1st attempt with off camera flash!!!

jbakerphoto

Well I just got a optical slave from adorama for a second flash (vivitar 283) that I picked up on craigslist. I figured this would be a decent option until radiopopper jr come out.

So I really like the way the strobist has been doing his portriats where he darkens the scene by 2 stops or so and then points a snooted flash straight at the subject and fires away. This is my first attempt at it. I turned down my on camera 580 ex to 1/128 and pointed it directly at my other flash with the optical slave which was right in front of my subject. Of course the portriats are of my son as he is my most willing (and best) subject.

Here they are.....


1.)

1/4000
iso 100
f 10


2.)

f 7.1
iso 100
1/4000


3.)



4.)




c&c welcome.

MarkW

Not a bad first attempt. I know your son was your only subject available at the time but I don't think the snooted flash is flattering him at the moment.

The first shot appears a bit underexposed.

The second shot is close to being overexposed on the arm.

The third and fourth images appear to be the best exposures.

Now for the technical stuff. If you're shooting with off a manual off camera flash your max sync for your shutter is going to be between 1/200 to 1/250 depending on your camera model. If you use faster shutter speeds you will get black bands cutting off parts of the left or right of your images. So drop your shutter speed to properly sync your off flash to the camera.

Shutter speeds is almost irrelevant when it comes to flash. Notice I said almost. Lower shutter speeds will control how much ambient light is picked up. Flash exposure is controlled by the aperture settings and the flash duration becomes your shutter. This is why flash stops motion. The shorter the duration the easier it is to completely freeze the action.

The techinque where the scene is darkened by two stops more applies to uses outside when you're balancing with ambient light. If the ambient exposure is underexposed by two stops the background goes darker and when the subject is lit by flash it brings the viewers attention to the subject.

When I started learning flash I practiced with just one flash and one umbrella before I got into the other stuff. This is as basic as you can get. Practice calculating your exposure, very distances, use different exposure/power settings, light feathering, and various light position. Once you get that down then you can start experimenting with the other stuff like adding a reflector, snoot, grids and softboxes.

joshhuntnm

MarkW wrote:

Not a bad first attempt. I know your son was your only subject available at the time but I don't think the snooted flash is flattering him at the moment.

The first shot appears a bit underexposed.

The second shot is close to being overexposed on the arm.

The third and fourth images appear to be the best exposures.

Now for the technical stuff. If you're shooting with off a manual off camera flash your max sync for your shutter is going to be between 1/200 to 1/250 depending on your camera model. If you use faster shutter speeds you will get black bands cutting off parts of the left or right of your images. So drop your shutter speed to properly sync your off flash to the camera.

Shutter speeds is almost irrelevant when it comes to flash. Notice I said almost. Lower shutter speeds will control how much ambient light is picked up. Flash exposure is controlled by the aperture settings and the flash duration becomes your shutter. This is why flash stops motion. The shorter the duration the easier it is to completely freeze the action.

The techinque where the scene is darkened by two stops more applies to uses outside when you're balancing with ambient light. If the ambient exposure is underexposed by two stops the background goes darker and when the subject is lit by flash it brings the viewers attention to the subject.

When I started learning flash I practiced with just one flash and one umbrella before I got into the other stuff. This is as basic as you can get. Practice calculating your exposure, very distances, use different exposure/power settings, light feathering, and various light position. Once you get that down then you can start experimenting with the other stuff like adding a reflector, snoot, grids and softboxes.

Do you use the flash on manual setting, or let TTL do its (sort of) magic?

MarkW

If I'm shooting with my Vivitars, then I'm using manual settings on the flash and camera as there is no Ettl with these old flashes. When your using any type of off camera manual flash, your ttl meter has no way of knowing that a flash is going to be used. The only thing it does is send the signal to set off the flash and it expects you to figure out the correct exposure for the flash. That's why it's best to shoot in manual mode with flash. Using other modes like aperture or shutter priority will calculate the ambient exposure and assume you're not using flash.

Sometimes I'll shoot with wireless ETTL using my 580ex on camera to trigger 430Ex off camera. Then I'll use the Vivitars in manual mode to provide some additional lighting like a hair light or background light. When I do this the 580 is on the hotshoe and have my radio trigger plugged into the sync port on the side of the camera to trigger the Vivitars.

joshhuntnm

I guess my real question was this. You seem to know a lot about flash. Do you prefer working with the ETTL system, or working it out manually.

jbakerphoto

MarkW wrote:

Not a bad first attempt. I know your son was your only subject available at the time but I don't think the snooted flash is flattering him at the moment.

The first shot appears a bit underexposed.

The second shot is close to being overexposed on the arm.

The third and fourth images appear to be the best exposures.

Now for the technical stuff. If you're shooting with off a manual off camera flash your max sync for your shutter is going to be between 1/200 to 1/250 depending on your camera model. If you use faster shutter speeds you will get black bands cutting off parts of the left or right of your images. So drop your shutter speed to properly sync your off flash to the camera.

Shutter speeds is almost irrelevant when it comes to flash. Notice I said almost. Lower shutter speeds will control how much ambient light is picked up. Flash exposure is controlled by the aperture settings and the flash duration becomes your shutter. This is why flash stops motion. The shorter the duration the easier it is to completely freeze the action.

The techinque where the scene is darkened by two stops more applies to uses outside when you're balancing with ambient light. If the ambient exposure is underexposed by two stops the background goes darker and when the subject is lit by flash it brings the viewers attention to the subject.

When I started learning flash I practiced with just one flash and one umbrella before I got into the other stuff. This is as basic as you can get. Practice calculating your exposure, very distances, use different exposure/power settings, light feathering, and various light position. Once you get that down then you can start experimenting with the other stuff like adding a reflector, snoot, grids and softboxes.

There is definitly some good info here. Thanks so much for your comments. I think I am going to try to go through the strobist lighting 101 exercises to try to figure this stuff out and I still need to pick up a lightstand and umbrella.....

MarkW

@Joshhuntnm. I prefer to do it all manually. I do use ettl when I don't have time to calculate exposures or meter all the flashes. Ettl works but it's not always perfect. If find I have to chimp more often with ettl. I may take the first shot and it may be under or overexposed. Then I have to use flash compensation til I get the exposure right. ETTL can be thrown off by bright scenes and dark scenes. When I'm working with manual flashes, I definately have the control over everything vs the system telling me what it thinks is right. Once I meter my lights or calcuate the flash exposure, I know I'll get the correct exposure every time.

evoryware

MarkW wrote:

@Joshhuntnm. I prefer to do it all manually. I do use ettl when I don't have time to calculate exposures or meter all the flashes. Ettl works but it's not always perfect. If find I have to chimp more often with ettl. I may take the first shot and it may be under or overexposed. Then I have to use flash compensation til I get the exposure right. ETTL can be thrown off by bright scenes and dark scenes. When I'm working with manual flashes, I definately have the control over everything vs the system telling me what it thinks is right. Once I meter my lights or calcuate the flash exposure, I know I'll get the correct exposure every time.

For me it's like when I learned to drive 5 speed. Father always said if you learn manual, ETT er.. automatic is easy to pick up.
ETTL is much easier for me to understand now that I've picked apart manual, but I would only use it in Av or Tv.

mbg0333

Ive been trying to learn a little bit about off camera flash myself. Definately alot to learn and I commend you for making the first step.

MarkW

evoryware wrote:

For me it's like when I learned to drive 5 speed. Father always said if you learn manual, ETT er.. automatic is easy to pick up.
ETTL is much easier for me to understand now that I've picked apart manual, but I would only use it in Av or Tv.

You know I agree that you really should learn manual flash. I had been working the hotshoe flashes for a while when I got an opportunity to use some studio monolights. I already know how to calculate flash exposure and meter lights so when I used the studio lights it was a breeze. I was in no way intimidated by the studio strobes or the accesories.

It's definately beneficial to learn to do it the old way. You never know when you will be thrown into a situation where you're going to have to know how to do it.