Shoot to Thrill Speedlight Flash Techniques for Photographers Michael Mowbray

OntheFrontCover:
Model:ErinThomson
Hair/Makeup:VanexaYang
Formoreonthisshoot,seepages38–39.
Acknowledgments:
ContributingHair/MakeupArtists:VanexaYang,KatrinaKing,ChristyGrace
Assistants:KrystalLamberty,OliviaLinden,RachelWaldmer,CallieStrouf,AllisonHalkey,BriannaMowbray,James
Stepp,DavidGrupa
Copyright©2014byMichaelMowbray.
Allrightsreserved.
Allphotographsbytheauthorunlessotherwisenoted.
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Contents
AbouttheAuthor
Foreword
Section1

CoreConcepts
1. TTLSpeedlightExposure
TryingtoTurnItGray
BendExposuretoYourWill
WhyAddFlash?
HowFlashInteractswithTTL
2. High-SpeedSync(HSS/FP)
MaximumFlash-SyncSpeed
DeepDepthofField
3. FlashCommunication
InfraredCommunication
RadioCommunication
AdjustmentsfromtheCameraPosition
4. HardLightorSoftLight
WhatItMeans
ControllingtheLightQuality
TwoApproaches
5. LightingKitsandSetups
StudioPortraitKit
LocationCorporateHeadshotKit
EnvironmentalPortraitKit

LocationSeniorPortraitKit
WeddingKit


Section2

SpeedlightsinAction


1. IntheSpotlight
Opendoorstofindinspiration
2. MadonnaoftheRocks
Workwithwhatnaturegivesyou
3. Temptress
Findamusetohelpyouexplorecreatively
4. WhenIt’sArt,It’sNotCheating
Gotheextradistancetocompleteyourvision
5. BridgePlayers
Speedlightingintherain
6. Arising
Createyourownsunrise
7. Luminous
Aplayoflightanddark
8. ADipintheSun


Anewviewonanoldpose
9. BenchPressing
Getlow,getwide,shootbig
10. BoldlyLightWhereNoneHasGoneBefore

Createlighttomakeanylocationfityourvision
11. GoingParasoling
Dramaticprofilelightinginthemiddaysun
12. Rusty
Bigsoftboxescanworkoutside
13. TheSpikySun
Shootdeepandgetaspikysun
14. Katie
Analternatetakeonaclassicstudioportrait
15. MakingLightWhereThere’sNothingatAll
Shootatnight


16. IsthisIowa?No,It’sPhoenix
Fightthestrongdesertsunandwin
17. GoingOutonaLimb…orTree
Wherestudiostrobesarenotpractical
18. NightandDay
Daytimefornightinanoirconcept


19. Sunset
Theclassicsunsetportraitrequest
20. ALittleFlare
Putthesuninyourbackground
21. BlackSwan
Uplightfordrama
22. RaisingtheLevelofDifficulty
UnderstandwhatTTL“sees”
23. CleanandSimple

Speedlightsforclassicstudioportraiture
24. BendingtheLight
TheLightbendersoftboxforabeautyportrait
25. HaveLight,WillTravel
Beautylightinginunusuallocations
26. ABounceandaKiss
Bouncedflashportraitsonlocation
27. GettingaLittlePunchy
Punchupboring,softlightoutside
28. WanderingEye
NissinalternativestoCanonandNikonflashes
29. Here,KittyKitty
TTLmodelimagesoutsideinthebrutalcold
30. ManyWaystoSoften
Simplediffusionpanels,instantsoftboxes
31. LightingwithanAccent
Yourspeedlightasanaccentlight
32. IsolatingtheSubject
Usingframingandlighttopullattention
33. ZoomingIsFarOut
Extrapoweranddistancefromyourflash
34. AKissofLight


Cutthegreencolorcast

35. TheatricalPerformance
Creativelightinahistorictheater
36. BrassyandSassy
Coolandunusualplacesforportraiture

37. QuietBeauty


Addingdramatoaclassicbridalportrait
38. GlamBlack&White
Ahigh-contrastblack&whitebeautyportrait
39. EmpireoftheSunset
WorkingwithTTLtocreateapowerfulportrait
40. LetThereBeaLight
SpeedlightsandalittlePhotoshopmagic
41. DoingDoubleDuty
Controllingthedirectionandspreadoflight
42. JoanofArch
Lightingadramaticbridalposeonlocation
43. TaketheDressforaWalk
Thevisualcontrastofprettyversusgritty
44. LightingNaturally
Softspeedlighttoblendwithoutdoorlight
45. SpiceItUpwithaLittleColor
Usingcoloredgelsonlocation
46. Temperature,Temperature
Coolbluetonesintungstenlight
47. GettingSoftonLocation
Creatinganinstantsoftboxonlocation
48. VintageStudio
Studiolightmodifierswithspeedlights
49. SlashofLight
AsimplespotlighteffectwiththeSnootzie
50. EnvironmentalPortraits
Executiveportraits,quicklyandefficiently

51. InDepthLighting
SwitchthedepthoffieldwithTTLspeedlights
52. SpringOutoftheBlossoms
Separatesubjectsfromabusybackground
53. BlueSkyatNight
Lightinganighttimeportrait
54. BuildingFamilyConnections
Anewwaytocreatewinningfamilyportraits
55. XtremePortraitsforAthletes
Compositingleadstobigsales
56. FillingtheBlues
Morethanhalfthebattleoutdoors
57. TTLStudioPortraits
KnowTTLbetterbyusingitforeverything
58. SmokingHotBassRiff
Creatingacoollookforanagingrocker
59. GoingCommercial,Part1
Complexlightingforacommercialproject
60. GoingCommercial,Part2
Greenscreeningformaximumflexibility
Conclusion


References
Index


PhotographbyKrystalLamberty.

AbouttheAuthor
SinceopeningBeautifulPortraitsbyMichaelin2001,MichaelMowbray(M.Photog,Cr.)
has gone on to win many awards for his portraiture and was named International PPA
PhotographeroftheYearGoldMedalistin2011andBronzeMedalistin2012and2013.
He has had the highest scoring wedding portrait in Wisconsin six out of the past seven
years. He has won the prestigious Kodak Gallery Award five times and the Fuji
Masterpiece Award for Outstanding Wedding Portraiture three times. Michael has also
beennamedoneoftheTop10photographersinWisconsinmultipletimes.Hehasearned
both his Master Photographer and Photographic Craftsman degrees from Professional
Photographers of America (PPA), and speaks around the country on the topics of
weddings,seniors,andspeedlights.SeemoreofMichael’sworkathisconsumerwebsite:
www.beautifulportraits.com. His web site dedicated to photographer education can be
foundat:www.michaelmowbray.com.


Foreword
verwonderifspeedlightscouldworkforlightingeverythingatyourstudio?I
askedmyselfthatveryquestionseveralyearsago.Asacreativeandtechnical
challenge,Iwasdeterminedtofindtheanswer.Andtheanswer?Itwasa
resounding“Yes!”Inowusespeedlightsfor99.9percentofmylightingwork.I
usetheminthestudioandonlocation,oncameraoroffcamera—everywhere.

E

Benefits
Asprimarilyaseniorandweddingphotographer,Ihavefoundthatspeedlightsfitmy
workingstyletoaT.Thefunnythingis,Iownacompletesetofstudiolightsthatarenow
sittingintheclosetgatheringdust.I’vefoundthatasI’vebuiltmylightingstylearound
themasteryofspeedlights,myworkhasgottenbetter.I’vecraftedauniquestyle,mysales

haveincreased,andmyworkflowhasbecomesimpler.Plus,I’vegottenmyeveningsback
inthesummer.Inowschedulemyseniorsessionsbetween10AMand6PM.Inolonger
chaselight,Icreateit.AndInolongerfearthesun,Iembraceit.

WhatYou’llLearn
Inthisbook,IwillshowyouhowIusespeedlightstocreatemyportraiture,fromdramatic
award-winningimagerytobread-and-buttereverydaywork.Aftercoveringthebasics,I
willtakeyouthroughthecreationofsixtyimages.Iwillbreakthemdownforyou,
showingyouhowthelightingwassetupandsharingthecreativeandtechnicalthoughts
behindeachportrait.

Gear
Throughoutthebook,Iusethewords“speedlights”and“flashes”interchangeably,and
bothtermsrefertothecommonbattery-poweredflashgunthatfitsintothehotshoeon
yourcamera(thoughIprefertosetminefreetoroamthecountryside).Mycamerasof
choicearetheCanon5DMKIIIand5DMKII,andtheprimaryflashmodelusedtocreate
thevastmajorityofimagesinthebookistheCanon580EXII.Youdonotneedtoexactly
replicatethegearIusedtocreatetheseimages;Nikongearworksjustaswell,andother
third-partybrandsofflashes(I’mpartialtotheNissindi866II)cangiveyoualotofthe
samefeaturesandsomegoodbangforyourbuck.

“Everwonderifspeedlightscouldworkforlightingeverything
atyourstudio?”
Hopefullyyoucanusethisbookasinspirationtojump-startyourspeedlight
portraiture!


Section1

CoreConcepts

It’simportanttounderstandseveralcoreconceptsinordertobestleveragetheinformation
inthisbookandmaximizeyourspeedlightphotography.Theseconceptsare:
1. TTLspeedlightexposurecontrol.
2. High-speedsync(HSS)forCanoncamerasandfocalplane(FP)forNikoncameras.
3. HowspeedlightscancommunicateTTLinformationacrossdistances.
4. Thedefinitionsofanddifferencesbetweensoftandhardlight.


1.TTLSpeedlightExposure

A

tthecenterofmyoutdoorandlocationlightingtechniquewithspeedlightsisan
understandingofhowtheflashandthecamerainteractusingtheTTL(through
thelens)meteringsystem.

TryingtoTurnItGray
TTLhingesoffthecamera’sbuilt-inreflectivemeteringsystem.Areflectivemetering
systemmeasuresthelightthatbouncesoffthesubjectandcomesbackthroughthelens
(hence“TTL”).Then,thereflective/TTLmeterhasonejobandonejobonly:ithasto
makearecommendedexposuresettingthatwillbalanceoutthescenetoanaverage
readingof18percentgray(orthemid-pointonahistogramshowingluminance;also
calledmiddlegray).Letmerestatethatinmoresimpleterms:yourcamera’smetering
systemwantstoturneverythingintomiddlegray.Takingaportraitofapolarbearona
snowyfield?Yourcamera’smeteringsystemwillwanttoturnitgray.Takingaportraitof
ablackpantheronablackvelvetrug?Yourcamera’smeteringsystemwillwanttoturnit
gray.

Readingthedarkoutfitandbackground,thecamera’smeteringsystemoverexposedthesubjecttoachievea“balanced”
exposure.ItisimportanttounderstandhowtheTTLmeteringsystemfunctionsandhowit“sees”anygivenscene.

Thecamera’sreflectivemeteringsystemreadthemodel’sbackgroundandaverageditfora“balanced”
exposure.Unfortunately,itwasincorrectforthesubject.

Byadjustingtheexposurecompensation—and,moreimportantly,byaddingmoreflashexposure—wenow
haveaproperlyexposedimage.

BendExposuretoYourWill
Exposingimagescouldbeatroublesomeprocessifonedidnotknowthisfact.However,
nowthatwearearmedwithanunderstandingofhowTTLworks,wecanusethisconstant
tohelpusmakeourdesiredexposures.NoticeIdidn’tsay“accurate”exposures.Whileit
isimportanttoknowhowtorecordanaccurateexposureshowingthetruetonalityofa
scene,itisevenmoreimportanttoknowhowtopushexposuresandbendthemtoour


willstoproducewhatwewantfromacreativeperspective.

Thisimageshowsanadequateexposurefortheambientskycombinedwiththeoff-cameraflashtolightthe
subject.Butcreatively,Iwantedmoredrama.

Here,Ipurposelyunderexposedthesky—butnowthesubjectisalsounderexposed.


Inthefinalimage,Iusedmy“spikysun”techniqueandkepttheskydarkandsaturatedwhileaddingmore
flashexposuretodrawattentiontotheprimarysubject.

Forexample,Ioftenpurposelyunderexposemiddayblueskiesinordertorendera
deeperblue(seetheimagesabove).Inreality,theskyatthattime—tothenakedeye—was
notasdeepasIchosetorenderit,butImadeacreativeandtechnicaldecisiontomakethe

skydarker.Ididthatbyunderstandingthecamera’sTTLmeterreadingandbyknowing
howtooverridemycamera’sautomatedexposuresettingsinordertoachievemydesired
result.

WhyAddFlash?
Letmeuseamidday,full-sun,outdoorbridalportraitasanexampleandIwillexplainmy
coretechniqueinfull.
1.TheSunasBacklight.Myfirststepistousethesunasabacklightonly.This
meansthatthesunisservingasahairandedgelight,butmoreimportantly,itisnotonthe
subject’sface,causingharshshadowsoraseriouscaseofthesquinties.


Ifweexposesolelyfortheambientlightinthebackground,thebacklitsubjectisunderexposedandhasapoor
qualityoflightonherface.

Here,Iexposedforthesubject.Itwasanovercastday,sothebackgroundmaintainedanacceptableexposure
value.However,thelightingonherfaceisstillpoor.Hereyesaregoingdark;itneedsfill.


Finally,Iaddedabarespeedlightforfillandmoredimensionallight.Noticethemorenaturalskintone;the
colorcastfromthegrassandfoliagewasneutralizedbythespeedlight.

Theproblemisthatthebulkoftheambientlight(fromthesun)inthesceneiscoming
frombehindmysubject.Thiswouldrenderherfacedark(underexposed)ifIwereto
createanaccurateexposureforthescenearoundher.Alternately,Icouldchoosetospot
meterthebride’sfaceandexposeforthatmeterreading—butthenthebackgroundandthe
skybehindmybridewouldbeblownout(overexposed).

“Thesharp,reflectedlightfromasilverreflectorisfrequently
toomuchforthesubjecttohandle.”

2.AddFill.Myotheroptionistoaddlightinordertofilltheshadowonthefrontof
mybrideandtohelpbalanceouttheexposure.
Icoulduseareflectortoaccomplishthis,butreflectorsoftencauseacaseofthe
squinties;thesharp,reflectedlightfromasilverreflectorisfrequentlytoomuchforthe
subjecttohandle.Icouldtryasofterwhitereflector,butthatwouldnotprovideenough
lighttobalancetheexposureofthebackgroundskyinordertorenderitthedeepertoneof
blueIdesire.
Inthisexample,ifIwanttoaccomplishmycreativegoal,theonlyreallightingchoice
toistouseoff-cameraflashtocreateenoughlighttofilltheshadowsideofmybrideand
togivemetheexposureIdesire.


Withhigh-speedsync(HSS),Iamabletomatchawideaperture(f/4)withafastshutterspeed( second)toachieve
mygoalsforshallowdepthoffield,creamybokeh,andmydesiredexposureforthebackground.


Usingthisexamplefromearlier,Iwasabletoachievethespikysunbyusingasmalleraperture(f/22)combinedwithmy
camera’smaximumflash-syncspeedof
second.

Ichoosespeedlightsasmylightingtoolbecausetheygivemetheoptionofusinghighspeedsync(HSS)inordertohaveshallowdepthoffieldinmyportrait,orIcanchooseto
haveagreaterdepthoffieldbychoosingsettingsthatdonotneedtheHSSfeature(more
onHSSinthenextchapter).ThecoolpartisthatIcanmakethatdecisionatthecamera
positionwithoutrunningtoresetmyflash.Also,Icaneasilyphotographthefirstframe
withawideaperture(likef/4)forashallowdepthoffield,thenmakeaquicksetting
changeonthecameraandshootthenextframeatasmallaperture(likef/22)foravery
deepdepthoffield.
IdothisbyleveragingtheTTLsystem’sabilitytoadjustexposuresettingsusingmy
input.

HowFlashInteractswithTTL
We’lltalkaboutmanualsettingsinamoment,butfirstlet’scoverhowtheflashinteracts
withthecamera’sTTLsystem.IalreadydescribedhowtheTTLsystemreactstothe
ambientlightit“sees.”ButhowdoesitaccountforandincorporateTTLflash?OnCanon
andNikoncameras,thedefaultsystemisasfollows:
1.ReadtheAmbientLight.Themeterfirstreadstheambientlightinthesceneand
calculatesanexposurebalancingittomiddlegray.
2.ChecktheCameraSettings.Thecamerathentakesintoaccountanysettingsyou
havemadethataffecttheexposure.TheseincludetheISOsettingaswellastheshooting
mode—whetheryourcameraissettomanual,aperture-priority(Av),shutter-priority(Tv),
orprogram.
ManualMode.Ifthemanualmodeisselected,thecamerasimplymarksthepointon
yourmeterscalewhereyouwillachievea“balanced”exposurebasedonaveragingthe
scenetomiddlegray.It’suptoyoutomanuallychangethesettingsfromthere.
Aperture-Priority(Av)Mode.Iftheaperture-prioritymodeisselected,thecamera
takesintoaccountyourhard-setapertureandadjustsyourcameratothecorresponding
shutterspeedinordertoachievea“balanced”exposurebasedonaveragingthesceneto
middlegray.
Shutter-Priority(Tv)Mode.Iftheshutter-prioritymodeisselected,yourcameratakes
intoaccountyourhard-setshutterspeedandsetsyourcameratothecorresponding
apertureinordertoachievea“balanced”exposurebasedonaveragingthescenetomiddle
gray.

“Theexposurecompensationsettingallowsyoutooverridethe
camera’smeteringsystem…”
ProgramMode.Ifyouselectedtheprogrammode,gositinthecornerandponder
yourpoorlifechoices.


3.CheckingtheExposureCompensationSetting.Next,ifyouareinaperture-or

shutter-prioritymode,thecameratakesintoaccountwhetheryouhavedialedinany
exposurecompensation.Theexposurecompensationsettingallowsyoutooverridethe
camera’smeteringsystemtomakedesiredexposureadjustments.Rememberourpolar
bearonthesnowfieldexample?Ifyoudialedinanexposurecompensationsettingof
+1⅓EV,thecamerawouldrecordthewhiteofthesceneproperly.Youareessentially
tellingthesystemtoignorewhatitseesandnottounderexposetomakethewhitesubject
gray.Youarethemasterandknowbetter.
4.TestingtheFlashOutput.Next,ifyouhaveaspeedlighton-camera,turnedon,and
settoTTL,thecamerasensesthatandwillfireapreflashtoilluminatethesceneat
power.Itreadsthereflectionofthisflash,mixesitinwiththeexposurealready
determinedfortheambient-lightscene,andthensendsacommandtotheflashtofireitat
thepowerlevelappropriateforachievingandmaintainingabalancedexposureaccording
toallofthesettingsandadjustmentsaboveinpoint#2.
FlashExposureCompensation.Onesidetracktothiscombinedexposureisifyouhave
separatelysetanyflashexposurecompensation(FEC)onyourflashorinyourcamera.If
thisisthecase,thecamerathenaddstoorsubtractsfromtheflashexposurebasedonthis
override.
5.MakingtheExposure.Finally,theshutteropensandyourcamerarecordsthe
exposure.
WhathaveIdescribedhereisaprettycomplexscenariothatallhappensinafractionofa
secondasyoustarttodepressyourshutterbutton.This,myfriends,iswhycamerasand
dedicated TTL speedlights cost so much; they have these complex brains inside to help
you get the right exposure. We just need to be smart enough to understand what the
camerais“seeing”andknowwhentooverrideandadjusttheflash/camerasettingsbased
onwhatwewantthecameratorecordfromourowncreativeandtechnicalpointofview.
Professionalphotographyisnotfordummies.


Ishotthisinaperture-prioritymodeat

secondandf/4atISO100with–⅓EVexposurecompensation.

PracticalExample.Now,let’sapplythisknowledgetotheexamplewealready
lookedat:abrideoutinthemiddaysun.Forashallowdepthoffieldportrait,mypreferred
camerasettingsareaperture-prioritymode,ISO100,andf/4.
Asmycamerareadstheambientlightinthescene,itseesalotofbright,blueskyand
awhitedress.Becauseitsjobistoachieveabalancedexposureandtorendereverything
to18percentgray,itwillautomaticallyunderexposethesceneslightly.Still,Iwill
typicallydialin–⅓EVexposurecompensationtofurtherunderexposetheambientlight
anddeepenthesky.
Thecamerawillprovidetheappropriatecorrespondingshutterspeed—which,inthis
case,is second.Holycats!That’safastshutterspeed,right?ThisisamajorreasonI
defaulttotheaperture-prioritymodeforthistypeofportrait;oncetheshutterspeedclimbs
above second,Ireallynolongercarehowhighitgoes.Itwon’taffectmyabilityto
hand-holdthecameraortostopaveragemotion.Iletthecameraworryaboutitandfigure
outthepropersetting.
Butwaitaminute.Howcantheflashhandleashutterspeedthatfast?Isn’tthe
camera’smaximumflash-syncspeedaround second?Yes,itiswithnormalsettings.
Readontolearnhowwecanresolvethisissue.