Trying off camera flash

[jl1975]

Hi all,

I just purchased an SB700 and was trying it out off camera. My son was practicing his bass guitar, so he ended up being my subject. What do you think?

 

[tirediron]

I think it's a very good start, but a bit under-exposed. What, if any modifier was used on the speedlight?

 

[jl1975]

Thank you. I may have had the built in diffuser on, but that would be it. I don't have any other modifiers. I was trying to get the shot so that he was lit only on one side and the other falling into shadows. He was also sitting in his bedroom which is not very big, so getting him exposed without showing the background was tough.

 

[tirediron]

Head into the diffuser drawer in the kitchen and get something that will soften it a bit further, then move the light closer. A LOT closer (as in1-2' away) and drop the power accordingly. The Inverse Square Law is your friend here. For a final touch have him clean the guitar (lots of fingerprints visible) and tilt slightly toward or away from his body to eliminate that harsh highlight just below the neck. You can also use black paper behind the light to flag it and prevent spill on to the background.

 

[Patrice Lanteigne]

I like the 'diffuser drawer'. I use ours at home as well, works just like the expensive ones from the photo stores. A bonus is that at the time of purchase there is usually something else inside that you can use at home.

 

[tirediron]

... A bonus is that at the time of purchase there is usually something else inside that you can use at home.

If your luck is like mine, the "bonus" is that half of last weeks tuna-salad sandwhich you forgot to eat!

 

[jl1975]

Head into the diffuser drawer in the kitchen and get something that will soften it a bit further, then move the light closer. A LOT closer (as in1-2' away) and drop the power accordingly. The Inverse Square Law is your friend here. For a final touch have him clean the guitar (lots of fingerprints visible) and tilt slightly toward or away from his body to eliminate that harsh highlight just below the neck. You can also use black paper behind the light to flag it and prevent spill on to the background.

Thanks for the tips. I hadn't realized we had a diffuser drawer in the kitchen; that's going to save me some money.

 

[AKUK]

I too think it's a good start. You're thinking about lighting styles and achieving a certain look or ambiance in your image, which is important. As already mentioned it is a bit underexposed. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about light spilling onto the background, if all you are going to do is have it black. You can simply darken this in Photoshop or another editing suite later. Always give priority to your subject matter, whilst of course still giving consideration to your background if limited for space. Obviously if you can move and make use of the inverse square law as tirediren touched upon, all the better. The further you move your subject and the light from the backdrop, the less light is going to hit it, without affecting spread on your model. Even small adjustments can make a huge difference. Simply moving a light from 1m to 2m away from something will result in a 75% decrease in exposure.

For example, lets say your son was 1m away from the backdrop and the flash 1m from him (2m from the backdrop). If you move your son 2m further forward and the flash likewise, the flash is now 4m from the backdrop. This will result in only 1/16th the amount of light hitting the wall behind as before, whilst keeping your son exposed the same. Light positioning is very often overlooked as a solution to lighting problems, as most people will simply try adjusting power on the flash itself.

If you want to get into flash photography, one of the first things I would suggest doing is learning how light works, along side the technical side of operating flashes (sync speeds, triggering methods, etc.). The inverse square law is a very powerful principle and once you understand it, it's as effective a tool as any piece of equipment you have in your bag. Hand in hand with that, is understanding light modifiers, both in terms of what they do to the light and the effect they create. I have a number of guides and articles on my site that you may find useful, as they demonstrate first hand the effect created and clearing up the misconceptions that virtually all newcomers have when it comes to softening or hardening light for portraiture.