[alamo5000]

I know nothing about flashes and how they trigger and all that... a remote flash sound very good... I am starting cold on the flash thing... I just don't want to buy $500 in stuff only to not need use or like it...

[polachekphotography]

I still wonder though (obviously previous to watching all those videos) 'when' people that use flash find it most useful? What kind of scenarios will let 'flash photography' shine vs natural lighting?

In terms of portraiture, I find flash useful in most any situation! I love the degree of control it offers, particularly for environmental portraits. In flat light it allows you to enhance shadows to make a subject "pop". In harsh light it allows you to move your subject into the shade and still have them be well-exposed, or use the sun as a rim light. And modifiers allow you to shape the light to your liking (soft with a wrap-around quality, directional for contrast, etc.) Or with a big enough light/modifier combination you can overpower the sun! Add some ND filters in the mix and you can do so while still using a large aperture.

Here's some examples from a lighting workshop we took earlier this year. The outdoor portraits were taken around 2 pm. Without off-camera flash it would have been possible to shoot in the shadows of the buildings to avoid the harsh, contrasty sunlight, but adding in flash allows for more "shaping" of the light. Natural light would have been quite flat otherwise.

Polachek Photography: Lighting Workshop

The instructor of the course said he developed his style of lighting because most of his work (commercial, fashion) required him to shoot in high afternoon sun. His philosophy was that natural light can be beautiful, but it can also be ugly if you don't have the luxury of shooting in the golden hour all the time.

After attending this course we immediately went and picked up a light meter and a some ND filters. Definitely money well spent!

[audiobomber]

Polachek Photography: Lighting Workshop

After attending this course we immediately went and picked up a light meter and a some ND filters. Definitely money well spent!

Those portraits are really well done!

How do you use the light meter? (I know how light meters work, I'm wondering why you need an external meter, when the camera has one built in).

[polachekphotography]

Thanks very much, appreciate the compliment.

As for the light meter, it's used in the "incident" setting to measure the output from the flash, while the in-camera meter is used to measure the ambient exposure. For instance, say I want to shoot at f8 and ISO 100. I'll set up my light, fire a test and measure the output of the flash. The meter displays the flash output in an equivalent f-stop based on the ISO input, and from there I can adjust the power level of the flash until it matches the f-stop of the camera. This ensures that the area lit by the flash is exposed properly, and will remain so as long as I don't move the light, alter the flash power, or change my aperature value in-camera. The external meter basically takes the guesswork out of it, allows me to get the flash exposure dialed in, and eliminates the need to take multiple test shots to see what's going on.

The two different meter readings (handheld and in-camera) can be used to determine the settings needed to either balance the flash with the ambient for a more natural feel, or to overpower the ambient for a more dramatic effect.

[Tanzer]

Using strobes is freaking addictive. Every time I shoot in natural light, I think about how the photo could be improved by adding a flash. There is almost always a way, although the circumstances might not always allow it.

One problem is that you have to accept some level of trial-and-error. I've found it hard to get exactly the right results on the first try, there is always a lot of chimping involved. Thank heavens for digital, we can afford to keep trying over and over.

[polachekphotography]

^That's precisely where a light meter helps. I've found it really streamlines the process by getting it much closer on the first attempt. It does require more mental math and there's still chimping involved, but it's now more along the lines of minor tweaking of the lighting to achieve the desired effect, rather than struggling to find an acceptable exposure via trial and error.

[alamo5000]

The best thing I ever did for using a flash was grabbed a set of Cactus VS duo flash triggers, awesome not having the flash near you and using bounce to light up a room. Just saying lol

I have heard others mention 'cactus'.... what is that?

Edit:

I googled 'flash trigger' and that right there looks 'exactly' what I would be looking for (in addition to the flash itself)....is it common to use more than one flash? So if I got the cactus thing is it 'normal' to use more than one flash on a single shoot/shot?

Also how can I tell if the flash is compatible with the cactus trigger or something similar?

Edit:

What is the differences between a 'full manual' flash and an 'auto flash'?

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Last edited by alamo5000; 09-27-2013 at 06:50 PM.

[BrianR]

I googled 'flash trigger' and that right there looks 'exactly' what I would be looking for (in addition to the flash itself)....is it common to use more than one flash? So if I got the cactus thing is it 'normal' to use more than one flash on a single shoot/shot?

There's really no 'normal'. You can do an awful lot with just one flash or just one flash + ambient, but sometimes you want more. Starting with one is probably fine unless you have specific things you want to do in mind. A real basic kit would be a flash that you can control manually and a pair of triggers. That's all you really need to get going with off camera stuff. Bonus if the triggers can be mounted to a tripod you already own or in a friends hand.

Also how can I tell if the flash is compatible with the cactus trigger or something similar?

The usual stopper is an older flash with a huge trigger voltage on remote triggers that can't handle it. Any new flash should be no problem, you can check out Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages if you're looking at used ones.

Voltage aside, most of the cheaper triggers will take any hotshoe flash ('hotshoe' refers to the bits that attach the flash to a camera body). Some will also have various cord options for more versatility.

What is the differences between a 'full manual' flash and an 'auto flash'?

"Full manual" means you physically set the power level, either switches or pushing buttons. "Auto flash" comes in several varieties, Auto-Thyristor or TTL or pTTL for example, where the flash or the flash+camera will make some decisions about power outputs (possibly with some input from you similar to the cameras normal exposure compensation). If you're going off camera, a flash with manual controls is the way to go if you're on a budget. Most modern flashes will include manual controls, but there are definitely some older flashes that don't.

I'd suggest you check out Strobist: Lighting 101, it will answer many questions and point out some basic starter gear. And I also quite enjoyed Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting: Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua: 9780240812250: Amazon.com: Books for a general read on lighting. There are literally thousands of other learning resources though (most importantly going out and practicing once you get a basic kit)

IMO, learning about setting up artificial lighting has also helped me 'see' ambient light much better.

[audiobomber]

Note that you can do wireless (off-camera) flash without triggers, by using the on-board flash as a controller, so long as you have a compatible flash.

[polachekphotography]

There's really no 'normal'. You can do an awful lot with just one flash or just one flash + ambient, but sometimes you want more. Starting with one is probably fine unless you have specific things you want to do in mind. A real basic kit would be a flash that you can control manually and a pair of triggers. That's all you really need to get going with off camera stuff. Bonus if the triggers can be mounted to a tripod you already own or in a friends hand.

Agreed with this. A single flash with a set of triggers is very versatile, and simple. It really depends on the effect you're trying to achieve. Sometimes you just need some flash to fill in shadows, where in other situations you'll want to precisely control the lighting with several smaller light sources. And sometimes you may just want one big light source.
The outdoor portraits I posted earlier were shot with a single light source, albeit a very large one (studio strobe and 47" octabox).

[Class A]

The usual stopper is an older flash with a huge trigger voltage on remote triggers that can't handle it.

There are triggers that can handle up to 300V (e.g., the V4,V5,V6 from Cactus).

The Cactus V6 trigger has not been released yet, but beta testing will soon finish. The cool thing about it is, that it can remote control the power level of a large number of flash models across all brands. Whether it is an older Nikon SB-24 or a Pentax AF-540 FGZ, mounted on a V6, flashes like these can then be remote-controlled with an on-camera V6 (with up to four independent groups). There is even an "absolute power" mode in which "EV 11.3" means the same amount of light, no matter whether you are using this value for a flash with a maximum guide number of 36 or one that has a maximum guide number of 54.

In contrast to P-TTL, communication takes place via radio waves so there is no need anymore to avoid harsh sunlight or establish line of sight for inter-flash communication.

There is no automatic exposure support as with P-TTL, but I agree with the "strobist"-point of view that manual settings provide more control and consistency anyhow.

And I also quite enjoyed Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting: Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua: 9780240812250: Amazon.com: Books for a general read on lighting.

I can also highly recommend this book. To fully appreciate it, one will have to have the desire to know how things work, as opposed to be handed quick recipes. This book was one of my bust buys in photography ever.

[TRex1123]

DEDPXL · More Signal. Less Noise.

Zack Arias is, in my opinion, one of the best strobist out there. You can check his stuff out on youtube but his "One Light 2.0" is a really great set of videos.

Disclaimer: I do not own flashes.. yet. I love his work and I like the way he teaches.

[Imageman]

You don't always need flash.


How to take better pictures under artificial light? Well you can use a candle, you can use a desklight, you can use a torch, you can use an uplighter, you can use a spotlight, you can use a workmens halogen, you can use the glow from a coal fire, you can even use a studio light or a strobe.


The secret is to control the light and use imagination, multiple lights and reflectors. Use all of these lighting methods, and when you can produce good work from each (they all have their issues and approaches and you need to master them to do good work), move on to the next.


By the time your using strobes you will be taking better pictures because you will know more about controlling lighting than you will from simply reading most books. And hey it wont break the bank.


Furthermore, if your ever stuck at a shoot and no functioning strobes youll be able to use whats there.


Do I know what im talking about?


This is the result from a shoot where I exclusively used a 5 Dollar workmens halogen bought from the hardware store,


Im happy with it but you can be the judge..