Flash Fridays are Here!

The SpeedLight I'll Be Using

So here we are, my first Flash Friday for the next while and I almost don't know where to begin. I'd kindly remind you all that this is my first little journey to understanding flash, and am still learning, so would love to hear what the rest of you struggle with or tips on using Speedlights in general. Anything I might miss is simply because... well, I haven't learned it yet!

The first thing I struggled with right from the start was the term "Sync speed" and how regularly I heard it being flung about in conversation. Inevitably someone would use the term as they began talking about their first foray into using a flash, but without explaining what they meant by it. And so from the word go, I'd already be lost as the conversation or demonstration continued.

Except, here's the thing about the term "Sync Speed" and why it applies to you using your flash. You ready? All it is, is a reference to the fastest your camera's shutter can go while allowing the light from your flash to fully enter the camera's sensor for a shot. Why had no one explained this to me? Where was I when they were handing out the Sync Speed 101 brochures? I've discovered that mine for the D80 is 1/200th of a second. If I dial in a shutter speed any faster than that my camera ceases to record all of the light projected from the flash, because the curtains that move across the sensor when you press the shutter are going too fast for there to be any one moment when the whole sensor is exposed to light. Sheesh. Can anyone say "underexposed" and "weird banding across the frame"? That's what you'll get.

So if you're shooting in manual, make sure you are paying attention to your sync speed... the speed at which your shutter AND flash work in tandem. As an aside, my Nikon actually won't let me go past 1/200 on the dial when my flash is turned on. That should have been my first clue that it was already at it's optimum sync speed. And obviously, depending on what you're shooting, you need a fast enough shutter speed to ensure there's no motion blur if doing portraits, candids, or using your flash as fill outdoors in harsh sun. But as you're about to see, you can shoot well below your optimum sync speed (yours may be 1/250 or 1/150... check in your camera's manual pronto if you don't know it) if your subject isn't going anywhere, like with the Lilly photograph below.

"Lilly #2"

This photo was taken with the flash OFF camera about a foot from the flower, since I was just using the flash with a small diffuser attached to it (which we'll get to in an upcoming post) and manually made sure it was on full power and could be triggered by my tiny on-camera flash (dialed down all the way to 1/128 sec.) in Nikon's Commander mode in the Custom Setting Menu and under "Built-In Flash". I chose my aperture for the shot before I dialed anything else in, knowing I wanted a decent depth of field for the petals and stamens. Then I chose my shutter speed after some playing and adjusting and deciding I needed to allow some available light that was already hitting the flower from above to be included in the shot as well as the flash to light any areas that had too many shadows. In the end, my exposure for this one was 1/25th of a sec. @ F/14, ISO100, 150mm focal length (such a slow lens at that aperture in low light situations hence the slow shutter speed regardless of the flash) with the camera on the tripod, and I was very happy with the light. It was a simple set up but you start small and move on from there as you learn right?

Flash is such a broad topic, so rest assured that I'll be blogging about the distance of your flash in relation to your subject, diffusers, reflected and bounced light, soft boxes, set-up, gels, remote triggering, and portrait and outdoor use... and a whole lot more as I learn a little something more each week.

Play with your flash in relation to various light and exposures this week... and thanks for the ramble!

The Flower and the Flash ~ Mono Monday!

Lilly #1 ~ A Study in Flash

A teaser image for a new post coming soon on Flash Photography. Meaning, I really have no time to truly blog today so a sneak peek at a new project is what you get.

I am just learning what my solitary speed light is capable of in terms of light. In commander mode, in manual, outside, inside, it is truly broadening my scope of how I can add drama to any subject and it is allowing me to shoot no matter what the circumstance. This is big for me, I cannot tell a lie.

That I waited for almost five years before I really decided I had enough of being terrified of flash says... well, I'll let you decide what it says. But be nice. At any rate, the first thing I know is that still life and florals have expanded possibilities now that I can play with flash exposure. Today's photograph in B&W is proof. Highly defined subject details, easy use of negative space, lots of drama due to the variety of tones and the contrast created by the seamless back drop. I kept my speed light with a big diffuser very close to the subject, with reflectors to control the light back towards the subject... am working on documenting a shoot to show you exactly what I did for the upcoming post. But for now, if you're not even sure how to activate you speed light, I found this video very helpful last year for the true beginner, as well as this longer video here. If you're not a Nikon user, all you need to do is search YouTube for your flash name and you'll be able to filter through tons of demos.

Exciting isn't it? So Friday, I'll begin my series on exploring flash...

I hope you'll join me!

As you were. Thanks for the ramble!

The Lilly Sessions

"A Star is Born"

How do you feel about flash? I can tell you that up until recently I was not a big fan. Unless you learn, play, read up on, compare and experiment with what you can do to control the light it can often be a disappointing mess of weird shadows, hot spots and that washed out look to everything in it's path. It becomes that dreaded last resort when you need light.

You missed it just now didn't you? Read back. Do you see the key to learning what a powerful tool flash can be in your world of photography? Let me ask you this: when you're out somewhere and you see a scene that speaks to you, and if you are intentional with your exposure, you take what light you have and using a deliberate exposure you control how much light to give the camera's sensor and you take your shot, right? In your camera you've controlled the light.

Wait. What? I thought we were talking about flash? Flash is just another means of controlling the light available to you. This isn't a new concept. So why are we always afraid of it? Why was I afraid of it? I think because we see light as being beyond our control. That flash is just going to go off, blind everyone in the room, and it changes everything I know about my camera... right? And we always assume the light is the big problem, so to make matters worse, we find a way to dial down our flash to non-existent levels and voila, now the subject looks like it should belong on some Halloween set. Do you know how many photographs I've trashed that way? Too many.

Here are some things I learned last year about flash that I think I may do a series of posts on in the next couple weeks. Things that took the mystery out of speed lights for me. (Heck, we could start with the fact that "speed light" is just another word for flash...)

1) The closer the light to your subject, the better chance it has of enveloping your subject properly.

2) Diffusing the light from the flash with a scrim, with a light panel, or with even something as simple as a light sphere will get rid of those hated harsh lines. You know the term "Bathed in light"? Yeah, that.

3) Your flash can override all the light available in the room, or it can accent it. Decide which is more appropriate to your vision, and then expose for it.

4) The flash really does need to come off the camera, to allow you to be the creative photographer you want to be. It's simple, you just want to harness the light that can be available to you. Google YouTube tutorials on triggering your flash... then go for it.

The image today was created with my SB-600, off the camera, sitting to the right of the subject on the same table top, at full power and zoomed out manually to it's largest flash length, triggered by my pop up flash on the camera which was dialed all the way down to non-existent so as not to affect my real flash exposure. I had a simple light sphere attached to the flash to disperse the light evenly, and had two reflectors to bounce light up under the subject, and down into the subject. My exposure in camera was adjusted so that the only light that mattered was my flash. Basically my test shot without the flash was a dark screen. Then I chose my flash exposure according to how I liked the lilly to look in the light. Basically, a few minutes of playing. And this was the result. And the more I do it, the more I get it. It's just another way of controlling the light.

One of my motto's for the new year is "Remaining static is not an option." For too long I've let things that give the impression of being hard hold my photography back from being everything it can be. Not anymore.

Thanks for the ramble, and have a super Wednesday!