THEFLASHBOOKHowtofallhopelesslyinlovewithyourflash,andfinallystarttakingthetypeofimagesyouboughtitforinthefirstplaceMANAGINGEDITORKimDoty

COPYEDITORCindySnyder

ARTDIRECTORJessicaMaldonado

PHOTOGRAPHYScottKelby

COVERPHOTOGRAPHYAdobeStock

PHOTOGRAPHYASSISTANTSSharmaShariJulioAguilarKathyPorupski

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Copyright©2018byScottKelbyAllrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,orbyanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptfortheinclusionofbriefquotationsinareview.

ComposedinUniversandAvenir(Linotype)byKelbyOne.

TrademarksAlltermsmentionedinthisbookthatareknowntobetrademarksorservicemarkshavebeenappropriatelycapitalized.RockyNookcannotattesttotheaccuracyofthisinformation.Useofaterminthebookshouldnotberegardedasaffectingthevalidityofanytrademarkorservicemark.

PhotoshopisaregisteredtrademarkofAdobeSystemsInc.CanonisaregisteredtrademarkofCanonInc.NikonisaregisteredtrademarkofNikonInc.SonyisaregisteredtrademarkofSonyCorp.PhottixisaregisteredtrademarkofPhottixLtd.YongnuoisaregisteredtrademarkofShenzhenYongNuoPhotographicEquipmentCo.Ltd.

WarningandDisclaimerThisbookisdesignedtoprovideinformationaboutflashphotography.Everyefforthasbeenmadetomakethisbookascompleteandasaccurateaspossible,butnowarrantyoffitnessisimplied.

Theinformationisprovidedonanas-isbasis.TheauthorandRockyNookshallhaveneithertheliabilitynorresponsibilitytoanypersonorentitywithrespecttoanylossordamagesarisingfromtheinformationcontainedinthisbookorfromtheuseofthediscs,websites,orprogramsthatmayaccompanyit.

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ThisbookisdedicatedtomydearfriendandcolleagueAnneCahill,whointhelobbyofasmallhotelinVermontshowedmehowtousewirelessflashfortheveryfirsttime.I’llalwaysbeindebtedtoyouforsharingyourknowledge,foropeningawholenewworldtome,andforyourfriendship

thesemanyyears.

Acknowledgments

Althoughonlyonenameappearsonthespineofthisbook,ittakesateamofdedicatedandtalentedpeopletopullaprojectlikethistogether.I’mnotonlydelightedtobeworkingwiththem,butIalsogetthehonorandprivilegeofthankingthemhere.

TomyamazingwifeKalebra:Youcontinuetoreinforcewhateverybodyalwaystellsme—I’mtheluckiestguyintheworld.

TomysonJordan:Ifthere’sadadmoreproudofhissonthanIam,I’veyettomeethim.Youarejustawallofawesome!Soproudofthefineyoungmanyou’vebecome.#rolltide!

TomybeautifuldaughterKira:Youarealittlecloneofyourmom,andthat’sthebestcomplimentIcouldevergiveyou.

TomybigbrotherJeff:Yourboundlessgenerosity,kindness,positiveattitude,andhumilityhavebeenaninspirationtomemyentirelife,andI’mjustsohonoredtobeyourbrother.

TomyeditorKimDoty:Ifeelincrediblyfortunatetohaveyouasmyeditoronthesebooks.Infact,Ican’timaginedoingthemwithoutyou.Youtrulyareajoytoworkwith.

TomybookdesignerJessicaMaldonado:Ilovethewayyoudesign,andallthecleverlittlethingsyouaddtoeverythingyoudo.Ourbookteamstruckgoldwhenwefoundyou!

TomydearfriendandbusinesspartnerJeanA.Kendra:Thanksforputtingupwithmealltheseyears,andforyoursupportforallmycrazyideas.Itreallymeansalot.

ToErikKuna:Thankyoufortakingtheweightoftheworldonyourback,soitdidn’tcrushmine,andforworkingsohardtomakesurewedotherightthing,therightway.

ToJoeMcNally:IoweaspecialdebtofgratitudetomydearfriendJoeMcNally,whotaughtmemoreaboutflashthanIeverthoughtIwouldknow.Thankyou,Joe,forhelpingme“seethelight.”

ToJeanneJilleba:Thanksforjumpingintohelpoutandkeepingmefromsinkingfromtheweightofmydailywork.ThanksforjugglingmycrazyscheduleandmakingsureIhavetimetowrite.

ToTedWaitt,myawesomeEditoratRockyNook:Thanksforhelpingbringthisbooktolife,andforseeingwhyitcouldhelpalotoffolks.YoucangoaheadandorderthenextroundofpizzasfromTony’sPizzaNapoletana.I’lltakeaHoneyPie,aNewYorker,andaLaRegina.:)TomypublisherScottCowlin:I’msodelightedIstillgettoworkwithyou,andforyouropenmindandvision.CanyoupleasehelpTedpayforthosepizzas?

TomymentorsJohnGraden,JackLee,DaveGales,JudyFarmer,andDouglasPoole:Thankyouforyourwisdomandwhip-cracking—theyhavehelpedmeimmeasurably.

Mostimportantly,IwanttothankGod,andHisSonJesusChrist,forleadingmetothewomanofmydreams,forblessinguswithsuchamazingchildren,forallowingmetomakealivingdoingsomethingItrulylove,foralwaysbeingtherewhenIneedHim,forblessingmewithawonderful,fulfilling,andhappylife,andsuchawarm,lovingfamilytoshareitwith.

AbouttheAuthor

ScottKelby

ScottisEditor,Publisher,andco-founderofPhotoshopUsermagazine,LightroomMagazine,andhostoftheinfluentialweeklyphotographyshow,TheGrid.HeisPresidentoftheKelbyOneonlineeducationalcommunityforphotographers,andisthefounderoftheannualWorldwidePhotoWalk™.

Scottisaphotographer,designer,andaward-winningauthorofmorethan80books,includingLightIt,ShootIt,RetouchIt;TheAdobePhotoshopBookforDigitalPhotographers;ProfessionalPortraitRetouchingTechniquesforPhotographers;HowDoIDothatinLightroom?;andTheDigitalPhotographyBook,parts1,2,3,4,and5.Thefirstbookinthisseries,TheDigitalPhotographyBook,part1,hasbecomethetop-sellingbookondigitalphotographyinhistory.

Forsixyearsstraight,Scotthasbeenhonoredwiththedistinctionofbeingtheworld’s#1best-sellingauthorofphotographytechniquesbooks.Hisbookshavebeentranslatedintodozensofdifferentlanguages,includingChinese,Russian,Spanish,Korean,Polish,Taiwanese,French,German,Italian,Japanese,Hebrew,Dutch,Swedish,Turkish,andPortuguese,amongmanyothers.

ScottisTrainingDirectorfortheAdobePhotoshopSeminarTour,andConferenceTechnicalChair

fortheannualPhotoshopWorldConference.He’sfeaturedinaseriesofonlinecoursesfromKelbyOne.com,andhasbeentrainingphotographersandAdobePhotoshopuserssince1993.

FormoreinformationonScott,visit:

Hisdailyblogatscottkelby.com

Twitter:@scottkelby

Instagram:@scottkelby

Facebook:facebook.com/skelby

Contents

Chapter1FlashControlsandSettingsYagottastartsomewhere,right?

SevenThingsYouNeedtoKnowNow.IfYouSkipThem...

SameThingOverHere.SkipThematYourOwnPeril!Here’sAnotherThing

TheseAretheLastTwoYou’reAbouttoLearna“System”

You’reNotGoingtoMesswiththeBackofYourFlashaWholeBunch.OratAllSayHelloto“MisterFlash!”

WhyTTLMightBeMakingYouHateYourFlashTheMostCommonReasonFlashShotsLookBad

Don’tPutYourFlashonTopofYourCameraDon’tUseYourPop-UpFlashtoTrytoFireYourHotShoeFlash.Ever

WhyYouNeedaWirelessControllerWhyYouDon’tWantJustaWirelessTrigger

TheDifferenceBetweenOpticalandRadioWirelessWhatIfYourFlashDoesn’tHaveBuilt-InRFWireless?

Troubleshooting:IfYourFlashDoesn’tFireUnderstandingtheWhole“Brightness”Thing

WhattoDoWhen1/2PowerIsTooBrightHowtoChangethePower(Brightness)ofYourFlash

WheretoSetYourPowertoStartWhyIRecommendYouSetYourFlashtoManualMode

PuttingYourFlashIntoManualModeGettingYourFlashtoRefreshFaster

WhichTypeofBatteriestoUse

Chapter2NextLevelFlashStuff

It’sthatstuff.Atthenextlevel

UsingMoreThanOneFlash?ThenUsingtheGroupFeatureWillMakeThingsMuchEasier

HowIAssignMyGroupsPuttingMoreThanOneFlashinaGroup

UsingChannelstoKeepOtherPhotographersfromAccidentallyFiringYourFlashSlaveModeLetsYouFireaSecondFlashwithoutWireless

GettingMorePowerThanMaximumWantYourBeamWiderorTighter?

YourFlash’sModelingLightWanttoMaketheLightaLittleLessHarsh?PutonaDiffusionCap

WhenDiffusionCapsDon’tWorkYourFlashHasaBuilt-InWide-AngleDiffuser...

UsingYourFlash’sWhiteBounceCardDoYouNeedaFlashMeter?

HowtoWaitLessTimeBetweenFlashesFreezingMotion

GettingSoftBlurryBackgroundswithFlash.SpoilerAlert:YouUseHigh-SpeedSync

Chapter3CameraSettingsforWorkingwithFlashThispartiswayeasierthanyou’dthink

WhyWeNeedtoShootinManualModeShutterSpeedControlstheLightintheRoom

F-StopControlstheBrightnessoftheFlashISOMakesEverythingBrighterorDarker

WheretoSetYourShutterSpeed(andWhy)WhentoChangeYourShutterSpeed

Whichf-StoptoStartWithWheretoSetYourISO

Here’sYourCameraSettingsChecklistTheBigSecret:BalancingtheLight

Chapter4UsingFlashforPortraitsHowtomakepeoplelookawesomer

GetItOffYourCamera

MakeItSoftandBeautiful

ThisHelpsaLittle,butIt’sNotaSoftbox

MyFavoriteSoftboxforFlashYouCanMakeBeautifulLightforJust$20

NoFriendtoHelp?GetOutYourDebitCardUseaStripBankSoftboxonYourSecondLight

GetaTighterFocusandMoreDramabyUsingGridsUseMetalGridstoGetTightlyFocusedBeams

UsinganUmbrellatoSoftentheLight(ItWorks,butDon’tDoThis)Big,BeautifulLightComesfromBigSoftboxes

IfYouNeedReallyBigLightonaBudgetInstantHeadshotSetup

TheMostPopularPlacetoPositionYourFlashGettingMore(orLess)Shadows

IfYouNeedEvenSofterLight,FeatherItHowHighUptoPositionYourFlash

HowClosetoPutYourSoftboxLightingtoMakeYourSubjectLookThinner

BounceFlashCanSavetheDayAddingaSecondFlash

UseFall-OffforMoreProfessional-LookingPortraitsCreatingFall-OffManuallyby“Flagging”

Three-FlashEdgeLightSetup

Chapter5UsingFlashOnLocationThisistrulyterrifyingstuff,somaybeyoushouldskipthis

WhyWeNeedtoPutGelsonOurFlashWhenShootingonLocationHowtoDealwithProblemRoomLight

HowtoAttachaGeltoYourFlashPre-Cut,Pre-SizedCommercialGelSetups

EasyLocationFlashStepOne:PositioningYourSubjectEasyLocationFlashStepTwo:Metering

EasyLocationFlashStepThree:UnderexposingEasyLocationFlashStepFour:PositioningYourFlash

EasyLocationFlashStepFive:AddinganOrangeGel

EasyLocationFlashStepSix:FlashSettings

EasyLocationFlashStepSeven:AddingMoreGelsFlashwithaReflectorasYourSecondLight

GettingSomeFillLightOutsidewithoutaSoftboxOnOvercastDays,YouCanUseWide-Openf-StopstoGetSoftBackgrounds

AwesomeTrickforSimple,CleanBackgroundsShootingInteriorswithFlash

Chapter6HowtoLightBackgroundsBabygotback!

LightingBackgroundswithoutaSecondFlash

BeforeYouAimaFlashatYourBackground,YouHaveaDecisiontoMakeInexpensiveBackgrounds

WhichColorBackgroundtoOrderFirstUsingCanvasorPaintedBackdrops

LightStandsforLightingBackgroundsWhytheDistanceYouPlaceYourFlashfromtheBackgroundIsSoImportant

TurnOffAnyFrontLightsWhileLightingtheBackgroundHowtoLightforaSolid-WhiteBackground

LightingaWiderSolid-WhiteBackgroundHowtoAvoidSpillonYourBackground

KeepingtheBackgroundFlashfromSpillingontoYourSubjectCreatingaGraduatedBackgroundLook

GettingaTighterBackgroundSpotLightColorGelsforBackgrounds

AddingColortoYourBackgroundChangingtheColorofYourBackground

SpotlightGradientBackgroundEffect

Chapter7UsingFlashatWeddingsHerecomesthebright...

SimpleOne-LightBridalPortraitSetupShootingtheBrideGettingReady

ReceptionOption#1:On-Camera

ReceptionOption#2:SeriousDiffusion

ReceptionOption#3:LightingtheRoomReceptionOption#4:SeeingFlashintheFrame

LightingtheGroupFormalsRotatingYourHeadforBounceFlash

FlashBehindtheBrideAddaGeltoMatchtheRoomLighting

Chapter8HowtoMountYourFlashThatsoundsbad,butyouknowwhatImean

WhichTypeofLightStandtoUseforWhat

WhyYouNeedaTiltBracketUsingYour“LittleFoot”toHoldYourFlash

MyFavoriteforLocationShoots:MountingYourFlashonaMonopodMountingSecondFlashes:ClampIt

MountingSecondFlashes:JobyFlashClampMountingSecondFlashes:TetherToolsRapidMountSLXwithRapidStrips

MountingSecondFlashes:PlatypodUltraMountingSecondFlashes:ManfrottoMagicArm

HoldingMultipleFlashes

Chapter9FlashTricksGettingyourflashtobeg,rollover,andfetchlight

AStudioPortraitLookwithouttheStudioHidingtheFlashandLightStand

SunsetLookonLocationDraggingtheShutterforEffect

ThreeLightingLookswithoutMovingYourFlashIfYouCan’tBounceOfftheCeiling

IfYouWanttoSeeBackgroundShadowsUsingYourFlashasaProp

FixGroundSpillwithaDouble-Tap

SpecialEffectsGelsUsingWhiteBalanceasaSecondColor

PanBlurandFreezeEffectStroboscopicEffect

TheClassicHollywoodDramaticLookDramaticProfilePortrait

Two-ColorSplitBackLightingRemovingReflectionsfromGlasses

SimpleTwo-FlashProductLightingSetup

Chapter10FlashWorkflowIfyou’vegotanindoor,outdoor,orweddingshoot,thenhere’swhattodo!

IndoorPortraitWorkflowStepOne:PutYourFlashonaLightStand

StepTwo:PutaSoftboxinFrontofItStepThree:UseTheseSettingsonYourFlash

StepFour:PositionItUpHigh,ata45°AngleStepFive:UseTheseCameraSettings

StepSix:TakeaTestShotandEvaluate

OutdoorPortraitWorkflowStepOne:PutTheirBacktotheSunStepTwo:SetYourCorrectExposureFirstStepThree:NowMakeEverythingDarkerStepFour:UseTheseSettingsonYourFlashStepFive:GetYourFlashOffYourCameraStepSix:PutanOrangeGelonYourFlashStepSeven:MaketheLightSoftandFlatteringStepEight:PositionItUpHigh,ata45°AngleStepNine:TurnYourFlashOnandTakeaTestShotStepTen:BalancingwiththeNaturalLight

WeddingWorkflowStepOne:MakeReadyFlashStepTwo:TheBridalPortraitsStepThree:TheCeremonyStepFour:TheGroupFormalsStepFive:Reception,OneFlashStepSix:Reception,TwoFlashes

ChapterOne

FlashControlsandSettingsYagottastartsomewhere,right?

If youbought thisbook, Icanalready tella few thingsaboutyou: (1)Youhave impeccabletaste. (2) You’re thoughtful, intelligent, you’re kind to small animals, and people areinexplicablydrawn toyou. It’swhybirdssuddenlyappear,every timeyouarenear.And, (3)you’reprobablyfairlynewtoflash.Youprobablyownaflashalready,butyougotthisbooksoyouwouldfinallyfallinlovewithyourflash.Youdidtherightthing.But,astheauthorofthebook,ofcourseIwouldsaythat,right?So,tobefair,let’saskarandompersononthestreetandseeiftheyagree.[slightpause]Yup,theysaidyoudidtherightthing,too,soit’snotjustme.Anyway,Iwanttomakesureyourtransitionintothewonderfulworldofflashisaspainlessas possible, and that begins with understanding that using flash is a lifestyle. Pretty soon,you’llbehangingoutwithyourcoolnewflashfriends,andyou’llbegoingtoflashparties,andflashraves,andflashprotests,andflashparolehearings,andIwant tomakesureyoudon’tembarrass yourself at these events by giving away the fact that you’re not yet a flash ninja(whichwilloccurabout10chaptersfromnow,whenyou’llgetpresentedwiththeblackoutfitandallthat).But,fornow,it’slikelythatatoneoftheseparties,sometotalflashnerdwilltrytotripyouupbyaskingyouwheretheterm“flash”evencomesfrom.Thisisatrickquestion.Most folkswouldanswersomething like,“Because itcreatesa flashof light?”atwhich thenerd will annoyingly roll their eyes, because they know the real answer, which is: flash isactuallyFLASH—anacronym,createdbyEastmanKodakbackinthelate1890s,whichstandsfor “Focused LumensAligned toSensorHead.”Now, if you believed any of that, even for asecond,ifyouhadamomentofdoubtthatitcouldbetrue,youneedtoalignyoursensorhead.Welcometothechapterintros(whichIwarnyouaboutinthebook’sintro;-).

SevenThingsYouNeedtoKnowNow.IfYouSkipThem...

...somethingreallybadwillhappen.(1)Stufflikenotknowingthatthere’saspecialpagewithsomevideosIhaveforyouthatyou’llneedalongtheway,or thatyoushould,orshouldn’t, read thechapter intros,orhow toavoidbreakingoutinred,itchyhiveswhenreadingaboutflashsettings(Irecommend the yellow itchy hives, which aremuchmoremanageable).It’ll only take twominutes to read these fourpages (yup, you’ll need toreadtheother three, too),butyou’llbegladyoudid(hey, it’spossible).By the way, here’s the link to watch the bonus videos and stuff:kelbyone.com/books/flashbook. Okay, so let’s get on with the other sixrivetingthings(stopsnickering).

(2) Idon’t refer to themas“Speedlights”—I justcall them“flashes.”Somecompanies call theirs an “external flash unit,” some call them“Speedlights,” some people call them the “Space Cowboy.” Some callthemthe“GangsterofLove.”So,sincewecan’tallagree(anditwouldbepainfully clunky to reference one each time as a “speedlight/flash/externalflash”),I’mjustgoingwith“flash”—justsoyaknow.

SameThingOverHere.SkipThematYourOwnPeril!

(3) Flashes are flashes.And theyall do essentially the same thing.Theyproduceabrightflashoflight.IfItooka$600flashanda$60flash,andputthem(andyou)inadarkroomandfiredeachoneseparately,itwouldbe impossible for you to tell which one was which—they both make abright flashofwhite light.Thedifferencemaybe in thefeatures,or thebuild of the unit, orwhether it has a built-inwireless radio transceiver,butas faraswhat theycreate (abright flashof light),any flashcandothat,andthey’reprettymuchindistinguishablefromthatstandpoint.

(4) Lots of companiesmake flash units. I couldn’t includeeverymodel offlash in thebook, so Iwentwith the flashesmost folksuse thesedays,

which are from Canon, Nikon, Phottix, Sony, and Yongnuo. Luckily, allflashes prettymuchwork the same, so if you don’t see yourmake andmodelinthebook,don’tsweatit—especiallysincewedon’tdomuchonthe flash units themselves besides turning them on and a few initialsettingsforthemostpart.

Here’sAnotherThing

(5)Shouldyoureadtheintropagetoeachchapter?Justaheadsup:Ihaveatraditioninallmybooksthateitherdelightsmyreadersormakesthemspontaneouslyburstintofitsofanger.It’showIwritetheintroductiontoeach chapter. In anormalbook, thesebrief introswould give you someimportant insight into the coming chapter. But,mine...um...well...don’t.Thesequirky,ramblingintroshavelittle,ifanything,todowithwhat’sactuallyinthechapter.They’redesignedtosimply be a “mental break” between chapters, and a lot of folks reallylovethem(wepublishedawholebookofnothingbutchapterintrosfrommy various books. I amnotmaking this up), but some folks hate themwiththepassionofathousandburningsuns.Luckily, I’vedelegatedthe“crazy stuff” to just those intro pages—the rest of the book is prettyregular.But,Ihadtowarnyou,justincaseyou’reaMr.Grumpypantsand

allserious.So,ifthatsoundslikeyou,I’mbeggingyou,pleasejustskipthechapterintrosaltogether.

TheseAretheLastTwo

(6)Sometimesyouhavetobuystuff.Thisisnotabooktosellyoustuff,butbeforeyoumoveforward,understandthattogetthekindofresultsyou’relooking for, sometimes you have to buy some accessories—everythingfromlightstandstotiltbracketstoadiffuserorsoftbox.Iuselow-pricedgear myself, so I always keep an eye on the budget throughout, and Isearchoutgreatdealsonstuff (itprobablygoeswithoutsaying,but theprices you see here in the book were the current prices onbhphotovideo.com or themanufacturer’s website when I wrote this andmayhavechanged).

(7) What’s that Workflow chapter in the very back? Read that last. Afteryou’vereadeverythingelse.It’smoreofaresourceforyoutoreferbacktonext timeyou’regoingout forashootandwantastep-by-stepsetupfor

indoor,outdoor,andweddingshoots.Okay,bunky, it’stimeforyou,andme,toheadoutandtamethiswildworldofflashtogether,onajourney,aboldjourney,blah,blah,blah....

You’reAbouttoLearna“System”

Ihavegoodnews,andIhavegoodnews.Whichdoyouwantfirst?Okay,we’llstartwiththegoodnews.You’renotgoingtolearneverythingaboutyourflashinthisbook.You’renotgoingtohavetolearnabunchofgeekyflashstuff,andyou’renotgoingtohavetodomath,andyou’renotgoingtoneedalightmeter,orhavetodoanyofthatnerdystuff(inshort,you’renot going to learn everything about flash—it’s not that kind of book).Instead,you’regoingtolearnasystem—areallysimpleone,andonethatI’vebeenusingforyears—andI’mgoingtoteachittoyouthesamewayIwouldteachittoafriend(luckily,I’vehadalotofpracticebecauseI’vetaughtittoalotofmyfriends).Okay,that’sthegoodnews.Now,fortheothergoodnews: I know that themethod I’mgoing to teachyouworks,because I’ve received literally hundreds of emails, comments onFacebook, forum comments, socialmediamessages, you name it, from

mystudentstellingmethattheyarefinallytakingthekindofimageswithflashthattheyalwaysdreamedtheywould.Afteryearsofstruggling,theyarefinallyfallinginlovewiththeirflash.Ithinkthebestthingaboutthissystemisthatit’ssodarneasy,butit’sdefinitelydifferentthanwhatyoumighthave triedbefore.So, ifyoureadstuffandyouthink,“That’snotlikewhatIreadontheInternet,”it’sbecauseIdon’tdoitthatway.But,thissystemdoeswork,andonceyoutryit,you’llbecomeabeliever.Ora“Belieber,”ifyoulikethesystem,andyou’reafanofJustinBieber(eventhoughI’mnotsureheusesflashatall,andifhedoes,it’sprobablyonhisphone).Justwantedyoutoknowthisstuffnow,beforewedigin.

You’reNotGoingtoMesswiththeBackofYourFlashaWholeBunch.OratAll

Aninterestingpartofthis“system”isthatyouwon’tactuallymesswiththecontrolsonthebackofyourflashveryoften,oratallforthatmatter.In fact, once you start your shoot, you probably won’t push a singlebutton, rotate a dial, or even touch the back of your flash to changeanything!So,whyisthereachapterontheflashsettings?It’sbecauseIgetpaidbythechapter(that’snotentirelytrue).Thereasonis,whenyoufirst get your flash, you’ll need to set a few things up, just like you dowhenyoubuyanewTV—youstartbygoingthroughasetupphase,whereyouchoosesomesettingsandpreferences.But,fromthenon,whatdowereally change on our TVs? We change the volume, and we change thechannel.Well,it’skindathesamethingwithyourflash.You’llneedtoset

upafewthingsatfirst,butafterthat,allweprettymuchchangeisthebrightnessof the flash. (SpoilerAlert:Wedon’tdo itbywalkingover totheflash.We’lltalkabouthowinjustaminute.)Wedon’thavetomesswithall thatotherstuffonceit’ssetup.Infact,probablytheonlythingyou’lldoonthebackofyourflashisliterallyturnitonatthebeginningoftheshootandturnitoffattheend.Thatmakesyourflashlifereallyeasy(basically,withthissystem,youcanstopmessingwithallthosebuttonsanddialsonthebackofyourflash,andinsteadconcentrateonmakingagreatpicture).

SayHelloto“MisterFlash!”

Don’t let all those buttons and menus intimidate you because today’sflashesallprettymuchwork thesame—theyusuallyhaveascreen, fourbuttonsbelowthat,andadialbelowthose.Somemighthaveacoupleofextrabuttons(likeapowerbuttonortestflashbutton),butforthemostpart,theyallprettymuchlookandworkthesameway.Well,especiallyinthewaywe’regoingtouseflashinthisbook,becausewe’renotgoingtonerd-out and look at esoteric features only a small percentage of usersever touch (and then only when they’re tired of playing Dungeons andDragons).Sinceallflashesprettymuchlookandworkthesame,Ididn’twanttothrowyouoffbyshowingaCanonflashononepage,andaNikonflashonthenext,thenaSonyflash,andsoon,sowewentdownintooursemi-terrifying,secretsci-fi labandcreated thenon-brand-specific flashunityouseeabove,whichwelovinglycall“Mr.Flash”(whenwe’reinan

international mood, we call him either Señor Flash, Monsieur Flash, orFlash-san). Don’t get too attached toMr. Flash (yes, ladies, he’s singleandavailable)becauseyou’llonlyreallygettoseehiminthesefirstfewchapters,withasimplifiedLCDscreenforwhichsettingyou’resupposedtoadjustatthatpoint,butIalso,attimes,includewritteninstructionsforthe most popular flashes in the text. By the way, the text on the tinyscreensonthebackofrealflashunitsaresize-ratedforteenswith20/20vision,andeventheyhavetosquinttoreadthem.You’lloftenseeteenspassingflashesbackandforthasking,“Canyoureadwhatthatsays?”andthen they talk about theweather, reminisceaboutwhen youused tobeable tosmokeonairplanes,andcomplainaboutcuts toSocialSecurity.Truestory.

WhyTTLMightBeMakingYouHateYourFlash

A number of years ago, the flash industry touted a breakthrough calledTTL (an abbreviation for Through The Lens metering—some companiescalltheirbrandofitE-TTL,i-TTL,etc.),whichusesyourcamera’sbuilt-inmeteringtoautomaticallyadjusttheamountofpoweryourflashputsout.Sounds good, right? In some cases, it actually works.However, when itdoesn’twork(andithasbeenmyexperiencethatitdoesn’tworkallthatoften,orsimply isn’tconsistentfromshottoshot), thenwhat?I’veseensomanypeopleusingTTLquicklygettothepointwheretheyjustsaytothemselves,“Well,Imustnotbeanygoodatflashbecausethislookslike[insertyourfavoritetermfor‘poop’here],soI’mgivinguponflash.”It’smycontentionthatTTLisactuallyoneoftheleadingcausesof“Ihatemyflash” syndrome, which is suffered by most of the photographers I’vepolledoverthepastyear.But,luckily,youdon’thavetofallvictimtothisflaky technology.Now, I knowwhat someof youmustbe sayingat thispoint: “Well, JoeMcNally uses TTL and his flash shots look amazing!”

This is true.They absolutelydo.Buthere’s theproblem: you’renot JoeMcNally.Joecouldtakea9-voltbattery,astickofgum,andasparebulbfromacamping lanternand lightaportrait thatwouldmakeRembrandtrethinkusingwindowlight.Joe’snotlikeyouandme.AllcomparisonsorreferencestoJoearesomewhatinvalidbecauseheisthemagicalunicornof flash, siredbyanenchanted leprechaun,andswaddled ina four-leafclover. Inshort,he isnotofthisearth.Fortherestofusmortals,usingTTLisn’ttheanswer(infact,Ikindofthinkofitastheenemy).Instead,we need something really simple and reliable that works every time.SpoilerAlert:That’scomingonpage22.

TheMostCommonReasonFlashShotsLookBad

If you’re unhappy with the results you’re getting from your flashphotography,andyoushowedmeanexampleofashotyoudidn’tlike,it’salmost a lock that I’d say the problem is simply that your flash is toobright(likethisshotabove).ItisthemostcommonproblemIsee,andit’saprettysignificantproblembecausethewholeideabehindusingflashisnottomakeitlooklikeyouusedaflash—it’ssupposedtomimicnaturallight.Whenyourflashpowerisuptoohigh,itlookslikeyouwenttoHomeDepot,boughtaBlack&DeckerUltraBrightLEDSpotlight,andshineditright on your subject. That flashlight is designed to light thingsup, notmakethembeautiful,butthat’sthelookIseeagainandagain.Whenyouseehotshoeflashdonereallyright,you’renotsurethattheyusedaflash

atall,andabigpartofthatprocessisusingtherightamountoflight—settingthepowerofyourflashsoitlooksnaturalandblendsinwiththeexisting light (more on exactly how to do this in the camera settingschapter). But, for now, if you do nothing more than just start to payattentiontothepowerofyourflash—inparticular,thatit’snottoobright(in other words, the power setting isn’t too high)—just that one thing,you’realreadyonyourwaytomuchbetterphotosusingflash.

Don’tPutYourFlashonTopofYourCamera

Thereareoneor twoexceptionstothis rule(seeChapter7),butfor themostpart,theworstpossiblethingyoucandowithyourhotshoeflashistoactuallyputitinthehotshoemountonthetopofyourcamera.Thatisarecipeforawful-looking,harsh,unflatteringshots.It’sbasicallywhatwedo to get evenwith someone “whodone youwrong!” (say that last linewith a country drawl). Think of it this way: the pop-up flash that is afeatureonsomeconsumercameras (notice that it’snotonprofessional-level cameras from either Nikon or Canon) creates themost miserable,harshlightonearth(togiveyouanideaofhowharshitis,it’swheretheyputtheflashwhentheytakeyourdriver’slicensephoto,soexpectsimilarresults).It’sjustameanthingtodotosomeonethatyou’renottryingto

presentwitha license todrive.Abigpartof theproblem is its locationrightontopofyourcamera,whereitcanblaststraightintoyoursubject’sface.So, if that pop-up flash light is so awful (and it is),what are youdoing when you put a larger, more powerful flash right on top of yourcamera? You’re simply creating a larger and more powerful, harsh,miserablelight.It’slikeyou’reenteringtheSuperBowlofdriver’slicensephotolighting.Ifyouwantachancetocreatebeautifulimageswithyourflash, you must, must, must, must, must (there is not a number of“musts” thatwouldbe toomanyhere)getyour flashoff the topofyourcamera and over to the side, so your photos have shadows, depth, anddimension.Withoutit,yourportraitswilllookflat,washedout,andawful(butat leastyoursubjectwillbeabletouseyourphototobuybeerandgetintonightclubs).

Don’tUseYourPop-UpFlashtoTrytoFireYourHotShoeFlash.Ever

You can use the pop-up flash that’s built into your camera to fire yourflashonceit’soffyourcamera.I’mgoingtotellyouhowtodoit,butjustknownow,up front, that you shouldnever everdo it.Never! It’s a trapthathasbroughtdownstrongermenthanme.Whiletechnicallyitshouldwork,itabsolutelywillnotworkwhenyourclientshowsup,orwhenyou’reshootingawedding,orwhenitsimplyjustmattersthatitactuallyfires.Ithas a reliability quotient that lies somewhere between a men’s roomhands-free faucetandaFiat500L.The idea is simple:Youswitchyourbuilt-in pop-up flash to a special mode where it doesn’t actually emitenoughpowertolightanything.Instead,itjustsendsoutasmallpulseoflight, and that tiny pulse triggers the other flash to fire. It does fire

occasionally—mostly,whenyou’re testing it, and rarelywhen itmatters.DidImentionthesensorontheflashhastobeclearlyvisibletothatlightpulse?Ugh.Iknowwhatyou’rethinking,“But,I’veseenJoeMcNallyfireeightflasheswithit!”Thoseflashessimplyfireoutofrespect.Therestofusarehosed.Icouldtellyouadozenembarrassingstoriesabouthowthat“line-of-sight,pulse-of-lightcrap”hasfailedmeandmycolleagues($10word),butyoucansidestepthiswholenightmarebysimplyusinga realwirelesstransmittersystem.Theyaresimpleandworkeverytime.Ifyourflashdoesn’t fireconsistently, youarenevergoing to love it, andyou’renevergoingtouseit,sothewholething’ssettingyouupforfailure.But,itdoesn’thavetobethatway—justgetarealwirelesstransmitter.They’recheapnow(seethenextpage).It’stimetodoittherightwayandgettheresultsyou’vealwaysdreamedof.

WhyYouNeedaWirelessController

One big key to this system is that you control your flash (or flashes),includingturningthemon/offandchangingthebrightness,allfromrightwhere you’re standing—at your camera position. No walking over andchangingthepoweronthebackoftheflash—you’regoingtodoitallfromrightontopofyourcamera(thesecontrollerssitrightinyourcamera’shotshoemount—theysliderightinjustliketheywereaflashthemselves,butthankfully they’remuchsmaller).Theyhaveascreenonthebackwhereyou can choose which flash you want to adjust, they have a dial or anup/downbuttonforchangingthepower,andyoucanturnanyflashonoroff with a simple press of a button. Luckily, these controllers are farcheaperthantheflashesthemselves.Forexample,theYongnuoYN-E3-RTcontrollerforYongnuoflashesisjust$75(atB&HPhoto).TheCanonST-E3-RTSpeedliteTransmitterforCanonflashesis$270,butit’sprobably

best in class (build-wise and feature-wise). You’ll need the Nikon WR-R10/WR-T10/WR-A10WirelessRemoteAdapterSet ($199) towirelesslyfiretheNikonSB-5000.Thesecontrollersmakecontrollingone(ormoreflashes;moreonthislater)abreeze.Infact,you’llnowdoeverythingfromthecontroller,insteadofontheflash,exceptforactuallyturningtheflashonwhenyoustartashoot.

WhyYouDon’tWantJustaWirelessTrigger

Youcanbuyinexpensivewirelesstriggers(liketheCactustriggersyouseeabove, which run around $60 for the pair), which use a real RF (radiofrequency)wireless transmitter system, and theywill definitely fire yourflashes wirelessly every time. However, they don’t let you control thebrightnessofyourflashfromrightontopofyourcamera.So,eachtimeyouwanttochangeyourbrightness,youhavetowalkovertothebackoftheflashunititselfandchangethepowermanually.Now,youmighthavejustreadthatandthought,“Aw,heck,Icanwalkoverjustafewfeetandchangethepower—it’sgoodexercise.So,I’lljustsavethemoneyandbuyacheap trigger instead”.Don’t fall into that trap.Here’swhy: (1)Everyshootwilltakelonger.Inthetimeittakestoputdownyourcameraand

walkover to thebackof the flashunit, youcouldhavealreadychangedthepowerandtakenanother testshot. (2)Leavingyourcamerapositioninterruptstheflowofyourshoot,yourconnectionwithyoursubject,andtakesyourattentionofftheimportantstuff.(3)Atsomepoint,you’llgettiredofwalkingover thereagainandagain,allshoot long.You’llseeonyourLCDscreenthatyoushouldchangethepower,butyou’lljustskipitbecauseit’sapaintodoiteverytime.So,you’lltakeshotsthatarejustalittle bit off, but it’s easier than walking over to the back of the flash.Now, if you’re the type of person that refuses to use a TV remote, andprefers to walk up to the TV and change the channel old-school-1960sstyle, thenmaybe you should just get a trigger after all. For everybodyelse,Ipromiseyou,you’llthankmethatyougotafullcontroller,andnotjustatrigger.It’smoneywellspent.

TheDifferenceBetweenOpticalandRadioWireless

Iwanttomakesure,earlyon,thatyouunderstandthedifferencebetween“optical” wireless for your flash and “radio” wireless, because this isreallyimportantstuff.Inshort,anopticalcontrollerworksliketheremoteforyourTV.YouknowhowwhenyoupointtheremoteatyourTV,ifitseesthe infrared beam from your remote, it changes the channel orraises/lowers the volume?But, if there’s anything blocking that beam—anythinginthewayofthat“lineofsight”fromtheremotetotheTV—itdoesn’twork?So, youkeepmoving yourTV remotearound,aiming it atdifferentangles,untilyoufinallyget it towork.Nowimaginethatsame,frustratingexperienceasyoutrytogetyourflashtofire.Youtakeashotand the flash fires, then the next shot your flash doesn’t fire, then it

doesn’tfireagain,thenitfinallyfires,thennot,andsoon.Or,worseyet,youcan’tget it to fireatallbecauseopticalwireless isevenmore flakythan your TV remote. That’s opticalwireless andwhy I’m pleadingwithyou not to use it, and to use a real radio transmitter instead. Radiotransmitters don’t need a “line of sight”—it’s real wireless. You couldstickyour flash insideabox,put it in the trunkof yourcar,andwitharadiotransmitter, itwouldstill fire. It’sveryconsistent,predictable,andthere’snomorepositioningyourflashatjusttherightangleinhopesthatitcanseeatinypulseof lightfromyourcamera,soitwill fire.That’samiserable way to work, and you’ll never love your flash if it only worksfrom time to time. Imagine doing a shoot with a client, like a familyportraitorawedding,andyoucan’tgettheflashtofire(ithashappenedtome,andafterthe lasttime,Isaid,“Neveragain—I’mgoingwithrealradiowireless!”I’veneverlookedback).So,gettherealthing.It’llbethestartofagreatromancewithyourflash.

WhatIfYourFlashDoesn’tHaveBuilt-InRFWireless?

Ifyouhaveanolderflash,orifyouboughtanewonefromabigcameracompany but it’s one of their entry-level flashes, it probablywon’t havebuilt-in radio frequencywireless. Instead, itwill have thatdreaded, andfairlyunreliable,optical“lineofsight”typeofwireless.Ifthat’sthecase,no problem, just pick up a third-party radio wireless controller that notonlyfirestheflashwirelesslyeverytime,butnearlyasimportant,letsyoucontrolthebrightnessfromrightontopofyourcamera.Ittakesyourflakyline-of-sightwirelessflash,andmakesitafullycontrollableradiowirelessflash that works every time. For example, Phottix makes a real radiowireless trigger called the Laso—slide your older flash (or new one thatdoesn’t have radiowireless) into theLaso flash receiver’shot shoe, and

then you can use the Phottix Laso wireless flash transmitter to operate(change brightness and turn flashes on/off) your Nikon or Canon flashwirelessly. PocketWizard also makes a line of wirelesstransmitter/receiverscalled“Flex”thatfireyourflashwirelessly,butyou’llalsoneedtheirAC3ZoneControllertocontrolthebrightnessofyourflashand to turn your flashes on/off from the camera position. There’s alsoYongnuo’sYN-622Ni-TTLWirelessFlashTransceiver&TXControllerKit(for around $80) for both the transmitter/controller that goes on yourcamera’s hot shoe and the receiver, which goes under your flash unititself.Thereareotherradiocontrollersoutthere,too,butjustmakesureyougetatransmitterandreceiverthatworkwithyourparticularbrandofflash,andyou’reofftotheraces.

Troubleshooting:IfYourFlashDoesn’tFire

Onceyouhavearadiocontrollerforyourflash,youputitinthehotshoemountontopofyourcamera,andturniton.Now,turnonyourflashunit,press the test button on your controller, and the flash should fire(sometimesthetestbuttonisthepoweronbutton,andonsomeflashes,thetestbuttonisbacklit,tohelpyoufinditinthedark).Ifyoupressthetestbuttonanditdoesn’tfire,here’swhattocheck:(1)As“duh”asthissounds,makesureboththeflashandthecontrollerhavethepowerturnedon.It’seasytoforgettoturnoneortheotheron,ortoforgetyouturnedoneoffatsomepoint.(2)MakesureyourcontrollerissettoOnforthatflash.Since youcan turn flasheson/off temporarily from this controller,it’spossible that youhave your flash turnedoff on thecontroller (you’d

stillseethepowerlightontheflashunititself,butifyouhavethatflashsettoOfftemporarilyonthecontroller,itwon’tfire).(3)Checktoseeifboth the flashand thecontrollerare set to thesamechannel (seepage31,butinshort,theyhavetobeonthesamechannel,oritwon’tfiretheflash). (4)Check tosee ifyour flashcontroller is fullyseated in thehotshoemountonthetopofyourcamera(technically,theflashshouldstillfireusingthetestbuttonwhetherit’sfullyseatedornot,butthisisjustagood thing tocheckonce theshoot isgoingandyour flashstops—goodchanceit’snotfullyseatedifthathappens).

UnderstandingtheWhole“Brightness”Thing

Flashesuseaslightlyweird termforadjustinghowbright (ordark) theirlightis.Theydon’tcallit“brightness”(thatwouldmaketoomuchsense),butinstead,refertothebrightnessamountas“power.”Asin,“Wantyourflashtobebrighter?Turnupthepowersetting.”So,it’shelpfultoknowthatupfront.Thehigheryousetthepower,thebrightertheflash.

Full power (maximum brightness for your flash) is called “1/1” (one toone).Thisisprettydarnbright,andyouprobablywon’tusethatfull-powersettingveryoften(ifatall).Moreonwhy later,but justknowthatusingyourflashindoorsat1/1poweriskindofliketossingaflashbanggrenadeintotheroom—itblindsanddisorientseveryonejustlongenoughtostealtheirvaluables.Anyway,fromhereonout,ifIsay“fullpower,”you’dsee1/1onthebackofyourflash.Infact,ifIsay“power”atall,I’mreferringtohowbrightyourflashis.

Ifyouturnyourflashdownfromfullpower,thenextstopis1/2,whichisobviously 1/2 power. The next big notch down is 1/4 power, then 1/8,1/16, and if youneed to turn your flashdowneven lower,most flasheshave 1/32 and 1/64, and some even have 1/128 power. I live my lifeavoidingmathliketheplague,butit’shelpfultodoatinybitof3rdgrademathat thispoint. If you’re at1/4power (25%of full power), and youturnupthepowerto1/2power,youjustdoubledthebrightness.Nowthatyou’reat1/2power(50%power),ifyouturnedupto1/1(100%power),you would have doubled it again. Wouldn’t it be easier if they usedpercentagesforpower?Like25%power,50%,and100%power?Yes itwould,butiftheydidthat,we’deasilygethowitworkedandthennobodywouldneedtobuyflashbooks,soI’mthankfultheyintroducedfractionstokeepmeemployed.

WhattoDoWhen1/2PowerIsTooBright

Youknowhow life is—1/4power is toodark,but then1/2power is toobright.Toobadthereisn’tsomesettinginbetween,right?Actually,thereis. This is where theweird part of controlling the brightness (power) ofyour flashcomes in.Between1/4and1/2, thereare1/3 increments (inmost flashesanyway).So,youcanhaveyour flashsetat1/4powerandturnitupby+1/3(whichmeans,you’reat1/4power,plusyou’re1/3oftheway to1/2power).So,what thismeans is that thereare twopowersettingsbetween1/4and1/2(andbetweenallthelowerpowersettings,aswell).Forexample,let’ssayyou’reat1/4power:

(1)Turnituponeclicktoadd+1/3morepower(atthispoint,you’re1/3ofthewayto1/2power,asseenaboveontheleft).

(2)Turnitupanotherclicktoaddanother+1/3morepower(at

thispoint,you’re2/3ofthewayto1/2power,asseenaboveinthemiddle).

(3)Thenextclicktakesyoufullyupto1/2power(asseenaboveontheright).

Inconsistency alert: Once you go above 1/2 power, there are just twoclicksbetweenitandfullpower(thereisno3/4poweronmostflashes—yougofrom1/2powerto+1/3,then+2/3,andboom,you’reatfull1/1power.Weird,Iknow).

Thisishowyoufine-tunetheexactamountofbrightnessyouwant.

HowtoChangethePower(Brightness)ofYourFlash

Everyflashdoesitalittledifferently,butforthemostpart,flasheseitheruseadial tocrankup/downthepoweroranup/downbutton,andyou’llseeareadoutofthecurrentpowersettingintheLCDwindowonthebackof your flash. Here are some examples for how you turn the powerup/downonyourflash:Canon:PresstheSelect/Setbuttononthebackoftheflash,thenturnthedialtotherighttoincreasepowerortothelefttolowerit.

Nikon:Highlightthepowerfield,thenturnthedialtotherighttoincreasethepowerortothelefttodecreaseit.

Yongnuo:PresstheUpbuttontoincreasethepoweroftheflash;pressthe

Downbuttontodecreaseit.

Sony:PresstherightsideofthedialtoselectLevel,thenturnthedialtotherighttoincreasethepowerortotherighttodecreaseit.

Phottix:PresstheSetbutton,thenpresstheUpArrowbuttontoincreasethepowerortheDownArrowbuttontodecreaseit.

Keepinmind:tocontrolyourflashthisway,youhavetosetittoManualmodefirst(seepage22).

WheretoSetYourPowertoStart

This really surprises a lot of photographers, but your power setting (thebrightness of the flash) will probably be fairly lowmost of the time. Infact,I’mrarelyatfullpower,unlessI’mshootingwithflashoutsideonabright,sunnyday.Otherwise,I’mat1/4powerorlessnearlyallthetime.The1/4power setting ismy go-to starting amount anytime I set upmyflash.Infact,inthesystemI’mteachinghere,Iprettymuchalwaysstartwiththesameflashpower,f-stop,shutterspeed,andISO,andthat’spartofwhatmakesthissystemsoeasy—younearlyalwaysstartwiththesamesettings (more on all those other settings in Chapter 3). So, for now, Ithoughtitwouldbehelpfulforyoutoknowthatyou’reprobablynotgoingtouseatonofpowerand1/4powerwillbeyournormalstartingplaceforany shoots you do indoors, or outdoors, unless it’s really bright outside(thenwehavetocrankitwayup).Easyenough.

TIP FIRINGTESTFLASHES

Mostflashes,andflashcontrollers,haveatestfirebuttonrightonthem(they’reusuallybacklitinredorgreen),andthemainreasontousethemissimplytoseeifthey’reworking.Pressthebuttonandtheflashshouldfire.

WhyIRecommendYouSetYourFlashtoManualMode

Instead of relying on that flaky TTL, we’re going to do something thatsoundshardbutisactuallywayeasier.We’regoingtoswitchourflashtoManual mode, which simply means that now we control the power(brightness) of the flash (instead of the power being controlled by anautonomousAIthatwillonedayconnectitselftoSkynetandturnagainstus,asallrobotseventuallydooncetheybecomeself-aware,butIdigress).So,onceyouswitchyourflashtoManualmode,whatdoesthatmean?Itsimplymeansthis:Ifyoutakeashot,andtheflashlookstoobright,youturn thepowerof the flashdownabit, and takeanother test shot. If itlookstoodark,youturnitupabit.That’sit.Don’toverthinkit.

Couldusingaflashactuallybethateasy?Thatsimple?Yes—absolutely!That’swhat I do at every shoot, and it hasmademy life immeasurablybetter(well,myflashlifeanyway).“Ihadnoideaitcouldbethiseasy!”(That’syoutalking.)“Whydidn’tyoujusttellmethisrightupfront?”“Idid.”(That’smeresponding.)“Thisisonlythefirstchapterinthebook.”So,that’sourplan.WesettheflashtoManualmode,andallwedoprettymuchfromhereonoutisturntheflashpowerup/downasneeded.Next,let’slookatgettingyourflashintoManualmode.

PuttingYourFlashIntoManualMode

There are very few things that are consistent from flash brand to flashbrand,butonethingthatforsomereasontheyallprettymuchagreedonwasthattheletter“M”wouldmean“Manualmode,”soyoujusthavetofigure out where it is on your particular flash’s make andmodel. Mostfolks today use one of five flashes: a Canon, Nikon, Sony, Phottix, orYongnuo flash (they’re the new kid on the block and photographers aregobblingthemupbecausethepricesoftheirflashesareludicrouslylow—about 15% of the price of a Nikon or Canon—but their quality is stillprettydecent).Here’show toswitch toManualmodeon“most”Canon,Nikon,Sony,Phottix,orYongnuoflashes:

Nikon:PresstheWirelessSettingsbutton,thenpresstherightsideofthedial to select the flash mode, and then rotate the dial until an “M”

appearsintheLCDwindow.

Canon:PresstheModebutton,thenturnthedialuntilan“M”appearsintheLCDwindow.

Yongnuo:PresstheModebuttonuntilan“M”appearsintheLCDwindow.

Sony:PresstheModebutton,thenselectManual.

Phottix:YoustillsettheflashtoTTLmodeontheflashitself,butonthePhottixtransmitter,ontopofyourcamera,yousetthattoManualmode.

Thegoodnewsis:nowthatyou’vesetthat,youwon’thavetochangeitormesswith it again. Your flash is now inManualmode.Rejoice!By theway, changing your flash to work inManualmode totally gives you therighttosnickerabitwhenyouseesomepoorsuckerstillshootinginTTL.Justsayin’.

GettingYourFlashtoRefreshFaster

There’savery tight relationshipbetweenthepowersettingonyour flashandhowlongittakesfortheflashtorefresh,soit’sreadywhenyoutakethenextshot(itwon’tfirewhileit’srefreshingbetweenflashes).Inshort,the lower thepowersettingonyour flash, the faster it refreshes.This isawesomeindoors,wherewe’reoftenat1/4powerorlower—youcanprettymuchfireawaywithoutreallyhavingtowaittoomuchontherefresh(notathigh-speedcontinuousmodespeed,butaflasheverysecondorso),atleastuntilthebatteriesstartgettinglow,buttheywon’tgetaslowasfastatlowerpower.Ifyou’renearfullpower(1/1),youcanexpecttowaitabitbetweenflashes,especiallyafterafewminutesintotheshoot.Basically,the higher the power, the longer the wait. So, if you’re worried aboutmanaging your recycle time, youmight consider changing your f-stop tosomethingmoreopen,soyou’reusinglesspowerontheflashanditwill

rechargefaster.Forexample,ifyou’reshootingatf/11at1/2power,youmightopenupthatf-stoptof/5.6,andthenlowertheflashpowerto1/8(theseareroughnumbers,ofcourse,dependingonyourflash).

WhichTypeofBatteriestoUse

This is an easy one—rechargeable ones.Here’s why: you’re going to gothroughbatteriesquickerthanabagofCheetos®ataWeightWatchers™meeting.Plus,youalwayswant tobeusingnice freshbatteriesbecauseasyourbatteriesweardown,ittakeslongerandlongerforyourflashtobereadytotakethenextshot(whenyoufirstputthemin,freshbatteriesletyoucrankouttheshotswithonlyaboutasecondorsobetweenflashestorecharge.Astheshootprogressesandthebatteriesweardown,thatoneortwosecondsbecomesthreeorfourorlonger,andyouspendalotoftimewaiting for the flash to recharge,whichprettymuch kills the energy onthe set and the patience of your subject). So, you’re either at Costcobuyingpalletsofbatteries,oryou’reusingrechargeablebatteries,soyoualwayshavesomeonhand.Ifyou’renotsurewhichonestoget,theprosusePanasonic’sEnelooprechargeableNiMH(nickel-metalhydride)high-

capacitybatteries(youcanfindthem,andtheirchargingstations,atB&HPhoto).Youcanliterallyrechargethesehundredsoftimes,andtheystillhold a full change. They’re not cheap, but they are way cheaper thanbuyingregularalkalinebatterieseverytimeyoudoashoot.

ChapterTwo

NextLevelFlashStuffIt’sthatstuff.Atthenextlevel

Ifyou’realongtimestudentoftheartofflash,youalreadyknowthis,butifnot,it’simportanttonotethatmuchofthenextlevelflashstuffusesalotofLatinphrases,sincethefirstflashunitwasactuallycreatedinRomearound1559.Ofcourse,backthen,theydidn’thavetheluxuryofrechargeable lithiumbatteries likewedo today,which iswhy theycoined the Latinphrase,“Barba tenus fraus durante,” which loosely translated means, “Barbara, I need 10 freshDuracells.”ManypeoplearesurprisedwhentheylearnthattheDuracellcompanychosetheirbrand name based on ancient Latin texts,which included the phrase, “Alis corpus beatae,”which roughly means, “alkaline Coppertop battery.” True story. Anyway, one thing that theflashcompanieshavelearnedisthatpeoplelearntouseflashquickerif,atanypointintheirlife,theywereaCatholicpriest—possiblybecauseoftheextensiveuseofLatinintheCatholicreligion,orperhapsit’sthatphotographersjustgenerallylikeflowingrobesandcoolhats. Itcould go either way. But, I’m leaning toward the robe/hat theory because in popular flashcircles, there’s a phrase you often hear at strobist meetup groups, which is, “Celerius corhabent ad roratePontifix comitem speculorum,”whichmeans, “Iwish I had a cool hat androbelike thatpriestwith theCanonSpeedlite.”Ofcourse, thedeeperyouget intousingoff-camera flash, themore Latin you’llwindupusing. For example, herearea fewhandy Latinflashphrases:“Faciliusestmulta facerequamdiu,”whichmeans,“The flashdidn’t fire,”or“Necgaudiautfaciam,”whichmeans,“Ineedagelonthisflash,”or“Malumquocommuniuseopeius,”whichroughlymeans,“IborrowedthisflashfromacommunistToyotaPriusowner.”Hopeyoufindthosehelpful.

UsingMoreThanOneFlash?ThenUsingtheGroupFeatureWillMakeThingsMuchEasier

Let’ssayyou’reusing two flashes—oneonyoursubject,andoneon theground,angleduptolightthebackground.Youdoatestshotanddecideyou want the background light to be brighter, which is kind of a painbecausenowyouhavetowalkover,getdownonyourknees,andchangethepower on thebackof the flash.Ugh.Therehas got tobe aneasierway, right?Absolutely! This iswhy your flash’sGroup featurewas born.For example, you can assign the front flash to Group A, and thebackground flash to Group B, and now you can control them eachseparately (includingchanging theirpower settingsor turningeitherone

on/off),allrightfromthewirelesscontrollersittingontopofyourcamera.Nogettingdownonyourknees(andnomakingwhatmywifecalls“old-man sounds” while you stand back up) and no interrupting the flow ofyourshoot.Youstartbygoingtotheflashthat’slightingyoursubjectandassigningittoGroupA(youcanfindouthowtoassignaflashtoagrouponthebook’scompanionwebpageatwww.kelbyone.com/books/flashbook).Then,go toyourbackgroundflashandassign it toGroupB.Now,whenyouwantadjustthebackgroundflash,onyourcontroller,chooseGroupB,and now you’re controlling that flash. You can raise/lower the power orturn iton/offany time.Want to raise thebrightnessof the lightonyoursubject?SwitchtoGroupA,thenraiseitspowersetting.Whatifyouwanttoaddathirdflash?Well,I’dassignthattoGroupC.:)

HowIAssignMyGroups

SoIneverhavetowonderduringashootwhichflashisassignedtoGroupA,andwhichtoGroupB,andsoon,IassignmygroupsintheorderIsetuptheflashes.So,whicheverflashisthemainflashtolightmysubject,that is always Group A (it’s usually the first flash I set up). If I add asecondflashbehindmysubject(maybeahairlightorafillflash),thenIput that one in Group B. If I add a flash on the background, that ofcourse,goesinGroupC.Thatway,Ineverhavetowalkovertoanyoftheflashestofigureoutwhichflashisinwhichgroup.

Also,ifyoudon’tmindpickingupafewthinrollsofcoloredgaffer’stape,youcanputasmallpieceofcoloredtapeonthebackofeachflashsoyoualwaysknowwhichflashisassignedtowhichgroup(thatway,you’llonlyhavetoassignaparticularflashtoagrouponce).Forexample,youmight

putasmallpieceofgreentapeontheflashthat’sassignedtoGroupA,andthenasmallpieceofyellowtapeontheflashsettoGroupB,andredontheGroupCflash.Thatway,whenyoutakethemoutforashooteachtime, youwon’t have to go and checkwhich flash is assigned towhichgroup.

PuttingMoreThanOneFlashinaGroup

Oneof thebigbenefits of groups is that youcanassignmore thanoneflash to the same group. For example, let’s say you have two flasheslightingthebackground(onefromtheleftside;onefromtheright).Youcouldassignbothofthoseflashestothesamegroup(settingthembothtoGroupC,forexample).Now,whenyouchooseGroupConyourtransmitterandchangethepower,itaffectsbothflashesatthesametime.Samewithturningthembothon/offatthesametime.Superhandy.

Now,ifyou’rethinkingtoyourself,“ButwhatifIwanttocontroltheleftand right background flashes independently?” Well, if that’s the case,don’tputtheminthesamegroup—putoneinGroupCandtheotherinGroupD (that is, of course, if your flash transmitter lets youhavemorethanthreegroups),andthenyoucancontroleachoneseparately.

UsingChannelstoKeepOtherPhotographersfromAccidentallyFiringYourFlash

Let’s say you’re one of three photographers shooting a corporate party.The other two photographers are walking around taking photos of the“meet-and-greets,”andyousetupawhite,seamlesspaperbackdropandaflashforportraitsofthepartyguests.Youhaveacouplemoveontoyour“set,” and while you’re chatting with them, suddenly your flash fires.Then it fires again. You’re not even holding your camera, and it fires athird time.What’s happening?!!Well, one of the other photographers isaccidentallyfiringyourflash.Whenshetakesashotoverbytheentranceto the ballroom, it fires her flash, but it’s also triggering your flash, as

well,becauseyouarebothonthesamewirelesschannel.ThishappensalotbecausethedefaultchannelformostwirelesstransmittersisChannel1,andifyoudidn’tchangethedefaultsetting,you’rebothonChannel1,and you’re both going to be firing each other’s flashes all night long—unless you simply change your flash toChannel 2. That’s it.Go on theback of your flash, go to the Channels function and change yours toChannel 2. Fixed. Unless, of course, that third photographer had hisalready set to Channel 2. Yes, it happens. So, you use Channel 3—nobiggie.Toavoidallofthis,thenexttimeyoufindyourselfshootingwithother flash photographers nearby, simply ask each one what channelthey’reon,soyoucanallchooseyourownseparatechannelsandnobodyfiresanybodyelse’sflash.Then,youcandoanuncomfortablylonggrouphug.That’soptional(butitshouldn’tbe).

SlaveModeLetsYouFireaSecondFlashwithoutWireless

Sometimesyouneedtosetupaquickflash,andyoudon’twanttomesswith any settings—you just want it to fire. That’s when you use Slavemode. When you switch your flash to Slave mode, here’s what you’retellingit:“Ifyouseeanythingelseflash,youfireimmediately.”Youdon’tneedtosetupawirelesstransmitter,orputitinagroup,orachannel,oranyofthatstuff—youputitonSlavemode,itseesaflash,anditfires.Donedeal.Thisisgreatforthosesituationswhereyoudon’thaveanotherwireless transmitter for this flash, or if you justneed to“runandgun,”wheremaybeyouwanttoquicklyputaflashbehindthebride—youjustset it on Slave mode, place it anywhere, and you know it’s gonna firewhenyoufireyourmainflash.Ifitcanseethelightfromyourmainflash,

itwill fire.Anotherplace youcanuseSlavemode iswhen you’reusingstudio lights, and you also want to use a flash—maybe to light thebackground or something in the background. Just put it onSlavemodeandwhen you fire your studio strobes, it will detect that flash and firerightalongwiththem,justlikeitwasoneofthebigboys!

GettingMorePowerThanMaximum

So, what do you do if you’re shooting outdoors, you have your flashpoweredallthewayup,andit’sjustnotenoughlight?Youdon’tchangeyourshutterspeed(thatdoesn’tcontrolthebrightnessoftheflashatall),butinstead,youstartbyloweringyourf-stop.Ifyouwereatf/8,tryf/5.6and see if that does the trick. If not, then it’s time to raise your ISO,whichhelpstremendouslywhenyou’retryingtogetmorepowerfromyourflash.Sincewenormallyshootwithflashatourlowest,cleanestISO(seepage 53), you probably have plenty of headroom to crank up the ISOwithout introducing a lot of noise, especially since this “I need morepower than full power” phenomenonwouldn’t normally behappening atnight—thiswouldbehappeningduringabright,sunnyday.So,increasingtheISOforadaytimeshotwillprobablyintroducelittlenoise(evenifyouhaveasomewhatnoisycamera).

WantYourBeamWiderorTighter?

Thisissomethingthatmostflashestakecareofautomaticallyforyou—itvariesthewidthofthebeamoftheflash(or“zoomamount,”asit’scalledbyflashstreetgangs)tomatchthelensyou’reusing,soifyou’reusingawide-anglelens,theflashcoversawidearea(itwouldbeweirdifyoutookawide-angleshot,butonlythecenteroftheimagewaslit,andthesideswerealldark,right?).Italsoworkswithazoomlens.So, ifyouzoomintightonyourlens,itmakessurethewidthofyourflashbeamzoomsin,too.For example, if youwereusing a24–120mm lens on your camera,whenyou’re zoomedall thewayout to24mm, you’d see24mmappearrightonthebackoftheflash,andasyouzoomto120mm,you’llseethatthezoomamountchangesuntilitgetsto120mmwhenyou’rezoomedallthewayin.So,sincethisallhappensautomatically,whyamItellingyouthis? Well, it’s because you can override the automatic setting and set

thatbeamtowhateveryouwant.Forexample,ifyouwereshootingawideshot, and you just wanted the center lit, you could change the zoomamountfrom,say,24mm(verywide)to120mm(creatingamuchtighterbeam). You’d just go to the Zoom control on your particular flash (ofcourse, it’s in a different place depending on your flash’s make andmodel)anduse thedial (orup/downbuttons, if your flashhas those) tochangetheamountofzoom.Bytheway(and,incaseyoucare),theflashhead inside your flash physicallymoves forward or backward inside theflash casing as it zooms, so this isn’t some software trick—it’s doin’ it“oldschool”(ain’tnoschoolliketheoldschool).

YourFlash’sModelingLight

Whenyoushootinaphotostudio,theregularroomlightsinthestudioaregenerally very low, so most studio lights come with what’s called amodeling light. This is usually a separate, low-wattage, continuous lightbulbthatdoestwothings:(1)itstayslitallthetimetogiveyouapreviewof how your lighting and shadows will look on your subject before youactually fire the flash, so it’s really helpful when positioning the lights;and, (2) it helps you focus your camera inwhatwould be an otherwisevery-low-lightsituation(mostcamerasdon’t lockfocusverywell inreallylowlight).Well,someflasheshaveabuilt-inmodelinglightfeature,too,buttheyworkinaverydifferent(andnotnearlyashelpful)way.Whenyouenablethemodelinglightonyourflash,itfiresaquickseriesofflashesatyour subject, so youcan standbackand seehow the lightwill fall. It’s“kindof”helpful,butyouneedtobecarefulnottooverheatyourflash(in

fact, Canonwarns that if you fire toomanymodeling light flashes in arow, youneed to let the flashcooldown for10minutesbeforeusing itagain).So,inshort,justletitpopafewtimes—twoorthreeflashes—not10. Check your flash’s manual to find out if your particular make andmodel has this modeling light feature. By the way, I included thismodeling light featureherebecauseI thoughtyou’dwant toknowaboutit,butIdon’tusethisfeaturemyself.Tryitonce,andyouwon’twanttouseiteither.It’slikeamomentarybaddrugtrip(orsoI’vebeentoldbysomeflashhippiesinColorado).

WanttoMaketheLightaLittleLessHarsh?PutonaDiffusionCap

Chances are your flash camewith a frostedwhite, plastic diffusion cap(sometimes called adiffusiondome) that snaps right on over your flashhead(ifyour flashdidn’tcomewithone,youcanbuyone that fitsyourparticularmakeandmodelofflash—acompanynamedVellosells‘emforlike 10–12 bucks at B&H Photo). Thesemake your flash “slightly lessharsh,”astheytakethenormallydirectbeamoflightfromyourflashandspreadthatbeamoutprettymucheverywhere,andthathelpstakesomeof thatnastyedginess (hardshadows)off your flash,especially if you’realreadybouncing your flashoff theceiling (seepage77).However, thisdoesnot,byanymeans,replaceasoftbox,butitatleasthelpsabitifyoudon’thaveone.(BTW:Iknowanumberofphotographerswhoputonthe

diffusiondome,andthenstillattachasoftboxinfrontoftheirflashtogetit a little bit softer.)Most of the time, you’re better off using it, unlessyou’retryingforsomehard,edgylight.So,it’sagoodaccessorytohave,especiallysincethey’resoaffordable,anditislessharshthanusingjustabareflash.

WhenDiffusionCapsDon’tWork

Whenyoufireyourflashthroughanything,iteatsupalittleofthepowerofthelight,andwhileadiffusiondomecanhelpwhenyou’reshootingupclosetoyoursubjectindoors,orbouncingyourflashofftheceiling(again,seepage77),theydon’treallydoanythingmeaningfuloutdoorsbecausetherearen’twalls,aroof,oranyotherlargesurfacestobounceoff.Samethingwhenyou’reshootingfarawayfromyoursubject,orwhenyou’reinareallybigroom.That’swhenIwouldtakethediffusiondomeofftheflash,soitdoesn’teatupanypowerandhelpsyourbatterieslastlonger.

YourFlashHasaBuilt-InWide-AngleDiffuser...

...andit’snotawesome,butonceagain,it’sbetterthannothingifyoudon’t have anything else to diffuse the light from your flash, so yourshadows are less harsh. Thiswide-angle diffuser is built into your flash(it’s right beside the built-in bounce card onmostCanon,Nikon,Sony,Phottix,andYongnuoflashes).Youslideitoutfromthatlittleslotinthebackofyourflashhead,rightbetweentheflashitselfandthebodyoftheflashunit,andyoutiltitdownsoitcoverstheflashhead(asseenabove).These wide-angle diffusers have a repeating pattern etched into theplastic to spread the light out wider, and while that sounds helpful,overall, these built-in diffusers are not awesome. Like I said, they’re“better than nothing,” but that’s probably not the quality level you’ve

beensearchingfor.Infact,whileIwouldspendthe$10or$12tobuyadiffusiondome,Iwouldn’tspend30¢togetaplasticwide-anglediffuser,butIstillthoughtitwasimportantforyoutoknowwhatitdoesandwhyyou shouldn’t waste your time using one (it’s definitely a “use inemergencysituationsonly”typeofdiffuser).

UsingYourFlash’sWhiteBounceCard

Ifyou’regoingtobeputtingyourflashdirectlyontopofyourcamera(andtherearesomeinstanceswherethisis,well,kindofacceptable,likewhileshooting thebride-to-be inher suite,while thebridesmaidsarehangingout, getting the bride ready, etc.), I’m hoping that you are aiming yourflash straight upward (like you see above), rather than directly at yoursubject(whichisarecipeforawfulflash).Ifthat’sthecase,youcantakesomeofthelightfromyourflashthatisaimingupwardandredirectatinybit of it back to your subject in front of you, using your flash’s built-inbouncecard.Thisisthetinywhitecardthatslidesup/downrightbehindtheflashheaditself.So, lookdowninthe littlecrackbetweentheflashheadandtheoutsidebodyofyourflash,andyoushouldbeabletopullout that tiny card. You’ll really only use this card in the situation Imentionedabove(yourflashisontopofyourcamera,aimingstraightup

toward the ceiling—don’t angle it even a bit), but it doesmake a nicedifference, especially when you’re standing reasonably close to yoursubject,anditalsohelpstoaddalittlecatchlighttoyoursubject’seyes(whichiswhyit’ssometimesreferredtoasa“catchlightcard”),whichisabonus.BTW:If,forsomereason,yourflashdoesn’thaveabouncecardbuiltin,youcanfindthird-partybouncecardsatB&HPhotofromRogue,Honl,andMagMod,amongothers,oryoucanjustmakeyourownwithawhiteindexcardandarubberband.

DoYouNeedaFlashMeter?

Flashmeters simplymeasure the light coming from your flash, and tellyouwhat tosetyour f-stopatsoyouhaveaproperexposure.Let’sdoaquickQ&A:Q.Scott,doyouownalightmeter?A.Yes.Infact,Iowntwo.Q.Doyouuse them?A.No,never.Q.Whynot?A.Tworeasons: (1) Ihaveamonitoronthebackofmycamerathatshowsmehowthelightinglooks.Itakeatestshot.Ifthelightlookstoobright,Iturnitdownabit.Ifit’stoodark,Iturnitup.Itusuallytakesjusttwoorthreetestshots,andIgetitlookinglikeIwant.(2)Igenerallydon’tlikeaperfectexposure.Iliketoeitherunderexposebyastoporso,oroverexposebyliketwostops.So,tome,perfectexposureisperfectlyboring.Plus,Icanneverdecidewheretoaim thewhite dome.Q. Aren’t you supposed to aim it at the flash? A.Ohyeah,that’sright—youaimitatthelightsource.IthasbeensolongsinceI used a flash meter I forgot. Thanks. Q. No problem. A. That’s not a

question. Q. I know. In case you’re wondering, here’s how flash meterswork: If you’redoingaportrait,position the flashmeter justunder yoursubject’schinandaimthelittlewhitedomeontheflashmetertowardtheflash (some folks argue that it should be aimed toward the camera,instead,butit’seasiertofindpeoplewhoagreeongunlawsthanitistofindtwophotographerswhoagreeonwheretoaimthedome.Infact,theonly thing you can get two photographers to agree on is that the thirdphotographerisn’taverygoodphotographer.ButIdigress).Anyway,aimthatstupiddomesomewhere,haveafriend(orassistant)fireatestflash,andyou’llseeareadingrightonthedisplay:f/8orf/11,etc.Now,calmlywalkover toyourcamera(soasnot toupsettheotherphotographersonset still arguing about the angle of the dome), set your f-stop tomatchwhatever it said on the meter, and there you have it—the boring, yetproper,flashexposure.

HowtoWaitLessTimeBetweenFlashes

Whenyoutakeashotusingyourflash,youhavetowaitasecondortwo(when your batteries are fresh, or a few seconds or more when they’renot),untilyourflash“refreshes,”andit’sreadytofireagainatwhateverpowersettingyouhave itsetat (thehigher thepowersetting,generally,thelongerittakestorefresh).Bytheway,ifyoutakeashotbeforeyourflash is fully refreshed, one of two things happens: (1) your flash justdoesn’tfireatall,or(2)itfires,butnotattheamountofpoweryouhaveitsetat,so it looksmuchdarker than itdidontheshotbefore.Luckily(depending on your make/model of flash), you might be able todramatically speed up its refresh time using an external battery packaccessory(likeNikon’sSD-9BatteryPack[it’s$199]or themuchmoreaffordableBoltCBP-N2BatteryPack,foraround$75[ahhh,that’smorelike it].Canonhasasimilarbatterypackaccessory,atapricesimilarto

Nikon’s,andBoltmakesaCanonversion, too [forasimilarprice].Sonymakesone[sadly,noBoltversionatalowerprice],andit’s$211).Theseexternalpacks (whichplug right into your flash)do two things: (1) theygreatlyspeedupyourrefreshtime,soyoucanfireoffshotsalotquicker,and (2) they let you fire the flash a lot more times without having tochangebatteries.Theonlydownsideis:theyusealotofAAbatteries(youcan get away with four, but to really get the benefits, you need to useeight).Thesepacksusuallycomewithastrap,soIjusthangminefromaknobonthelightstandthat’sholdingmyflash(they’renotveryheavy—it’smostlyjusttheweightoftheAAbatteries).

FreezingMotion

Flashes are pretty great on their own for freezing motion—that suddenburstof lightdoeswonders for freezingwhatever is in frontofyou.But,thereareafewscenarioswherethatdoesn’tworkaswellasyou’dthink.Ifthething(orperson)you’reshootingwithflashismoving,andyouseeablurringfromthemotion,thefirstthingyoucantryistosimplylowerthepowerofyourflash.Thatincreasesthespeedofthattinyburstofflashbigtime,soit’llfreezestufflikeyoucan’tbelievewhenyousetyourflashtoalowpowersetting.Ifyouwereat1/1power(fullpower)andlowereditto1/4 power, your freezing motion issue will probably instantly go awaythankstothatmassively increasedflashduration.Anotherthingtotry israising your shutter speed. If you get your shutter speed up to around1/200ofasecond,thatwillprobablydothetrick(manyflashescangoto1/250ofasecondandstillstayinsync[seepage50],andsomecango

much,muchhigher[seethenextpage],butallofthemgoto1/200,andthat’sprobablyallyouwillneed).Ifyoushootwithyourshutterspeedat1/30oreven1/60ofasecond,itwon’talwaysfreezemotion,evenwithaflash. Lastly, it’s the light from the flash that freezes your subject’smotion, not the existing light in the room or outdoors. So, raising theshutterspeedlikethisletsinlessexistinglighttoyourcamera,andthenyourphotoreliesonyourflashtofreezeyoursubject.

GettingSoftBlurryBackgroundswithFlash.SpoilerAlert:YouUseHigh-SpeedSync

Thesecrettogettinganout-of-focusbackgroundwithflashoutdoorsistoget your shutter speed high enough so you can shootwithwide-open f-stops,likef/2.8orevenf/1.8,which(whenpairedwithanicezoomlens,likea120mmora200mm)givesyouthatsoft,out-of-focusbackground.The problem is, when outdoors on a bright, sunny day, to get a properexposure,we’dhave tousean f-stop like f/11or f/16,whichmakes theentire background sharp and in focus, and generally, isn’t awesome forlocationportraits(tosaytheleast).Thesolution?High-SpeedSync,whichlets you use as high a shutter speed as you want (rather than being

limited to just 1/250max), so now you can use really low f-stops, likef/2.8.Whyisn’tthisonbydefault?BecauseturningonHigh-SpeedSyncchews through batteries like a Castor beaver through a cottonwood tree(and that, folks, is a metaphor you just don’t hear enough these days.#sad).High-SpeedSync(enableitfromyourflash’smenu)eatsuppower,and that eats up batteries, sowe only turn it onwhenwe need it (andwhenwehaveextrabatteriesnearby).But,nowyoucancrankyourshutterspeed up to 1/1000, 1/2500, pretty much whatever you need, to getthosewide-openf-stopsandgloriouslyout-of-focussoftbackgroundswhenusing flash.Thereare twomoredownsides toHigh-SpeedSync: (1) youlosearoundafullstopofpowerfromyourflash,and(2)itslightdoesn’ttravelnearlyasfar(High-SpeedSyncisn’tactuallyjustonepopofflash,butasuper-fastseriesof flashes firing ina row).This iswhysomeprosuseaclusterofmultipleflashesfiringfromthesamepositionatoncetoadd more light and distance (see page 143). So, High-Speed Sync isawesome when you need it, but like everything else in life, it has itsdownsides (well,everythingbutpizza.There isnodownside topizza.Ortater tots. They’re the perfect food. They were probably invented byunicorns).

ChapterThree

CameraSettingsforWorkingwithFlash

Thispartiswayeasierthanyou’dthink

I know what you’re thinking, “Wait! I had to learn flash settings, and now I have to learncamerasettings,too?”Yes,mylittlelightingbuckaroo.But,notonlythat,youhavetolearnsomanycomplexmathematicalcomputationsthatyou’llfindyourselfholdingaTexasInstrumentsTI-83 Plus Graphing Calculator far more than you will an actual camera or flash on yourshoots.Well,thatandalogarithmicsliderule(IrecommendtheNestlerRietz23/52originalGerman version), which any flash photographerwill tell you is an indispensable tool on allshoots—rightup therewitharollofgaffer’s tape,a fewsheetsofCTOgel,andofcourse,aNorthwest Instrument NETH503 Theodolite for precisely measuring angles in horizontal andverticalplanes,whichyou’llbespendingafairamountofyourtimedoing,somakesureyouget a good one. If that sounds like a lot to carry around on a shoot, it is, and that’swhy Ialwaysrecommendhiringanassistantforthesetypesofshoots—onewithastrongbackandafullypaidupshort-termdisabilityplan,withalowdeductible—becauseatsomepoint,they’regoingtotumbledownaflightofstairswithallthatgear,andit’snotgoingtobepretty.Surely,theyjusttrippedovertheirownfeet(assistantsaresoclumsy),ormaybetheywerepushed;it’sreallyhardtosay.But,asthephotographer,you’renevertoblame,whichispreciselywhywehire assistants in the first place—to take the heat for any incident, cameramalfunction, oraccidentaldeaththatmayoccuraton-locationshootswithflash.See,havingtolearnhowtousetheNestlerRietz23/52logarithmicslideruledoesn’tsoundallthatbadnow,doesit?

WhyWeNeedtoShootinManualMode

For my everyday photography (travel, sports, portraits in natural light,etc.), Igenerallyshoot inapertureprioritymode(AorAvmodeonmostcameras),whereIpickthef-stopandmycameraautomaticallypickstheproper shutter speed forme.But,when it comes to using flash, this iswhen I switch to manual mode because, believe it or not, it’s easier.That’s right, itmakes using flash a breeze, and what we do inmanualmodeissoeasy,evenifyou’venevershotinmanualmodebefore,you’lltotally“get”this.Onebigreasonit’seasieristhat,withtheflashsystemI’m teaching you, you’ll have a starting place (a specific shutter speedsetting and a starting f-stop) each time you use your flash (in fact, ifyou’reshootingindoors,youmightnotevenchangethesesettingsatall—youjustdial‘eminandthoseareyoursettingsfortheshoot.They’llstay

thesamethewholetime.Theonlythingyou’lldoistakeatestshot,andif you think the flash looks too bright, you’ll turn down the brightnesssettingoftheflash.Ifyouthinkit’stoodark,you’llturnitup.Howsimpleis that?). So, even if you’ve never shot inmanual before, youwill haveabsolutely no problem doing the simple stuff we need to do using theflashsystemthisbookisbasedupon.Okay,let’sstartwithwhatcontrolswhat. There are three controls on your camera that affect your flashphotography,andwe’llstartwithshutterspeedonthenextpage.

ShutterSpeedControlstheLightintheRoom

Takealookattheimageabove,inthecenter.Theflashonherisprettybalancedwiththelightintheroombehindher,butifIdecidedIwantedthat light in the room darker, in real life, I’d walk over to the dimmerswitchon thewall and turndown the lights, right?Thatwouldn’t affecttheflash,itwouldjustaffectthelightingintheroom,right?Well,that’sexactlyhowshutterspeedworks. If Iwantedthebackgroundbehindherdarker,Iwouldraisetheshutterspeed,maybeupto1/200ofasecondoreven1/250(ifmyflashallowsmetogothathighandstillstayinsync).Doingthatdarkenstheroomlightbehindher, justliketurningdownthedimmerswitchonthewall.Theproblemwith thisawesomemetaphor is

there’s no dimmer switch when you’re shooting outside, but that ispreciselywhy this technique is so awesome: because it works outdoors,too,makingthebackgroundbehindyoursubjectdarker,evenoutside. (Iknow.Mind blown!)Now, just so you totally get this, take a look at allthree photos above. Notice that even when I changemy shutter speed,andthebackgroundgetsdarker (by raising theshutterspeedtoa fasteramount), or brighter (by loweringmy shutter speed tomaybe1/60 of asecond,or1/30ofasecond,orevenless), theamountof lightfrommyflashhittingmysubjectdoesn’tchange.It’sthesameamountoflightonher inall three shots.That’swhy youcan thinkof shutter speedas thedimmerswitchfortheexistinglightwhetheryou’reinsideoroutside.

F-StopControlstheBrightnessoftheFlash

Youalreadyknowthere’sapowercontrolon thebackofyour flash,andyoucan turn thebrightness (power)upordownusing thatcontrol.But,whatifyou’rejustanincrediblylazyperson,andyoudon’twanttochangethepowerofyourflashusingtheup/downcontrol?Well,thenyou’regoingtolovethefactthatyoucanchangeyourf-stoptobrightenanddarkentheflashwithoutaffectingtheexistingroomlightmuchatall(orthenaturallight outdoors). Take a look at the three shots above. The one in themiddleisprettybalancedbetweentheroomlight,andtheamountofflashI’musing,butifIraisemyf-stop(let’ssaymycurrentf-stopisf/5.6,andIraiseitnumericallytof/8orf/11),theflashgoesdowninbrightnessbutthebackgroundprettymuchstaysthesame.Why?Becauseonlymyflashislightingmysubject(thebackgroundislitwiththeroomlightingindoors

orthesunoutdoors).Lookattheshotontheright.That’swhathappensifI lowermy f-stop (let’s say it’s still at f/5.6)downnumerically to f/4orf/2.8.Myflashgetsbrighteronmysubject,butnoticethattheroomlight,inallthreeshots,neverchanges.(Pop-quiz:Whatchangesthelightintheroom? That’s right, the general manager of the hotel. Or, if he’s notavailable,youcanuseyourshutterspeed.)“So,Scott,IjustwanttomakesureIhavethiscorrect,areyousayingthatIcanchangethebrightnessofmyflashbyeither:(a)changingthepowersettingontheflash,or(b)bychanging my f-stop?” Yes, that’s what I’m saying. Boom! (Drops mic.)“Thatisincrediblyhelpfultoknow.”Sorry,Ican’tcommentanyfurther,Ialreadydroppedthemic.

ISOMakesEverythingBrighterorDarker

Whatifyouwanteverythingbrighter—theroomlight(orthelightoutside)and your flash? Then, you’d increase your ISO (let’s say, for example,we’reat100ISO,somaybeyou’dmove itup to400ISO,oreven800ISO), and you’ll see everything get brighter, because (nerd alert) yourcameraismoresensitivetolight.So,seethatlittleformulaabove?That’stelling you that ISO equals turning up the dimmer switch, and thebrightnessof your flash—you’re turningupeverythingatonce.Needlesstosay(but,I’llsayitanywaybecauseIheardarumoroncethatauthorsgetpaidbytheword,butapparentlythatwasalongtimeago,andthenitonly applied to newspaper andmagazine articles, and one can’t be toocarefulwhenitcomesto3¢aword),ifyou’realreadyat400or800ISO,turningdownyourISOwouldmakeeverythingdarker(those17wordsjust

broughtinacool51¢.Cha-ching!).

WheretoSetYourShutterSpeed(andWhy)

Setyourshutterspeedat1/125ofasecond.Okay,why1/125?Becausethat’s a good, safe shutter speed touse on almost any camera tomakecertainthatyourflashandtheshutteronyourcamerastayinsync—youpress the shutter button and it fires at exactly the right time. Whathappensiftheygetoutofsync?Well,that’swhatyouseeabove.Ifyourshutterspeedgets toohigh (above1/200ofasecond forCanon,1/250for Nikon, or depending on which Sony camera you have, it could be1/160,1/200,or1/250,which iswhy1/125issoperfect),youstart togetadarkgradientthatappearsoverthebottomofyour image, likeyouseeabove.Thehigheryougooverthat“maximumflashsyncspeed,”thehigher that gradient gets.But, of course, you can avoid that entirely by

justdoingwhatIdoanduse1/125asyourshutterspeed.Therewillbeatime (as you’ll learn shortly) where you might want to change it, butusuallyitwillbetolowertheshutterspeed,andthat’sperfectlyfine.It’swhenyougoabove1/200ofasecondthatthingsgetdicey,sothat’swhyIrecommend1/125ofasecond.I’mdoingmybesttonotnerdouthereandgointohowthe“curtains”workinyourshutter,andtheirrelationtothefocalplane,andallthatstuff,soinsteadjustknowthat(a)youwantyourcameraandflashtostayinperfectsync,(b) ifyousetyourshutterspeedat1/125ofasecond,you’llneverhavetoworryaboutthembeingoutofsync,and(c)ifyouseeagradientappearonyourphoto,checktosee if youaccidentally increased your shutter speed, ‘cause yaprobablydid(I’vedoneitdozensoftimesmyself).So,settheshutterspeedbackto1/125.

WhentoChangeYourShutterSpeed

If you’re doing indoor portraits or headshots, where your subject isphotographed against a backdrop, or a roll of seamless paper, etc., youwon’t need to change your shutter speed off that 1/125-of-a-secondsetting.Youcan“set it and forget it.”So,whenwouldyoueverchangeyour shutter speed?Well, here’s the really cool thing: the shutter speeddoesn’taffectthepowerofyourflash,whatsoever—youcanraiseit,lowerit, etc., and the brightness of the flash doesn’t change a lick. As youlearned back on page 47, the shutter speed controls howmuch of theexistinglightintheroom(oroutdoors)makesitswayintoourphoto.Wecall this existing light “ambient light” because, in photography,we likeusing fancy words (itmakes us feel important). So, for example, if youwalk into a restaurant, the lights that are already on in the restaurantwouldbe theambient light (the light that is already in theplacewhere

we’reshooting).Ifyoutakeaphotoofsomeoneinthatrestaurant,andthebackgroundbehindthemlooksreallydark(maybesodarkyoucan’teventellthey’reinarestaurant),thenyoucouldloweryourshutterspeed(from1/125ofaseconddownto1/60ofasecond,oreven1/30ofasecond),andthatwouldletmorelightfromtherestaurantintoyourshot.

Whichf-StoptoStartWith

That’seasy:f/5.6.Whyf/5.6?Well,whythehecknot?It’salovelyf-stopthis time of year. Okay, actually, everybody needs a starting place andf/5.6 is what I always use asmy starting f-stop when I’mworking withflash. It’s a good, solid starting place, and I like it for a number ofreasons, with one being that if I use a long lens (like my trusty 70–200mm)atf/5.6,whenIzoominonmysubject,thebackgroundbehindthemgoesalittlebitsoftandoutoffocus.Also,itallowsmetokeepthepowerofmyflashprettylow(and,asImentionedbackinChapter1,mystartingplaceforthepowersettingonmyflashisjust1/4power),andifthepowerofmyflashisprettylow,thatmeansmyflashrechargesfaster,soIcanshoottocapturemomentswhen,otherwise,I’dbestandingtherejustwaitingfortheflashtorecharge.Italsomeans,Iwon’tburnthroughbatteries as fast. It’s all good. So, in short, that’s my starting f-stop—

f/5.6.Ofcourse,youcouldstartwithadifferentf-stop,ifyoureallywantto,likef/8(eventhoughitmaypossiblybethemostboringofallpossiblef-stops),butyou’llprobablyjusthavetoturnupthepowerofyourflashabit,maybeto1/2power,whichjustmeansyourflashwill takelongertorecharge, and you’ll go through batteries faster, and your backgroundwon’t be soft behind your subject, and your images won’t look one bitbetter.Justsayin’.

WheretoSetYourISO

Yourflashisgoingtoilluminateyoursubject(fivebonuspointsforusinga$10wordthere.Sayitwithme,“illuminate!”Now,useitinasentence:“Yourflash isgoingto illuminateyoursubject.”Illuminate.Correct!Youwouldtotallyrockaspellingbee!),soyourimagewillhaveenoughlight,and because of that, you can use the lowest, cleanest ISO on yourcamera. For some of us, that would be 100 ISO (depending on ourcamera’smakeandmodel),forothersitmight50ISO,orashighas200ISO.Whateverthenumberisforyourcamera’smakeandmodelthatgivesyou the lowest native ISO, that’s the one you want to use. For myparticularcamera,mylowestnativeISOis100,sobeforetheshoot,Isetthe ISO at 100, and I’m ready to roll. I rarely have to changemy ISOduringashoot,butIexplainedraisingitandloweringitbackonpage49.By the way, in case you’re interested, the abbreviation ISO stands for“InstantSesameOil.”Truestory.

Here’sYourCameraSettingsChecklist

1.Switchyourcameratomanualmode.

2.SetyourISOat100(orthelowestnativeISOforyourparticularcamera).

3.Setyourshutterspeedat1/125ofasecond.

4.Setyourf-stoptof/5.6.

5.Setthepoweronthebackofyourflashto1/4power.

Now, takea testshot. If the flash is toobright, turndown thepowerofyour flashabitand takeanother testshot. If it’sstill toobright, turn itdownalittlemore,andtakeanothertestshot.Afteracoupleoftestshots,you’llhavethebrightnessofyourflashdialedin.Iftheflashisn’tbrightenough,turnitupabitandtakeanothertestshot.Repeatuntil it looks

brightenough.

That’sit.Seriously,that’sit.Avoidthetremendousurgetooverthinkthis.This is the joy of shooting inmanualmode on your camera, and usingManualmodeonyourflash—everythingisjustsosimple.Don’ttrytofindwaystomake itcomplicated,becausethisworks likeacharm.This isasetofsettingsyoucanuseasyourstartingplaceeverysingletime,andalot of the time, once you start shooting, youmight not even touch thecamerasettings (dependingonwhereyou’reshooting), just thepowerofyourflash.

TheBigSecret:BalancingtheLight

Attheendoftheday, itallcomesdowntothis:thebigsecret(andthemostimportanttechniqueyouneedtomaster)isbalancingthelightfromyour flashwith theexisting light in the roomoroutdoors.Whenyougetthese two really balanced with each other, the flash doesn’t look like“flash.” It looks like natural light. It’s all supposed to blend togetherbeautifully—you’re not supposed to look at an image and think, “Theyusedflash.”Infact,ifsomeone,whoisnotaphotographer,looksatyourimageandsays,“Oh,youusedaflash,”youprobablydiditwrong.It’sallsupposed to blend together to make your subject look great, withoutbringinganyattentiontothelightingatall—unlessit’stohavesomeonelookatyourphotoandsay,“Youwereluckyyouhadsuchbeautifullight.”So,howdoyoupulloffthisbalancingact?Whatisthetechnique?Well,you’regoingtocreatethisbalanceusingtheshutterspeeddial(again,to

raiseand lower theexisting light intheroom),andthepowersettingonyourflash(you’regoingtofindthatrightamountoflightfromyourflash,soitdoesn’tlooktoobrightandblendsinwiththebackground—asifyoursubject was near a window with natural light streaming in). I start bygettingtheflashpowerwhereitdoesn’tlook“tooflashy,”thenIlowertheshutterspeed(from1/125to,maybe,1/80ofasecond),andthenItakeatestshotandlooktoseeif itallblendstogethernicely,or iftheflashstillsticksoutlikeasorethumb.Ifitsticksout,Ilowertheshutterspeedto1/60andtryagain.OnceIdothis, Imighthavetoraiseor lowerthepoweroftheflashagain,untilthebalancelooksright.Ittakesafewtimesdoingthis“dance,”untilitbecomesfastandeasy,butthegoodnewsis:itdoesn’ttakelonguntilitdoesbecomefastandeasy.Itjusttakesalittlepractice,butdon’tworry,you’llgetit.

ChapterFour

UsingFlashforPortraitsHowtomakepeoplelookawesomer

Ifyouwantthemoneytrucktopulluptoyourfrontdoor,andhavetwoarmedguardstosslargewhiteclothsacksofmoney intoyourhouse(inparticular, thosesackswith the large,greendollar sign printed on them), then all you have to do is learn tomake regular people lookincrediblyawesomeinphotos.Ifyoucandothat,peoplewillfindyouandbegyoutotaketheirphoto formoney,andbefore long,youwillbecomeknownas“theawesomemaker,”or“theawesomeizer,” or “Eric,” butwhatever name they coin for you, itwill be your gateway to arealm of riches and luxury that one dare not dream of—especially if you don’t mind theoccasional run-onsentence.Anyway, there isa legitimate reasonwhy,nowmore thanever,peopleneed to look reallygood inphotos,and that'sbecause theyneedaFacebookprofilephotothatlooksatleast300%betterthantheyactuallylookinperson,sotheyhaveachanceofmeetingsomeoneelseonFacebookwithamassivelybetterFacebookprofilephotothantheylooklikeinperson,too.Here’swhythisissoimportant:Yousee,whenoneofthesefolksyoumade look unrealistically beautiful starts hitting on somebody they found on Facebook (Irecommendanopeninglinelike,“Iwanttopaintyougreenandspankyoulikeadisobedientavocado!”), theyarenotactually flirtingwitharealperson, they’re flirtingwith thebeautifulperson in the profile photo you created. And, once they start hitting it off, they share thatprofilephotowiththeirfriends,andtheirfriendssay,“OMG,heisreallycute.”But,inreality,ofcourse,helooksmorelikeShrek,buttheywon’tknowthatuntiltheyfinally,andawkwardly,meetinaWalmartparkinglotlateatnight,andbythen,it'stoolateandnowthey’reacoupleormaybeengaged.Inshort,makesureyougetpaidupfront.

GetItOffYourCamera

There’s a reason it’s often simply called “off-camera flash,” and that’sbecause(likeImentionedinChapter1)youneedtogetthatdangthingoff the top of your camera! To make beautiful portraits of people, youwantshadows,depth,anddimension,andtogetthattypeoflook,you’regoingtoneedtogetyourhotshoeflashoffyourhotshoeandontoalightstand(orhaveafriendholditforyou).Thisiswhyyoukeephearingmetalkaboutwirelesstransmittersandstufflikethat,becauseunlessyou’redoing event photography (like certain parts of a wedding), leaving yourflash on the hot shoemount, on top of your camera, is just one of thecruelestthingsyoucandotoyoursubject.Ithasallthegraceandbeautyof a passport photo, coupled with the artistic flair of a driver's licensephoto. So, if youwant any hope ofmaking beautiful portraitswith yourflash,youhavetoembracethewhole“gettingyourflashoffthecamera”

andofftotheside(moreonthiscomingup).Itisthecoretechniquetoallofthis.So,beforeyouturnanymorepagesinthebook,youhavetogetin thathappyplacewhereyouaccept thatgettingyour flashoffcamerawillbe yourmodusoperandi from thismoment forward.Youare leavingthewhole“flashonmycamera’shotshoe”worldbehindyouforaworldofnever-endinghappiness.Youcanalwaysseethesun,dayornight.So,when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills—you know the one, Dr.Everything’ll-be-alright (sorry, I couldn't help myself). Anyway, in short,you’regoingwithoff-camerawireless flash fromhereonout, so let’sgocrazy!

MakeItSoftandBeautiful

Thelightthatcomesfromyourflashissomeprettydarnharshlight.Thinkaboutit:Theflashheaditself(wherethelightcomesout)isonlyabout3"long by 1"wide. It’s a nasty, little, bright flash of light—it’s absolutelyblindingtolookdirectlyat,andonitsown,there’snothingbeautifulaboutit. So, it’s up to us, the photographer, to do something to make itbeautiful. That’s a lot of what this chapter is about—how to tame thatharsh,angry,spiteful,littlelight,soitproducesgorgeous,soft,wrapping,totallyflatteringlight.Todothat,wehavetoputsomethingbetweentheflashandoursubjectthatsoftens,spreads,anddiffusesthelight,soit’ssoftandflattering.That’sallwehavetodo—putsomethinginfrontofitthat softens the light, so it creates soft, flattering shadows and makespeoplelookawesome.There’sakeywordtuckedinall that,andthat is:“spreads.”Onereasonthelightissoharshandnastyisthatit’sphysically

sosmall(again,around1x3"),andthesmallerthelightsource,themoreharshandawfulthelight.Takethesun,forexample.It’sprettyfarawayfromus,soit’stinyinthesky.Becauseit’ssotiny,thelightitproducesisprettyharsh,andputtingyoursubjectindirectsunlightisalmostasbadasputtingyourflashontopofyourcamera—it’sharshandawful,andtheshadowsarehardandjustyeech!Now,ifabigcloudmovesinandgetsinfrontofthesun,suddenlythelight ismuchsofter,andtheshadowsaresoft.There’snowsomethingbetweenthelightsource(thesun)andyoursubject—thoseclouds—andtheyactlikeagiantdiffuserthatspreadsoutthelightfromthesunandmakesitsofter.So,wedothesamething.Weput something large between the flash and our subject to softeneverythingup.

ThisHelpsaLittle,butIt'sNotaSoftbox

Thereasonwhyputtingadiffusiondomeoveryourflashwon’thelpmuchis because it’s really small, too! It’s about the same size as your flashhead—it fits right over it, snug up against it—so, it doesn'tmake yourlight sourcebigger.Now, if youhada3-footdiffusiondome (there’snosuchthing,butlet’spretend),andyouhelditafewfeetinfrontofyourflash, then thebeamof light from your flashwouldhave space to grow(the farther the light travels, thewider the beam spreads, and it wouldstarttofillthat3-footspacewithlight).Itwouldn'tbea1x3",nasty,littlebeamoflightanymore,itwouldbeabig,3-foot,diffuser-sizedlight,andatthatlargersize, it looksmuchsofter,morediffuse,andflattering.So,are you seeing where we’re going here? It’s not just about puttingsomething infrontofyour flash, it’saboutputtingsomethingbig,andaways out in front of your flash, tomake the light beam spread out and

becomebeautiful.

TIP WHYYOUSHOULDN’TUSEAFLASHBRACKET

Youmightbetemptedtouseaflashbrackettogetyourflashoffyourcamera,butdon’tfallforit.Movingyourflashafewinchesaboveyourlensmighthelpinreducingred-eye,butitwon’tcreatesoft,beautifullight.Leavethosetothenewspaperreporters,andstickwithalmostanyothertechniqueinthischapter—you’llgetbetterresults.

MyFavoriteSoftboxforFlash

Westcott’sRapidBoxhasbecomemyabsolutego-tosoftboxforthepastyearorso,andwhileI’vebeenusingtheirgearforyearsnow,Ithinkthisishands-downthebestthingWestcotthasevermade,frombothadesignandbuildstandpoint.Firstoff,theyareridiculouslysmallandlightweight—it folds up like an umbrella, and it all fits in just one tiny little bag,which inandof itself isawesome.Thatbagholds thesoftbox, the flashtilt bracket (so I can mount it on a light stand or monopod), and thediffuserthatgoesoverthefront.Mybasicrigisjustthis:thatlittlebag;asmall, lightweight lightstand(seepage134);andmyflash.That’s it. Itassemblesin2minutesflat(ifthat)—youjusttakethesoftboxoutofthebag, reach inside it, slide theattached, littlemetal ringover thecenterrod, and it pops into shape. Now, you simply put the diffuser over thefront(itfitssnuglyrightoverthefront),thenyouattachthebrackettothe

back(notoolsnecessary—itsnapson),slideyourflashintoplace,andit’stime to start shooting.They’re very affordable, at around$169 for theirRapidBox26"Octa(though,ifyouwantevensofterlight,youcanordertheoptional2030-DPDeflectorPlateaccessory,whichbouncesthelightfrom your flash into the back of the softbox first, before turning andheading out to your subject, for an extra 20 bucks). If you see meshootingwith flash,chancesareyou’ll seemeusing this softbox.Worthevery penny! (And, no, Westcott doesn’t give me a commission orkickback,etc.,forsayingthat,whichisadoggoneshamebytheway.;-)

YouCanMakeBeautifulLightforJust$20

Prettycheap,right?Yeah,itis.PickupaWestcott30"collapsible1-stopdiffuserfor$19.90(B&HPhotoprice;youcanfindothersevencheaperon Amazon), and simply hold that in front of your flash and you’re inbusiness!(Well,you’llprobablyhavetohaveafriendholdthatdiffuserinfrontofyour flash foryou. In fact, theycanevenholdyour flash inonehand, and the diffuser out in front with the other hand, and easily putenoughdistancebetweenthe twoto let the flashbeamspreadtocreatethat soft, diffused, beautiful light.) That’s it—stick a 1-stop diffuserbetween the flash and your subject, and you’re “there.” Twenty bucks.That’s all that’s standing between you and a tremendously better resultfromyourflash.

TIP ACHEAPERSOFTBOXALTERNATIVE

BeforeIswitchedtoWestcott,foryears,Iusedthe24x24"ImpactQuikboxSoftboxwithShoeMountFlashBracketbecauseofitslightweightandsuper-lowcost.It’sapop-upsoftboxthatfoldsflat,comeswithitsownflashbracket,andthewholerigisonlyaround$75atB&H(nearlyhalfwhattheRapidBoxcosts).Impactevenmakesagridforitthat’slike45bucks,andwhiletheWestcottgearisbettermadeandactuallymorecompact,it’shardtobeatthatsetupforthemoney.

NoFriendtoHelp?GetOutYourDebitCard

If you don’t have a friend to help you hold the flash and that 1-stopdiffuseronashoot,thingsgetabitstickier,sogetyourdebitcardhandy.Withoutafriendtohelp,you’llneedtomountyourflashontopofalightstand(youcangeta lightweight6'ImpactLightStandforaround$20).You’ll also need a tilt bracket of some sort, with a flashmount on top(whichareoddlyexpensive),butyoucangetthehighlyratedPhottixUS-A3 Umbrella Swivel for Off-Camera Flash, with its own mini–ball head(whichisprettycool,Imightadd)forjust$22.But,that’sjustforholdingtheflash;nowyouneedanotherlightstandtoputyourdiffuserafewfeetoutinfrontofyourflash(addanother$20),andaclamptoholdyour1-stopdiffuser (like the ImpactHolder forCollapsibleReflectors—atB&HPhoto for$14).So, I’mgoing tobestraightwithyouhere: it'llcostyou$76moreforbeautifullightthanitdoesforotherphotographers,because

apparentlyatsomepoint,youweresomeantopeoplethatyoudon’tevenhaveonefriendtoholdthestinkin’flashanddiffuser.Ididn’twanttobetheonetellyou,butsomebodyshould.

UseaStripBankSoftboxonYourSecondLight

IfIaddasecondlight,it’susuallywhatwecalla“kickerlight,”whichisalightpositionedbehindthesubjectandofftooneside.Iuseittocreateabrighthighlightalongonesideofmysubject’shair,sideoftheirface,arms, and so on. When I add a kicker light, it’s usually the 10x24"WestcottRapidBoxStrip,whichisatall,thinsoftboxwhosebeamoflightgoesout—well—kindatallandthin,soit’sperfectforahighlightorhairlight.ItworksjustliketheRapidBoxOctaItalkedaboutonpage61,soitbasicallycomestogetherin2minutes(tops),andyou’rereadytostartshootingwiththissecondlight.Iusuallypositionthisbehindmysubject,directlyoppositemymainlight(seepage78foranexampleofthesetupIuse).Bytheway,thetilt flashbracketthatcomeswiththesestripsalso

rotates, so you can easily turn the strip from tall to wide to diagonal.These strips are also absolutely awesome for product photography, withtheir long, tall reflections and highlights. They're perfect for smallerproducts, but get the bigger Westcott Apollo strips for shooting largerproducts,likeguitarsormotorcyclesorfurniture.

GetaTighterFocusandMoreDramabyUsingGrids

Anytimeyouuseasoftbox,nomatterwhattheshape,yourlightisgoingtospreadquiteabitonceitleavesthesoftbox.Forexample,withabigol’softbox, it will spill right past your subject to also light up yourbackground(whichcanbeagoodthing,especiallyifyou’reonlyusingonelight and need some light on the background).But,what if youwant averydefined,focusedamountoflightthatdoesn’tspillontootherpartsofthe image area?Well, you could gowith the strip bank softboxwe justlookedat on thepreviouspage,whichgives youa tall, thinnerbeamoflightthanabig,squaresoftbox,butittendstospilloverontootherareasabit,too.Ifyouwanttoreallyfocusyourlightandcreatesomedramainyourshot, you’llwant toputa fabricgridover the frontofyoursoftbox.

Thesearesometimescalled“eggcrate”gridsbecausetheylooklikeyoucouldputafewdozeneggsinonewithoutbreakingany.Thisfabricgrid,which attaches over the front of your softbox, focuses your light into aconcentratedbeamintheshapeofthesoftboxyou’reusing,anditdoesamarvelousjobofdirectingyourlightwithoutspilling.Photographerstendtofallinlovewithgrids,andonceyouuseone,it’shardtonotusethem—they’rejustsoawesomelydirectional.Youcangetgridsforoctas,stripbanks,evenbeautydishes,andtheywillsendyourlightinaveryfocused,verydirectionalway,withoutallthespill.Theonlydownside:theyarenotcheap,andthat’sbeingkind.Often,they’reasormoreexpensivethanthesoftboxesyou'reputtingthemon.But, ifyouwant toadddramatoyourshots,andtight focustoyour light, they’re totallyworth it (especially, ifyou’reloosewithmoney).

UseMetalGridstoGetTightlyFocusedBeams

WhenIthinkofanegg-crategrid,IthinkofitforwhenIwanttofocusmylightwithoutspill,butIstillwantittobesoft,beautifullight.But,whenI’mshootingaportrait of anathlete, then Iwanthard, edgier light (notsoft,beautiful light), so I gowithabare flash (no softboxatall)withametalgridovertheflashhead.Thesegridsworklikeacharmtocreateaspotlight effect, like you’d see in a theater production. There are twocompaniesthatmakethese(heck,thereareprobablyadozen,butthesearethetwoIuse,soIcanvouchforthem):OneisRogue,andtheyarereally popular with serious flash shooters. They make a range of flashaccessories,andone,ofcourse,istheirmetalgrid.Theirsworkslikethis(and is shown above on the left): you strap a short, little black sleeve

aroundtheoutsideofyourflashhead,thenyoupopasmallgridintotheholder on the end, and that’s all there is to it—you’ve got very focusedlight with very little spill whatsoever. Their Rogue 3-in-1 Flash GridStarterKitcomeswith twodifferentgrids (onewitha tighterbeamthantheother,butyoucanstackbothtogetherforathird,super-tightbeam)and three gels for different color effects, all for around $40. The othercompany that makes a nice grid setup is MagMod. It uses a differentsystem(shownaboveontheright),witharubbersleevethatfitsrightovertheendofyour flash, then itusesaclevermagnetsystemthat letsyousimplypopagridrightoverit,anditmagneticallystaysinplace.Itworksgreat,andisverywellconstructed.TheMagModkitis$60($25forthemagneticholderand$35 for thesnap-ongrid).Mycall: theMagMod isbettermade,but they only give youonegrid,whereasRogue’s kit givesyou two grids with three variations and some gels. You can’t go wrongeitherway.

UsinganUmbrellatoSoftentheLight(ItWorks,butDon’tDoThis)

Therewasatimewhenusinganumbrellatosoftenyourlightwasareallyviablechoice,becausetherewerefewsoftboxesmadeforhotshoeflash,andtheywereeitherexpensive,veryclunky,hardtotransport,orallthree.ThereasonI’mnotafanofumbrellasisthattheymakecontrollingyourlightalotharderbecausethelightkindaspillsallover.So,whiletheyaredirt cheap (you can get a Savage 36" Transparent Umbrella for around$6.99;Iamnotmakingthisup),theyarenotparticularlyawesome.Now,Iwillsaythis:ifyou’renotcurrentlyusinganythingtospreadanddiffusethe light from your flash, and you ordered the Savage 36" umbrella, itwouldprobablybe thebest7bucks you’ve spentall year,becauseyourshotswouldinstantlylookawholelotbetter.Thatbeingsaid,whilethey

aresuper-lightweight,collapsible,easytosetupanduse,andyoucanbuyonenewfortheapproximatepriceofasingleMcDonald’sBigMac®ExtraValueMeal®(withoutsuper-sizing),Iwouldn’tsaytoafriend,“Hey,youshoulduse anumbrella.” I justwouldn’t. Iwant them tobe a success,andtoincreasetheirchances,Iwouldsteerthemtoasmallsoftboxthat’seasy toworkwith,andeasier tocontain their lightwith,withoutspillinglightallovermymediumfriesandmediumDietCoke.

TIP WHERETOPOSITIONYOURFLASHINANUMBRELLA

Tomaketheflashfillasmuchoftheumbrellaaspossible,positionitbackasfarontheumbrellarodaspossible,sotheumbrellaisasfarawayfromtheflashasitcanget.It’llhavespacetospreadout,andthatreducesthe“hotspot”inthecenter.

Big,BeautifulLightComesfromBigSoftboxes

If you need really big, beautiful light, either for super-soft, gorgeousportraits,orlightingfull-lengthfashion,orforlightinggroups,youneedareallybigol’ softbox.Thebigger the softbox, the softer,morewrapping,andmore beautiful the light.When I’m in any of those situations, I gowithWestcott’sRecessedMegaJSApollo50x50" softbox.Well, it lookslike a softbox and acts like a softbox, but in reality, it’s a very cleverlydesigned umbrella that when you open it, instead of expanding into anumbrella shape, it goes into a huge softbox shape. Your flash actuallygoesinsidethesoftbox,throughazipperedopeninginthebottom,andforadded softness, your flash aims away from your subject. The light fromyourflashhitsthesilverbackandsidesofthesoftbox,andthendoesaU-

turn to fall gently on your subject, like a spring morning’s dew rollingthrough a misty meadow of really meadowy stuff (once you dry yoursubject off, then you can start your shoot). Even though it’s so big andbeautiful, the price is actually really decent at $169.Downsides?Well,unliketheRapidBoxes,whereyouhavefullaccesstotheflashbecauseit’sbehind the softbox,with theMega JSApollo, your flash lives insidethe softbox. So, if you have to access it (maybe you need to changebatteries,oryouneedtochangesomesettingyoucan’tchangefromyourwirelesstransmitter),youeitherhavetoremovethefrontdiffusionpanel(it’sjustvelcroedinplace,sonobiggie)toreachintogettoit,oruseoneof the side zippers, but then you are kind of flying blind. Accessibilityduring the shoot is not its strong feature, but hopefully, you won’t bemessingaroundinthereawholebunchanyway.

IfYouNeedReallyBigLightonaBudget

Now,ifyouwantareallyhugediffuserforreallysoft,wrappinglight,butyou’re on a really tight budget, you might want to at least considerWestcott’s 7' Parabolic Umbrella. It’s only $99, it’s monstrously huge,and it folds down like an umbrella because—well—it’s an umbrella. Itsets up in like 30 seconds—you open the umbrella, slide it onto anumbrellatiltbracket(itdoesn’tcomewithone,sotackon$24.50foranImpactUmbrellaBracketwithAdjustableShoe),whichshouldbesittingontopofalightstand(addanother$20),andstartshootin’.“ButScott,didn't you say a couple pages earlier that you don't recommendumbrellas?” I don't, generally, because, like I said, umbrellas aremorelikealightinggrenade—light isgoingeverywhere,sotakecover.Iprefermorecontrolovermylight,andthat'swhyIrecommendsoftboxesinstead.IfIhad69moredollars,I’dstilloptfora26"RapidBoxOcta.Well,that

isunless(andthisisabigunless)I’mshootingfull-lengthfashion,whereIneedtolightmysubjectfromhead-to-toe,orI’mlightingsmallgroups,inwhichcase,Iwouldneedsomethingmuchbiggerthana26"softbox,likethis7'gargantuan-sizedumbrella.BTW:Ifyougothisroute,getthewhite shoot-through version—your flash will fire directly through theumbrellaatyoursubject.It'snotasbadasdoingthewhole“cruiseshiproutine,”whereyouaimtheflash toward thebackof theumbrella,withthe umbrella faced away from your subject (hey, 2002 called, and itwants itsumbrellasback),and itbecomesthe lightingequivalentof the“motherofallbombs”lightsource.

InstantHeadshotSetup

Ifyouwanttodocorporateheadshots(orbeauty-styleheadshots),youcanusesomethingliketheRapidBox26"Octaforthemainlight(really,anysmall softbox will do) to light your subject (you'll place this directly infront of them, aiming down at a 45° angle, and hopefully, on a boomstand,soyoudon’thavetoworkaroundhavingalightstandinthecenterofyourshots).Then,haveyoursubjectholdareflectorrightattheirchestlevel(asseenaboveleft)tofillintheshadowsundertheireyesandneck.Itworkswonders.IhavemysubjectraisethereflectoruntilIcanseetheedgeintheframe,andthenIhavethempullitdowntowhereIcan'tseeit. That seems to be the sweet spot. Of course, a friend can hold thereflector, or you can buy a light stand with special clamps designed tohold one (I use Impact's Telescopic Collapsible ReflectorHolder [$48],whichattaches to the topofany lightstand).At leastyouhaveoptions,

right?BTW:Usethewhitesideofthereflector,facingup,ifyouwantjusta littlebit of light to reflectbackonto your subject. I generallyuse thesilverside,whichreflectsmorelight,soitgivesabrighteramountoffillin the shadow areas. If you want tomove this whole thing to the nextlevel,insteadofusingareflectoronthebottom,putasecondflashtherewithanother26"RapidBoxOcta(asseenaboveright),aimingupata45°angle,andnowyoucancontrol theamountof lightcomingupfromthebottom.Thisismypreferredmethod,soifyouhavetwoflashes,Iwouldgowiththisone.Also,besurethebrightnessofthetopflashisbrighterthanthebottomone(lightingpeoplefrombelowisnotflattering,butyoucanavoidthatbymakingthetoplightbrighter).Howmuchbrighter?Well,ifyourbottomlightisat1/4power,Iwouldmakethetopflash1/4power+2/3.Ifthat'stoobright,try1/4power+1/3(itdependsonthesubject'sskin,andthemakeandmodelofyourflashes).

TheMostPopularPlacetoPositionYourFlash

Themostpopularplace toposition your flash forportraits is at about a45°anglefromyoursubject.Thereasonthispositionissopopularisthatitcreatesaveryflatteringlook,withsomesoftshadowstoadddepthanddimension (well, as long as you made sure to soften the light with asoftbox of somekind). Tohelpwith envisioning theposition, think of itthis way: if your subject was at the center of a clock, and you werestanding in frontof themat the12o’clockposition,you’dput the lighthalfwaybetweenthe1and2o’clockposition(orhalfwaybetween10and11o’clock,ifyouwanttolightthemfromtheotherside).Ofcourse,withitoff to theside like this,onesideof the facewillbe fully lit, and theother will have some shadows, which is actually what we’re trying to

achieve,sothat’sagoodthing(moreonthisonthenextpage).

GettingMore(orLess)Shadows

Thisiswhereitreallystartstogetfun,becauseonceyouhaveyourflashpositionedatthat45°angletoyoursubject,youcanleaveitrightwhereitis,oryoucanchoosetomakeyourimagelookmoredramaticbyputtingmoreoftheirfaceinshadow,orchooseabrighter,flatterlookwithfewershadows.Youdothisbymovingtheflashonanarc.Here’sanexample:Ifyouputtheflashdirectlybesideyoursubject,aimingatthemfromthe3o’clockposition,theyarebeinglittotallyfromtheside,sohalftheirfacewouldbehit (thesideclosest to theflash),andtheotherhalfwouldbecompletely in shadow. As youmove the flash around this arc (one thatmimicsthefaceofaclock),whenyougettothe2o’clockposition,somelightwillstarttoappearontheothersideofyoursubject’sface,rightontheir cheek. This is really nice, dramatic lighting (one favored byHollywood for movie posters because of the drama it creates). As you

continue to move it around this arc, you’ll hit that 45° angle—thatpositionbetween1and2o’clockwheretheothersideofthefacehasadecentamountof light,butyoustillhavesomeniceshadows fromyoursubject’s nose and on the far side of their face (it’s the lighting Idescribed on the previous page). As you move it farther around thisimaginary arc, closer towhere you’re standing, you get fewer and fewershadowsontheirface.Whenyougetittothe12o’clockposition,wheretheflashispositioneddirectlyinfrontofthem,theshadowsprettymuchgo away, except for under their chin.Choosinghowmuch shadow therewillbeisapersonalpreference,butnowyouknowhowtodoitbysimplymoving the flash either closer to the front of your subject for fewershadows, ormore to the side formore shadows on the opposite side oftheirface.

IfYouNeedEvenSofterLight,FeatherIt

Whenyouputasoftboxinfrontofyourflash,thecenterofyourflashwillusuallyberightinthecenterofthesoftbox.So,itonlymakessensethatthe center of your softbox is where the brightest light is found, and ofcourse,thebrightnesswilldissipateasyougettotheedgesofthesoftbox.Now, let’s thinkabout that for a sec:Thebrightest light, or “hot spot,”wouldbe in the center, and then it gets lessbright and softer near theedges.Hmmmm.Seewhere I’mgoingwith this? If the light is softerattheedges,wecanusethatfacttogetevensofterlightbynotaimingoursoftboxdirectlyatthesubject(sinceweknowthebrighter,harsherlightisin thecenter). Ipositionmysubjectso just the lightat thebackof thesoftboxhitsmysubject, and I’mmore likely todo thiswitha reallybigsoftbox—liketheMegaJSApollo50x50"—thanIamwithasmallsoftbox,

because if I chose a really big softbox, I probably chose it because Iwantedreallysoftlight,andnowIcanmakethatlightevensofter.Now,ofcourse,thereisatrade-off:thelightattheedgesissofter,andnotasbrightasthecenterofthesoftbox,soyoumighthavetoturnupthepoweroftheflashalittlebittocompensate.

HowHighUptoPositionYourFlash

Ourgoalistomimicnaturallightandnaturallightcomesfromupinthesky.So,youwant topositionyour lighthigher thanyoursubject’shead,aimingdownatanangletowardthem.Agoodstartingplaceistoaimitdownatarounda45°angle.Gee,thatwaseasy.

TIP SOFTLIGHTCOMESFROMTWOTHINGS

(1)Thephysicalsizeofthesoftbox(thebiggerthesoftbox,thesofterthelight),and(2)howclosethesoftboxistoyoursubject(thecloseritis,thesofterthelightis.But,thisiskindofanoffshootof#1,becauseasyoumovethesoftboxclosertoyoursubject,itssize,relativetoyoursubject,actuallybecomeslarger).

HowClosetoPutYourSoftbox

Thisone is really straightforward: thecloser youput the softbox to yoursubject,thesofterthelightwillbe.So,whenIwantreallysoftlight,IputthesoftboxascloseasIcangetittomysubjectwithoutactuallyseeingitin the frame.Ofcourse,as youmove the lightcloser to your subject, itgetsbrighter.So,whenyoumoveitinreallycloselikethis,you’llhavetolowerthepoweroftheflash,soit'snottoobright.IfIwantharder,edgierlight(likeweusuallywantforportraitsofmen),thenImovethesoftboxwayback.Easystuff.

TIP HOWFARTOSTANDFROMYOURSUBJECT

Unlessyouareusingbounceflash,itdoesn’tmatterhowfarbackyoustand(youcouldbestanding200feetbackfromyoursubject),becauseit’snotabouthowfarbackyouare,it’sabouthowfaryourflashisfromyoursubject(seeabove).

LightingtoMakeYourSubjectLookThinner

There’s a lighting trick we do when our subject has kind of a round orwidefacetomakeitlooktrimmerandlonger.It’scalled“shortlighting.”Ithasbeenaroundforalongtime,sowe’renotbreakinganynewgroundwiththistechnique,butthereasonithasbeenaroundforalongtimeis:itworks.Here’swhatyoudo:First, turnyoursubjectata45°angle, sothey’re not facing the camera straight-on with their shoulders flat (justdoing thatalonewillcreateamore flatteringportrait formostsubjects).You’dstillputyourflash/softboxtothesideata45°anglelikeusual,butthe key to this technique is knowingwhichway to turn your subject toshortlightthem,andthatwayissimple:havethemturntheirbodyatan

angletowardthelight.So,let’ssaythatlookingfromyourcamerapositiontowardyoursubject,youputthesoftboxonyourright.Then,you’dhavethemturn toward the light,with theirbackshoulderbeing farthest fromyou. That’s it—you’re short lighting! When you look at the shot, youshould see lots of shadowsandabit of light on their cheekclosest thecamera,thentheirnose,thenthebrightersideoftheirfacefarthestfromthecamera.

BounceFlashCanSavetheDay

Ifyou’re inasituationwhereyoucan’tuseasoftbox,orusingasoftboxwould be impractical—like at an event, or in the bride’s “make ready”roomatawedding—youcanuse“bounceflash”tospreadandsoftenyourlight.Whenit’sdoneright, itactuallyworksamazinglywell (notasgoodas a softbox, but it’s way better andmore flattering than direct flash).Essentially,youjusttilt theflashheadupata45°angle—thelighthitsthe ceiling, spreads and softens, and bounces down at the same angletowardyoursubject(thinkofhowyouahitthecueballonabilliardtable,so itbouncesoffa rail atanangle tohitanotherball—itkindofworkslike that). For bounce flash to work successfully, you need two mainthings:(1)Youneedaceilingtobouncethelightfromyourflashoffthatisn’ttoohigh.Thistechniqueisnotgoingtoworkinaballroomwith40-foot-highceilings.Yourceilingneedstobereasonablylowerthanthat,but

I’ve seen some photographers crank up their power and cover higherceilings(ifyouhavetousefullpowerforeachflash,though,you’dbetterkeepsomesparebatterieshandy).And,(2)theceilingneedstobewhite,orat leasta light,neutralcolor,becausethe lightfromaflashpicksupthesurfacecolor ithits.So, ifyou’reshooting inareceptionhallwitharedceiling, the light that comesdownwill be reddish. If it’sblue,bluelight comes back down. If it’s a black ceiling, the light isn’t going tobouncebackawholelotinthefirstplace.

AddingaSecondFlash

Ifyoufeelyouneedtoaddasecondflash(maybetolightthebackground,or asahair light or kicker light toprovide someseparation fromadarkbackground), it’sreallyeasy,butthere’ssomethingyou’lldefinitelywanttodotohelpyourselfbesuccessfulwithasecondflash.First,let’slookathowtosetitup:Onceyouturnonthesecondflash,youhavetodecideifyouneedtocontrolitseparatelyfromyourmainflash(myguessisyou’llwant to), and if that’s the case, then you’ll just need to assign it to adifferentgroupontheflashunititself(welookedatgroupsbackonpage28).Onceit’sassignedtothatothergroup(we’llsayit’snowonGroupB,for example), here’s that important thing you need to do: the secret tomultipleflashsuccessispositioningandtestingthelightsone-by-one.So,when you set up that second flash (like I’ve mentioned, my softbox ofchoiceforaddingasecondflashwouldbeastripbank—eitherthesmall

10x24"Westcott Rapid Box Strip or the larger 16x30"Westcott ApolloStrip,ifyoufeelyouneedabiggerstripbank),turnoffyourmainflash,socan you actually see what this second flash it doing all by itself. Is itbrightenough?Isitaimedtowhereit looksgood?It’shardtotell ifyouhavebothflashesfiringatthesametime,soturningoffyourfirstflashisreally important. Once you have that second flash all set (the properamountofbrightness,angle,etc.),thenturnonboth,andyou’rereadytorock.

UseFall-OffforMoreProfessional-LookingPortraits

Unlessyou’reshootingfull-lengthfashion,wheretheclothesarethemainsubject, insteadof theperson, for themostpart,wewant our subject’sfacetobethebrightestpartoftheimage.Oureyesarenaturallydrawntothebrightestpartofthephoto,sooursubject’sfaceshoulddrawoureyefirst. From there, the light should “fall off” as it goes lower. So, theirchestshouldbea littledarker, then theirstomachandhips,andsoon,untilthelightfromyourflashfallsoff.Ifit’salocationshot,itcanfalloffto the existing room or outdoor light, or it can fall off to black in thestudio,ifyouwantitto.But,themostimportantpartis:itfallsoff.Therearetwowaystocreatefall-off,andthemostnaturalwaytocreateitistoplaceyoursoftboxveryclosetoyoursubject(we’llcoverthemanualway

onthenextpage).Thecloserthesoftboxistoyoursubject,thefasterthelightwillfallofftoshadows.Thinkaboutitthisway:whenthesoftboxisveryclose,it’saverytightlight,rightonyoursubject.Whenyoumoveitfartheraway,thelightcoversalotlargerspace,andthelightdoesn’tfalloffmuch—itspreadsoutovereverything.So,nowyouknowthe trick tomakinglightfallofffast—getitniceandclosetoyoursubject.

CreatingFall-OffManuallyby“Flagging”

Besidescreatingnatural fall-off (bymoving the light reallyclose to yoursubject),youcanmanuallycontrolfall-offbyputtingsomethingoverpartof your softbox, so it covers thebottom, and then that part of the lightfromthesoftboxwon’tfallonyoursubject.So,ifyoudidn’twanttolighttheirclothesorchest,you’dbeset.Wecallthis“flaggingitoff,”butI’vealsoheard itcalled“goboing,”as insomethingthat“goesbetween”thelightandyoursubject(I’maflaggingguymyself).Anyway,ifyouwanttobuyanofficialphotographyflag,myfavoritecomesfromMatthews(theirblack24x36"flagrunsaround$43),anditcutsoffthepartofthesoftboxyouputitoverlikeyoucannotbelieve.So,ifyouwanttocoverthebottom1/3orbottom1/2,nosweat—workslikeacharm.Youcanmountitonalightstand,oronanystandwithaheavydutyclamp,andyoucanalsousethemfor things likeblocking the light froma flashbehindyoursubject,

aimingbacktowardyourcameraposition,soyoudon’tgetlensflare.Theyarereallyhandytohavearound.Ifyouwanttosavesomemoney,youcanbuy black foam core at your local art store (or sign shop, usually), andthat’lldothetrick,too!Heck,evenasheetofblackposterboardwillworkto some extent, but having a thick black surface (like foam core) willdefinitelyworkbetterandisstillfairlyinexpensive.

Three-FlashEdgeLightSetup

This is a really popular look today (you see it a lot in commercialportraits), and the interesting thing about it is that themain lights thatlightyoursubjectarebehindthem,andthefrontflashisforfillinginwhattheback lightsdon’tcover.Here’s thesetup: (1)Placea flashata45°angle(orso)behindandoneithersideofyoursubject.Eachflashlightsonesideofyoursubject,includingtheirhairandthesidesoftheirface,and creates a rim light going down their body. This should be bright,punchylight,buttoavoidcreatinglensflare(sincetheflashesareaimingforward to some extent), you’ll get better results if you use either stripbankswithgrids(likeIdidhere;seepage65),orsomethinglikeaRogueorMagModgrid(seepage66.Itdoesn’treallymatterwhichoneyouuse,butthe lightwon’tbequiteasharshfromastripbankbecauseithasadiffusionpanelinfrontofit,thenthegridgoesoverthat,soitsoftensita

bit).Now,crankupthepowerofthesetwoback“kickerlights”(apopularnicknameforthoselightsintheback),sothey’rebrightandpunchy.Also,leaveyourfrontflashofffornow,soyoucanseewhatthesebacklightsare doing, and get them positioned so they’re just lighting the sides ofyoursubject’sfaceandnotspillingovermuchontotheircheeksornose.Iftheydospillover,movethembehindyoursubjectmore.(2)Oncethebacklightsarelookinggood,youcaneitherpositionthefrontflash(withasoftbox,ofcourse)offtothesideata45°angletothesubject(asseenabove),oryoucanpositionitstraightinfrontofthem,uphighandaimingdown at around a 45° angle (your choice, as both work for this look.Putting it right in front looksa littlemore“sportsy,” though, like foranathleticwearcommercial).Finally,besuretokeepthepoweronthisfrontflash lower than the back lights—the flashes in back should be thebrightestlightsourcesforthisshot.

ChapterFive

UsingFlashOnLocationThisistrulyterrifyingstuff,somaybeyoushouldskipthis

Okay, is thestuff in thischapteractually“truly terrifying”andshouldyouskip thischapter?No, of course not. That’s just an old marketing axiom that basically states that if you tellpeoplenottodosomething,itmakesthemwanttodoitevenmore.Forexample,ifItellyou,“Don’tbuymybook,HowDoIDoThatInLightroom?(publishedbyRockyNookandavailableinstores everywhere) because I’m not sure you’re ready for it,” it releases a cascade of theneurotransmitterserotonin,whichin fullygrownadults isresponsible foryoulikingthesong“SafetyDance”byMenWithoutHats,forwhichthereisnootherpossiblereason,outsideofanunholy union of this chemical and thiamin mononitrate, which is a key ingredient in Cap’nCrunchcereal(lookonthebox,it’srightthere.Youcan’tmakethisstuffup).Anyway,thelongandshortofitisthis:thereasonItoldyounottoreadthischapterisbecauseIwanttomakesureyouactuallydoreadthischapterbecauseit’satinybitmoreinvolvedthanshootingwithflash indoors, andonceyou realize that, youmight shyaway from it.So, yes—Iadmit it—Iresortedtoapsychologicalmindgametogetyoutoreadthechapter,butallauthorsdothat—Hemingwayroutinelydidthis,andsodidOscarWilde,yetnobodycomplainedonelittlebit.Ihavetosay,though,I’vebeenanOscarWildefaneversincehedidthatcookbookwithOprah,wherehegavetherecipeforahotsteamingbowlofgluten,mixedwithlactoseandMSG.I’vebeenitchingtotry thatoneagaineversince.Get it? Itching?Likeanallergy?Awforget it—you’renotreadyforthesetypeofjokes.See,Ididitagain!

WhyWeNeedtoPutGelsonOurFlashWhenShootingonLocation

When people view images that are shot in a studio, the light from theflash (or strobe) iswhite, andwe’re soused to seeing that typeof lightindoors,wedon’tthinkanythingaboutit.However,onlocation,especiallyoutdoors,wedon’texpectlightfromthesuntobewhite—weexpectittobe a little warmer, a little bit orangish. So, it looks weird to us, andobviously“lit,”whenweseewhitelightoutdoors,becausewe’reexpectingsomethingelse.Wefixthatbyputtingasmallamountofthin,orangegelovertheflashhead(seepage86).Thisorangegeliscalled“CTO”byallthe cool flash kids, and that stands for “Color Temperature Orange”(either thator“ColdTomatoOmelet”—itcouldgoeitherway).Whateveryoucall it, this thin,orangegelmakes the light fromyour flashwarmer

and that makes your on-location flash look more natural. Plus, peoplegenerallylookbetterwarmer,soit’sawinallthewayaround.Okay,howmuchgeldoweputonourflash?Westartwithathicknesscalleda1/4-cut.So,ifyousaidtome,“Ineedaquarter-cutofCTO,”thatwouldtellmeyouneedaverylightorangegel.Therearealotofworkingflashprosthat,whenshootingportraits,justleavea1/4-cutofCTOontheirflashallthetime,whether they’re indoorsorout,becausetheyknowpeople lookbettera littlewarmer,anda1/4-cut isapretty lightamountofgel. It’snotgoingtomakethelightlookactuallyorange,it’lljustlookabitwarmerthanwhite,andthat’susuallyagoodthing,indoorsorout.

HowtoDealwithProblemRoomLight

Shootingpeopleandthingsindoorscanbekindoftrickybecauseindoorscenesareoftenlitwitheitherfluorescentortungstenlighting—onegivesa greenish color cast, and the other a very yellow color cast (like whenyou’re ina restaurantorachurchforawedding,etc.).That’swhysomeflashes ship with a few specific color correction gels to help the whitelight fromyour flashmix inwith the fluorescentor tungsten light in theroom(afterall,youdon’twantayellowishscenetosuddenlyhaveabeamofwhitelightthatlooksstrangelyoutofplace).Ifyourflashdidn’tcomewiththesecorrectiongels,youcanbuythemfromRogueorMagMod,orevengetsheetsofthem(byRoscoe)fromB&HPhotoandjustcutthemyourself (see thenextpage formoreon these).So,puttingoneof thesegelsoverthefrontofyourflashwillhelpmatchthelightfromtheflashtothe lighting color of the room. For example, with tungsten (also called

incandescent) light in the room, you’d add a CTO (orange) gel over theflashtobalancethecolor.It’saseasyasthat.Becauseeveryroom’slightis a littledifferent, it’snot a100% lock that itwillmatch right on themoney, but it will certainly be in the ballpark (also, different levels oflighting have a different color output, like dim tungsten lights in aromanticrestauranthaveadifferentcolorthanbrighttungstenlightsinameeting room). If you’re shooting in an office (or anywhere withfluorescent lighting), you’dput onagreengel tobalance the light fromthe flash with the light already in the room. But, again, just like withtungsten, these days fluorescent lights come in a wide variety of colortemps,sodon’tbesurprisedifit’snot100%accurate.It’sstillwaybetterthannotgellingyourflash,though.

HowtoAttachaGeltoYourFlash

Sheets of CTO gel are pretty inexpensive, going for around $6.50 for a20x24"sheet (liketheRoscoCinegel#3409Filter -RoscoSun1/4CTOgelsfromB&H),andatthatsize,youcangrabapairofscissorsandcutawholebunchofpiecesthatarethesizeofyourflashheadfromthatonesheet. Technically, you should get about 60 gels cut to flash-head sizefromthatonesheet,bringingittoaround10¢agel(however,ifyou’reasinaccuratewithapairofscissorsas Iam,thenyou’donlygetabout14gels on a good day). There’s onemore thing you need to buy: a roll ofgaffer’stape(B&Hhasa2"x12-yardrollforaround$5.95).Thisstuffisawesome! (I know that word is overused, but in this case, it is fullywarranted.)Whatmakesgaffer’stapesoawesome(andwhyit’suseddailyin Hollywood) is because it’s a really strong cloth tape that you canremove without peeling off the finish or paint from anything, and it

removescleanlywithoutastickyresidue.Asaphotographer,you’llfindahundredmillion uses for it, but for now, you’re just going to tear off acouple littlepiecestotapethatCTOgelrightoverthetopofyourflash,like you see above, with the tape on the sides of the flash head. Plus,since you’re using gaffer’s tap, you can do it without worrying aboutmessingupyourflashcasingwhenyoupeelitofflater.

Pre-Cut,Pre-SizedCommercialGelSetups

Ifyoudon’tfeellikecuttingupasheetofgels,luckily,youcanbuypacksofpre-cutgelsthatcomewiththeirownsimplesystemforattachingthemtoyourflash—there’snocutting,notaping,nomuss,nofuss.Oneofthemostpopular isExpoImaging’sRogueFlashGelsColorCorrectionKit. Itcomeswith18gels:nineCTOgelsindifferentthicknesses—1/4,1/2,andfull—plusabluesetofthree,agreensetofthree,andthreeheavyfrostdiffusion gels. The gels are held on with, what is essentially, a thickrubberband(itlookslikethecolorwristbandsyouseepeopleunder24wearing),and itactuallyworksnicely.Youhold thegelover the frontofyour flash, tuck the thin flapsdownalong thesides,andslide thebandrightover it. It’salmost toosimple.Theycomewithanice, thinstoragewalletthatkeepsitallorganizedwithlittletabs.Thekitssellsforaround$29.95.Notbad.However, ifyou’reaWallStreethedgefundmanager,

personalinjuryattorney,orfirst-roundNFLdraftpick,you’llprobablywanttomove up to theMercedes of gel systems, which is from the folks atMagMod.TheirColorKitbundlecomeswithanassortmentofhard,plasticgelsthatfitinsideaveryslicklydesignedmagneticholdersystem,soyoucan just snap gels (and other accessories) on and off magnetically.Besideslookingcool,itisthefastest,easiestsystemI’veeverused(theirsystem is for more than gels—they have grids, snoots, and diffusers.Basically,theyhaveawholeecosystembuiltaroundthemagnetic,snap-in-place idea).Very impressive.TheirColorKitbundle is abitpricey ataround$215,butagain,thisisthegelsystemoftheRomangods(Apolloswears by it, as does Minerva and Artemis. However, Mercury [god ofcommerce and finance] always went with the Rogue system. This isdocumented in Ovid’s book Fasti, which chronicles how Mercury savedmanyDenariusby goingwithRogue. It’s all righthere onWikipedia, soyouknowithastobetrue).

EasyLocationFlashSTEPONE:PositioningYourSubject

Ihavethisseven-steprecipeIuse forshootingon locationthat is reallysimple,andgivesyougreat results. If I’moutdoors, I try topositionmysubjectsothatthesunisbehindthemandoffabittooneside(generally,Idon’twant toseethesundirectlybehindthem, likeabigballof lightrightovertheirhead,drawingyoureye).Havingthesunbehindthem,andsomewhat to the side, has it act kinda like a hair light or a rim light,outlining their body from behind. It almost looks like you’re using asecond light (andusing thesun forasecond light isevencheaper thanusingareflector).

EasyLocationFlashSTEPTWO:Metering

Next,pretendlikeyoudon’thaveaflashatall.So,turnoffyourflashunitfornow,becausewehavetodosomemetering(don’tworry,it’seasy).Youdohavetodothispartinmanualmode(asalways),becauseyouhavetostartwithyourshutterspeedsetat1/125ofasecond(so,dothatfirst).Now,withyourflashstillturnedoff,focusonyoursubject,andthenlookatthebuilt-inmeteryouseeinsideyourviewfinder.Onsomebrands,thismeter appears along the right side of the viewfinder, and in others, it’salong the bottom, so take a moment to figure out where it is on yourparticular camera. It should look like a horizontal or vertical line, withsomesmallhashmarksalongitwiththenumbers1...2...3,andalongerhashmarkrightinthecenter.You’regoingtomoveyourf-stopuntilthe

littlemovingmetergets right in thecenter.When it’s in thecenter,youareataproperexposurefortheexistinglight(thisisn’tthefinalexposurewewant,butwehave to starthere, souse thatmeter toget theproperexposure,as ifyoudidn’tevenownaflash).Remember,don’tmovetheshutterspeed.It’simportantthatitstayswhereitisat1/125ofasecondatthisstage,sojustmovethef-stop.Ifyoucan’tfindanf-stopthatwillgetyourmetercentered,youcanincreasetheISOuntilyoucangetittothatcenterpoint.Thisisourstartingplace.

EasyLocationFlashSTEPTHREE:Underexposing

Once we get the proper exposure, I generally darken the entire scene,eitherby1or2f-stops(orsometimesevenmorearoundsunset).So,let’ssay, for example, you’re doing a corporate portrait with an officeenvironmentinthebackground,andwhenyoumovedyourf-stop,sothemeterwasallcenteredup(aswedidonthepreviouspage),yourf-stopfora proper exposure wound up being f/8. Well, to darken the scene, youwouldmoveyourf-stoptoahighernumber,likef/11,ormaybeevenf/16ifyou’reoutdoors.Thatdarkenstheentiresceneyou’restandinginfrontof, sowhatwindsup lightingyoursubjectwillbemostly your flash.Wedon’twanttomakeittoodark—westillwantabalancebetweentheroomlight in theoffice,and the light fromyour flash,butwewon’tknowthe

exactf-stopforafewmoreseconds.So,atthispoint,let’strytomakethescenetwostopsdarker—iftheproperexposurewasf/8,setyourf-stoptof16;ifitwasf/5.6,setittof/11;ifitwasf/4,setittof/8.

EasyLocationFlashSTEPFOUR:PositioningYourFlash

Puttingyourflashintherightpositionwhenyou’reshootingonlocationiscritical.Youneedtoputyourflashonthesamesidethatthenaturallightiscomingfrom.Forexample,ifthesunisbehindyoursubjectandtooneside, your flash needs to be on that same side (even if you’re morecomfortable shooting with your flash on the other side). If you’re in ahome, or officebuilding, and there’s awindow, you shouldposition theflash on the same side as the window. There are two reasons why: (1)When a person views your image, and the light doesn’t come from adirection their (our) subconsciousmind tells them it should be comingfrom,itmakesthemuncomfortablewiththeimage,buttheywon’tbeabletotellyouwhy.Youmightevenhear,“Itlooksgood,butIdunno—there’s

somethingnotquiteright.”Theywon’tknowexactlywhattheproblemis,buttheywillsenseaproblem.It’stooeasytofixtheproblem(byputtingthelightonthesideourmindexpects it tobeon)to just let itgo.Thishastoberight.And,(2)whenyoudon’thavethelightontheproperside,it sometimes makes the image look like it was a composite (like youphotographed the person at a different location, extracted them inPhotoshop,andputthemonthisbackground).Wearesoaccustomedtolookingatphotoslitbynaturallightthatwhenthelightingisn’twhereourmindthinksitshouldbe(evensubconsciously),itdoesn’tlookrighttous.Thisismoreimportantthanyou’dthink.

EasyLocationFlashSTEPFIVE:AddinganOrangeGel

Checkpage84inthischapterforexactlywhyweputanorangegeloverthe flash on location (and page 86 for different ways to attach them)becauseyouwanttomakedarnsureyouhaveat leasta1/4-cutofCTOoveryourflashbeforeyoueventurnitonwhenyou’reonlocation(and,ifyou justsaid,“What theheck isaquarter-cutofCTO?”that justmeansyouneedtogorightnowtopage84andreadwhygelsaresoimportant).

TIP IFYOUDON’THAVEAGEL,DOTHIS

Ifyoudon’thaveagelforyourflash,trysettingyourwhitebalancetoCloudy.Thatwillmaketheoverallimagewarmer,andthatwillhelpthelightfromtheflashlooknotquitesowhite.

EasyLocationFlashSTEPSIX:FlashSettings

Nowit’stimetoturnonyourflash.Foron-locationshoots,Isetthepowerofmy flash to1/4powerasmystartingplace.Thismighthave tomoveup/down(probablydown)afterIdoatestshotortwo,butthisisagreatstartingplace. In anoffice environment, I still start at1/4power.Now,takea testshotandseewhereyou’reat.Chancesareoneof two thingsneed adjusting: (1) the flash is too bright, or (2) thebackground is toodark.ThisisthebalancingactItalkedaboutbackinChapter3(onpage55)—gettingtheexistinglight(whichyouintentionallymadedarker)andthelightfromtheflashtobalance.Istartbygettingmyflashlookingrightonmy subject—Idon’twant it toobright; Iwant it to looknatural. So,withoutchanginganysettingsonthecamera,justmovethepowerofthe

flashupordownuntilyoursubjectlooksgood(we’lldealwithbalancingthe background light next). Once the amount of flash on your subjectlooksgood,thesecondpartofthebalancingactbegins:Ifthebackgroundis toodark, then loweryourshutterspeedto1/80andtakeanother testshotandseehowthatlooks.Ifit’sstilltoodark,lowertheshutterspeedsomemoretoletmorebackground/existinglightintotheshot.Rememberthebackgroundissupposedtobedarker,butnotcrazydark.Thisiswhereflashphotographersearntheirdough—beingpatientandfindingtherightbalance between the flash power and the existing ambient light. Keepdoingtestshots,untilyoufigureoutthemagiccombinationforwhereyouareshooting.Ifthebackgroundistoobright,youcandarkenitbymovingyourshutterspeedto1/200ofasecondormaybeeven1/250,tops.

EasyLocationFlashSTEPSEVEN:AddingMoreGels

Ifyou’reshootingnearsunset,asyourshootprogresses,itgetsdarkerasthesunstartstogetlowerintheskyandeventuallysets.So,notonlyareyour settings going to change (you might have to keep adjusting theshutterspeedlower,soyoucanstillseesomethinginthebackground,aswellasloweringthepowerofyourflashasthewholescenegetsdarker),but as the sun starts to set, that 1/4-cut of CTO gel that looked prettyorange when you started, will now look pretty white again, like you’reshootinginastudio.Whenyounoticethelightfromyourflashstartingtolookwhiteandartificial,it’stimetoslapanother1/4-cutoverthatoriginalgel(givingyoua1/2-cutnow).Justtapeitrightonovertheoriginalonetodouble it up and bring the orange tint back. When it actually gets to

sunset,youmightneedtoaddanother1/4-cutoverthetop(atthispoint,you might have to actually raise the power of the flash a little to cutthrough threegels)orswitch toa full-cutofCTO.Sunsetshootscanbetrickybecauseoftheconstantlychangingamountoflightinthelocationyou’reshooting,sokeepaneyeonthree thingsas theshootprogresses:(1) Is your flash starting to look too bright? (2) Is the backgroundbecomingtoodark?Youmightneedtolowertheshutterspeedtobalanceitout.(3)Doyouhavetherightamountofgelsontheflash?Thelateritgets, the more gel you’ll need to add to match the overall tone of thesetting sun. Okay, so that’s the ticket. It’s six quick steps, or add thisseventh if you’re shooting near sunset. This takes a surprisingly smallamountofpracticeuntilyoustarttoreallydialitin,andthenthisallgetsreally,reallyfun.

FlashwithaReflectorasYourSecondLight

Ifyoudon’thaveasecondflash,thecheapestsecondflashyou’llevergetis actually a reflector. It looks like you have a second flash because ittakesthelightfromyourflashandbouncesabunchofitbacktowardyoursubject.Thereareafewpopularplacestouseone,andthefirstisrightatyour subject’s chest level, so it sends someof the light fromyour flashbouncingbackuptolessentheshadowsundertheireyesandchin,anditworksreallywell.Youcanhavethemholdthereflectorflat—horizontally—orformoreimpact,youcanhavethemtiltitupata45°angletowardthemselves. If youhavea reflectorwithwhiteononesideandsilver onthe other, try the white side first for this chest-level bounce—whitereflectslesslight,andwithitthatclosetoyoursubject,thatshouldwork

outwell.Ifit’stoomuch,haveyoursubjectholditabitlower.Thesecondplaceyoumightputthatreflectorisrightontheground,directlyinfrontofyoursubject,butusethesilversideinstead(itreflectsmuchmorelightthan the white side). Down that far, it’s not going to kick up asmuchlight, but I’m often surprised how that little kicker of light canmake adifference.Thethirdplacewouldbetohaveafriendorassistantholdthereflectoruphigh (as seenhere), and thenhave themslowly tip it downuntilyousee itstartingto lightyoursubject’sface.You’llhavetodirectthemonhowfartotipitbecauseyoudon’twantthemholdingitdowntoolow, or you’ll end up “up-lighting” your subject, which is not the lookwe’regoingforhere(unlessyou’regoingforamenacing“monster-movie”look).

GettingSomeFillLightOutsidewithoutaSoftbox

Sometimes youdon’tneed to fully light someoneoutdoors,but you justneed a little something—just a little bit of light to fill in the shadows.Generally, you can’t do bounce flash outdoors (ya know, seeing as thecloudsareusuallyprettyhighupthere;seepage77formoreonbounceflash),butonethingyoucantryistoaimyourflashstraightup(noangle,whatsoever),andturnitspowerupprettyhigh(startat1/2powerandseehow thatworks), butmake sure topull out the littlewhitebouncecardthatistuckeddowninsidethelittleslotrightnexttotheflashhead.Whenyoupullthatwhitebouncecardout,about15–20%ofthelightfromtheflashgoesforwardtowardyoursubject(theother80%orsogoesupintonowheresville), and that might be just enough to fill in the shadows,

withouthavingtouseawholesoftboxsetupandall.

OnOvercastDays,YouCanUseWide-Openf-StopstoGetSoftBackgrounds

Flashesaremuchlesspowerfulthanstudiostrobes(includingthestudiostrobesthatarebatterypowered,andthatyoucantakeonlocation),asaflashhasgenerallyaround30wattsofpower,whereasstudiostrobesareusuallymoreinthe500-wattto1,000-wattrange.Whilethatsoundslikeaminus, that lower power can actually be a big pluswhen it comes tolightingportraitsintheshadeoronareallycloudyday,becauseitallowsyou toshootatwide-open f-stops, like f/4ormaybeeven f/2.8.So, youcan zoom in with a long lens and put the backgrounds behind yoursubjects softly and beautifully out of focus to get that wonderfulseparation from them. You usually can’t do that with studio strobesbecause,evenattheirlowestpowersetting,it’swaytoomuchpower,and

youwindupatf/9orf/8,ifyou’relucky.Yes,therearesometrickstogetaroundthisproblem(likeusinganNDfilteronyourlens,butthatbringsupitsownchallenges),butluckily,wecanjustsettheflashpowersettingonourflashesreallylowifwewant(evendownto1/128power).So,ifit’sshady or cloudy outside, you can lower the flashpowerwaydown, thenuse those wide-open f-stops to get the kind of soft backgrounds we’reusedtogettingwhenusingnaturallight.That’sabiggie!Now,ifit’sreallybrightoutside,thenwe’regoingtohavetogowithadifferenttechnique,High-SpeedSync,whichwelookedatbackonpage43.

AwesomeTrickforSimple,CleanBackgrounds

This is one of my favorite tricks for getting a perfectly clean, simplebackgroundwhen I’m outdoors on location because, sometimes, findingthat clean background is a needle-in-a-haystack thing (it seems like itwouldbeeasyfindingasimplebackground,butyou’dbesurprised).Mytrick is to get down low (down on one knee, or literally lying on theground),andthatlowanglemakestheblueskyyourbackgroundinstead(orgraysky, ifyoulive inPittsburgh.Sorry,couldn’thelpmyself.Justajoke.Kidding,etc.).Justbecauseyou’redownlow,though,doesn’tmeanyouwanttopositionyourflashdownlow,becausethenyou’llendup“up-lighting”yoursubject,which iswhat Iwoulddo if Iwanted tomakeanathlete (football lineman, martial artist, wrestler) look mean and

aggressive.So,theflashstaysuphighlikealways,butyougetlowenoughtousethatcleanskyasabackground.Unlessyou’reinMichigan,whereit’scoldandraining(see,that’sanotherjoke.Totallykidding.Kinda).

ShootingInteriorswithFlash

For realestatephotography,youcan takea lotof thatportraitstuffandthrow itout thewindow—this isanentirelydifferentbeast.First, you’renotgoingtouseasoftboxatall—you’regoingwithbareflashheads,andyou’ll be working at full power nearly all the time (so bring lots ofbatteries). Ididsay“heads” (plural),by theway.Whileyoucando realestatephotographywith justoneflash, itmakes ithardertoevenly lightroomswith just one. That’swhymany serious real estate photographersgenerallyuseatleasttwoflashes.Theseflasheseachgoonalightstand(I’dgowithatleastan8'stand,seepage134),andyou’llneedtwoflashmounts toput your flasheson topof thesestands.Onceon thestands,put them up high (like 7' or higher, depending on the ceiling height),aimingupwardatanangletoletthelightfromyourflashbounceofftheceiling,spread,andilluminatetheroom.Iftheceilingsaretoohigh,you

might have to bounce off the white walls instead (hopefully, they’rewhite). You’ll be shooting inmanualmode,with your shutter at a lowershutter speed to let inmoreexisting room light, so try1/30 for starters(youalsowanttoshootonatripodforthemostpart).Youwanteverythinginfocus,souseanf-stoplikef/8(gomuchhigher,anditwillsuckupthepower of your flashes). Also, you may have to raise your ISO a bit(probablynohigherthan400,though)togetthepoweroftheflashesup,and the brightness of the room up where you want (buyers like nice,brightlylitrooms).

ChapterSix

HowtoLightBackgroundsBabygotback!

Youknowwhathappensifyoudoaportraitandyoudon’tlightthebackground?Well,I’vedoneit, and I can tell you—nothing. That’s right—nothing bad happens at all. But, let’s considerthis:yoursubjecthasverydarkhair—maybeevenjetblackhair—andthey’rewearingablackshirt,orblouseoranothernameforashirt,andyouwanttophotographthemonarollofblack,seamlesspaper,butyoudon’twanttolightthebackground.Thenwhat?Well,youwindupwithacreepy, floatingheadphoto,whereall yousee is thisonecreepy-looking floatinghead inyour frame,and this ispreciselywhy I tellmystudents toneverdo this inadarkstudiobyyourself late at night, because it can totally freak youout seeing that creepy, disembodied,floatingheadallbyitself.Ican’ttellyouthenumberofstudentsthathavedroppedoutofmyclassattheuniversity,oncetheyfoundoutthatIdidn’thaveateachingcertificateandwasn’teven registered to teach at that university, or any university at all for that matter, and ofcourse,theywerefreakedoutbythatwholeheadthing,whichisthemainreasonIthinktheydroppedmycourse.Anyway,inreallife,here’swhatactuallyhappens:yoursubjectiswearingaredturtlenecksweater,andtheyhavebright,blondehair,andapalecomplexion,andwhitepants,orslacks,orsomeothernameforpants,andtheyareperfectlyseparatedfromtheblackbackground by their very nature. So, there’s actually no need to create separation from thebackground, and therefore, noneed for you tousea second light or even read this chapterwhatsoever.So, if Iwereyou, Iwould just skip thisaltogether. Just for the record, Icannotbelieveyoufellforthismindgameagain.YouwouldhaveamadeagreatStormTrooper.

LightingBackgroundswithoutaSecondFlash

Normally, when we’re lighting a background, we want to light thebackgroundandthesubjectseparately,whichisonereasonwhywetrytokeep our subject 8 to 10 feet from the background (well, that, andwedon’twanttoseethesubject’sshadowfallingonthebackgroundbehindthem, and creating that separation lets their shadow fall on the floor,insteadofonthebackground).However, ifyouonlyhaveoneflash,andyouwant your background lit, justmove your flash close enough to thebackground,sothatthelightfromyourflashcanreachit.Thespillfromthat one flash will light the background, as well as your subject, if it’sclose enough. This works best with large softboxes, like Westcott’s

Recessed Mega JS Apollo 50x50" softbox or their 7' shoot-throughparabolicumbrella,simplybecausetheycancovermorebackgroundareawith their size,but it canstillworkwith smaller32" softboxes (like theWestcott Rapid Box Duo) or even 26" softboxes, like the regular RapidBox, too. So, next time you’re stuck for a background light, move yourfront light (and probably your subject along with it), closer to thatbackgroundandletyourflashdo“doubleduty.”

BeforeYouAimaFlashatYourBackground,YouHaveaDecisiontoMake

Youneedtodecidewhatbackgroundlookyou’regoingfor.Doyouwantatight spotlight effect or a smoother, wider, wash of light across thebackground, like we have above? This decision determines whichaccessories(ifany)you’llneedtocreatethat look,andtellsyouhowfaryourflashneedstobefromthebackground.Italsotellsyouifyou’llneedmore than one flash. But, first, it’s helpful to know why we light thebackground in the first place. Probably themost important reason is tocreate separation between the background and our subject, so ourportraits have depth and subjects have definition (for example, so yoursubject’sdarkhairdoesn’tget lostagainstadarkbackground).Creatingthatseparation,usinglight,givesyourimagesmoredepth.Anotherreason

is tomakethecolorweseeonsettranslatetoaphoto.Forexample, if Ihandedyouarollofwhiteseamlesspaper,andaskedwhatcoloritis,ofcourseonelookatitandyou’dsay,“white.”But,putthatwhiteseamlesspaper up as your background, and you’ll bepretty surprised to see thatthecolorbehindyoursubjectisn’twhite—on-cameraitshowsupasgray,unlessit’slit.Samethingwithcoloredpapers.Ifyoudon’tlightabrightblueseamlesspaperbackground,itshowsupintheimageasaverydarkblue.Youhavetolightthesebright,vividcolorbackgrounds,ortheycomeoutlookingneitherbrightnorvivid.Thethirdreason—andoneyou’dseeoften if you Googled “lighting the background”—is that it makes theportrait look “more professional.”Why do people think shots where thebackground is lit look more professional? Because pros light thebackground.Noteverytime,ofcourse,butwaymoreoftenthanthenon-pros.Ihopethishelpedyourealizethatlightingthebackgroundismoreimportantthanyoumighthavethought.Luckilyforus,it’sactuallyprettyeasy—wayeasierthanlearningtolightasubject.

InexpensiveBackgrounds

A roll of seamless paper is one of themost popular backgrounds you’llfindinstudiooroutdoorportraitstoday.They’vebeenaroundforeverandaren’t going away anytime soon, mostly because they look great, andthey’recheapasanything. If you’redoingheadshots, youcanpickuparollofwhiteseamlesspaperthat’s53"wideby36'long(liketheSavageWidetoneSeamlessBackgroundPaper,#01SuperWhite)for$27.99,ora roll of gray or black for around the same amount. That is, like, dirtcheap. Okay, now that I’ve sold you on the 53-inch-wide seamless, Iwouldonlyuse that forheadshots.For anythingelse, you’ll thankme ifyougowithawider roll, like rolls thatare107"wide (even though theycost a bit more at $49.99). If you go the cheaper route, and you’restrugglingtokeeptheedgesofthepaperfromshowingintheframe,andyou’vegota tonofpatchwork todo later inPhotoshop, you’llwishyou

hadboughtthat107"(everytimeIthoughtIcouldsaveafewbucksandwentwiththe53",I’veregrettedit).Toholdyourseamlesspaperup,youcan go with Impact’s 12-foot-wide Background Support System for$104.95.Luckily,youonlyhavetobuythisonce,andyoucanuseitwithallseamlessrolls.Don’tspendalotonyourbackgroundstands;thecheaponeslikethisworkfine.

WhichColorBackgroundtoOrderFirst

If you’re going to buy a seamless paper background to get started, I’drecommendgoingwith awhite roll, becausewhen youbuy awhite roll,youcanactuallygetfourdifferentbackgroundsoutofit.Here’show:(1)If you put a really bright flash on the background to light it (see page110), it becomes a solid-white background, so there’s your first color.And, yes, even though the paper is solid white, if you don’t light it, itlooksgray,whichbringsusto:(2)Ifyoudon’tlightthebackgroundwithaflash, the light from your main light will spill over onto it quite a bit,givingyoualightgraybackground.Thisworksaslongasyoursoftboxisn’ttoofarfromthebackground,say,4to6feet.(3)Ifyoumoveyoursoftboxabout8to10feetfromthebackground(that’showfarInormallyplacemysubjectsfromthebackground,sotheirshadowsfallonthefloorandnoton thebackground), thenyouwindupwithadarkgraybackground.

Youcanseewhat’shappeninghere,right?Thefartheryourfrontsoftboxgets from the background, the darker gray your background becomes.Lastly, (4) ifyoumoveyoursoftbox farther than10feetaway fromyourbackground(orifyouputyourflashstandwayuphigh,withthesoftboxangleddownatasteepangle),noneofthatlightfromyourflashwillevenreachthebackgroundatall,soyourbackgroundwillbesolidblack(thisisthehardestonetobelieve,untilyoutryit,becauseyoureyeswillstillseeit as a roll of white seamless while you’re standing there. But, luckily,that’s not how your camera will see it). Well, that’s it—four differentcolorsfromonerollofseamlesspaper.

UsingCanvasorPaintedBackdrops

We’vebeenmainlytalkingaboutseamlesspaperforshootingindoors,butthat’smostly because (1) it’s very inexpensive, (2) it comes in a ton ofcolors,and(3)youcangetmultiplelooksfromonecolor(seethepreviouspage) simply by how you light it. However, when you’re ready to takethings up a notch, you might want to consider getting a hand-paintedcanvasbackdrop.Theycostabitmore,but if you lookaround, youcanfindsomeincrediblepricesoutthere(inthe$100rangeorevenless).Ofcourse,thewiderthebackground,themoretheycost,butonesourceI’vefound that has pretty outrageous deals is Etsy.com. You’ll find a lot ofbackdrops there that are fairlywide and still under$100. The piece ofadviceIwouldgiveis,ifyouwanttousethisbackdropalot,getonethatiskindofneutral(likeadarkor light,overallgraycolor),becauseifyouget one that is too distinct and recognizable, all your shots on that

backdrop will start to look the same to some extent—it will be, “Oh,there’s that backdrop again.” But, if you go with a more understated,classic look, the background won’t take over the shot. Plus, you canalwaysaddageltochangethecolor(seepage116),orevenchangethecolorinpost-production.YoucanseethebackdropItookthisshotonintheinsetabove,buttogetthedramaticlookyoualsoseeabove,positionthe light directly to the side of your subject, just like you saw on page102,whereI’mlightingmysubject,andthebackdrop,withjustonelight.

LightStandsforLightingBackgrounds

One thing we all struggle with, when using a background light placeddirectly behind our subject, is not seeing the flash or the stand in theshot.Evenifyoutakearegularlightstandandloweritallthewaydown,bythetimeyouputatallflashonit,you’refightingtokeepithiddenthewholeshoot.That’swhytheymakespecial,super-low-heightbackground-lightstands thatmakeyour lifesomucheasier.Theone Iuse is the3'ImpactTwoSectionBackLightStand.WhatIlikebestaboutitisthatyoucanunscrewthepoleandhavejustthethree-leggedbasesit flatonthefloor, so youcanmount your flash right on topof thatbase—waydownlow—just inches off the floor (as seen in the inset above). You justunscrewthelittlemountingstudfromthetopofthepole,anditfitsrightintotheslotatthebottom,soyoucanmountyourflashcrazylow.Plus,Idig that it’s only $24.95. Again, this will make your flash life much

easier.

WhytheDistanceYouPlaceYourFlashfromtheBackgroundIsSoImportant

This isgoingtosoundreallyobviouswhenIsay it,but toput itsimply,thecloseryoumovetheflashtothebackground,thetighterthatspotlight(andhot spot) in the center becomes.So, if youwant a small spotlighteffect behind your subject, move it closer to the background. Want alarger pool of light, which fills more of the background? Then move itfarther away from the background. Also, when you’re close to thebackground,thecenterhotspotisgoingtobeverydefined,andit’sgoingto fall off quickly to the color of thebackground. If youmove the flashfartheraway,it’sgoingtobealargerhotspot,andasmoother,moreeven,vignette-style spread out to thedarker edges.So,which one of these isthe right one? There’s no right or wrong—it’s really down to a personal

preference.But,atleastifyouhaveapreference,youknowhowtogetit(small spotlight, close to the background; big spotlight,move it fartherbackfromthebackground).

TurnOffAnyFrontLightsWhileLightingtheBackground

Don’t make that rookie mistake of setting up a bunch of flashes andturning themall on. If youdo a test shot, and the lighting just doesn’tlook right, it’s not going to be obvious exactly what it is—you knowsomething’s wrong, but you don’t know what—and I’ve seen a lot ofphotographersgetstuckatthispoint.Youcanavoidthatbybuildingyourlightingsetupone flashata time—turningeverythingoff, and then justturning on one flash.Startwith the background light and get it lookingjustthewayyouwantit.Ifyou’reusingtwolightsonthebackground,getonesidelookinggoodbeforeyoueventurnonthesecondlight.Oncethebackground lighting looks the way you want it, then turn on your frontlightandstartworkingwith it.Remember, thereare twoseparate things

beinglit:thebackgroundandyoursubject.Bybuildingyoursetoneflashatatime,you’llbeabletoseeeachlightindividually,whatit’saffecting,andwhether it’sdoingwhatyouwant it to.Whenyouget the first flashlookingright,turnitoff,andthengetthesecondflashonthebackgroundlookingright.Oncethatonelooksgood,turnthembothonandmakeanyfinal tweaks.Now you can turn on the front light and get it right. This“onestepatatime”approachwillsaveyoufromatonofheadaches,andeventhough itsounds like it takes longer, itactually isquickerbecauseyouwon’thavetowasteanytimetryingtotroubleshootandfigureoutwhyyourlightingsetupdoesn’t“lookright.”

HowtoLightforaSolid-WhiteBackground

The secret to creating a solid-white background (besides aiming atsomethingwhite,likearollofwhiteseamlesspaper)istothrowatonoflightatit.We’retalkingfullpower(1/1)ontheflash,withadiffusioncapontopofittohelpspreadthelight(ifyoudon’thaveadiffusioncap,thisisactuallyalegitreasontoorderone).Putyourflashonalowlightstand(like the one you see here), angled up toward the background. If yourbackground isn’t too big (maybe you’re doing a headshot, or somethinglikethat),youcansolidlylightawhitebackgroundwithjustoneflash,noproblem. If you’redoing full-length shots, and youneed to light a104-inch-widerollofseamless,you’llprobablyneedtwoflashes(seethenextpage).Thebackgroundflashneedstobebrighter thantheflash lightingyoursubject,butthekeyisnottomakethelightsobrightthatitfriestheoutsideedgesofyoursubject’shair(notliterally,ofcourse,butwhenyou

lookattheedgesoftheirhaircloseupinPhotoshoporLightroom,they’velostdetailandlookkindacrisp,whichiswhywecallit“fried”).So,onceyougetyourflash(orflashes)inplace,andyoucanseethatyou’vegotasolid-white background, get your subject in place and do a test shot.Then,zoominonthebackofyourcamera,ontheedgesoftheirhair,andmakesuretheyaren’tfried.Iftheyare,youneedtobackoffonthepowerofyourbackgroundflashanddoanothertestshot.If,whenyoulowertheflash power, it doesn’t look solidwhite,move your subject farther awayfrom the background, so it doesn’t spill back onto them asmuch, andthen turn thepower of your flashbackupuntil thebackground is solidwhiteagain.

LightingaWiderSolid-WhiteBackground

Ifyou’redoing3/4orfull-lengthshots,andyouneedtolightareallywiderollofseamless,you’llprobablyneedtwoflashes,andyoucanuseasetuplike you see here, with one flash behind and on either side of yoursubject, aiming at the background at a 45° angle. If you’re doing fulllength,you’dseethoselightstandsintheshot,sopullthemoutoffthepaper,butaiming in thesameway (and,ofcourse,sinceyou’removingthemfartherawayfromthebackground,you’llneedtoturnupthepowera bit more, too). By the way, with two flashes like this, you can pushenoughlightonthatbackgroundthatevenalightgrayrollofseamlesswillturnsolidwhite.

HowtoAvoidSpillonYourBackground

If you’re gelling your background flash with a color (see page 116), ofcourseyouwantanice,vividcoloronyourbackground.Tomakesureyourbackgroundcolorstaysniceandvivid,youneedtomakecertainthatthelightfromyourfrontflash(theonelightingyoursubject)doesn’tspillontoyour background and wash out the vivid color back there, or the wholebackgroundwill lookkinda“blah.”Allyouhavetodo ismakesureyourmainflash is farenoughawayfromthebackground,sothe lightdoesn’treach back there. Generally, I put my subject 8 to10 feet from thebackground,sothatwouldputmymainflashafewfeetinfrontofthem—itwouldbeatleast12to14feetfromthebackground,andthatshouldbeenoughtowhereyourfrontflashdoesn’treachthebackgroundatall.Youcantestthisbyturningoffyourbackgroundflash,thentakingatestshot with just your front flash and seeing if any of that light hits the

background.Ifitdoes,moveitbackabitfarther(andmoveyoursubjectorproduct forward thesameamount, so yourmain light stays the samedistancefromyoursubject).Thatshouldkeepyourbackgroundcolorclearanduncontaminatedbythespilllightfromyourfrontflash.

KeepingtheBackgroundFlashfromSpillingontoYourSubject

Unlessyou’reusingabright,solid-whitebackground(where,sometimes,itcanlookgoodtohavethatwhitelightbouncingbackontoyoursubjecttogivethemsomewhatofaback-litrimlight),yougenerallywanttokeepthe light from your background flash (especially, if you’re using a colorgel) strictlyon thebackground.One thing Ido tokeep thatbackgroundflash from spilling back towardmy subject is to attach a Rogue Flash-Bender2Reflector tomyflash—itrunsabout$34.95atB&H,andisawidepanelthatstrapsaroundtheflashheaditself.Icanpositionitsoallthe light fromtheflashheadstowardthebackground,without itcomingtowardmysubject.Youcanliterallyjustbenditwhereyouwantit,anditstays inposition.Theseare just sohandy for stuff like this.Thisone is

10"wideby7"high,and thatdoes the trick forme. (Youcanbuyevenlargerones,asseenonpage124,butofcourse,theycostmore.)

TIP UsingaDometoSpreadtheBackgroundLight

WhileI’mnotahugefanofdiffusiondomes,theydohelpspreadthelightwhenlightingabackground,sothisisoneinstancewheretheyreallydomakeadifference.Ifyouwanttoaddacolorgeltoyourbackground,stickyourgelinsidethedomeandsnapitrightonwiththegelinside,soyoudon’tneedtofastenitanyotherway(afterall,it’sinsidethedome—it’snotgoinganywhere).

CreatingaGraduatedBackgroundLook

Apopular,andperhapsabitmoreformallookforbackgroundsistohaveagraduated look,whereonesideof thebackground is lit, and then thelight gets darker and darker as it moves to the other side of thebackground.ItkindoflookslikeyoudraggedtheGradienttoolacrossthebackgroundinPhotoshop,goingfromlighttodark.Youdothisbymovingthe background flash to the side and raking the light across thebackground.Ofcourse,thesideofthebackgroundclosesttothelightwillbethebrightest,andthenitwillgetdarkeranddarkerasitmovestotheopposite side (as long as you don’t overpower this light. If you set thepower setting to full power on the flash, you might not see as large agradient from the light—in fact, it might just illuminate the entirebackground,sobackoffthepowerto1/2anddoatestshotwithittherefirst.Youcanalwaysraisethepowerifyouneedto).Youcanalsoplace

your flash up high for this look, lighting the background from the topcorner,moving diagonally down across your background (just raise yourlightstandwayupandaimtheflashtowardthefarcorner). Ifyouwantyour gradient to fall off to dark quickly, put it close to the background(likeafootto18"fromit).Ifyouwantasmoother,longergradationacrossthebackground,moveyourflashback,anditwillspreadoutmorewithoutsuch a sudden fall off. Remember to keep an eye out for spill on yoursubject (see the previous page), and one more important thing toremember: when you’re lighting the background from the side, put thatbackgroundlightonthesamesideasyourfrontlight,sothelightinglooksconsistent(anditdoesn’tfreakouttheviewer).

GettingaTighterBackgroundSpotLight

RememberbackinChapter4,whenwetalkedaboutusinggridstocorralourlightintoaverytightbeamthatdoesn’tspillallovertheplace?Well,ifyouwantareallytightspotlighteffectbehindyoursubject,youcanputagridontheflashyouhaveonthebackground,andyou’llhaveasmall,well-definedspotlight.BothRogueandMagModmakegridsthatcreateatightspotlight,butnottootight(theMagModgridisa40°grid,whichisnice and tight, and theRogue is just a bitwider at45°. The lower thedegreeofthegrid,thetighterthespot).IfyoulookattheRogueStarterKit,whichcomeswiththat45°gridIjustmentioned,there’salsoa25°anda16°grid in that samekit,but those last twoarealmostabit tootight for lighting backgrounds—they aremore for special effects, so gowiththat45°gridonyourbackground.

ColorGelsforBackgrounds

Besides the regularcolorcorrectiongels (like thoseCTOgels), therearespecialtygelsforthingslikelightingbackgrounds,andthecolorsareverybrightandvivid.TheonesshownabovearefromRogue.TheyhaveanicesetofcoloreffectgelsintheirRogueGelsUniversalLightingFilterKit,asetof20differentcolorspecialeffectsgels,andtheyareidealforlightingbackgrounds.Thewholeset,includingthegelbandholdertoattachthemtoyourflashandaniceorganizationalwallet,isjust$30.Soworthit!IfyouwanttousetheRogueGridtonarrowyourbeam,theymakegelsthatarepre-cutintoacircularshapetofittheirgridsystem.ThosearecalledtheRogueGridGels:ComboFilterKit. It’s20gels, too,andit’saround$28ontheirwebsite(justremember,they’reround,soyoucanreallyonlyuse them with the Rogue grids). If you’re a MagMod guy/gal, and youalready have aMagMod Basic Kit, they have little slots for you to add

colorgels,andtheyhaveaCreativeGelsset,whichisan8-packofplasticcolor gels in bright, vibrant colors you just slap on/off (or slide into) alltheirstuff.It’saround$29.Ofcourse,likewelearnedinChapter5,youcan just buy 12x12" sheets of gel, cut ‘em yourself, and slap them onwith some gaffer’s tape (by the way, gaffer’s tape is themost amazingstuffonearth—easytotear,sticksgreattostuff,likethesidesofaflash,butwhenyoupullitoff,itdoesn’tleaveanystickyreside.YoucanfinditatB&H.It’scheap,too!).

AddingColortoYourBackground

Foryoursecondrollofseamlesspaper,youmightwanttoconsideradarkgrayorblack,becausethenyoucantapeacolorgel(seepreviouspage)over your flashandcompletely change thecolor of thebackground (seethenextpage),oryoucanhaveasplashofcolorinthecentersurroundedbydarkgrayorblack(asseenhere),dependingonhowyouchoosetolightthebackground.But,I’dstartwithgettingarollofthatdarkgrayorblack.Onceyouattachageltothefrontofyourflash(we’llusearedonehere,withaRoguegrid,justasanexample),allyouhavetodoisliterallyaimthat flash at your dark gray or black background, turn up the power toaround 1/2, and take a test shot. You’ll be surprised at how good thislooksforhoweasyitistopulloff.Youjustputthegelovertheflashandaim it at the background. It doesn’t getmuch easier than that. By theway, if you turn up your gelled flash too bright, your color will start to

washout.So,forrichercolors,lowerthepowerofyourbackgroundflash.

ChangingtheColorofYourBackground

Oneofthebigbenefitsofshootingonarollofgrayseamlesspaperishoweasy it is to completely change the color of the background just byslappingagelinfrontofyourflash(well,inthiscase,Iusedtwoflashes—oneoneachsidebehindmysubject,aimingat thegraybackground).Lookhowvibrantyoucangetthecolor—it’salmostasifyouwentoutandboughtaseparaterollofbrightredpaper.Youcandothiswithtwotinygels.Youcanalsodothisonblackpaper—you’llneedtousetwolightstoget it even all the way across, and you can do it with white seamlesspaper,aswell,butyourredwillturntomoreofapastelcolor.Infact,allyour vivid colors become less vivid and more pastel-like on whiteseamless,butyoucandefinitelystillchangetheentirecolorbehindyoursubject.

SpotlightGradientBackgroundEffect

This is a lot easier than it looks. It’s just one single flash behind yoursubject,butreallyclosetothebackground,andthenyoujustslapagelovertheendoftheflash(inthiscase,Iputabluegeloverit).Okay,sohow do you create that gradient, going from white in the center andgraduatingouttowardblue,whilepickingupsomepinkin-between?Justturnupthepowerofyourflashuntilit’ssobrightthatitturnsthecenteroftheflashwhite,andbelieveitornot,theresttakescareofitself.Youcantryusingeitheradiffusioncap(andstuffingthegelinsidethecap)oragrid,ifyouwant,butifyouputtheflashthatclosetothebackground,you’ll get that spotlight effect, and thehigh-power setting takes care ofcreatingthegradientouttothecolorofthegel.Again,it’seasierthanitlooks—don’toverthinkit.

ChapterSeven

UsingFlashatWeddingsHerecomesthebright...

Shootingaweddingisatremendousresponsibility,andoneyoushouldn’ttakelightly,becauseyouarefullyinchargeoftheonethingthatcangoinextricablywrongatthewedding,andthatonethingisoverlightingthebride.Noonecaresifthegroomisabittoobright.Hewasn’tthatbright anyway. But, this is an incredibly important day for the bride, who happens to bewearing white (well, she’s probably wearing white, but she could be wearing beige, whichmeans . . . well . . . the whole town knows this isn’t her first rodeo. But, I digress). Let’sassumeshe’swearingwhite.Doyouknowhoweasyit is toblowout thehighlightsandlosedetailinawhiteweddinggown?It’salmosttooeasy.Ifthishappenstoyou,don’tbesurprisedifthebrideunleashesaholyterrorofhighlyweaponizedbridesmaids(oftenformerDeltaForcecommandos,orat thevery least,disgruntledDelta flightattendants),whowill tearyou,yourflash,andyourcameragearintosuchtinypiecesthatyoucouldbemailedbacktoyourofficeina#10envelope.But,don’tworry,I’mnotgoingtoletthathappentoyou—Iwentandhidallthe#10envelopes,soyou’reprobablysafe.Beyondthat,I’mgoingtotakeyouthroughabootcampofflashtechniquesforweddings,sowhenyoudomakeyourbridalportraits,insteadofblowingoutthehighlights,itwillbeasthoughamagicalunicornoflightfloatedgentlydowntothebridalgown(hey,thatrhymes),whiletwowhitedoveswrappedyourexposureinwhitesilk,astheyglidedoverthefreshmorningwildflowersandlavenderrosepetals.But,justthen,ahighlyweaponizedbridesmaidpeeksover thedewyhillwith aBarrettM82A1 .50calibersniperriflewithaLeupoldscopeandyellsout,“You’dbetternotblowoutthehighlightsinthatgown.Punk!”Ahhh,youcanfeeltheloveintheair.

SimpleOne-LightBridalPortraitSetup

WhenI’mdoingabridalshoot,Iwanttokeepitreallysimple,sowe(meand a friend or assistant) are able to move quickly to different areasoutside,orplaceswithinthechurch,ifwe’reshootingindoors.Mysetupisto use either the 26" Westcott Rapid Box Octa (which is what I’mcurrently using), or the24" ImpactQuikbox (which I’veused for years),mountedontheendofamonopod,withtheflashonaflashbracket,andofcourse,Iwirelesslytriggertheflashfromthetransmittersittingontopofmy camera in the hot shoe. The only downside to this setup is thatwhenyou’renotshooting,there’snotanawesomewayforyourassistanttosetthisrigdown—theyprettymuchhavetojustleanitonsomething,andif they’renot really careful about it, thewhole thing can topple over. Ifthathappens,youcanbreakthesoftbox,flash,flashbracket,orallthree

(saidfromexperience).Theotheroptionistousealightweightlightstand(asseenabove),whichisgreatbecauseyourassistantcanjustsettherigdown anywhere, including setting it down while you’re shooting, so it’seasieronthem.Well,untilthey’retryingtofitthelegsin-betweenchurchpews,ornavigatingupstairs,andhalfadozenothertimeswhereit’skindof apain.Themaindownside is that your assistantwill sometimes (toooften)havetocollapsethelegs,andthensetthemupagainasyoumovetoanewarea,andthatslowstheshootdown.ThisiswhyIusuallygothemonopodroute,pairedwithaseriousremindertomyassistantthatiftheydon’thaveacornertorestitin,theyhavetostandthereandholdtherig,soitdoesn’thaveachanceoffallingover.

ShootingtheBrideGettingReady

I don’t generally bring a softbox into the bridal suite (or “make-ready”room),becauseit’salreadyaverybusy,often-crowdedplace,andIwanttoblendintothesituation,notbecomethefocusofit.Ijustputaflashontopofmycamerainthehotshoe,andIaimitstraightupward,usuallywiththewhitebouncecardextended(seepage39),orIaddadiffusiondomeandbouncetheflashoffthewhiteceiling(ifIhaveawhiteceiling).Thisisaprettyunobtrusivewaytogo,butifforsomereasontheceilingisn’tconducivetobounceflash(theceilingisred,blue,ortootall,etc.),thentakea lookatOption#2forshootingthereception(onpage125),becausethatsamesetupcanworkinthisinstance,too.

ReceptionOption#1:On-Camera

Thereareabunchofdifferentways touse flashata reception,and I’llstartwiththesimplestandcheapestoption,whichistoputyourflashontopof yourcamera in thehot shoe, snaponyourdiffusiondome,angleyourflashatasteepangletowardtheceiling,andusebounceflash.Givethat a try first and see how the results look (a lot will depend on theheightandcoloroftheceilinginthereceptionvenue,providedthereisaceilingatall).Ifthereisnoceiling,oryou’renothappywiththeresultsofbouncing, then try taking the dome off the flash, aiming your flashstraightupward, thenpulling out thewhitebouncecard (built into yourflash) and going that route. You’re not exactly bouncing at this point—

you’re just pushing some of the light from your flash back toward thescene—butitactuallyworksprettywell.Ifyouwanttostillgo“leanandmean,” but get better results, add a Rogue FlashBender 2 Reflector(Large)panel(seenabove;$39.95atB&HPhoto)—thatwillsendmoreofthelightforwardtowardthesceneyou’reshooting(welookedatusingthesmallFlashBenderreflector inChapter6).It juststrapsrightaroundtheheadofyourflashandcreatesalargersurfaceforthelighttobounceoffofandtowardyourscene.Theyareflexible,bendable,andstaywhereyoushape‘em,so ifyoudon’tmindspendingthe$40,you’llgetmore lightwithout aiming the flash head directly at the scene (which we know isinstantdeathtoyourphoto—andcareer).Also,whenyou’reshootingthepacked dance floor, try this a few times: slow your shutter speed waydown(to like1/10ofasecond) togetmovement in theshotbefore theflashfires.Thatway,everybodydoesn’tlook“frozen”onthedancefloor.

ReceptionOption#2:SeriousDiffusion

Put your flash on top of your camera in the hot shoe, and then put aseriousdiffuserinfrontofyourflash.Notthesnap-ondiffusiondomethatcomes with your flash—I’m talking about something much moresubstantial (and one that gives tremendously better results). I likeMagMod’s MagSphere diffuser (see above), which creates soft, omni-directional light that doesn’t cut the power output from your flash verymuch, so it doesn’t drain your batteries really fast like some others outtheredo.It’ssuper-lightweight,andit’srubber,soyoucansquishitdownintoyourcamerabag,oryourpocket,andwhenyoupullitbackoutlater,it pops right back into shape. Also, it’s got a built-in gel holder on the

back that can hold two gels. It’s $49.95 for theMagSphere, but you’llalsoneedtheirMagGriptoholditontothefrontofyourflash.Thisgripisaround25bucks,itstretchestofitaroundyourflashhead(it’s“onesizefits all”), and inside are crazy-strong magnets, which let you justmagnetically slap their accessories on/off instantly as you need them(they’vealsogotanicegrid,diffusers,CTOgels,coloreffectsgels,andasnoot,which you canbuy separately).TIP:One of the strengths of theirsystemisthat,sinceit’smagnetic,youcanstackaccessoriesoneontopofanother.Forexample,ifyouwantmoredirectionallight,youcanslapaMagGridonfirst,thenputagelon,andthentheMagSphererightontopof that,and thebeamsof lightwillbemoredirectionalwhilestillbeingsoft. This also works nicely for lighting backgrounds, where you want adefinedcircleorpooloflight(seepage115).It’saverycleversystem,itcangetjustalittleexpensiveifyouaddabunchofdifferentmodifiers.

ReceptionOption#3:LightingtheRoom

Thisscenario ismypreferredofall fouroptions,and itworksamazinglywell—aslongasyourreceptionhallhasawhiteceiling—whichiswhyit’spopularwith a lot of pros. Youneed twobare flashes, two light stands,andawirelesstrigger.Bothflashesaresetupthesameway:ontopofalight stand, aiming straight up toward the ceiling, with no softbox ordiffusiondome.Putthelightstandswayuphightowardtheceiling(I’massuming8-footstands)andturnthepowerupto1/1(fullpower).Easyenough so far. What makes this setup work is the placement of theseflashesinthereceptionhall:youputoneinonecorneroftheroom,andthe other in the opposite corner. When you take a shot, your wirelesstriggerwillfirethesetwoflashestowardtheceiling,andtheyspreadout

bigtimetoputasoftbloomoflightovertheroom,anditactuallylookssurprisingly good. Remember: Your f-stop controls the power of thoseflashes,andyou’llhavetotakeafewtestshotstoseeifthelightfromtheflashesisbrightenough(ortoobright).IwouldstartatISO100,1/125ofa second shutter speed, and f/5.6. If those flashes are too bright, raiseyour f-stop to f/8 or f/9 and take another test shot. If it’s not brightenough, then lower your f-stop to f/4 or f/3.5. Another tip: Since everyreception room is different in size and shape, you’ll have to evaluatewhere the best place to put those flashes will be, because the cornersmightbetoofarfromwheretheactionistakingplace—youmighthavetotilttheflashheadstowardtheceilingclosertothecenteroftheroom.Youhave to kind ofmake a judgment call. Also, you can do this techniquewithjustoneflashonastand,butyoujusthavetobecarefultopositionitwheretheheadtableis,closetothedancefloor,etc.

ReceptionOption#4:SeeingFlashintheFrame

Thistechniqueisalittlebittrickiertogetright,butifyounailit,itcanmakeforsomereallygreatreceptionimages.Ideally,you’llneedeitheranassistant(orrecruitafriendlyguestatthewedding)tohelpyouforafewminutes(ideallyduringthefirstdance,thefatherofthebridedance,andthenlaterduringtheheightofthereception).Theyaregoingtopositionthemselvesontheoppositesideoftheroomfromwhereyou’restanding,andtheyaregoingtoholdabareflashuphighovertheirhead,aimingatthecouple frombehind.You’regoing to fireyour flash (hopefullyaimedup to bounce off the ceiling, or with a serious diffuser attached), theirlightwillfirebehindthecouple,andtheideaistoactuallyseetheburstof light from that flash they’re holding in back in the shot. Seeing this

burst back lights the subjects and creates a sense of excitement andglamourintheshotsthatcanmakethereceptionlooklikethepartyoftheyear.Ifyoudon’thaveanassistanttohelp,thenyou’llputthebareflashonalightstand,uphigh(muchlikeOption#3),butpositionitnearthedancefloor (put itsomeplacethedancingguestswon’t tripover it),andaim the flash to where it’s tilted down a bit. Now, position yourselfoppositefromtheflash,anditwillbacklightyoursubjectsbeautifully.Ifyouwant to take this ideaupanotch,adda secondor thirdback lightflash,assigneachtoadifferentgroup(welookedatgroupsinChapter2),andthenonlyturnontheflashthatisintherightpositiontobeoppositefromwhereyou’reshooting.Thatway,you’renotstuckinoneposition—youcanmovearoundtheroomandalwayshaveabacklight.

LightingtheGroupFormals

This iswhen I gowith onebig softbox, andwith theWestcottMega JSApollo50x50"collapsiblesoftbox(seepage68),youcancoverthegroupformals with just one flash, up to 20 people, no sweat. You will becrankingyourflashupto1/1power,butit’llbenice,soft,directionallight—justmakesureyoumoveyoursoftboxbackabout10feet,soyouevenlylightacrossthegroup.Ifyougetanycloser,you’llstarttohavelightfall-offon thepeopleandonesidewillbe litdarker thanontheotherside,anditmakesforareallyfunky-lookinggroupshot.Anotherwayyoucouldgo(andstillnotspendabunchofmoney)wouldbetouseaWestcott7'Parabolic Umbrella (see page 69). It’s super-portable (well, it’s anumbrella,right?),butsinceyou’reshootingrightthroughtheumbrella,theflashwon’tuseupasmuchpower(withthesoftbox,yourflashaimsawayfrom the front, bounces off the back, and then travels back toward the

group.Withtheumbrella,it’saimingrightatthegroup,withjustathin1-stopdiffuser,soyouwon’tlosenearlyasmuchlight).Eitheronewillgetthejobdone.

RotatingYourHeadforBounceFlash

When shooting with bounce flash, we tend to aim the flash straightforward toward our subject, and then tilt it up so it bounces off theceiling, right? That helps spread, diffuse, and soften the light, but thelight is still coming straight at our subject from overhead, which isn’tnecessarilythemostflatteringorinterestingangle.Thisiswhyyou’llseesome wedding pros with their flash head rotated to where it’s eitherbouncingupandofftooneside,orinsomecases,it’sbouncingbackovertheir shoulder toward the ceiling. It limits the amount of flash goingstraightforward,andthatcancreatesomeverynicelighting.Giveitatrynexttime,andI’llbetyou’llbesurprisedathowwellthisworks.

FlashBehindtheBride

Thisisafairlypopular“look,”andonethat’ssimpletopulloff,yethasalotofappeal(andlooksgreatintheweddingalbum).Whenyou’redoingyourindividualbridalportrait,placeaflashontheground,directlybehindthebride,andtilteduptowardher.Set it to1/2powerandstartbynotlightingthefrontofthebrideatall—justgoforabacklitlook.Youmaybeabletocrankupthepower,butfornow,justtakeatestshotandseehowitlooks.Dependingontheavailableroomlight,thiscanmakeforaverydramaticlookallbyitself—it’lleithergofullsilhouette(whichcanbeverynice),oryoucanwinduphavingtheavailablelightrevealthebride’sfaceabit,whichcanalsolooknice.Don’tforget:yourshutterspeedcontrolstheavailableroomlight,soyoumighttrykickingitdownto1/30,oreven1/15,andsee if thataddsenoughavailable fill light.Another thingyoucantryisputtingalittlefilllightinwithyourmainflash—justlowerthe

powerofthebacklightabit,andkeepthepowerofthisflashverylow(trybounceflashforthisoneiftheceilingiswhiteandlowenough,orgettheflash off-camera and in a softbox). The fill should be very subtle—theflashbehindthebrideactuallyisthemainlight.

AddaGeltoMatchtheRoomLighting

Mostreceptionhall lightingisgoingtogiveyouaprettywarm,yellowishtone,andifyoustartfiringawhiteflash,it’sreallygoingtostickoutlikeasore thumb.So, youmightwant toconsideraddinga littleorangegeloverthefrontofyourflash(seepage85)tohelpyoublendthelightfromyourflashwiththeroomlight.Thisalsohelpsifyouwindupswitching(asIoftendo)betweenshootingavailablelightintheroom(sometimesIturntheflashoffcompletelytojustcapturetheDJlighting—andyesIhavetoshootatacrazyhighISOforthose).Withthatgelon,youdon’thavetokeepswitchingyourwhitebalancewhenyouturntheflashonoroff—youcangowithonewhitebalanceforthewholereception.But,that’sjustabonus—themain reason touseagel is tomorecloselymatch the roomlight.

TIP WHYYOUNEEDABACKUPFLASH

Flashescangetknockedoverwhilethey’reonastand,theycanfallofftables,oryoucanjustsimplydropone(I’vedonealloftheabove),andwhentheyfall,theytendtodie.Ifthat’syouronlyflash,you’resunk.That’swhy,evenifit’sjustacheapyflash(andnotyourfavoritehigh-endflashwithallthebellsandwhistlesyou’reusedto),you’vestillgottohaveabackupflashwithyou.Ifyou’reshootingaCanonorNikonflash,thisiswhenyougetaYongnuo(for$70)asabackupandtossitinyourbag—justincase.

ChapterEight

HowtoMountYourFlashThatsoundsbad,butyouknowwhatImean

Oneday, itwillhappen.Someone(probablyGoogleorElonMusk)will inventaway foryourwirelessflashtosimplyhoverinplace.You’djustwalkovertowhereyouwantit,releaseit,and itwould silentlyhover right there.After you tooka test shot or two, youcould raiseorlowertheheightoftheflashwithasimplehandgestureandrotatethepositionandtiltitinasimilar fashion. What’s weird is, these days, it doesn’t sound all that far-fetched. In fact,researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne university in Lausanne,Switzerland,haveteamsworkingaroundtheclockonthisverytechnology.But,muchoftheircurrent work is based on earlier findings conducted at the Lappeenranta University ofTechnology in Lappeenranta, Finland, by Professor Olav KlempeMidlefart, who, despite hispopularitywithmiddleschoolstudentswhotakegreatjoyinshoutinghislastnameastheyrunthroughthehalls,hasmanagedtogainmajorfundingforhisresearchintofloatingflashesfromtheAlfredT.WoodsFoundation,LockheedMartinInformationSystems&GlobalSolutions,andJerseyMike’sSubs.TherewerethreethingsIfoundsurprisingwhendoingmyownresearch:(1)noneofthemajorflashmanufacturershadprovidedfundingforthisresearch;(2)noneofthemajor flashmanufacturersmake their own brand of light stand for supporting flash (notNikon,Canon,Sony,etc.);and(3)ifyouusealotoflong,legitimate-soundinguniversitiesandcompanies, readersofyourbookwillcontinue to read toseewhere this isactually leading,only to have their dreams suddenly crushedwhen they learn that all I really hadwas long,fancy-sounding names, and the luck of finding a professor with a name that appeals tomyinner12-year-old.So,yaknow.Theend.

WhichTypeofLightStandtoUseforWhat

Themain thing you’reprobably going tomount your flashon is (as I’vementionedmany times)a lightstand.Now, if youbuyoneof thosebig,heavy,chromelightstands, itkindofdefeatsthepurposeofusingflash(whichistostayleanandmean,lightandmobile).Igenerallylikea7-or8-footstandforwhenyouneedtogetyourlightuphigh,sothat’smygo-to height. In the studio, it’s okay to use stands that are a little heavier(like theoneshowabove,on the left ineach image)becauseyou’renotpackingthemupandmovingthemabunch.But,whenyou’relookingtobuyanon-locationlightstand,Irecommendgoingwithaneasy-to-carry,lightweightstandthat’squicktosetupandteardown.Let’slookatboth:In the studio, I use eitherManfrotto (reallywell-made and popular, butsometimes a little pricey) or Impact stands (cheaper, butwell-made forthemoney). Ibuy themedium-weightstands,not the reallyheavyweightones (afterall,you’re justsupportinga flashand lightweightsoftbox). Ifyou’regoingtobeonlocationalot,orifspaceisanissue(anditusually

is),youmightwantalightweightstandwithreversiblelegs(whenyoufoldup the stand, the legs collapse up and in toward itself, rather thanextending, so itmakes the standa lot shorterwhenyou fold itup).Forexample, that’s a regular standon the left ineach imageabove, and tothe right isonewith reversible legs that foldup toward thecenterpole.Seehowmuchsmalleritiswhenfolded?They’remucheasiertocarryandstore. Impactmakes one with reversible legs (the LS-RL7 7.2' ReverseLegs Light Stand; around $45 at B&H), as does Manfrotto (it’s prettyreasonablypricedataround$54,butit’safullfootshorter).Bothcomewith a spigot on top (the little brass-colored nub that you slide studiolights onto), so you’re going toneed somekindofbracket (ideally a tiltbracket)formountingyourflashontop(seethenextpage).

WhyYouNeedaTiltBracket

If you’reusing your flash for takingportraits, the kinda standard rule isthat you’re going to position the flash up high (a bit higher than yoursubject’shead),andthenyou’lltiltit(andyoursoftboxorwhatever)downtoward your subject to mimic the sun, since that’s how we’re mostcomfortableseeingpeoplelit—fromabove,aimingdown.Ifyoujustbuyaflashshoemountandstickitontopofyourlightstand,orifyouscrewonthe little foot that came with your flash to hold it on top of your lightstand,yourflashisgoingtobeaimedstraight—there’snoeasywaytotiltitdowntowardyoursubject.Thisiswhyyoureallyneedatiltbracket,butluckily,they’reprettycheap.Mostaremadewithaspecialholeinthem,soyoucaninsertanumbrella—incaseyougetagigdoingportraitsonacruiseship(sorry,Icouldn’thelpmyself).So,don’tletitthrowyouoffifatiltbracketsays“umbrella”inthedescription.We’rejustgoingtoignore

thathole,unlessyoudecidetogotheumbrellaroute,and,inthatcase,“anchorsaweigh!”(Again,couldn’tresist.)Anyway,onewaytogoiswiththePhottixUS-A3UmbrellaSwivel forOff-CameraFlash (it’s likeaballheadforyourflash—veryeasytoadjustandposition,andphotographersseem to love ‘em), which is around $22 at B&H. If you want a moretraditional tilt bracket, look at a Westcott’s Adjustable Shoe MountUmbrellaBracket (it’saround$30).Verysolid,goodknobs toworkwith(somehave knobs that are kind of funky) andhighly rated.Note:Somesoftboxes, like the Westcott Rapid Box Octa I mentioned on page 61,alreadycomewithanicetiltbracket,soyoumightalreadybecovered.

UsingYour“LittleFoot”toHoldYourFlash

Mostflashestodaycomewithwhat’scalleda“foot”(well,that’swhatthekidsonFlashStreetcall it thesedays)—it’sashort,plastic, littlestandyou can slide your flash into. They’re not awesome, but they’re free.Perhapsthebestthingaboutthelittleplasticfootisthatonthebottom,mosthavealittlethreadyoucanscrewontothetopofalightstand,soyouhave away tomount your flash to a standwithout having to buy acoldshoemountoratiltbracket.But,inreality,youwilldefinitelyneedatiltbracket(forthereasonwejusttalkedaboutonthepreviouspage),soyouwouldonlymountyourflashtoalightstandinthiswayineither:(a)casesofextremeemergency,or(b)casesofextremethriftiness.Okay,youmight also mount it using the foot if you were putting a second flashbehind your subject—maybe behind an athlete or a bride—where youdon’t necessarily need to tilt the flashdownward.But, obviously, you’re

limitedtoonlybeingabletotiltup.Bytheway,ifyoulostyours,lookattheVelloCompactShoeStandforUniversalShoeMountAccessoriesforaround$8.Cheap.

MyFavoriteforLocationShoots:MountingYourFlashonaMonopod

My first choice when going on location (as long as I have a friend orassistanttohelp)istomountmyflash(withasoftbox)rightontheendofamonopod, like theObenACM-14004-SectionAluminumMonopod—itonlyweighslikeonepound,anditextendsto61",soit’seasyforafriendorassistant toholduphigh(well,higher thanyoursubjectanyway). It’s$39.95atB&H,andyouattachyourtiltbrackettothelittlespigotontheend.Besides just using amonopod, there are actually boom light polesmade expressly for this type of thing, like the Elinchrom EL HandheldBoomArm(around$50),whichisthin, lightweight,andextendsto61",aswell(youattachyourtiltbracket,orWestcottRapidBoxbrackettotheend). Another option is the ImpactQuickStik+TelescopicHandle,which

has a feature you don’t see with the other poles: it has an attachedsecondaryswivelhandle thathelpsyourassistant (or friend,or reluctantbridesmaid)steadythepoleandholditcomfortably.Itevencomeswithaflag-holder-stylewraparoundbeltwithanattachedholster,whichletsyourassistanttransfertheweighttotheirhip,sotheycancomfortablyholdtherig longer (plus, it lets them leave one hand free if they need it). At$64.95,it’smoreexpensivethantheObenmonopod,butithasgotthoseextrafeaturesthatmakeitworthitifyoudolongershoots,likeweddings.Bytheway,IknowIkeeptalkingaboutImpactalotinthischapter,butIhavealotoftheirgearbecausetheirqualityisgoodandtheirpricesarehardtoignore.

MountingSecondFlashes:ClampIt

If youwant tomountasecond flash (usually to thesideorbehindyoursubject),thereareallsortsofmethodstodothis(infact,there’sawholecottage industryof second flashholders). It’shelpful tohavemore thanonebecauseyou’llneverknowwhat’savailabletoattachaflashtountilyou’reon location,and it’llbe too late ifyoudon’thaveabackupplan.Oneofthecheapestmethodsistobuyaspringclamp,soyoucanclampa flash to a door or a window or just about anywhere you can clampsomethingonto.HereI’musingaManfrotto175SpringClamp(cheap—only $14.50 at B&H last time I checked), then I put a Westcott tiltbracketrightonthelittlespigotthat’sattachedtotheclamp,andthenIputmyflashontopofthat.Thisisareallycompact,handylittlesystem

(provided,ofcourse,thatyouhaveanextratiltbrackettousewithit).Ifyoudon’t,insteadyoumightwanttogowithaspecialversionofthissameclamp:theManfrotto175FJustinSpringClampwithFlashShoe(knowninflashcirclesassimplya“Justinclamp”)becauseitcomeswithatinyManfrotto ball head and flash mount already attached. That’s it. Youclampitonsomething,adjusttheangleofyourflashwiththeballhead,andyou’reofftotheraces.It’saround$55(Impactmakesaversionforaround$10less,calledtheImpactLargeClipClampwithBallHeadShoeMount). BTW: The rest of this chapter is mostly showing you differentmountingoptions(yes,Ihaveallofthese).Thatway,youcanfindwhichonesworkforthetypeofsecondflashstuffyouthinkyou’llbedoing.

MountingSecondFlashes:JobyFlashClamp

TheJobyFlashClampandLockingArmisapretty interestingwaytorigupaflash,becauseyoucanattachitdirectlytoallkindsofstuff(liketothe back of a chair, a table, a railing, or whatever—as long as it isn’tthickerthan2").Ithastwoarticulatingballjoints,soyoucanpositionitexactlyhowyouwantit—rotatingafull360°,anditcanpivot180°side-to-side. It comes with its own flash shoe mount, and at just $35, it’sprettydarnaffordable.It’skindoflikeacheaper,lighter,simplerversionofaManfrottoMagicArm(but,ofcourse,forthatprice,don’texpectittohavethestabilityordurabilityofaMagicArm,whichisprettylegendaryin both those areas. Now, if you just said, “What’s a Manfrotto MagicArm?,”that’sonlybecauseyouhaven’tgottentopage142yet).Thisisa

great one to toss in your bag for times when setting up a light standdoesn’tmakesense.

MountingSecondFlashes:TetherToolsRapidMountSLXwithRapidStrips

Thisone (fromTetherTools) isoneof the“newkidson theblock,”butwhatmakesitdifferent,andreallyhandy,isthatitletsyoustickaflashright to all sorts of things. It uses these specially designed, pressure-activatedadhesivestrips(called“RapidStrips”)thatattachasmallplasticholderdirectlytothingslike“drywall,paintedwalls,veneer,glass,mirror,laminate, fiberglass, metal, tile, porcelain, and marble,” but when youremove the holder, it doesn’t peel off paint or leave behind a stickyresidue. Besides being able to stick it in a whole lot of places (stopsnickering),it’sreallysmall,lightweight,andsuper-easytosetup(asmallband holds your flash in place). The cost is pretty reasonable, too, at$24.95,butthat’sreallyonlyfor10uses.Afterthat,you’regoingtoneed

anewpackofthosepressure-activatedRapidStrips,andtheyrun$14.95for a pack of 30 or $49.95 for a pack of 120. Okay, so what’s thedownside? The downside is: it doesn’t have a tilting device—your flashsitsflat intheholder(asseenabove).Ofcourse, theflashheadcantiltup,butitcan’ttiltdown.Thatmightnotbeanissueforwhatyoudo,butif it is, then instead, check out its cousin the RapidMount Q20 withRapidStrips for $29.95. It looks like it would be a suction cup, but itactually kindaworks the sameway adhesively (and, by theway, I can’tbelievethat’sevenaword).Ithasalittlearmthatgivesyou360°rotationand180°tilt,butyou’regoingtoneedthelittleflashshoeholder.That’llrunyouanextra$8.99,andyou’llneedanextrapackofRapidStrips,sotack on $14.95 for the 30-pack, and the grand total, out the door(excluding tax, tag, title, and dealer fees), would be $53.89 (for well-qualified lessees with approved credit. Must take delivery before12/31/2022.$0.18surchargepermileover12,000milesperyear).

MountingSecondFlashes:PlatypodUltra

Ifyouwantthemostversatilemackdaddyofallmountingdevices,itmaywell be the Platypod Ultra (little cousin to the popular Platypod Max,which isdesigned to let youmountabigDSLRprettymuchanywhere).Thisisamuchsmaller,lighter,thinner(andimproved)versionthatmakesitperfectformountingflashesjustaboutanywhere,fromthefloor(behindabride), to rocky oruneven surfaces (using the included spike feet), topoles, beams, or trees (using the included 20" strap), to just aboutanythingonewayoranother. It’s incrediblyclever,and it’ssosmallyoucantossitinyourshirtpocket,butitissturdyasanything(it’smadefromaircraft-gradealuminum).WhentheylauncheditasaKickstarterproject,itwascompletelyfundedinthefirst24hours(whichletsyouknowhow

badlyphotographerswantedtogettheirhandsonone).Itruns$59,butyou’llneedtwomorethingstouseitasaflashmount:(1)I’dlookattheGiottosMH1004MiniBallhead(for15bucks),andthenyou’llneed(2)ashoe mount to hold the flash (check out the Vello Universal AccessoryShoe Mount from B&H for $7—it screws right into the Giottos MiniBallhead). The good news is: once you have theUltra, you’ll find otheruses for it, insteadof justmounting flashes (it’llholdeverything fromasmallDSLRwithlens,toaGoProcamera,oramirrorlesscamera).

MountingSecondFlashes:ManfrottoMagicArm

Thisistheflashsolutionforworkingpros,andit’sadoozy!(Ihavethreeofthesemyself,andtheyareawesomeforallsortsoftasks,waybeyondjustmountingflashes.This iswhat Iusetomount remotecameraswithbig lenses up in the ceiling crosswalks in places fromNFL stadiums tohockeyrinks,tomountcamerasoncars,tohangthemupsidedowninanMLBdugout—thesearetherealdeal.)Whilemountingaflashononeofthesebadboysmightbeconsideredoverkill,Iseephotographersdoingitoften, and they always seem to be smiling. It’s officially called the“Manfrotto 244N Variable Friction Magic Arm” (it’s around $113 atB&H),but that’s just thetwoarmsand lockingknob.YoualsoneedtheManfrotto 035 Super Clamp without Stud (for around $27), which

attaches the Magic Arm to stuff like railings and chairs, doors, andanything youcanclampstuff onto.Then, youneed theManfrotto143SFlash Shoe for Magic Arm (which, surprisingly, is only $10). All total,you’re looking at 150 bucks, but you’ll have pro-level flash mountingprowess,and the respect thatcomeswithshowingup for thegigwithaMagicArm.Otherphotographerswillstepoutofyourway.

HoldingMultipleFlashes

If you need more power (maybe you find yourself doing a lot of High-SpeedSync[seepage43],whicheatsupatonofpowerandiswhymanyHigh-Speed Sync freaks use multiple flashes), you’re going to need abracketthatwillholdmultipleflashes.Ifyouwanttomounttwoflashes(all on one stand, maybe for use with a 7' parabolic shoot-throughumbrella [see page 69], for example), Impact makes a bracket that’sreallyaffordable: the ImpactTwinShoeMetalUmbrellaBracket (it runsjust$22.95).Ifyouneedtomountthreeflashesononestand,takealookatWestcott’sTripleThreatSpeedliteBracket,whichholdsthreeflashesina triangle configuration (for around $30). If you needmaximumpower,check out the Lastolite Quad Bracket (around $102). This one’s reallygreatquality,but if youneedsomethingawhole lotcheaper,checkouttheCowboyStudio4WayFlashShoeBracketfor$24.Ihaven’tusedthis

exactone,butifitbreaks,it’llprobablyjustbecomeathree-flashmount,ormaybeatwo.;-)

ChapterNine

FlashTricksGettingyourflashtobeg,rollover,andfetchlight

Youknowhowweallteachourdogstodotricks?Thewholerollover,fetch,begthing?Aretheseactuallyusefulthings?Dotheyreallyhelpinourdailyliveswithourdogs?No.Wedon’tteachourdogsusefulthingslike,“Gogetthemail,”or“Raketheyard,”or“Ordera$5foot-longsubfromSubway,andthengopickitupwithoutdentingorscratchingthecar.”Nope,wefocusonrolloverandbegandstuff.But, let’s lookbeyondthat.Why?Whydoweteachourdogstricks?Onereason:sowhenafriendorrelativecomesover,youcanhaveyourdogdotricks,andthey’lleitherthinkthedogisagenius,oryou’reageniusforhavingtrainedhimorher, or hopefully, both. But, outside of showing off your, and your dog’s, skill, practicallyspeaking, it’sall prettyuselessstuff. Flash tricksareprettymuch thesame thing.This isn’tyour“meatandpotatoes”flashstuff.Thisisthestuffyoupulloutwhenaflashfriendcomesover,oryougo toameetupgroup,andyouwant them to think,“Hey, thisperson isa flashgenius,”andthenthey’llallcrowdaroundyouandgiveyoutreats.Somepartofthatmaynotbe100%correct,butyougetthebasicgist,andthatis,you’reabouttolearnsomeprettycool,prettyuselessstuff that looksgreatat flashget-togethers.Well, theproduct lighting thing isactually pretty useful, and so are someof the others, like double-tapping to remove groundspill,but thestroboscopicstuff,and thepanblurand freezestuffare reallyonly techniquesthatyou’llwant todowhen testing thenew legalmarijuana laws inyourstate.Whenyou’restoned,allthisstuffseemsreallycool(well,that’swhatthekidstellmeanyway),butonceyoucomedown,andyoulookatwhatyoucreated,yourealizestroboscopicandpanblurarejustgatewaytechniquestothehardstuff,likefrozenpowdereffects,whereyou’llspendthenext31/2 yearscleaning flour or baking sodaout of your studioand your furnitureand your hair.Don’tsayIdidn’twarnya.

AStudioPortraitLookwithouttheStudio

My friend, UK-based photographer and retoucher Glyn Dewis, coined agreatnameforthistechnique,whichletsyouturnthebackgroundbehindyour subject—indoors or outside during the day—solid black,making itlook like you took the shot in a studio. He calls it “The Instant BlackBackground,”andit’sreallyjustthreeeasysteps:(1)Turnoffyourflash.(2)Increaseyourshutterspeedto1/250ofasecond(that’sgenerallythehighest sync speed without having to use High-Speed Sync). Then, (3)dialupyourf-stopbyaton—toatleastf/22,ifnothigher(ifyourlenswillallow;somewillgotof/32,sometof/40).Thegoal istoturnthesceneyou’restanding infrontofsolidblack.Youshouldn’tseeanythingall. Ifyoutookapicture,itwouldbejustablackimage.Takeatestshottoseeifit’ssolidblack,thenonceyouseethatsolid-blackimage,youcanturnyourflashonandmaketheshot.(Note:Sinceyou’reatf/22orhigher,you

cancountonhavingtosetyourflashtofullpower.)

HidingtheFlashandLightStand

ThisispartcameratechniqueandpartverysimplePhotoshoptechnique(but, don’tworry, Imade a video for you on thePhotoshoppart). First,here’stheproblem:Youwanttolightyoursubjectwithflash,butyoualsowanttocreateawide-angleshotthattakesintheenvironment.Maybeit’sabrideinabig,beautifulchurch,andyouwanttoframeitsoyouseetheceiling of the churchand the stained-glasswindows,but you’d also seethe lightstandandsoftbox.Ormaybe it’sanathleteoutsideona track,andyouwanttoshowthetrackandemptylanes,etc.,butwithoutabigol’ light standandsoftbox.Thesecret?First, take theshotsona tripod(yes,atripod;itmakesthePhotoshoppartridiculouslysimple).Onceyougetyourflashsetup,andyougetabunchofgoodshotsfromthatexactlocationandangle,turnyourflashoff,thenpickitupandmoveyourflashrig(andyoursubject,ifneeded)completelyoutoftheframe,soyoucan’t

seeit.Now,takeashotofthesceneinfrontofyou,usingonlythenormalambient light.This iscalleda“plate”frame.InPhotoshop,openoneoftheportraitshots,alongwiththeplateshot.Copy-and-pastetheplateshotontopoftheportraitshot(itappearsonitsownlayer),andyou’llseetheylineupperfectly.Knowwhy?Becauseyouuseda tripod.Press-and-holdtheOption(PC:Alt)keyandclickontheAddLayerMaskicon(thethirdiconfromtheleft)atthebottomoftheLayerspanel.Thishidestheplatelayerbehindablackmaskandnowyoucanseetheportraitwiththelightstandvisible.GettheBrushtool(B),setyourForegroundcolortowhite,and simply paint over the light stand and softbox. Voilà—it disappears!Again, Imade a step-by-step video for you, which you can find on thebook’scompanionwebpage(you’llfindtheURLinthebook’sintro,atthebeginningofChapter1).

SunsetLookonLocation

Anotherwaytoachievearealisticsunsetlookwithyourflashwhenyou’reshooting late intheday is toholdareflectoruphighandtothesideofyoursubjectwiththegoldsidefacingthem(yes,youhavetohaveagoldside to your reflector,which iswhy it’s good to get one of those5-in-1reflectors,likeWestcott’s40.5"5-in-1ReflectorDisc.Itcomeswitha1-stopdiffuserzipperedinsideit[whichisawesomefornaturallightshots.Youjustputitbetweenyoursubjectandthesun;it’slikeputtingthefrontofthesoftboxinfrontofthesun],andtheoutsidereflectorsarereversible—one side is silver or gold, and the other side is white or black. It’s$39.90atB&H).Anyway, the ideahere is tobounceyour flashoff thatgoldreflector,andsincelightpicksupthecolorofwhatithits,it’sgoingtobouncebackawarm,goldtoneontoyoursubject.Ofcourse,youonlywanttopullthistrickoutofyourbagwaylateintheday,nearsunset.If

youtryitat1:00p.m.,itjustlooksweird(likeyoursubjectspenttoolonginthetanningbooth).

DraggingtheShutterforEffect

When your subject is standing still, sometimeswe use a slower shutterspeed (like 1/30 or 1/15 of a second) to letmore of the existing roomlightintotheshot(thisisknownas“draggingtheshutter”bytheboysattheFlashBar&Grill,inAbilene,Texas).However,youcanalsouseaslowshutterspeedforspecialeffectsbysimplyhavingyoursubjectmovewhileyour shutter is open. Now, if you leave it open for a longer amount oftime,like1/2secondorevenacoupleofseconds,andyoursubjectmoveswhile that shutter is open, you’ll get an awesome blurring-of-movementeffect. Your flash will fire, freezing your subject (unless they’re reallymoving fast), and you’ll have a mix of movement in the shot, as itcombinesanambientlightshot,andthenyoursubjectfrozenandlitwiththeflash,allinone.Itcanbeaprettycooleffect—itjusttakesdoingitafewtimestofigureouttherightshutterspeedsetting,butthat’swhatthat

littlescreenisforonthebackofyourcamera.Takeatestshotortwo,seewhatitlookslike,thentryadifferentshutterspeedortwountilyoufindtherightamountofmotion,andthenyourflashwilltakecareoftherest.If you want more of a trail of movement coming off your subject, tryturningon rearcurtain (or secondcurtain) synconyourcamera.Simplyturn it on, and this lets the photo expose before the flash fires. Theshutter stays open for a while, then the flash fires at the end of theexposure.So,whilethatshutterisopen,andyoursubjectismoving,yougetthattrailofmotion.

ThreeLightingLookswithoutMovingYourFlash

Oncewegetourflashsetupandpositioned,andthelightislookinggood,wegenerallystanddirectlyinfrontofoursubjectandstarttakingshots,right?Right.But,whatwouldhappenifyoutookafewstepstothesideandstartedshooting(soyou’renotstraighton,butshootingatanangle)?Here’swhatwouldhappen:thelightingwouldlookverydifferent,sinceitwassetuptolookacertainwaywhenyouwerestandingdirectlyinfrontofyoursubject.Thisagoodthing.Heck,it’sagreatthing,becauseonceyouhaveasetofshotsfromthefront,movewayovertothesideandkeepshootingforanentirelydifferentlightinglook.Then,movecompletelyoverto the other side for a third look. You haven’tmoved your subject. You

haven’t moved the light. All you’ve changed is your position. This onelittlechangecangiveyouthreedifferentlightinglooksfromjustasimple,singleflashsetup,withoutmovinganythingbutyou.

IfYouCan’tBounceOfftheCeiling

Notallceilingsarewhite,andnotallceilingsarelowenoughtoeffectivelybouncelightoffof,buthere’sthegoodnews:thelightfromyourflashwillbounce off anything white. I remember once being on location with alegend inweddingphotography,DavidZiser,andhebounced lightoffaguy’swhite shirt to light thebride.White is justan incredibly reflectivecolor when it comes to flash, and once you realize that, it opens up awholenewworldofpossibilities, likebouncingoffamedium-sizedsheetofwhitefoamcore,orbouncingoffawhitewall,orbouncingoffawhitecollapsible reflector. And, none of these have to be held up way aboveyourheadthankstothefactthattheheadofyourflashcanrotateandtilt.Have a friend hold that white sheet of foam core just above their facelevel and rotate your flash head, so it hits that white sheet and anglesback toward your subject—the lightwill spreadandbecomea lot softer

and more flattering. Remember: Light bounces like a cue ball on abilliards table. So, think about the angles, and how the light from yourflashwill hit whateverwhite thing you’re aiming the flash head at, andimaginetheangleitwillbounceoffasitleavesit(thefoamcore,orwall,orwhatever).Usingawhitesheetoffoamcore isn’tmyfirstchoice,butit’sagreatPlanB if you findout that theceilingyouwerecountingonbouncingoffturnsouttobeadarkwoodceiling.

IfYouWanttoSeeBackgroundShadows

Part of this is going to seem amazingly obvious, but if youwant to seeyoursubject’sshadowonthebackground,movethemsothey’reaboutafoot from the background, and you’ll see that shadow for sure, if yourflashisononesideortheother(lesssoifyou’reshootingstraighton,butyou’reprobablynotshootingstraighton,right?).Ofcourse,thisshadowisgoing to be fairly soft because you’re using a softbox or diffuser orsomething to make the light flattering, but what if you want a hardershadow?Onewithrealdefinitionandwithouttheblurring?Then,youneedtogowithhardlight—that’sright,takeyoursoftboxoffandshootwithabare flashhead. Ifyou’regoingtogo this route,makesureyoursubjecthas really great, clear skin because that light is going to be bright,punchy, andnot all that flattering (unless, again, theyhave great skin).Thisisgoingtocreateveryhard,edgyshadows,andthey’llbeamedium

gray. Ifyouwantdarker, richer,hard-edgedshadows, thenaddagrid toyour flash (maybeaRoguegridoraMagMod [seepage66 formoreonboth]), which will tighten and concentrate your beam of light, and thatwillcreatedarker,richershadows.

UsingYourFlashasaProp

ImentionedasomewhatsimilartechniqueinChapter7,butifyoudon’tshootweddings,youmighthavemissedit(and,inthisscenario,thereisnodancefloor,sadly).Thetrickistopositionasecondflashsomewhereintheshot,soyoucanactuallyseethepopoflightfromtheflashinyourframe.Itcanaddarealsenseofexcitementtothescene—thebrightpopof light—and you’ll see this fairly often now that you’re aware of it.Basically,yoursecond(andthird,inmysetuphere)flashbecomesaprop.If you only have one flash, and you can get a decent picture from yourshooting position without using flash, then take that one flash andpositionitonalightstandinthesceneontheoppositesidefromwhereyou’reshooting.Now,whenyoufireyourshot,thewirelesstransmitteronyourhotshoefirestheflash,soyoudon’tneedasecondflashtodothisineverycase.

FixGroundSpillwithaDouble-Tap

IhavetogivecredittoDavidHobbyforthisone.Hewasaguestonmyshow a few years back, and I’ve been using this tip since the day heshowed it.Hecalled it “thedouble-tap.”Youuse itmostly on location,when shooting around sunset and the light from your flash lights theground under your subject’s feet.Well, inmost portraits, wewant theirface well-lit, and the light to fall off as it goes further down.We don’twant their feet lit as brightly as their face, andwe sure don’twant thegroundlitsobrightlythatitdrawsyourattention(besides,overlightingthegroundlooksamateurish).But,that’snotgoingtohappentoyoubecauseyou’re going to double-tap the shutter. Switch to continuous shootingmodeandpress-and-holdtheshutterbutton.Thefirstshotfirestheflash,and the second continuous shot fires before the flash has a chance to

recharge, so it’s just a shot takenwith the available light. So, now youhave two shots: one with the flash (shown above, on the left) and onewithout, with just the existing light (shown above, in the middle). Seewhere this is going? That’s right, it’s going to Photoshop, where you’regoing tobasically use the same technique you read about onpage147(follow the instructions there). But, instead of painting the light away,you’renotgoing touseabrushatall.You’regoing tograb theGradienttool(G),setyourForegroundcolortowhite,anddragitfromthebottomoftheimageupnearyoursubject’sface.Thatwillcreateadarkeningfromthe neck, graduating downward, as it reveals the second photo of thedouble-tapinthoseareas(shownabove,ontheright).Aw,whattheheck,go ahead andwatch the video Imade for ya (also found on the book’scompanionwebpage,mentionedinthebook’sintro).

SpecialEffectsGels

Two ideas here: (1)When you’re shooting on location, a pretty populartrickwithflashphotographersistocreateamoreinterestingbackgroundbygelling a flashwith a vivid color (red,blue,purple, green, etc.), andaiming it at a wall or object in the background just to keep thebackgroundfromlookingboring.Here(ontheright),Iattachedapurple-gelled flash with a diffusion cap to the desk behind her, using a JobyFlashClamp(seepage139).Itreallyworkswonders.And,(2)putavividgel over your flash insideaback light or kicker light (like insidea stripbankbehindandtothesideofyoursubject),andthatcolornowappearsasastrongtintonyoursubject’shair,orbehindthem,orinthehighlights(dependingonhowyouhave thatback flashaimed). If you’vegot threeflashes,youcanputtwobehindyoursubject(maybeastripbankoneach

side)withacomplementarycolorgelineach,likearedandapurplegel,or amagenta andablue.Thosewill light their hair from theback, andyourmainflashupfrontwillbeanormalcolor(seepage161).

UsingWhiteBalanceasaSecondColor

Thisone-flashportraitcolortrickhasbeenaroundforawhile,butit’sstillpopularbecauseitgivesyouthelookoftwoflasheswhenusingjustone.Here’swhatyoudo: first,putaprettyheavyCTOgeloveryour flash,sothelightfromitisprettyorange(seepage84formoreonCTOgels),andthen set the white balance in your camera to a very blue setting (likeTungsten,oruse theK [Kelvin scale]manualwhitebalancesettinganddial it over to a very cool setting, like2500K,whichwill be veryblue).Now,whenyou take theshot, your subjectwill appearwarm (slightly tomoderatelyorange)againstaverybluebackground,andit looks likeyoudidalotmorewithgelsthanyoudid.

PanBlurandFreezeEffect

If you’re shootingaction sports, like this snowboarder (or even just yourkidonabikeorskateboard),andyouwanttoaddamotioneffect,sothebackgroundhasamotionblur,butyoursubjectiscrispandfrozen,here’swhat ya do: First, you’ve probably figured by now, to get that motion,you’regoingtouseaslowshutterspeed.Ifyoursubjectismovingquickly(likeonabikeor they’re jumpingoverhurdlesona track), start around1/10ofasecond.You’rebasicallytryingtomatchthespeedoftheshuttertothespeedofyoursubject.Next,setyourf-stopusingthemeterinsideyourviewfinderandraiseyourf-stoptowhereitshowsyouhaveaproperexposure(Iimaginethiswillbearoundf/11orhigher,butofcourse,italldependsonthelightwhereyou’reshooting).Now,aimatyoursubjectandtrackrightalongwiththeirmovement(thistechniqueiscalledpanning).As thesubjectpassesby,swivelyourhipsasyou track them,keepyour

focuspointontheirchest(ifpossible),andtaketheshot.Keeppanningfor a second or two after you take the shot—don’t stop panning as youtake the photo, keep the panning going for a sec. Keeping the shutteropen longer like this will make the background very blurry, like in thetrees in the lower-right corner above (the slower the shutter speed, theblurrierthebackgroundwillappear),andthentheburstoflightfromyourflashwillfreezeandlightyoursubject(don’tsettheflashpowertoohigh—youneedashortflashduration,soitfreezesthemotion).Gettingtheseshutterspeed,f-stop,andflashpowersettingsrightwilldefinitelytakeafew test shots, and a few tweaks to those settings, but that’s what thelittleLCDmonitorisforonthebackofyourcamera.Ifthere’snotenoughblur,lowertheshutterspeed.Ifit’stoobright,raiseyourf-stop(gotof/16and tryagain). If the flash is toobright, lower thepower.Youknow thedrillbynow.

StroboscopicEffect

Thestroboscopiceffectyouseehere(whereyouhavemultipleexposuresinjustoneshot)issurprisinglyeasytopulloff.You’rejustgoingtochoosea long shutter speed (anywhere from two to10 seconds or longer), andwhiletheshutterisopen,you’regoingtofiretheflashabunchoftimes(which iswhy it’sgood to try thiswitha freshsetofbatteries).For thistechnique to come out looking like the one above, you need to do thisprettymuchinthedark(youwantasolidblackbackground).First,settheshutterspeedonyourcameratothreeseconds(well,forourexamplehereanyway),soyourshutterstaysopenagoodlongtime.Next,therearefoursettingsweneedtoadjustonourflashitself:(1)WeneedtosetthemodetoMultionCanon,Yongnuo,Sony,orPhottix flashes;onNikon flashes,it’scalledRepeatingFlashmode.(2)Weneedtochoosehowmanytimeswewant the flash to fire in total (we’llmake thematheasyandchoose

ninetimes—that’sthemaximumnumberoftimestheflashwillfire).(3)Under theHz (hertz)setting,wechoosehowmany timespersecondwewant our flash to fire. So, we could easily choose three flashes persecond,forthreeseconds,foratotalofnineflashes.Ifyouwantedittofire your flash six times per second, then you’d need to set the totalnumberofflashesto18,otherwiseitwillstillstopatnineflashes.Bytheway,firingyourflashthismanytimesiswhyyouwantyourpowersettinglow(soyourflashcanactuallyrechargequicklyenoughtofirethatmanytimespersecond).Lastly,there’s(4)thepowersetting(thisisallonthesamescreen).Now,putyourcameraonatripod,useacablerelease,andyou’rereadytogo!

TheClassicHollywoodDramaticLook

IrememberaquoteIheardfromJoeMcNally,oneaphotoeditorhadtoldhim years ago: “If you want to make something more interesting, onlylightpartofit.”And,that’sthebasisforthisdramaticHollywoodlook—just lightinga smallpart of your subject.Of course, the light fromyourflashwantstospreadeverywhere,butthat’stheoppositeofwhatwewant.IfyoureallywanttonailthatHollywoodlook,you’vegottauseasnoot—it’s an attachment youput over theheadof your flash that narrows thebeam(muchtighterthanagrid)untilitleavesjustatinyopeningoflightthatyoucanstrategicallypositiononyoursubject’sface.MagModmakesa snoot (called the MagSnoot, seen above), which is totally collapsible(it’smadeofrubber),andwhat’sniceisyoucancontrolthewidthofthebeambypullingthesnootinorout—thefartheroutyoupullit,thetighterthebeam(yougetfourdifferentwidthsofbeamthisway).TIP:Thebeam

fromasnootissotightthatyoumightwanttostandatyourflashpositionandhitthe“test”buttononthebackofyourflash,soyoucanseeitasitfiresandgetitpositionedexactlywhereyouwantitonyoursubjectbeforegoingbacktoyourcameraposition.YoucanactuallydothiskindoflookwithaRogueGrid(ithas itsownlittletubethathelpsfunnelthe light),butyouhavetopositiontheflashveryclosetoyoursubject(like18"fromtheirface).Okay,nowthatyou’vegotyourflashsnooted,andit’saimingfromuphigh,downonyoursubjectatanangle,andpositionedrightonyour subject’s face, have your subject look up at the light (the classicHollywoodpose),orovertheirshoulderatthelight(anotherclassicpose),and let the drama unfold (hopefully, just in the shot, not in the shootitself).

DramaticProfilePortrait

Thisisreallyeasytopulloff,buthasalotofimpact.First,you’llneedablack background, so either use a roll of black seamless paper, or justmoveyoursubjectfarenoughawayfromwhateveryourbackgroundissothat the light from the flashwon’t reach it at all.Nowplace your flash(and softbox) so it’s directly beside your subject (your subject is stilllooking straight ahead toward your camera position). If you took a shotrightnow,onlyhalfyoursubject’s facewouldbe lit—thesideclosest tothesoftbox.Next,toseeyoursubject’sprofile,havethemturnandfullyfacethesoftbox(sotheyarestandingsideways,asseenfromyourcameraposition, and they are looking into the center of the softbox).Now takethat softbox andmove it back, away from your camera position (so it’smovedstraightbacktowardyourseamlesspaper,orwall,orwhateverisinyour background). You’re only going to move it until the edge of the

softboxisabout18"pastyoursubject(soyoursubjectisnowjustfacingthe side wall, and not the softbox, which has been moved past yoursubject). Turnup thepower of your flash to1/2power, and takea testshot. Now, you’re lighting the side of your subject’s face that is facingawayfromthecamera,andthisleavesawhite,backlitrimeffectaroundtheoutlineoftheirface,andthatcreatesaverydramaticportrait(likeyousee above). If you see a lot of light spilling onto the side of the faceclosesttothecamera,itjustmeansyouneedtomovethesoftboxbackalittlefarthertowardthebackground.

Two-ColorSplitBackLighting

Thisisathree-flasheffect,butdon’tthatletthrowyou—it’sreallyeasytopulloff.Generally,it’sdonewithablackordarkbackground,solet’sstartthere.Next,we’regoingtosetuptwobacklights—oneoneithersideofoursubject,aimingtowardtheirhairata45°angle.Ifyouhavegrids,putthemon these twoback flashes, aswell, to keep the light fromspillingeverywhere(youdon’tneedsoftboxesonthesebackflashes).Next,putadifferentcolorgeloneachoftheseflashes.You’llwanttopicktwocolorsthat complement each other, like red andpurple, or blue and green, ormaybeorangeandblue.For our example,we’ll put apurple gel ononeflash and a red on the other. Set these two flashes at 1/4 power forstartersandseehowthatlooks—doatestshotandmakesurethecoloredlight doesn’t spill over onto their face; these two are just to light thesubject’shaironeitherside.Next,webringinasoftboxinfronttofillin

theshadows.I’duseeitheraRapidBoxOctaorRapidBoxbeautydish,but once again, I’d add a grid (this would be a fabric egg crate grid,though; seepage65 formoreon these) tokeep the front fill light fromspillingoverandwashingout thetwogelledback lights.Keepthis frontlight pretty close to your subject and pretty low in power—it’s justsupposed to fill in the shadows and illuminate the face a bit. If weoverpower the front light, it spills and washes out the back lights andprettymuchkillstheeffect.Startat1/8power,butyoumighthavetogodownto1/16.

RemovingReflectionsfromGlasses

Seehowyoucanclearlyseethesoftboxreflectedinmysubject’sglasses(orinthiscase,sunglasses)inthisimage?Right,those.Sometimes,youeven see reflections like these in big, commercial sunglasses ads. So,should you get rid of them? That’s 100% totally your call. Somephotographersreallylikethewaytheylookandfeelitaddssomethingtotheimage,andsomeshudderwhentheyseethem.So,incaseyoudecideyouwanttogetridofthem(anddon’twanttohavetodoitinPhotoshop,afterthefact),there’saprettydarneasywaytogetridofthem:thetrickistoraisetheheightofyoursoftboxway,wayupuntilyoueither(a)don’tseethereflectionsintheglassesatall,or(b)youseesolittleofthemthatremoving the rest inPhotoshop isa30-second job.Eitherway, it’syourcall,butatleastifyouwanttogetridofthem,nowyouknowthetrick—getthatsoftboxwayuphigh(don’tforgettotiltitdowntocompensatefor

raisingitupsohigh)andthereflectionsgoaway.

SimpleTwo-FlashProductLightingSetup

I go through periods where I wind up having to shoot a lot of productshots,eitherformycompanyorforclientwork,andthetwo-flashlightingsetupyouseehereismygo-tosetup.It’stwostripbanks,oneoneithersideoftheproduct,withafabriceggcrategridoneach,ifIwantareallynarrow beam of light (like I wanted here, with this champagne bottle,whereI justwantedthinhighlightsdownthesidesofthebottle).But, ifyouneedtolightmoreoftheproduct,takethegridsoff.Also,movingthelightsclosertothebackoftheproduct(orevenpastthebackof it)willgiveyoumoreofanedgelight,andmovingthemforward(towardyou)willputmorelightonthefaceoftheproduct.Bytheway,thetableIuseforproductshotsisactuallyacollapsibleprojectorstand.WhatIlikeaboutitis the fact that you can adjust the height of the stand because it hastelescopinglegs(kindalikeatripod),whichmakesgettingtheproductto

your camera height really easy (and makes product photography reallyeasy).Withproducts,sometimesyou’llneedtoputa reflectoror twoupfront—onthefrontsides,angledintowardtheproduct—tobouncesomeofthatlightfromtheflashesbackontothefrontoftheproduct.

ChapterTen

FlashWorkflowIfyou’vegotanindoor,outdoor,orweddingshoot,thenhere'swhattodo!

Ithoughtattheendhere,Iwouldgiveyouaworkflowtofollowforthreedifferentscenarios:(1) shooting indoorswith flash; (2) shootingoutdoorswith flash; and (3) shootinganentireweddingwithflash.I thoughtitwouldbehelpfulforyoutoseethewholething,settingsandall,fromstarttofinish,sothat’swhatIdidinthisfinalchapter.Thatway,afteryou’vereadtherest of thebook, youcan just refer back to this oneworkflowchapterwhen you’re actuallygoing out to do a shoot, and it would get you up and running. Now, at this point, you’reprobablythinking,“Waitjustaminute!Thisisn’tfunny,orjuvenile,anddoesn'thaveanyoftheoff-beatstuffyou’veputforthintheotherchapteropeners.Ifeel...well...kindagypped.”Now, I just had to stop and look up the spelling of the word “gypped” because my spellchecker didn’t recognize it, and when I did, I saw that the word could be, in some rarecircumstances,possiblyoffensive.But,itdidsayitwouldonlybeoffensivetopeoplewhogetoffendedateverything(alsoknownas“bigpoo-pooheads”),andIseriouslydoubtthatanyonewhoboughtthisbookisoneofthose.However,ifyouareoneof“those,”youshouldpromptlydrive back to the storewhere you bought this book and demand that one of the employeesscratch out that word with a black marker and replace it with the word of your choice(hopefully a naughty cuss word, added in redmagicmarker for added emphasis, and don’tforgettoincludeanexclamationpoint,whetherwarrantedornot).Then,postaphotoofitonTwitter,andI’llpickthebestonetowinaCanonDSLR.Thedeadlinetoenteris8/1/2017atmidnightEST.What?Youmissedthedeadlinealready?Man,yougotgypped!;-)

IndoorPortraitWorkflowSTEPONE:PutYourFlashonaLightStand

Getyourflashoffyourcameraandputitonalightstand(ifyoujustsaid,“But, Idon’thavea light stand!” thenyou’renot ready for thischapteryet.So,gobuyalightstand[seepage134],andatiltbracket,thencomebackhere), thenmountyour flashon topof the lightstand,onyour tiltbracket(you’regonnaneedthattiltbracketinStepFour).Now,Ihope,bynow,thisisoneofthose“needlesstosay”things,butatthispoint,youeither have real radio wireless built into your flash, or you’re using awireless transmitter. Ideally, it will be one where you can change thepoweroftheflashfromrightontopofyourcamera,likeaCanon,Nikon,

Yongnuo, etc. (see page 13), or at the very least, a PocketWizard or aCactustrigger,whichdofiretheflashwirelessly,butyoucan’tchangethepowerfromontopofyourcamera—youhavetowalkovertotheflashunitand change the power using the buttons on the back. They both work,one’sjustmorework,right?Anyway,getyourflashoffyourcamera,ontothelightstandandtiltbracket,andmakesureyoucanfireitwirelessly.Okay,you’reoffandrunning.

STEPTWO:

PutaSoftboxinFrontofIt

You’llneedtomakethelightsoftandbeautiful,soputasoftboxinfrontof your flash. I generallygowithaWestcottRapidBox26"Octa, if I’mjustshootingonepersononlocationandamostly-from-the-waist-upkindashot. If Ineedtocovermorearea (like2/3ofmysubject), theymakeabiggerversioncalledtheWestcott32"RapidBoxDuoSpeedliteModifier,whichcanuseuptotwoflashes,butIonlyuseone,especiallyforindoorshoots like this. If you feel like you needmaximum coverage (let’s sayyou’reshootingasmallgroupshot,oryoujustneedsuper-softlight),youcangowithWestcott’sRecessedMega JSApollo50" softbox (it’s abigboy!Well, it is once you set itup—it foldsdown toanumbrella,but itexpandsintoahugesoftbox.SeeChapter4formoreonsoftboxes).

STEPTHREE:

UseTheseSettingsonYourFlash

You’regoingtosetyourflashtoshootinManualmode,soyoucancontrolthepoweroftheflashmanuallybysimplyturningthepowerupordown(instead of your flashmakingpower decisions for you,which I’ve foundit’s oftennot awesomeat.Seepage22 formore).So, set your flash toshoot inManual (M)mode (weird thing: if youhaveaPhottix flash,youstill set the flash to ETTLmode on the flash itself, but on the Phottixtransmitter,ontopofyourcamera,yousetthattoManualmode,andnowit controls the flashmanually.Doesn’tmake a lick of sense tome, butthat’showitworks).Now(thisisimportant),setyourflashto1/4power(youmighthavetoloweritlater,butit’sagoodstartingpoint.Seepage18formoreonyourflash'spower).

STEPFOUR:

PositionItUpHigh,ata45°Angle

Putyourflashata45°angletoyoursubject,andraiseituphigh,soit’salittlebit higher than your subject’shead (like a foot or sohigher), thenaim the softbox down toward them (using the tilt bracket) at an angle.You’retryingtoreplicatethepositionofthesunlateintheday,sothat’swhyit’shigherthanyoursubjectandaimingdownatthem(welookedatthisbackinChapter4).

STEPFIVE:

UseTheseCameraSettings

Putyourcamerainmanualmodeanddialinthesesettings:

(1)ShutterSpeed:1/125ofasecond

(2)Aperture:f/5.6

(3)ISO:yourcleanestnativeISO.Formostcamerasthesedays,that’s100ISO.ForsomeolderNikoncameras,itcouldbe200ISO(checkyourmanual,orGoogle,orboth).

Okay,that’sit—you’renotgoingtotouchthesesettingsagain.

STEPSIX:

TakeaTestShotandEvaluate

Now,takeatestshotandlookattheimageonthebackofyourcamera.Iftheflashistoobright,turnitdown;if it’snotbrightenough,turnitup.Don’toverthink it. Itmight takeyoua fewtestshots todial in the rightamountofflash(soitlooksnaturalanddoesn’tlooktoobright),butyou’llgetit,anditwon’ttakeyoumorethan2minutestonailit.Don’tchangeyourcamerasettings—justthepowerofyourflash.Again,don’toverthinkit(but,ifyouwantarefresheronsettingyourflash'spower,referbacktopage18).Anyway,that’sprettymuchit.It’sallabouttakingatestshot,andthenlowering(orraising)thepoweroftheflashuntilitlooksrighttoyou(and,hopefully,“righttoyou”isn’ttoobright,sinceyouknowthat’soneofthemostlikelythingspeopledowrongwithoff-cameraflash).

OutdoorPortraitWorkflowSTEPONE:PutTheirBacktotheSun

Startbypositioningyoursubject, so thesun isbehind them(theaddedbenefitofthisisthatthesunactsasasecondlight,orahairlight,ifyouwill).We don't want the sun to light them, we just want it to light thebackground,andthebackoftheirheadandshouldersandsuch—wewantour flash to be the thing that lights our subject. By the way, the sundoesn'tneedtobedirectlybehindthem(infact,it'sprobablybetterifitisn't).Itcanbewayofftotheside,butstillbehindthem,likeitishere,where thesun iswayoff to the rightofour subject (our right,her left).Okay,that'saprettyeasyfirststep,right?

STEPTWO:

SetYourCorrectExposureFirst

Don’t turn on your flash yet, because you need to dial in some camerasettings first.You’regoing topretendyou’renotshootingwith flashandstart by setting your camera to the correct exposure for the ambientnaturallightwhereyou’reshooting.Youstillneedtobeinmanualmodeon your camera because, in a few minutes, you actually will be usingflash,soyouneedto leaveyourshutterspeedsetat1/125ofasecond(you’re not going to change it yet, or maybe at all). So, what can youchange to get the correct overall exposure? Your aperture (f-stop).Now,howdoyouknowifyou’vegottenthecorrectexposureforthenaturallightsetting you’re in? You’re going to use the little lightmeter that appearsinside your camera’s viewfinder (we looked at this back on page 89).Press-and-holdtheshutterbuttonhalfwaydown,andyou’llseeamoving

marker appear along that line graph—that’s showingwhere your currentexposure is with the settings your camera is set to now. You’ll need tomove your f-stop until thatmovingmarker is right in the center at thecorrectexposure.Ifyoucan’tgettherebyjustmovingyourf-stopalone(itcouldhappen),thenyoumighthavetoraiseyourISOfrom100to200,orevento400,toallowyoutogetanf-stopwhereyouwinduprightinthecenterofthatlinegraph.Onceyougetitthere,moveontothenextstep.

STEPTHREE:

NowMakeEverythingDarker

Now that you’ve gone and found the correct exposure for the outdoornatural light, you are going to intentionallymake the scene around twostopsdarker,whichisthekeytomakingthislookthewayyouwantitto.Thisisbecauseyouwanttheflashlightingyoursubject,nottheambientlight,sowedarkentheambient(naturaloravailable)light,soyourflashalone does the job of lighting your subject. So, let’s say when youadjusted your f-stop in the previous step, you wound up at f/4. You’ddarkenthescenebymovingyourf-stoptoaroundf/8,andthentakeatestshot.Sinceyoursubject’sbackistothesun(rememberStepOne?),whenyou take a test shot (don’t turn on the flash yet), your subject shouldprettymuchbeabacklitsilhouetteatthispoint(andtheskyshouldlookawholelotdarkerandricher,becauseit’stwostopsunderexposednow).

Ifyoursubjectisn’tclosetoasilhouetteforsomereason,noworries,justmake your f-stop even darker—try f/9.5 or f/11—then take another testshotandseeiftheylookdarkenough.Now,thereisonemorethingyoucando if the scene isn’t dark enough: you can raise the shutter speed.Remember how it controls the room light indoors (see page 47)?Well,outdoors, it controls the ambient light, so you could raise the shutterspeedupto1/200ofasecondandseeifthathelps(itprobablywill).Ifthat doesn’t do the trick,most flasheswill let you goup to1/250of asecondandstillstayinsync,sotrythatnext.Youprobablywon’tneedtodoeither,butatleastyouknowyoucanwithoutmessinganythingup.

STEPFOUR:

UseTheseSettingsonYourFlash

SetyourflashtoshootinManualmode(M),soyoucancontrolthepoweroftheflashmanuallybysimplyturningthepowerupordown,andsetthepowerofyourflashto1/4power.Note:IfyouhaveaPhottixflash,yousetthe flash to ETTL mode, but then you set the mode on the PhottixtransmitterontopofyourcameratoManual(M),andnowyoucancontrolitmanually(thisonestumpedme,too,atfirst).Iknowthisprobablygoeswithoutsaying(well,atthispoint,atleastIhopeitdoes),butmakesureyouhaveawirelesstransmittertofireyourflash(seepage13formoreontransmitters).

STEPFIVE:

GetYourFlashOffYourCamera

On location, youdon’t alwayshavea flat area toput a light stand, so Iprefertomountmyflashontheendofamonopodorboompole(seepage137),butthatcountsonyouhavingafriendtoholdyourboompole.So,ifyoudon’thaveanassistant,you’llprobablyhavetoat leasttrya lightstand—just takeacoupleofsandbagswithyouso the lightstand (andyourflash)don’tgotumblingoverandbreakwhenagustofwindcomesout ofnowhere (sadly, I’m speaking fromexperiencewith this one).So,firstchoice:mountyourflashtotheendofamonopodorboompole(youdon’tneedatiltbracket,becauseyoucanjusttiltthepole).

STEPSIX:

PutanOrangeGelonYourFlash

You’reshootingoutdoors,andthatmeanswhitelightwilllookweird(we’reusedtowhitelightindoorsinstudiosituations,butitlooksweirdoutside,where the light from the sun should be somewhat orange), so put anorange gel over the front of your flash head (see page 84 for more onorange gels) to make the color of the light from your flash match theoutdoorscene.Now,howdeep(orshouldIsay“thick”)theamountofgelyouusedependson the timeofdayyou'reshooting.Forexample,whenshootinginthemiddleofthedayorlateintheafternoon,youjustwantaverysmallamountoforangegel,sostartwitha1/4-cutofCTOgel.Asitgetslaterintheafternoon,andgetstobeaboutanhourfromsunset,thelight fromyour flashwill start to lookwhiteagain,because theambientnatural light isgettingdarkerandwarmer.So,youhavetodouble-upon

that gel (taping another1/4-cut of orange gel over the first one, so youtechnically have a 1/2-cut, which looks twice as orange as before. Ofcourse,ifyouhaveasheetof1/2-cut,takeoffthe1/4-cut,andusethatinstead).Asthesunsets,tomakethecolorofyourflashmatchthecolorofthesettingsun,youmighthavetoputevenmore(orthicker)orangegelover the front of your flash until you get to one full-cut. Just keep thecolor of the light inmind, as it gets later and later, and addmore gelwhenyouseethelightstartingtolook“white.”

STEPSEVEN:

MaketheLightSoftandFlattering

Basically, put a softbox in front of it. Again, my go-to location softboxwouldbetheWestcottRapidBox26"Octa,andIwouldeitherputitonalightstand,orasImentioned,ifIhaveafriendorassistantwithme,I’dprefertomountitontheendofamonopod(seepage137).Luckily,it’sreallylightweight,soyourfriendwon’tgettuckeredoutluggingitaroundduringtheshoot.Or,ofcourse,youcouldgowithyourfriendjustholdinga1-stop diffuser of some sort in front of your flash (see page62 for areally inexpensive way to go). It doesn’t matter somuch which type ofsoftening(diffusing)youuse,aslongasyouusesomethingtospreadandsoftenthatlightandmakeitbeautiful.

STEPEIGHT:

PositionItUpHigh,ata45°Angle

Ifyouhaveafriendorassistantwithyou,tellthemtostandofftothesideatabouta45°angle to your subject (position it the sameway if you’reusing a light stand). Since they are hand-holding your flash,make sureyou don’t let them move so much that the side of your subject’s facefarthest away from the light gets too shadowy (that can happen if theydriftovertothesideofyoursubjectevenbyjustafootortwo).Youwantsomelighttofallonthefarsideoftheirface,andyouwantshadowstoappear on the far side of their face—not covering it up. If you see theothersideoftheirfacegettingtooshadowy,haveyourfriendmoveclosertoward your shooting position, then take a test shot and see how thatlooks.

STEPNINE:

TurnYourFlashOnandTakeaTestShot

Yousetyour flash to1/4powerback inStepFour,andnow it’s timetoseeifthatsettingistoobright,toodark,orjustright,andtheonlywaytodo that is to take a test shot. So, go ahead and do that. Now, let’sevaluatethebrightnessofyourflash(seepage18formoreonyourflash'spower).Isittoobright?Ifitis,justloweritspower(takeitdown–1/3inpower),thentakeanothertestshot.Ifthat’snotenough,loweritanother1/3,and tryagain.Youmighthave togodown to1/8power,but that’sfine. That’s basically it—you’re either darkening the flash (so it doesn’tlook “too flashy”) or brightening it if it looks too dark. Don’t overthinkthis.Eithertheflashlooksgoodtoyou,or itdoesn’t.(Note:Thelater in

thedayyoushoot,thelessflashpoweryou’llneedbecausetheamountoflightoutsidegetslowerandlowerasthedaygoeson.Inthemiddleoftheday,youmighthavetocrankitupto1/2orevenfullpowertolightyoursubject.)

STEPTEN:

BalancingwiththeNaturalLight

Ifthelightfromyourflashseemsoutofbalancewiththenaturallightinthebackground(maybethebackgroundseemstoodark),youcanbrightenthebackgroundby lowering your shutter speed.Try taking it down fromwherever it’s currently at (probably 1/125 of a second) to 1/100 of asecond,orevendownto1/80or1/60ofasecond(butdon’tdothisuntilyougetyourflashpowersettingprettyclose,andthelightonyoursubjectlooksprettygood).Again,you’llonlyneedtolowertheshutterspeedifthebackground behind your subject seems too dark. Once you get thebackgroundlookinggood,takeanothertestshotandmakesureyourflashisbalancedanddoesn’tlooktooflashy(thenotlooking“flashy”thingishuge—youwantyoursubject to look likethey’re litbythesun,notbyaflash).Getting this balance between the background and the flash, and

having it all look natural, is the Holy Grail of on-location flashphotography,butifyoutakethetimetodoatestshot,andevaluatehowtheflashlooksandhowthebackgroundlooks,you’llhavethisdialedin,in no time. Remember, there are only two settings you adjust: (1) thepowerof the flash itself, and (2) theamountof light in thebackground(by adjusting the shutter speed). Get the flash right, then get thebackgroundbalanced (if youevenneed to),and takea testshotor two.Once it looks pretty good, stopmessing with the settings and focus oninteracting with your subject, because at the end of the day, a greatexpressionoremotionorpose(orhopefullyallthree)iswhatwillmakeorbreak your portrait. If you spend the whole time fussing with settings,you’llkilltheshoot.

WeddingWorkflowSTEPONE:MakeReadyFlash

IcoveraweddingusingfivedifferentsetupsbecauseI’mshootinginfourdifferentplaces:(1)intheroomwherethebrideisgettingready(oftenahotel room); (2) on location, shooting the bridal portraits; (3) in thechurch,shooting theceremony itself,and (4) the formals rightafter thewedding;and(5)thereception.Theseareeasysetups,andIusejustoneflashformostof it,sodon’t let itthrowyou.WhatI’mchangingaretheflash modifiers for the most part, so we’ll start with the “make ready”flash (for thebride andbridesmaidshanging out). I usually shoot thesewith the flash on top ofmy camera in the hot shoemount (gasp!), butwithitaimedstraightuptowardtheceiling(seepage77).Thatway,Icaneitherbounce the light from the flashoff theceilinganddownontomy

subject (I still shoot with the flash in Manual mode, and I adjust thepower of the flash up/down, so it doesn’t look too “flashy”), or if theceilingistoohighformetobounceoff,thenI’llstillaimtheflashheadup like that, but I’ll just crank the power up because, even though theflashisaimingattheceiling,someofthatlightfromtheflashwillheadtowardmysubject. Ifyou’renotgettingenough lightusing thismethod,pulloutthelittlewhitebouncecardfromthetopoftheflashhead,anditwillbouncesomeofthatlightforward(seepage123).Ifyoudon’tmindspendingjustafewbucks,areallygreatoptionhereistoputaMagmodMagSphereovertheflashhead(seepage125).Itdoesanamazinglygoodjob of spreading and diffusing the light without totally draining yourbatteries,andyouonlyloseaboutonestopoflight.

STEPTWO:TheBridalPortraits

For the formal portrait of the bride (I try to shoot thesewell before theceremony),Iuseasoftboxforsure(liketheWestcottRapidBox26"OctaortheImpactQuikbox),mountedontheendofamonopodandheldbyanassistantorfriend,oronalightstand.IfI’mshootinginachurch,orinahotel lobby, etc., I’musingmy standardcamera settings:ShutterSpeed:1/125ofasecondAperture:f/5.6

ISO:100

FlashPowerSetting:1/4powerThen,Itakeatestshotandseeif Ineed to lower thepowerof the flash (which isusually thecaseinadarkchurch).IfIwantmoreoftheexistinglightfromthechurchintheshot(tobalancewiththelightfromtheflash),

thenItryloweringtheshutterspeed(itcontrolsthelightinthechurch)from1/125to1/80toseehowthatlooks.Imighthavetotakeitdownto1/60,oreven1/30,togetthebalanceright.Ifit’sabrightlylitchurch,youmighthavetogotheotherwayand raise the shutter speed to 1/200 of a second, or even1/250(whichisprettymuchthelimitformostflasheswithoutgoing to High-Speed Sync). To get really soft light, keep thesoftbox really close to thebride—soclose that it’s just out oftheframe(seepage75).Ifyouneeditevensofter,featheritsothecenterisnotaimingdirectlyatthebride(seepage73).

STEPTHREE:TheCeremony

For a medium-to-large-sized wedding, you can’t get anywhere near thebride and groom once they’re up at the altar (and more and morechurchesareforbiddingflashduringtheceremonyandareoftenlimitingphotographersfromevengettingnearthealtarduringtheceremony),soItrytoshootasmuchoftheceremonyusingavailablelight,withafastlens(like one thatwill shoot f/2.8 or f/1.8), andwith a full-framebody thatletsyoushootathighISOs(like6,400)withoutatonofnoise.Isavemyflash for when the bride first enters the church, and then for the end,when the couple is heading back down the aisle at the end of theceremony.Then,IusemyflashwithaMagSphereattachedtohelpsoftenandspreadthelight,justlikeIdidinthemakereadyroomwiththebride.Again, thekey isgettingcloseenough,so the flashactually reaches thecouple,andthenmakingsureyourflashdoesn’toverpowerthelightingin

thechurchorhallwheretheceremonyistakingplace.So,keepaneyeonthepowerofyourflashandyourshutterspeed.Ifthelightfromyourflashisoverpoweringtheroomlight,tryloweringtheshutterspeedlikeItalkedaboutonthepreviouspage.Iftheceremonyisoutdoors,again,it’shardto get close enough for flash to be effective, and bright pops of flashduringtheceremonyupsetthecoupleandtheguests.So,again,saveyourflashforthe“walkout”andhavesomethinglikeaMagSphereonthetopofyourflashtospreadanddiffusethelight.Luckily,youcanliterallystuffaMagSphere in your pocket—just take it out when you need it, and itpopsrightbackintoshape.Handylittlebuggers.

STEPFOUR:TheGroupFormals

For the group formals at a big wedding (with a large wedding party), Iswitchtoareallylargesoftbox(liketheWestcottMegaJSApollo50").Fora smaller wedding, with smaller group formals (maybe a maximum ofeightor10peopleatatime),youcangowithaWestcott43"ApolloOrb,whichisdecent-sized,octa-shapedsoftbox.You’regoingtomounteithersoftbox on a light stand (bring a sandbag, so it doesn’t fall over), andyou’regoingtoposition ifoff tooneside,butnotat45°—youwant italittle closer to your camera position, and youwant to put it backmuchfarther than you normally would for a portrait, so you evenly light thegroupusing justone light (bymovingthesoftboxwayback, like literally10feetback,youavoidthefastlightfall-offthathappens,wherethesideof thegroup that’s closest to the light is thebrightest, and then it getsdarkeranddarkeruntilthelastpersonfarthestawayfromthesoftboxis2

stopsdarkerorworse;seepage128).You’regoingtoneedtocrankthepoweronyourflashbecauseyou’refillingalargesoftboxandit’swaybackfromyourgroup,soyou’llprobablybeatfullpowerandalowerf-stop,likef/4.5orf/4.Iwouldn’ttakethef-stopmuchlowerthanthatbecauseyouwanteveryoneinfocus(focusyourcameraattheeyesofsomeoneinthefrontrow,likethebride).Iftheflashstillisn’tbrightenough,you’llneedtoraiseyourISOto200,ormaybeeven400,whichwillraisethepowerof your flash. Start with your shutter speed at 1/125 of a second—justmake sure it blends with the room or outdoor light. If the room orbackgroundoutdoorsistoodark,loweryourshutterspeedtoaround1/60andtrythat.

STEPFIVE:Reception,OneFlash

We’rebacktousingourflashontopofthecamera,butofcourse,wearenotaimingtheflashatoursubjects—aimituptowardtheceiling,atanangle,tobouncetheflashofftheceiling(iftheceilingislowenough),oraim the flash straightupward, and thenpull out thewhitebouncecardfrom the top of your flashhead (seepage123).Abetter option, if youhave one, is to, again, put aMagSphere over your flashhead to spreadandsoftenthelight,butanyofthesethreescenarioswillwork.Whicheveroneyougowith,keepaneyeonthepowerofyourflash,soitdoesn’tgettoobrightandwashoutyourreceptionguests,andofcourse,keepaneyeon the ambient room light, so it doesn’t get too dark behind them.Remember,you’retryingtoachieveabalancebetweentheroomlightandthe flash. After dinner is served, the reception is mostly music anddancing.So,ItrytomakesurethatIincludealotoftheroomlightingin

myshots,especiallythecoloredlightsfromtheDJorband,soitcapturesacolorfulpartyatmosphereanddoesn’tlookoverlit,likethereceptionwasheldinabrightconferenceroomataconventioncenter.Thesameholdstrue for outdoor receptions, but then I would really try to go with theMagSphere,becausethere’snoceilingtobounceoffof.

STEPSIX:Reception,TwoFlashes

Ifyourreceptionisindoors,thisiswhereyoupulloutthatsecondorthirdflash (if youhave them) to subtly light thewhole roomand support theflashyouhaveon-camera,whichisaimingstraightup,orbouncingofftheceiling, orusingaMagSphere.The thing thatmakesabigdifference isusinganextraflash(ortwo)tolighttheroom.Youtakeabare-bulbflash,putitonalightstanduphigh(6or8feethigh),andplaceitinthecornerof the room (out of theway), aiming straightup toward theceiling (seepage 126). Start at 1/2 power, though you might have to adjust itup/downbased on theheight of the ceiling andhow it looks (youdon’twant to wash out the room, or the DJ lights). Now, when you fire yourflashontopofyourcamera,itwillfirethatroomflashsimultaneously—ithitstheceilingandthenspreadsdownonyourreceptionguests,lightingthemsubtly (itworksbetter than it sounds like itwould). Ideally, you’d

havetwoflashes,placedinoppositecornersoftheroom,soyoucanmovearound the room and shootwithout having large areas of the room thataren’t lit.Anothertechniqueyoumightconsideristoputaflash,withasoftbox,uphigh,rightbythedancefloor(nearthebandortheDJ,soit’snotintheway),aimingatthedancefloor,sincethat’swhereprettymucheverythinghappensatthereception.Youcanusethatasyourmainlightattimes,orabacklightatothertimes,becauseyou’llstillhavethatflashontopofyourcamerathatyoucanturnon/offatanytime,andstillhavethe second flash fire. Just remember to position this flash so it’sunobtrusive,andit’swherenobodywilltriponit.

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