Off Camera Lighting Tutorial

[Grahamk]

EDIT: This is Martin btw, forgot to sign out.

IÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ve noticed a lot more people here are starting to use off cam flashes, so I thought IÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢d put together a tutorial for off camera lighting, hopefully it will help some people.


Basics:
Using off camera flashes is useful for creating less Ã?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?â?¹Ã?â??flatÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ lighting, and can help to make your photo much more interesting. YouÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢re going to need a few pieces of equipment though:

Flashes:
YouÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢re going to want to get a flash that has manual power settings and a fast flash duration, so you can freeze the action. I use vivitar 285s, they are a good cheap flash with a very fast flash duration and manual settings, it also has an adjustable head so you can use it on wide, normal or telephoto. Be careful not to ever use a vivitar 285 on your camera though, it has a very high trigger voltage which can damage modern cameras, but that doesnÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢t matter if itÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢s just on a tripod. The vivitar 285HV is safe to use on camera though.

Slaves:
Slaves are what trigger the flashes, you can get optical and infrared ones but theyÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢re not very reliable so IÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢m only going to talk about radio slaves. Pocket wizards are the best, but they are expensive. I use Quantum 4 and 4i radio slaves, they are older then PWs but they are still good and reliable, if you do buy them make sure you only get 1 frequency, either A, B, C or D, because they will not work together.

You can also get cheap radio slaves off ebay also, IÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ve never used them, but IÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ve heard they can be pretty unreliable, especially if you are using multiple receivers. They can be good if you just want to try out off cam lighting without a big investment, but I would recommend getting pocket wizards, if you can afford it.

You have to connect the Ã?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?â?¹Ã?â??senderÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ slave to your camera with pc sync cords, and the receiver to the flash, if you camera doesnÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢t have a sync cord terminal you will need a hotshoe adapter like:


If you didnÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢t get a sync cord with youÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢re flash they are easy enough to get on ebay, there is male and female connections on pc cords so make sure you get the correct cable:

male is left and female is right.

Stands:
You can either use a lightstand or a tripod, lightstands are usually taller and more compact. I use tripods, but thatÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢s just because I had a few already, you will just need to get a hotshoe adapter like this:

That will let you mount your flash onto the tripod.

Exposure:
Exposing for flashes can be tricky at first but once you get the hang of it itÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢s not too hard. The aperture is the most important setting, that will determine the Ã?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?â?¹Ã?â??intensityÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ of the flash, because the flash itself only lasts for a split second the shutter speed doesnÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢t effect that exposure, only the exposure of the ambient/available light. You can work out the aperture with a formula; [aperture = flash guide number / distance.] The guide number is basically how powerful the flash is, you should be able to find the guide number for any flash online, but for a vivitar 285 on Ã?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?â?¹Ã?â??normalÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ its 120 at 100iso. A simpler way is by using a flash meter, like the sekonic l308, but as most people use digital here, IÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢d say just shoot some test shots until the lighting looks good.

Once you have the correct aperture you can adjust the shutter speed, usual skate/bmx photographers underexpose the ambient light by one or two stops, which helps make the subject stand out. That means if you are at f8 and the correct exposure for the scene is 1/60th, you would use 1/125th or 1/250th to underexpose the background.

HereÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢s another example, you meter the scene at f5.6 with 1/250th, and you work out that the flashes need f8, you would just use f8 with 1/120th which would be underexposing the ambient by 1 stop. (One increment on the shutter speed is equivalent to 1 stop difference).

If you are shooting in daylight then you will have to keep you shutter speed fairly high or else you will get motion blur, even with the flashes. Flash sync speed (or x-sync), is the fastest shutter speed your camera can sync with flashes at, for most cameras it is 1/200th or 1/250th, if youÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢re sync speed is slower then that you may struggle to get sharp pictures in daylight, but at dusk or night you shouldnÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢t have a problem.

Flash Placement:
Here are a few examples of flash positions I have used:

1.

I usually only use 2 flashes but with 3 flashes you get a lot more control, here I use the flash on the right as a rimlight, I powered up that flash so it overexposing, which created some highlights.

2.

This is an example of Ã?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?â?¹Ã?â??sandwichÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ lighting, its can be used to create very dramatic lighting with a lot of shadows and highlights. I think both flashes were at Ã?Æ?ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?½ power.

3.

More of a Ã?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?â?¹Ã?â??standardÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ lighting set up, but it usually has good results.
​

These are just examples of positioning, it really depends on the situation, just donÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢t be scared to experiment a bit with it, itÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢s the best way to learn.

I have missed out a lot of information here but I just wanted to skim over the basics, if you do have any questions feel free to ask, and IÃ?Æ?Ã?¢Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¡Ã?¬Ã?¢ââ?¬Å¾Ã?¢ll try my best to answer them.

 

[.erik]

i knew it! before you edited it i was like wtf this is martin i garruntee it.

thanks a bunch for this i am havinga very hard time with flashes

im still having trouble understanding this guide number thing, my 580ex has a guide number of 190 i think, thats what it said on some reviews, do you think you could explain it again using my guide number and flash?

 

[Eric Magray]

nice tut. deff gonna keep this in mind.

 

[idk47]

Thank you so much, this is exactly what i needed to know.

 

[Brian Boston]

sticky butts

 

[seisky]

very nice. good job. I'll have to look at this again when I get my flashes.

 

[Martin]

Cheers for the sticky bri.

Erik, the guide number is just a measure of the power, the only time you'll really need it is if you want to calculate you're exposure by using the formula: aperture = gn / distance. So if you had your flash 15ft and your guide number was 120 the correct aperture would be f8, but like I said, its just easier to either shoot test shots or to use a flash meter.

 

[P4RK3R]

you're not supposed to make the shutter speed faster by, you're supposed to close the aperture by 2 stops

 

[Martin]

That would be changing the exposure for the flash, it wouldn't just be underexposing the background it would be underexposing the whole picture,
and like I explained, one increment in shutter speed (eg. going from 1/125th to 1/250th) is equivalent to 1 stop difference.

Of course you can change the aperture to underexpose, but I was using the formula which calculates the aperture for the flash as an example, so why would I change it just to underexpose the background, seemed a lot easier for people to understand this way.

 

[P4RK3R]

No. If you do the distance/GN= aperture, then underexpose the camera by 2 STOPS (f/ stops, not speeding up the shutter) then your picture comes out properly exposed. I can make a video tutorial for you.

 

[Martin]

Like I just said, one increment in the shutter speed is equivalent to 1 stop, so by speeding up the shutter speed you ARE underexposing by 1 stop or 2 stops or w/e you want. Of course you can underexpose by changing the aperture, but you're saying calculate the correct aperture then change it, you'd then need to move or change the power of flashes, it makes more sense to change the shutter speed, if its possible.

I probably should have tried to explain it a bit more but I know most people aren't going to be using the formula, its pretty impractical to use really, they'll just shoot test shots instead. I was trying to highlight how changes in aperture effects the flash exposure, and changes in shutter speed effects the ambient light to give people enough of an understanding so they could experiment and learn by themselves.

 

[P4RK3R]

Ok I was wondering. How many shutter speeds incrimate is changing ISO 100 to 200?

Oh and another thing, my SB-28 has the distance calculator, and my 430EX doesn't, so I keep the settings the same as the SB-28, and the distance the same and stuff, but the power one stop higher or one foot closer to the camera when I want a more powerful rimlight

 

[Martin]

Each time the iso is doubled (or halved) that's equivalent to 1 stop difference, eg. 100 to 200, 200 to 400, 400 to 800, etc.

Oh and another thing I should have mentioned is that guide numbers are set for 100iso, so you will have to compensate for that if you are using a different iso, I can explain how if anyone wants.

The guide numbers for those flashes will be different so you won't get the same results with the same settings, rimlights are normally 1 or 2 stops overexposed, so you could use the formula, but I'd probably just do what you're doing and shot tests until you're happy. After awhile of using similar power settings and distances it gets pretty easy to just guess the exposure.

 

[Josh Young]

damnnnn. so fuckin legit! haha to bad i dont take pics:[[[ the graph things are cool showin where the flashes were

 

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