On occasion I am going to post little snippets of information about my photography and the techniques I use. I have never intended that this blog becomes a how-to site but since so many people ask me how I work, I thought I might as well share a little of what I have learned over the years.
If there is one photographic technique I really love to use, this is it, off-camera flash. By removing the flashgun from the camera and placing it on a stand to the side of the subject, it is possible to create a little more drama in the image.
The portrait above was lit with a Lumedyne Signature Series flash unit, but a similar effect can be achieved using a conventional flashgun. The flashgun needs to be triggered someway, the simplist method is to use an off-camera cord, these come in various lengths, and can either be dedicated to your specific camera, or made from a simple cable.
I have several cables, but I normally use a Pocket Wizard to trigger my flash units. Pocket Wizards are incredibly reliable radio triggers with a range of over 1000 feet, and because you are not tied to the flash with a cable you can move about freely without any restrictions.
In the portrait above I used the flash bare, in other words I did not use any form of modifier to change the effect of the light, but by using a flash off-camera I could quite easily have used an umbrella or softbox to soften the light.
Hope you found this useful
Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment