FLASH on camera? off camera? what to do for NON STUDIO portraits

removed account4

Subscriber
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
29,832
Format
Hybrid
i got most of my portrait experience just by doing it. and by assisting people ...
i shot some soft available light, but fill flash or key/sun fill always looked good.
while there is a hot shoe on a lot of cameras, i never really liked what that blast of light looked like,
just as i never really enjoyed the whole washed out flash bulb look. for some stuff it is OK but not really the aesthetic i have been after.
i opted to the have a bracket and the flash off to the side connected with a PC, or the camera on a tripod and the flash someplace else. more freedom bouncing the flash off a ceiling or wall or the ground, or ?? i eventually dropped the attached to the side/bracket.
i started doiing this with a 35mm, eventually to a 6x6, and then to the bigger formats ( 4x5 and 5x7 ),
all on location all off the cuff/not planned more than maybe a phone call once in a while, unless it was
and assignment, then it was planned but pretty much they just knew i was showing up at 1015, and that's it.
with the D-thing, i squelch down the on camera flash to almost nothing, and use a peanut-slave to do what i need.
i've used everything from a cheap, tiny flash ( dont' remember the brand ) to sunpaks, to lumedynes,


whats your set up for non-studio, off the cuff, flash required portraits ( and other stuff )?
do you like the washed out blast from the past wedge-esque look? do you like something a little more refined? do you bring a few lights and have an entourage? or do you just push your film and not have any
artifical light?
 
Last edited:

HiHoSilver

Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2015
Messages
2,170
Format
Multi Format
I'll be following w/ great interest. I've read enough to get some perspective - largely from strobist.com, but don't seem to have a light source that plays well w/ the older manual cameras.
 

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council
Advertiser
Joined
May 24, 2005
Messages
11,546
Location
Washington DC
Format
Multi Format
I try to keep it simple - a reflector is always good, particularly a multi-surface one you can switch from white to silver to gold, or remove the covers and it becomes a diffuser. Other than that, I've got a Calumet Genesis GF400 (they sell them under a bunch of other brand names too- Godox, Witstro, Neewer, etc) 400 w/s bare bulb flash that can be shoe-mounted, or swap out the bottom plate and it takes a 1/4-20 screw and fits on any light stand. It can be sync'd by cord, PocketWizard, or by a proprietary remote that also lets you adjust power output from the camera position (very helpful if the flash is closed up inside an umbrella softbox). Put that in a softbox or an umbrella and you're good to go. Minimal kit, minimal weight, easy peasy.
 
OP
OP

removed account4

Subscriber
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
29,832
Format
Hybrid
scott,

your system is a good one !
i have a few reflectors, but never have an assistant, friend, extra arm,
light stand, ( just a tripod if LF is used ) &c to put it on there to bounce ..
your light seems similar to what i do .. except you put it on a tripod / stand.
its obvious it works, i've seen the photographs made this way ( i think ? )
 
Last edited:

HiHoSilver

Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2015
Messages
2,170
Format
Multi Format
TFC - very cool. 'Sounds like alot of kit for 'minimal'. Thx for posting.
 

frank

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2002
Messages
4,359
Location
Canada
Format
Multi Format
My favourite portraits are taken by window light, or by single studio mono flash bounced from white umbrella.
 
Last edited:

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council
Advertiser
Joined
May 24, 2005
Messages
11,546
Location
Washington DC
Format
Multi Format
HiHoSilver said:
TFC - very cool. 'Sounds like alot of kit for 'minimal'. Thx for posting.
Click to expand...
One strobe, one reflector, one modifier, one stand - that's pretty minimal compared to a full-on fashion shoot where you need a dozen assistants just to keep up with everything, and several gas-powered generators to run the lights. I hate hauling a ton of crap around, and since I normally don't have any assistants, the kit has to be manageable with one hand (the other one is holding the camera!).
 
OP
OP

removed account4

Subscriber
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
29,832
Format
Hybrid

hi scott
sorry, i underlined and bolded.
minimal is good. it really lets you focus on
knowing light, and the subject.
i've seen people with an entourage,
not sure what that was about, maybe they thought they were annie ?

william coupon ( http://www.williamcoupon.com )
does some fantastic work with minimal lights, he's photographed
time covers, us presidents, regular people ...
 

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council
Advertiser
Joined
May 24, 2005
Messages
11,546
Location
Washington DC
Format
Multi Format
I know- it's amazing how much you can do with the simplest of outfits. Shooting my trip to France with just the one Rolleiflex with the normal lens and no artificial lights reinforced that as a lesson. Teaching studio lighting also helps reinforce it - you start off with just one hot light to make your students pay attention to light, where it's coming from, how it looks, etc.
 
OP
OP

removed account4

Subscriber
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
29,832
Format
Hybrid
frank said:
My favourite portraits are taken by window light, or by single studio mono flash bounced from white umbrella.
Click to expand...

i agree, window light is beautiful, and *sometimes* if you have a reflector, you dont' even need the umbrella/lite as fill ..


Ko.Fe. said:
Frank, you are enlightening me often!
And Jane Bown for non-studio portraits. Non-flash portraits
Click to expand...

who is jane brown ?
 

Soeren

Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2004
Messages
2,675
Location
Naestved, DK
Format
Multi Format
Joe McNallys books hot shoe diaries and sketching light gives some good inspiration how to use one light.
 

markbarendt

Member
Joined
May 18, 2008
Messages
9,422
Location
Beaverton, OR
Format
Multi Format
I agree on McNally's book.

My absolute favorite is bounce, kinda like playing pool with light.

The things that make bounce special IMO are the size of the reflector we can have and the direction you can get the light to come into the scene from.

The next best thing when bounce isn't available is a gentle fill. On camera flash provides a very small source so the light is hard and provides sharp shadows that typically distract from what is intended. Matrix balanced fill with Nikon gear is great at this but there are distinct limits.
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
52,927
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format

Chadinko

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2016
Messages
188
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Format
Multi Format
I use flash a lot, and always off-camera. I have two Quantum Qflash units on radio controls, and a whole host of adapter cables for the transmitters that I can use them with my bipole lenses and PC-jack cameras as well as hotshoe cameras. I can use the radios with speedlights as well, but the Qflashes are powerful enough to do what I can't do with the speedlights.

I don't usually work with an assistant, so I don't often do the reflector thing.
 

TSSPro

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2010
Messages
376
Location
Colorado
Format
Multi Format
Nikon and other flashes off camera, normally unmodified, bounced if available. A voice activated light stand helps greatly with things like holding lights on a boom, adjusting output on manual flashes, wrangling stray people into the frame, etc. Normal assistant stuff.

Here is a shot for a wedding a few years ago- backlit from sun, main light was camera left and high, Nikon SB26 on ~1/2 power zoomed all the way out and on a boom being held by an assistant. Portra 400, Bronica SQ-a 50/80mm?

 

DiegoV

Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2015
Messages
30
Location
Portugal
Format
Multi Format
I love flash -- it's such a versatile piece of equipment. It gives you a huge amount of freedom when it comes to controlling your light.

That said, I never -- ever -- use on-camera flash. I usually have my light(s) on a tripod, usually with some sort of modifier (softbox, umbrella, snoot, etc.) depending on the look I'm going for.
 

frank

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2002
Messages
4,359
Location
Canada
Format
Multi Format
When using flash for fill light, like in the pic of the men under the tree, on camera flash is fine. One does not (usually) want fill light to create a secondary source of shadows, which can look unnatural.
 

wiltw

Subscriber
Joined
Oct 4, 2008
Messages
6,450
Location
SF Bay area
Format
Multi Format
When I was still shooting weddings, I would very often employ a 'Main' (highlight( source on a light stand, and a 'Fill' source on camera. That would get rid of the flat uniform on-camera Main source look. And in shooting random shots like on the dance floor, the 'Main' stayed in one place...after all, the sun does not change its position in the sky to be at a fixed angle to the subject!

In bright sun, the on-camera light served as a 'fill' again, and if I had a choice I would try to get the sun off to one side (not full frontal) as my 'Main'...when the sun was somewhat behind the subjects, it offered nice rendition in the hair while my on-camera fill provided sufficient illumination for the backlit faces 'in the shade'.
 
Last edited:

Gargan

Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2016
Messages
5
Location
Iceland
Format
35mm
Flash off camera.

This can be either speedlight or my 300ws godox battery strobe, often softbox or umbrella but also bare speedlight or metal reflector.

triggers are wireless Godox or Yongnuo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…