Could you work with just 1 speedlight?

rayonline_nz · May 8, 2018

I just ordered my first ever reflector after doing this hobby for nearly 20yrs. Just casual use of friends and family.

A curious post - many people just have a few lenses and a single speedlight for their entire photography life. Would it be plausible for 1yr or 10yr with just a single speedlight with people at home, outside in the gardens, the beach etc ...? No gary fong attachments, no reflectors, no strobist brollies, no softboxes. You could bounce it off the wall or ceiling where available. You could maybe use a stofen cap since Nikon at least one time provided one to customers (included in the box).

Cheers.

Sirius Glass · May 8, 2018

I use only one strobe. When possible I use a defuser or bounce it.

Ko.Fe. · May 8, 2018

Yes, build in or on-camera flash. Why is it something special?

rayonline_nz · May 9, 2018

Ko.Fe. said:
Yes, build in or on-camera flash. Why is it something special?

I was thinking if it would be limited, if 1yr 10yr that was all you had in all different shooting situations. Many people just have 2 or 3 lenses, 1 body and 1 flash right for their entire lives. One might be outside on a open beach with harsh sunlight or the person might be in shade.

I suppose I do know some people who don't even use flash, they only use available light photography.

If a professional portrait photographer or a hobbyist that does some portraiture. Could they capture a wedding or a social event with yeah just the 1 speedlight and no reflector, no bounce card etc ... I am trying to think for many of those who had limited equipment and including myself, I had this hobby for nearly 20yrs and all I had was a speedlight. I of course wasn't the contracted photographer but you go around and take photographs - wedding, baptism, xmas functions, new year events, at people's houses, morning / afternoon teas, dinners, lunches .....

darkosaric · May 9, 2018

I was second photographer on many weddings (for free, so no stress ), never used flash. 99.9% of time I do not use flash, in 0.1% I use 1 flash (build in or on-camera). I don't feel limited, on a contrary - less is more.

Ko.Fe. · May 9, 2018

rayonline_nz said:
I was thinking if it would be limited, if 1yr 10yr that was all you had in all different shooting situations. Many people just have 2 or 3 lenses, 1 body and 1 flash right for their entire lives. One might be outside on a open beach with harsh sunlight or the person might be in shade.

I suppose I do know some people who don't even use flash, they only use available light photography.

If a professional portrait photographer or a hobbyist that does some portraiture. Could they capture a wedding or a social event with yeah just the 1 speedlight and no reflector, no bounce card etc ... I am trying to think for many of those who had limited equipment and including myself, I had this hobby for nearly 20yrs and all I had was a speedlight. I of course wasn't the contracted photographer but you go around and take photographs - wedding, baptism, xmas functions, new year events, at people's houses, morning / afternoon teas, dinners, lunches .....

I have more than one camera and more than one lens, but I'm using only one flash for everything. Or one sourse of the light.
I have no idea why it is something special here..
Have you seen Jane Bown portraits? She has one bulb in her purse.
If it was not enough light she would use it. Once you'll see her portraits you'll be as liberated as I'm.

jtk · May 9, 2018

http://www.dptips-central.com/jane-bown.html Jane was famous for shooting famous people exclusively natural or other "found" light. Famous people tend to be good subjects for famous photographers.

jtk · May 9, 2018

rayonline_nz said:
I just ordered my first ever reflector after doing this hobby for nearly 20yrs. Just casual use of friends and family.

A curious post - many people just have a few lenses and a single speedlight for their entire photography life. Would it be plausible for 1yr or 10yr with just a single speedlight with people at home, outside in the gardens, the beach etc ...? No gary fong attachments, no reflectors, no strobist brollies, no softboxes. You could bounce it off the wall or ceiling where available. You could maybe use a stofen cap since Nikon at least one time provided one to customers (included in the box).

Cheers.

Why would you do that? "Many people" do it, but few are good indoor photographers. What's wrong with learning how to control light?

rayonline_nz · May 9, 2018

jtk said:
Why would you do that? "Many people" do it, but few are good indoor photographers. What's wrong with learning how to control light?

I thought of this given the perception - most amateur hobbyists only have one flash right. When others see you with a proper camera they immediately think of wedding and family photography. Could one capture a wedding or a family in a botanical garden with just a single speedlight flash without any reflectors or bounce card. Probably not it seems or at a lower quality?

TheFlyingCamera · May 9, 2018

rayonline_nz said:
I thought of this given the perception - most amateur hobbyists only have one flash right. When others see you with a proper camera they immediately think of wedding and family photography. Could one capture a wedding or a family in a botanical garden with just a single speedlight flash without any reflectors or bounce card. Probably not it seems or at a lower quality?

Just a single speedlight, on-camera, on the hot shoe, no modifiers - that would work, technically, but aesthetically it would leave much to be desired. I wouldn't do it, myself. But if you let me take the flash off-camera, and allow reflectors and/or diffusers, then you can make some really amazing looking photos that justify the moniker "professional".

Luis-F-S · May 9, 2018

Done it for years

cliveh · May 9, 2018

Why do you need a speedlight? What's wrong with a window and a white bed sheet?

ic-racer · May 9, 2018

I call them 'strobes' but I have quite a few because each camera system has its special features for the strobe attachment system. Some are brighter than others and some are mounted farther from the lens than others. Some bounce and some don't. I really don't like the 'bounce' effect because it looks as if you are not using a strobe. When I use a strobe, I want the subject brightly illuminated and the background almost black.

bluechromis · May 21, 2018

I think you could do a lot with one strobe. Unless doing a minimal fill flash I would not recommend having the flash on the camera. If autofocus camera you can hold flash with one hand and operated the camera with other. Or you could use a flash bracket of some kind. Also some people warn that if you camera tips over or is dropped a bit the mass of the strobe in the hotshoe may have enough force to rip off the top of your camera.

I realize you want to keep thing simple, but would also encourage you to consider some kind of diffuser for the strobe. Anything that increases the surface area of the light source is good. They have some small bounce cards that could fit into a camera bag easily.

Bounce flash can often work, but there are situations where there is not an ideal surface to bounce from. I have also found on occasion where the effect of the bounce flash can be a bit bland, where using a direct flash on same subject produces an image with more definition.

But you don't have to take my word for any of this. Once you have your strobe, go out and experiment with different methods. You can easily make prototype bounce of cards of various sizes out of white foam core and attach to strobe with rubber bands to test the effect they produce. If you like the result, a more sturdy version can be made from the corrugated plastic board such as used for political campaign signs.

Could you work with just 1 speedlight?

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