Flash modifiers

[Bobobird]

Thanks guys, getting to be more instructive then I had hoped.

Colin sir, you mean stay current as in ... ??

[Colin Southern]

Thanks guys, getting to be more instructive then I had hoped.

Colin sir, you mean stay current as in ... ??

As in using them regularly. They have a few "gotchas", but if you use them a few times a month the info should "stay in there".

[Bobobird]

Thanks, for a moment I thought it was something else.

With the high iso/low noise capability of current higher-end cameras I was wondering if is there is really a need to use flash at all?

[Manfred M]

Thanks, for a moment I thought it was something else.

With the high iso/low noise capability of current higher-end cameras I was wondering if is there is really a need to use flash at all?

I can't imagine doing indoor portraiture any other way than using off-camera flash (Speedlights or studio lights). You really need flash to get the images to "pop".

[RustBeltRaw]

Thanks, for a moment I thought it was something else.

With the high iso/low noise capability of current higher-end cameras I was wondering if is there is really a need to use flash at all?

When it comes to shooting indoor portraits, with a high ISO, you can get a shot. With control of the light's position and intensity, you can get the shot. It's creatively liberating. And noise at your focal point is a pain no matter how you slice it.

[rpcrowe]

I use flash 100% of the time for portraiture - inside and out. Natural light sucks! (stands back with marshmellows at the ready!). In all seriousness, outside, natural light is of course a great starting point, but you just can't rely on it to get you the shot you need 100% of the time -- and for that, nothing beats a couple of soft boxes with some off-camera flashes inside.

I totally agree with Colin and I suggest that anyone interested in the creative use of flash study his and other's neat tutorials on flash and portraiture located in the tutorial section of this website.

There are also two other websites that have quite good information:

Neil Van Niekirk
Here is a link to a 90-minute video done by Neil at B&H in New York City. Additionally, navigate around his website and you can get some very good information...

http://neilvn.com/tangents/

Here is a link to Joe Demb's website. In additon to showing how he recommends the use of hs flash modifiers such as the FlipIt. The link contains some other good stuff. Including "humbly spoken" a link to some of my single flash portraits. BTW: I am not connected professionally with Joe Demb. I just like his products!

www.dembflashproducts.com

Flash can be as simple or as complicated as you desire but, as long as you don't use direct flash; the lighing is usually better than available light. Purists who say "I never shoot with flash, I always use available light because flash provides terrible light!" are probably saying, "I really don't know how to use flash effectively!" Creatively used flash produces very nice lighting. When I shoot with flash, I try not to have my images look like flash was used but, that they were shot with natural light. However, when you control the light source, it will usually look better than natural light.

I remember when an instructor at my Navy Basic Photograhy "A" School (1958) standing in front of our class and saying, "I always use available light..." He then lifted a flash unit and said with a smile, "and this light is always available!"

[RustBeltRaw]

Flash can be as simple or as complicated as you desire but, as long as you don't use direct flash; the lighing is usually better than available light. Purists who say "I never shoot with flash, I always use available light because flash provides terrible light!" are probably saying, "I really don't know how to use flash effectively!" Creatively used flash produces very nice lighting. When I shoot with flash, I try not to have my images look like flash was used but, that they were shot with natural light. However, when you control the light source, it will usually look better than natural light.

In this vein, I'd add that full and half CTO gels and a remote cord should be in almost everyone's kit with their flash. It's amazing how much of a difference that $20 investment can make.

[Colin Southern]

Thanks, for a moment I thought it was something else.

With the high iso/low noise capability of current higher-end cameras I was wondering if is there is really a need to use flash at all?

More now than ever. It's no longer a question of having enough light for a technically correct exposure .. it's about the quality and direction of the light - and flash is superb at getting in to all those "important little places" like eye sockets and in dark areas around the jaw and hairline.

[Colin Southern]

Neil Van Niekirk
Here is a link to a 90-minute video done by Neil at B&H in New York City. Additionally, navigate around his website and you can get some very good information...

http://neilvn.com/tangents/

I've had a few online exchanges with Neil ... he's a good bloke. Definitely has his "finger on the pulse" when it comes to portraiture lighting.

[rpcrowe]

In this vein, I'd add that full and half CTO gels and a remote cord should be in almost everyone's kit with their flash. It's amazing how much of a difference that $20 investment can make.

Lex, I agree! Although my Canon 7D has "wireless" triggering, that triggering is not always reliable when there is not line of sight between he pop-up flash and the slave to be triggered. I have had problematic triggering with the "wireless" so I use an off camera cord.

I do have one problem with using the wireless cord. The darn module that the flash hotshoe is plugged into is quite high and IMO, the torque of the heavy flash sitting that high puts a strain on the plastic hotshoe of either the flash or the hotshoe of the triggering module. I wish that there was an internal connection into which you just plugged a cord!

Additionally to the off-camera cord and gels, I would recommend an off-camera bracket. I use the Stroboframe Camera Flip Bracket...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STROBOFRAME-...item2a28d80b30

IMO, the camera flip unit is superior to a flash flip unit if you bounce your flash like I usually do...

[Bobobird]

Good info Richard.