this one but if we are doing portraits outside, in the sun or shade, is it worth using the softbox or could you just leave the flash on the camera and use as a fill? Basically, would the softbox have any effect outdoors?

Thanks - Kevin

That's a tough one. A softbox is going to eat a stop or two, so it may not be powerful enough to use as a main light. It could function as a fill for sure. Even direct flash as fill can look nice when using the sun as the main light. Here is an example of the sun as main and an unmodified direct flash as fill:

If I remember right, the ratio was 70% sun to 30% flash. The exposure was set for the combination of the two.

THE TOUCH · May 19, 2006

Shay Stephens wrote:

If I remember right, the ratio was 70% sun to 30% flash. The exposure was set for the combination of the two.

Very nice. No hard shadows.

When you say a ratio of 70% to 30%, where are you getting those values? A light meter?

Shay Stephens · May 19, 2006

THE TOUCH wrote:

When you say a ratio of 70% to 30%, where are you getting those values? A light meter?

Yes, I use a Sekonic L-358 flash meter. In addition to measuring the exposure, it also tells you what the flash contribution is in percent. A handy little thing for sure :-)

THE TOUCH · May 19, 2006

Shay Stephens wrote:

Yes, I use a Sekonic L-358 flash meter. In addition to measuring the exposure, it also tells you what the flash contribution is in percent. A handy little thing for sure :-)

Thank you for all the info! You've been a huge help!

- Kevin

sthig · May 24, 2006

I've got a question

I've got a speedlite 430 <--will I need to get a pc adapter for it or just the camera itself (the hotshoe adapter)

thanks!
scott

Shay Stephens · May 24, 2006

sthig wrote:

I've got a speedlite 430 <--will I need to get a pc adapter for it or just the camera itself (the hotshoe adapter)

I am under the impression that the 430 does not have a pc connector. So to trigger it off camera, you would need a hotshoe adapter to plug your cord or wireless receiver into.

Depending on your camera and triggering method, you may or may not need a hotshoe adapter there too. What are you trying to do and what equipment do you have or plan on using?

lghb · July 20, 2006

Is there a reason the pictures are not showing up on my puter?

Shay Stephens wrote:

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 # SPB
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.

Easy Portable Flash Setup

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