First Ever Off-Camera Flash Attempt

**PJdelaCruz** · 07-21-2009, 02:39 PM

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<p class="MsoNormal"]Hello All,
<p class="MsoNormal"]This is my first post. I am a hobbyist on photography, and this is my very first attempt with off-camera flash after reading a few articles online.
<p class="MsoNormal"]Please help to provide your valuable comments, and also advice on how I may be able to improve on the following photos. THANK YOU VERY MUCH in advance!
<p class="MsoNormal"]Details:
<p class="MsoNormal"]- Shot ~11am-12:15pm in an island/beach at Malaysia
<p class="MsoNormal"]- One 580 EXII on manual setting (between 1/4 - 1/1 power setting, manual zoom, placed left hand side, sitting on a Manfrotto tripod/gear head - because ordered light stand did not arrive on time)
<p class="MsoNormal"]- 40D (w/ grip) + 70-200 f2.8 IS (between 1/160-1/250, between f8.0-f11.0)
<p class="MsoNormal"]- Skyport flash trigger
<p class="MsoNormal"]- Others: ExpoDisc for white balance; Lightroom minor tweak on exposure, -21 on Clarity, plus vignette
<p class="MsoNormal"]
<p class="MsoNormal"]The following with snoot:
<p class="MsoNormal"][img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.69.Rawa09/PulauRawa_2D00_0286.jpg[/img]

[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.69.Rawa09/PulauRawa_2D00_0352.jpg[/img]

[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.69.Rawa09/PulauRawa_2D00_0353.jpg[/img]

[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.69.Rawa09/PulauRawa_2D00_0412.jpg[/img]

The following with 1/8 grid:

[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.69.Rawa09/PulauRawa_2D00_0425.jpg[/img]

[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.69.Rawa09/PulauRawa_2D00_0439.jpg[/img]

The following with 1/8 grid + reflector at right hand side

[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.69.Rawa09/PulauRawa_2D00_0524.jpg[/img]

[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.69.Rawa09/PulauRawa_2D00_0536.jpg[/img]

[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.69.Rawa09/PulauRawa_2D00_0538.jpg[/img]

**Keith B** · 07-21-2009, 05:41 PM

Slow down the shutter and open up the aperture to let some more ambient light in and soften up the pic.

You've got good comp, keep practicing with the strobes.

**Madison** · 07-21-2009, 05:44 PM

That's what I was going to say as well because although the pics are nice they (unintendedly) almost look like evening or night shots here and there.

**hotsecretary** · 07-21-2009, 06:07 PM

I'm sort of thinking the same as the above.. but also.

Would it not be better to use a reflector and get the natural light?

I think Flash with natural light will sort of be a battle between the two

**Jarhead5811** · 07-21-2009, 07:15 PM

nice [

]

Sean, where are you?

**Keith B** · 07-21-2009, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by hotsecretary

I'm sort of thinking the same as the above.. but also.

Would it not be better to use a reflector and get the natural light?

I think Flash with natural light will sort of be a battle between the two

Warming gel.

**Sean Setters** · 07-21-2009, 11:56 PM

Alright, Jarhead5811, I'm here. ;-)

Hmm....I too would suggest using a wider aperture to capture more ambient light as well as producing a bit of bokeh. Don't get me wrong, the beach is a great thing to see, but we're not really seeing the beach/water that much anyway. And I guess it depends on what your vision for the final image is. The images are certainly interesting as the off-camera light source draws interest to the specific area it's illuminating, but my personal taste is for the flash and ambient to be a little more balanced. I posted this one in another thread, but it's a good, recent example of balancing the light:

EXIF: Canon 50D, 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, 55mm, f/4.5, 1/250 sec, ISO 100

[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.21.08/_5F00_MG_5F00_6366_5F00_film_5F00_format-copy-small.jpg[/img]

In the image above, I actually used 3 flashes and a polarizing filter. Two flashes (each full power) were camera left in front of the subject being diffused by an umbrella. The other flash (1/4 power) was camera left, bare, and slightly behind the subject to act as hair/rimlight. The settings slightly underexposed the background, yet I threw enough light on her to compensate for the fact that I was using a polarizing filter as well as diffusing the light with an umbrella (making it soft and flattering).

And Keith B is right, a 1/4 or 1/2 CTO gel is a great way to warm up the color of the flash to better match the warmer daylight tones for seamless white balance adjustments (or else to just give a warmer/pleasing color to the subject).

Lighting-wise, I think my favorite is the third image (although I'm not a huge fan of the framing).

**PJdelaCruz** · 07-22-2009, 12:40 AM

Everyone,

Thank you very much for the comments! I will take note of reconsidering ambient light on the next one.

During this shoot, I was hoping to emphasize the effect of the flash, and that is why I intentionally left out the ambient light as much as possible. I wanted to play around with the effects of the snoot and the grid for this very first attempt of using off-camera flash.

On the first photo, I allowed ambient light in. For the rest, I tried to lose it to give a somewhat a "night" effect even during noon.

Again, thank you very much. Greatly appreciated!

Also Sean, thanks a lot for the sample photo, and of course the comments. I really like it! I will try something similar next time. I will need to get another receiver for my other flash.

**Sean Setters** · 07-22-2009, 12:46 AM

Originally Posted by PJdelaCruz

During this shoot, I was hoping to emphasize the effect of the flash, and that is why I intentionally left out the ambient light as much as possible. I wanted to play around with the effects of the snoot and the grid for this very first attempt of using off-camera flash.

On the first photo, I allowed ambient light in. For the rest, I tried to lose it to give a somewhat a "night" effect even during noon.
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

In my personal opinion, I think the shots you were going for would have looked even better if there had been a second gridded off-camera flash behind the subject giving them a bit of rim light that separated the subjects from the background (for the hair especially). With the grid you could control how much spill you got on the rocks, while still lighting the edges of the subjects.

What kind of grid were you using on the 580EXII?

**PJdelaCruz** · 07-22-2009, 12:53 AM

Thanks again for the valuable feedback, Sean. I will definitely do that next time! I can't wait.

I was using a HonlPhoto 1/8 Speed Grid on the 580EXII

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