Flash Photography without Shadows

[portocar]

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What is the best location for the flash, relative to the camera, to reduce the harsh shadows.

 

Also, I was thinking of buying two Sunpak Auto 555 handle mount flash units and place the camera between them in order to reduce large/harsh shadows. Does anyone know of a bracket that allows for two Handle Mount flashes to be attached to the Bracket and have the camera placed between the flashes.

 

Also, my intent is to make flash photos outdoors with the M8 and could really use any advice in regards to reducing shadows created by flash photography.

 

I would use a ring Flash. But, as we all know. That is not possible with the M8.

 

Thanks in Advance.

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[LJL]

Nestor,

One of the most effective ways of reducing the harshness of a flash is to make the light source more diffuse and larger, so that the light tends to wrap around the subject more. This is the main point of things like softboxes and umbrellas with diffuser covers. Another way is to bounce the light off of walls and ceilings, if possible, in order to create that diffusion and spread the source. All of that also reduces the overall power of the flash, thus limiting distances for effective use.

 

If you look at a lot of portrait lit images, you will see that there is usually a main/key light and a fill light, which also helps reduce some of the harshness of the shadows cast from the main. Further, getting the flash units a bit above the axis of the lens helps create a bit more downward lighting, and shadows behind a subject will still be there, but project downward, rather than onto a back wall or something else behind the main subject.

 

There are possibly ways to create a modified bracket to handle a couple of "potato masher" type flash units, but it would be quite a bit to handle. You may look to Custom Brackets and some others for what they offer. Really Right Stuff has a flash arrangement that is very nice and flexible, but does not work for handle mount flash units, as far as I am aware.

 

A ring flash creates a more softened, but direct light, which in turn allows the shadows to roll off without harsh edges. The may be a way to mount a ring flash to an external bracket, rather than the lens on a Leica, and then just shoot through the center of the ring flash unit.

 

Finally, you might also consider one of the smaller softboxes that attach to external flash units like Quantum and others, as it will give you a bit more diffuse light, softening of the shadows, and also be muc hmore portable to use, especailly for outdoor shooting also. Again, the more you spread and soften the light, the less "carry" it has, so your distances will be more limited.

 

Sorry I cannot offer more concrete solutions, but there are several ways to tackle the problem and it depends on what you are trying to accomplish with the lighting. Sometimes, a single flash off camera, and a strategically placed small reflector held by someone to the opposite side can create a very lovely, soft and natural lighting look without a lot of extra stuff.

 

LJ

[erl]

Nestor,

 

Your first idea to use two flash units either side of ther camera has one basic flaw to consider. You will now have two shadows to deal with! Better to stick to one unit, diffused in some way and positioned a reasonable distance above the optical axis if your camera.

 

All this will tend to significantly erode the portability and spontaneity of your M8, but that may not be a concern to you. Much depends on the subject style you intend to work with. If you have a particular project in mind, post some details. If it is just 'shadow free' flash pics outdoors you want, simplest and cheapest technique is to employ controlled flash fill with a conventional flash, and add a diffuser if you want to further soften the flash to hide it. In practical terms, this should hide any flash effect. I have, of course assumes some ambient light content. If you are using the flash as sole source of light, then the theory remains the same about elevating the flash above the optical axis as this will 'drop' the shadow below and behind the subject.

 

Best technique is try and experiment till you are happy, as we all do it slightly differently.

[Hartmonstr]

Nestor,

 

You didn't mention what your subject matter was, but if it is people-sized or smaller and you want the most natural look possible you may want to consider a portable flash shooting through a small softbox mounted on a light stand. The flash is tripped by a remote IR or RF trigger. If you underxpose the scene by about a stop and use the flash to bring the exposure back up to normal you will have created a very pleasing and natural light, similar to that in a studio. To maximize the softness of this 'main' light, bring the soft box as close to the subject as possible, just outside the camera's viewfinder.

 

Here is a photo of my Canon setup, followed by a few sample images using this system. (I use it the same way with the M8.) Hope it's helpful.

 

John

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[photorunner]

John what a beautiful lighting effect you can produce with your technique. Can I come close to the same effect using a single non-dedicated flash like the Sunpak 383 or Vivitar 283/285 with a diffuser like Stofen or Lightsphere?

 

I gather you recommend a 1 stop underexposure and the flash set at the ambient reading so that the subject stands out from the background. Am I correct? So say the ambient calls for 1/250 at f2.0, I set the flash either in auto or manual at f2.0 and correct flash to subject distance then set the M8 to either 1/250 at f2.8 in manual mode or -1 exposure compensation in auto mode.

 

How different would the effect be if I shoot at the ambient setting and dial down the flash to 1 1/3 stop for fill light? Does the diffuser need to be taken into consideration? Do you compensate for your lightbox when shooting M8 in manual or non ttl mode?

 

Do you do the same thing indoors as well as outdoors?

 

 

Herb

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Herb think in simple terms here. Proper exposure for the flash say f4 at 125, than bump the shutter speed up 1 stop for the ambient F4 at 250. Also having the flash close on a small box it pinpoints the light more on the flash so there is a smaller beam of light and you get more falloff after the face area. So the flash maybe F4 at the face area but gradually falls off at F.56 around the chest and more further down. The whole idea is the emphasis is on the face area. nice shots BTW

[photorunner]

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Thanks for the help. Flash has always been a mystery to me. I am in awe of the seemingly effortless way people in this forum manipulate light. The same is true with the way some people have such mastery of the digital media. I' feel like I'm on horse while most folks are on a ferrari.

 

Herb

[Guest sirvine]

John,

 

Thanks for taking the time to diagram your set up. With that kind of arrangement, how do you trigger the Canon from the M8?

[rpierce]

A good source for info about flash photography is: Strobist

 

Bob Pierce

[Hartmonstr]

Herbert, it took me a while to figure out 'what' to do first, then even longer to figure out 'how' to do it efficiently with consistent results.

 

If you set the camera's exposure compensation to -1 stop and then set the TTL flash to bring the normal amount of light back to the subject, you will be using your artificial light to define and sculpt the face (or other subject). With the 1DsMkII I am able to use the high speed sync feature on the 580EX flash - that means I can set the lens to wide open (which I prefer to do for single-person portraits) and the flash will sync at any shutter speed up to the camera's limit of 1/8000 sec. There are two benefits to using this system - one, you never have to worry about bumping up against the camera's 1/250 flash sync limit; two, you can throw away the tripod, because you're typically working in 1/1000 or faster situations. Of course, another benefit of using flash as the main light source is that your light is always clean, and you can set a custom white balance for the flash and not worry about the ambient light's color. This works well for portraits, where the eye is trained to see proper facial skin tones, and tends do disregard the rest; it doesn't work as well on inanimate objects, for obvious reasons.

 

Because there is no high speed sync compatibility with the M8, to make this setup work you either need to shoot at lower light levels or stop the lens down (or both). The other option is to use a small refelector close-in to the subject that adds light just to the face, instead of a flash. Exposing for the face with this reflector causes slight underxposure of the rest of the scene, effectively duplicating the lighting style you see in the examples above.

 

The flash on the M8 is triggered by the tiny MicroSync trigger (thanks for the lead, Guy). You could also use a Pocket Wizard or Quantum Radio Slave, but the MicroSync is a terrific tiny match for the M8.

 

The secret to soft light from a small light source is to get the light as close to the subject as possible. This has the effect of a much larger light source placed farther away, plus you'll use far less battery power, with a shorter flash-to-subject distance, especially if you're shooting wide open.

 

The best thing to do is to get out and try it. Experiment with different settings, chimp every shot to see what varies, and make prints from the resulting files (don't just view on your monitor). Then you will begin to get the hang of this. I can work very unencumbered with this set-up, and although it isn't quite as compact as working strictly with available light, it does produce far more consistent results with very little thinking involved. This allows much more interaction with the subject and far less with equipment, which is a prerequisite for a good portrait session.

John

[sean_reid]

How you approach this can vary tremendously depending on whether you have strobes set up on stands for (mostly) stationary subjects or are working handheld and moving around a lot (with subjects that are moving all over). In the latter situation, which is what I often work with, I recommend attaching the flash to a wrist strap and connecting it to the camera with a coiled cord. The flash is held in your left hand and the camera in your right (to focus, you let the flash drop from your hand and hang by the wrist strap). This allows the flash to be positioned any way that you want so that it can be moved constantly. One second it can bounce off a ceiling, then off a wall, then off the white jacket of a person standing to the side of your subject, then towards the subject but from above and to the side, etc.

 

I agree with LJ in that I usually try to diffuse the flash with as large a surface as possible. Needless to say, for effective bounce flash, its good to have a flash with a lot of juice.

 

Also, I almost always use manual exposure with flash. Aperture and ISO will define the exposure levels for flash and ambient lighting whereas the shutter speed chosen will determine the brightness of only the subjects lit by ambient light. The lower the shutter speed (to a point) the more the two blend (in low light). In bright light, it can be the reverse.

 

Cheers,

[Guest guy_mancuso]

John well said the hard part that no one touched on is the ambient light levels too. For me here in Arizona were the sun will fry you getting a ambient level of 250 at f4 is next to impossible and more like F8 so you need to watch the ambient and try this more on a hazy day or so or in the shade. Now the high speed can work with the Canons but the M8 it cannot so that ambient level is something you want to watch carefully otherwise it will blow out instead of darken if your trying to shoot more wide open

[ho_co]

Thanks to all for a lot of support in understanding lighting.

 

@John--

Dumb question alert!

 

In the labeled image, you show a setup with model on the left and an equipment shot on the right. Am I correct that the equipment shown on the right is simply a closer shot of the same equipment already shown in the model shot?

 

(At first I thought this might be a second light...)

 

Thanks.

 

--HC

[Hartmonstr]

"Am I correct that the equipment shown on the right is simply a closer shot of the same equipment already shown in the model shot? "

 

No dumb questions, Howard. You are correct, the right-hand image is a closeup shot of the lighting gear. With the M8, you will need to use the flash slave from the trigger you are using, instead of the red IR sensor shown here woth the Canon 580EX. You will just plug the slave into the flash unit and make sure the sensor has a line-of-sight view of the camera trigger (if it is an infrared type sensor; if it is RF, it can be placed anywhere).

 

John

[Bill Sievers]

This is a very interesting thread. Tnx for sharing

[mwilliamsphotography]

Sean, what flash and off-camera cord are you using with the M8? Nikon? If so, what model flash and cord ... and how long is the cord?

 

I do the same as you with my Canon gear using the STE-2 firing a 580EX, so no cord is needed and I'm free to hold the flash anywhere I want... even hand it to a bystander or assistant.

[cwf]

What is the best location for the flash, relative to the camera, to reduce the harsh shadows.

 

Also, I was thinking of buying two Sunpak Auto 555 handle mount flash units and place the camera between them in order to reduce large/harsh shadows. Does anyone know of a bracket that allows for two Handle Mount flashes to be attached to the Bracket and have the camera placed between the flashes.

 

Also, my intent is to make flash photos outdoors with the M8 and could really use any advice in regards to reducing shadows created by flash photography.

 

I would use a ring Flash. But, as we all know. That is not possible with the M8.

 

Thanks in Advance.

Nestor,

 

AlienBees, AlienBees: Illuminating the Galaxy with Professional Photographic Lighting Equipment, makes a ringflash system (ABR800) with a four inch hole in the center through which to shoot. I know nothing about the product except what appears in the ad on p. 11 of the March 2007 number of Photo District News (PDN), which is published in New York City.

 

This might suffice, some of the time. It looks like the diameter of a circle containing the rangerfinder window and a 50 mm f/2 Summicron on an M8 is about 3-1/2 inches. You might have to focus form outside the ringflash enclosure. I'd be interested to know if anyone has tried this.

[Guest WPalank]

My question is how are you getting the pocket wizard or micro sync (RF) to trigger the 580 EX (IR), that to my knowledge (I think this changes with the new upcoming model) doesn't have a sync plug?

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[sean_reid]

Sean, what flash and off-camera cord are you using with the M8? Nikon? If so, what model flash and cord ... and how long is the cord?

 

I do the same as you with my Canon gear using the STE-2 firing a 580EX, so no cord is needed and I'm free to hold the flash anywhere I want... even hand it to a bystander or assistant.

 

Hi Marc,

 

I use a Vivitar 283 with a remote sensor mounted on the M8 (in a Wein Safe-Synch). I would guess the cord (partly uncoiled) is about 4 feet - ish. Sometimes "old school" is just right. BTW, do you find that the STE-2 will trip the flash no matter where the latter is located? How does it transmit? Melissa and I use remote cords for the Canon flashes on the DSLRs but I like your idea. I should play with an STE-2.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Bill Sievers]

My question is how are you getting the pocket wizard or micro sync (RF) to trigger the 580 EX (IR), that to my knowledge (I think this changes with the new upcoming model) doesn't have a sync plug?

 

I think you can connect to the PC connection on the Flash if there is one