Introduction to Portable Flash
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The document outlines a portable flash photography course led by Adam S. Lowe, covering topics from exposure basics to advanced off-camera flash techniques over four weeks. It includes necessary equipment recommendations and an understanding of exposure elements like ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. The course emphasizes practical skills such as balancing flash with available light and modifying light using various tools and techniques.
![Introduction to Portable
Flash
With Adam S. Lowe [Adam@ASLphoto.com]
Washington School Of Photography](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/20150225-introductiontoportableflash-170301113442/85/Introduction-to-Portable-Flash-1-320.jpg)
Introduction to Portable Flash
- 1. Introduction to Portable Flash With Adam S. Lowe [Adam@ASLphoto.com] Washington School Of Photography
- 2. About Adam Twitter: @AdamSLowe Instagram: AdamSLowePhotography Email: Adam@ASLphoto.com Web: www.ASLphoto.com Address: 12276 Wilkins Ave, Studio 106, Rockville, MD 20852 @DCPhotoSchool www.WashingtonArtworks.com Weddings | Portraits | Events | Commercial | Education
- 3. Agenda • Week 1 – The basics of exposure and flash • Camera and manual exposure review • Portable flash hardware and controls • How flash affects the exposure triangle • Basics of bounce flash • Week 2 – Balancing flash • Mixing flash with available light • Using flash indoors • Using flash outdoors • Handling difficult situations
- 4. Agenda •Week 3 – Modifying The Light •Flash diffusers •Flash modifiers •Gels & Gobos •Week 4 – Off-Camera Flash •Ways to use flash off-camera •Off-camera flash techniques •Off-camera flash modifiers •One light, two lights, three lights…
- 5. What You’ll Need (Don’t buy anything unless you absolutely need it)
- 6. What You’ll Need • Camera with manual exposure controls and a hot shoe • Canon or Nikon DSLR preferred • Flash with TTL, manual exposure controls, and a swiveling/pivoting head • Nikon SB-700, SB-910 • Canon 430 EX II, 600 EX-RT • Yongnuo YN-565, YN600EX-RT • Remote trigger or sync cord to use your flash off-camera • CowboyStudio NPT-04 4 Channel Wireless Trigger for External Speedlights with 1 Trigger and 2 Receivers ($27.33 on Amazon) • Vello Hot Shoe Adapter with PC Socket + Top Shoe - for Nikon or Canon (TTL pass-through) ($29.95 on B&H) • PocketWizard Plus III or Flex TT5 Transceivers ($150-$220 each) • Don’t buy any new toys until after the class. You’ll have plenty of time to play with gadgets and gizmos and will probably realize that you need less than you think!
- 7. Understanding Exposure Everything is a trade-off
- 8. What is a “Stop” of light? • Doubling or halving of light • Cameras typically work in 1/3 stops. Each “click” of the wheel or knob is 1/3 stop • For simplicity, I’ll refer to stops in full stop increments
- 9. The Three Elements of Exposure Darker Brighter ISO – Your sensor’s sensitivity to light 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400 Less Noise More Noise Aperture – How much light makes it through the lens f/22 f/16 f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4 f/2.8 Wider depth of field (more in focus) Shallower depth of field (blurry background) Shutter Speed – How long the camera lets light reach the sensor 1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30 1/15 1/4 Freezes fast moving subjects Shows motion (blur)
- 10. Steps to Shoot in Manual Mode1. Set the ISO: 100 Sunny 200 Partly Cloudy 400 Overcast 800 Indoor/Sports 1600 Dark Lighting 3200 Very Dark Lighting 6400 Night 2. Set the Aperture: f/1.2 – f/3.5 Very Blurry backgrounds (Portraits) f/3.5 – f/6.3 Slightly blurry backgrounds f/6.3 – f/32 Sharp backgrounds (Landscapes) 3. Set the Shutter Speed: •Use a tripod of the shutter speed is below 1/the focal length of the lens (ex. 85mm lens and 1/80”) •Slow shutter speeds blur motion •Fast shutter speeds freeze action ½–1/8 Blur Water 1/60 Portraits 1/250 Freeze slow subjects 1/500 Freeze kids 1/500 – 1/1000 Sports 1/2000 – 1/4000 Very fast subjects 4. Check the exposure: •Watch the meter in the bottom of the viewfinder •Adjust exposure settings to keep meter in the middle (at 0) •Use exposure compensation or aperture/shutter for minor adjustments •Review the image on the LCD
- 11. Understanding Your Flash So many Buttons and knobs!
- 12. Flash Hardware • Tilt and swivel head • Built-in diffuser • Built-in bounce card • TTL & Manual Controls • Zoom Controls
- 13. TTL / Manual • TTL Is the “automatic” mode for your flash • Most people use their flashes in TTL mode. There is nothing wrong with this! • Manual mode gives you full control over every aspect • Learning why the flash is doing what it does will let you troubleshoot problems and situations as they arise
- 14. Exposure with Flash • Differences between aperture and shutter speed • Aperture controls how much light comes in to the camera • Shutter speed controls how long the camera reads the light • Flashes fire instantaneously (effectively) • One shot, two exposures • Ambient exposure is controlled with your camera • The flash’s exposure is controlled by the flash • Adding flash to the equation… • Shutter speed controls the amount of ambient light in your exposure • Most cameras can only use flash at a maximum of 1/200 or 1/250 sec • High speed sync allows the flash to fire at high shutter speeds, but introduces additional complexities • Aperture controls the flash’s exposure • Flash power controls the brightness of the flash (how long the flash fires) • Flash zoom controls the “spread” of light from the flash
- 15. Basics of Bounce Flash • Experiment with flash directly on the subject. • With and without the diffuser • Bounce the flash off a nearby wall • Bounce the flash off a far wall • Bounce the flash off a colored wall • Bounce the flash off the ceiling • Try straight up, slightly behind you, and slightly ahead of you • Experiment with the bounce card • What happens when you use the camera in portrait orientation?