During our recent trip to Brighton Biennial we took the opportunity to demonstrate the use of flash guns on location.
I wanted to use the flash to separate the background and subject so I had a 1.2 ND filter to allow me to open the aperture while keeping the shutter speed inline with the sync for the flash gun giving a very large bokeh but sharp subject. I also shot with my lens fully extend to 70mm to use the compression of the lens to add to this effect. this did mean i needed more power from my flash gun as i was further away.
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| ISO 100 70mm ƒ5 1/100s flash fired |
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| ISO 100 70mm ƒ5 1/100s flash did not fire |
The same effect could be achieve with a reflector and assistant, as this was a very cloudy day there was a very soft light so the fill light isn't as important as it would be on a sunny harshly lit day.
I wanted to be more creative with the flash gun to really show its potential so decided to use it off flash. there are various methods and accessories to this but used Nikons commander mode which allows you to alter the settings of the flash remotely with in the camera. this is very handy as you don't need to more about and can add subtle adjustments.
to find the Commander mode you need to go Bracketing/Flash > Flash control for built-in flash > Commander mode. For here you have control over the the built in flash and 2 slave units. You can set the flashes to TTL or manual, there are 3 separate channels meaning that you can use the feature in one channel while other photographers work in another with out interference.
on the flash gun set the flash to Slave mode and and set the group and channel.
on location I placed the flash gun on a tripod left to the camera, I tried to keep the look realistic looking so had it positioned it hight. off camera flash gives the image more depth and more interest, it also allows you to shoot at lower flash powers requiring less power and recharge time. all images shot at ISO 160 70mm ƒ5 1/100s
The backgrounds on the images could been brighter by using a longer shutter speed, with the use of the flash you can use a longer shutter speed as the flash will freeze the motion.
Off camera flash is something I want to play with more to get to know how and when to use it. it can seam scary at first but it is very systematic and once you get a feel for your gear it becomes second nature
You have used your flashgun very well to show the location interestingly and there is great depth. Good framing and a powerful angle you have shot from.
ReplyDeleteGreat experimenting with flash, nice to see what can be achieved.
ReplyDeleteYou have proved how you enthusiastic to configured well and mixed available light with speed light on location. also your demonstration technique on your blog is easy to understand what camera and flash settings you have used and its help full to others who don't know yet handle the flash.
ReplyDelete