The speedlight studio professional portraits with portable flash michael mowbray

AbouttheAuthor

Photograph©KrystalLamberty.

SinceopeningBeautifulPortraitsbyMichaelin2001,MichaelMowbray(M.Photog,Cr.)
hasgoneontowinmanyawardsforhisportraitureandwasnamedInternationalPPA
PhotographeroftheYearGoldMedalistin2011andBronzeMedalistin2012and2013.
HehashadthehighestscoringweddingportraitinWisconsinseventimes,including
WisconsinBestofShow–Weddingin2007,2008,2009,2011,2012,2013,and2014.He
haswontheprestigiousKodakGalleryAwardfivetimesandtheFujiMasterpieceAward
forOutstandingWeddingPortraiturethreetimes.Michaelhasalsobeennamedoneofthe
toptenphotographersinWisconsinmultipletimes.HehasearnedbothhisMaster
PhotographerandPhotographicCraftsmandegreesfromProfessionalPhotographersof
America(PPA),andspeaksaroundthecountryonthetopicsofweddings,seniors,and
speedlights.SeemoreofMichael’sworkathisconsumerwebsite,
www.beautifulportraits.com.Hiswebsitededicatedtophotographyeducationcanbe
foundatwww.michaelmowbray.com.


Copyright©2015byMichaelMowbray.
Allrightsreserved.
Allphotographsbytheauthor.
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Contents
Foreword

1. UnderstandingSpeedlights
TheWorldofSpeedlights
ThePlusesandMinusesofSpeedlights

2. ManualMode:TheBasicWaytoStart
LightMeters
TheMeteringMode
CameraExposureSettings
Flash-SyncSpeed
ISOSetting
Aperture
ProperExposures

3. TTL:ADifferentWayofWorkingwithSpeedlights
HowTTLWorks
MakingaTTLExposure
TTLinPractice
High-SpeedSyncforShallowDepthofField
DeepDepthofField
CommunicateTTLtoOff-CameraFlash

4. Free-RangeSpeedlights
CordedRemoteFlash
TheQuickList
TheTerminology
PCCords
TTLCords
OpticalSlaves
OpticalSensors,Part2:InfraredTTL
SimpleManualRadioSystems
AdvancedManualRadioSystems


RadioPopperJrxSystem
Godox/Neewer850andFT-16sSystems
HighSpeedFlashSyncwiththeNeewer850
AdvancedTTLRadioSystem
RadioPopperPX
PocketWizardFlexTT5
PhottixOdinMitros+Flash
YongNuo
ReadReviewsandChecktheSpecs

5. FlashModification
FlashZoom
HowItWorks
ZoomLevels
ZoomasaCreativeTool
HardLightorSoftLight?
1. UseBareFlashtoMatchOtherHardLightSources
2. ModifytheFlashforaSofterEffect
BouncingtheFlash
Umbrellas
Umbrella-StyleSoftboxes
StandardSoftboxes
WestcottRapidBox
Lightbender
BeautyDish
MacGuyveredSolutions
TooFlashy?
ComparingtheLightModifiers


CompareThemAll

6. PortraitLightingConcepts
TheBasicsofPortraiture
WhatIsaKeyLightandWhereShouldIPutIt?
TheEyes
TheFivePlanesoftheFace
PositioningtheMainLight

LightandShadow
Tonalities
LightingRatios
LightingPatterns
1. TheRembrandtLightingPattern
2. TheLoopLightingPattern
3. TheButterflyLightingPattern
4. TheSplitLightingPattern
Direct,Short,andBroadLight
FacialViews
Don’tGoTooFar!
BasicandFemininePosing
BasicPose
FemininePose
PortraitLightingSetups
OneLight
TwoLights(andaReflector)
ThreeLights(andaReflector)
FourLights(andaReflector)
FiveLights(andaReflector)
That’sIt!


7. PortraitLightinginAction
LightingforBabies
LightingforComposites
Steampunk
HollywoodVintageGlamour
BeautyLighting
Part1:BeautyDish

Part2:TheEyelighterReflector
Part3:EdgeLights
Part4:BeautifulSubject
Garnish:The85mmLens
ShakeandStirwithaFan
CommercialPhotography


8. LocationPortraiture
Lighting(andOther)Gear
LocationStudio
MobileStudio
LightingandCompositionChallenges
ColorTemperature
ShootingOutdoors
AddingFillintheShade
BattlingtheSun

Conclusion
Index


Foreword
verwonderifspeedlightscouldworkforlightingeverythingatyourstudio?Iasked
myselfthatveryquestionseveralyearsago.Asacreativeandtechnicalchallenge,I
wasdeterminedtofindtheanswer.Andtheanswer?Aresounding“Yes!”Inowuse
speedlightsfor99.9percentofmylightingwork—inthestudioandonlocation,oncameraandoff-camera.Everywhere.Asprimarilyaseniorandweddingphotographer,I
havefoundthatspeedlightsfitmyworkingstyletoatee.

E

Thefunnythingis,Iownacompletesetof“studio”lightsthatarenowsittinginthe
closetgatheringdust.AsI’vebuiltmylightingstylearoundthemasteryofspeedlights,
I’vefoundthatmyworkhasgottenbetter;I’vecraftedauniquestyle,mysaleshave
increased,andmyworkflowhasgottensimpler.Plus,I’vegottenmyeveningsbackinthe
summer!Inowschedulemyseniorportraitsessionsbetween10AMand6PMbecauseIno
longerchaselight,Icreateit.AndInolongerfearthesun,Iembraceit.
Inthisbook,Iwillshowyouhowtosetupacompletelyspeedlight-basedstudio.Iwill
goindepthregardinggearandtechniques,withscoresofexampleportraitsandlighting
diagrams.ImakeiteasyforyoutofollowalongandreplicatetheportraitsthatIshow.In
fact,ifyouskipoverthespeedlight-specificsectionsthatopenthisbook,itcouldbeused
asaguidetosetupanytypeofstrobe-basedstudiolightingsystem.

“I’vecraftedauniquestyle,mysaleshaveincreased,andmyworkflowhas
gottensimpler.”
Throughoutthebook,Iusethewords“speedlights”and“flashes”interchangeably;
bothtermsrefertothecommonbattery-poweredflashgunthatfitsintothehotshoeon
yourcamera(thoughIprefertosetminefreetoroamthecountryside).Mycurrent
camerasofchoicearetheCanon5DMKIIIand5DMKII,andtheprimaryflashmodel
usedtocreatethevastmajorityofimagesinthebookistheCanon580EXII.Youdonot
needtoexactlyreplicatethegearIusedtocreatetheseimages;Nikongearworksjustas
well,andnon-namebrandflashes(I’mpartialtotheGodox/Neewer850andtheNissin
Di866II)canalsogiveyoualotofthesamefeaturesandbangforyourbuck.
Hopefully,youcanusethisbookasinspirationtojump-startyourspeedlight
portraiture!


1.UnderstandingSpeedlights
t’sanexcitingtimetobeaspeedlightphotographer!Somanynewspeedlightoptions
havebeenintroducedinthepastcoupleofyears,fromtherevolutionary600EX-RT

flashfromphotographypowerhouseCanon,tomanyintriguingofferingsfromthird-party
manufacturerslikeGodox,Phottix,Nissin,andYongNuo.Infact,thoseso-called“off
brands”arebeginningtopressureCanonandNikonbyofferingfeature-packedflashes
thatrivalthename-brandsatafractionoftheprice.Thisshouldleadtoamore
competitivemarketplaceasnewpurchasingoptionsabound.Ideally,thiswilldrivedown
thepriceoftheCanonandNikonspeedlights.Itwillbeinterestingtoseehowthisplays
outoverthenextcoupleofyears.Inanyevent,there’sneverbeenabettertimeto
transitiontoaspeedlight-basedstudio!

I

“Ihavefoundthattherereallyisverylittlethatspeedlightscannotdoina
studioorlocationlightingenvironment.”
Inthissection,Iwilldelveintothegood,thebad,theugly,andthebeautyof
speedlights.Aswemovetothenextsection,I’llincludebriefoverviewsofthetop
speedlightofferingsinthemarketasofthisprinting.(Forreviewsofsubsequentmodels,
visitmywebsiteforprofessionalphotographersatwww.michaelmowbray.com.)
Throughoutthebook,Iwillfocusprimarilyonspeedlightsthathaveatleastsomelevelof
advancedfunctionality,suchasTTL(throughthelensmeteringcompatibility),remote
poweradjustment,and/oroff-cameraslavefunctionality(viaradioand/oropticalor
infraredsignals).

TheWorldofSpeedlights
Speedlightsaren’tperfect.Butthenagain,neitherarethosemulti-thousand-dollarProfoto
lightingsystemsfavoredbymanycommercialandfashionphotographers.Havingworked
withmanydifferentartificiallightingsystemsmyself,however,Ihavefoundthatthere
reallyisverylittlethatspeedlightscannotdoinastudioorlocationlightingenvironment.
Truly,theonlyplaceIseespeedlightscomingupshortisinsituationswhereoneneeds
atonoflightdeliveredconveniently.Forexample,Icertainlycanstackeightspeedlights
togethertomatchorexceedtheoutputofoneAlienBees1600—buthowconvenientis

that?AndifmyeightspeedlightswereallCanon600EX-RTs,at$500eachthatwould
run$4000versusthe$600foranAlienBees1600,plusaVagabondminibatterytomakeit
portable.Onthesurface,inthispurepowercomparison,thespeedlightsdonotmake
sense.But…whatifyoualreadyowntheeightspeedlights?Perhapsyouareawedding
photographerandhavethatmanytocoveratwo-photographerteamwithbothon-camera
andoff-cameraflashesaswellashavingseveralbackups.Inthiscase,woulditmake
economicalsensetopurchasetheAlienBees1600andbattery?Perhapsnot.It’san
argumentthatIoftenfacewhenchampioningspeedlights(andoneIoftenhavewithmy
buddy,DanFrievalt,justforfun).


HereIhaveequippeda7-footparabolicumbrellawithaLightwareFourSquareadapterholdingfourGodox/Neewer
v850flashes.Forthetestexposure,eachflashwaspoweredupto1/1(fullpower).At10feetindistanceandISO100,
thisyieldsf/9.Atjust5feet,thisjumpsuptof/18.That’squiteabitofpowertouse—especiallywhenyouconsiderthe
ramificationsofusingahigherISO.Forexample,ISO160woulddeliverf/22at5feet.Thecostforfourv850
speedlightswithreceivers?Lessthan$500.

Withtheflashheadstiltedto45degreesinordertobetterfilltheentireparabolicfabric,thissetupgeneratesprettyeven
lightoutputacrossthewholeumbrella.

Letmechasethisargumentonestepfurther.InsteadofthemorepriceyCanon600EXRTs,whatifweweretoswapineightNeewertt850flashesthathaveapproximatelythe
samepoweroutputastheCanonflashes,butatastreetpriceof$105each.That$840total
investmentmakesmoresense—butyoualsolosetheoff-cameraTTLfeatures,whichthe
Neewertt850doesnotfeature.Oh,andifyoucoupleinaFT16sreceiverforeachflash
alongwithaCellsII-Ctransmitter,youcanachievehigh-speedsyncwiththeseflashes
andmanuallydialyourpowerupanddownfromcameraposition.Atthispoint,thetotal
investmentwouldbearound$1200—butyou’dhaveaneight-lightsetupthatwouldallow
youtodoalmostanythingwithyourlighting!Thesameinvestmentwouldgetyoujust
two“studio”lights(usingtheAlienBees1600splusabatterysetup,asanexample).

“Mypersonalpreferenceisforspeedlights,andIwilleffectivelyshapeand
expandthatargumentthroughoutthisbook.”
Ofcourse,the“features”argumentexpandsfromthereandgetsmorecomplex,butmy
overridingpointisthateitherchoicemakessenseandwillbefunctional.Thereisnoone
rightanswer.Mypersonalpreferenceisforspeedlights,andIwilleffectivelyshapeand


expandthatargumentthroughoutthisbook.

ThePlusesandMinusesofSpeedlights
Let’sbeginwithadiscussionoftheplusesandminusesofworkingwithspeedlights,
thoughmuchofthisfallsintoagrayarea,becausenotallplusesandminusesare
trueacrossallspeedlights.Confusing,huh?I’llexplainasIgoon.


2.ManualMode:TheBasicWaytoStart
hemostbasicwaytostartworkingwithaspeedlightissetitonmanualandturnthe
powerup/downontheflashitselftoachieveyourdesiredexposure.It’ssimple,and
oftenit’stheleastexpensivewaytogetstartedbecausebasicmanualflashes(onesthatdo
nothaveTTLcapability)canbefoundforaround$60.Forexample,aYongNuoYN560
manualflashwas$61atlastcheck.ItisjustslightlylesspowerfulthantheCanon600EXRT,yetitcostshundredsofdollarslessbecauseitdoesnothavetheadvancedeTTLand
radio-triggeringfeaturesoftheCanonmodel.Yousimplysetthepowerlevelsomewhere
fromfullpower( )downto powerandshoot.Todeterminetherightsetting,you’ll
needtouseaqualitylightmeterthatcanmeasureflashexposure.And,becausethisis
primarilyabookonstudiolighting,youwillneedtofindawaytotriggeryour
speedlight(s)whentheyaredetachedfromthecamera.

T

ACanon600EX-RTsettomanualmode.

LightMeters
Measuringthequantityoflightcomingfromyourflashtohelpyoudetermineexposure
requirestheuseofaflashmeter.Mostqualitylightmeterscanmeasurebothambient
(continuouslightsourceslikethesun,indoorlighting,etc.)andflash(quickburstsoflight
fromaspeedlightorastudiostrobe).Yourin-camerametercannotmeasurethelightfrom
amanualspeedlightsetupoff-camera.Youhavetousealightmeter.
IpersonallythinkthatSekonicmakessomeofthebestlightmetersavailable,andto


methebestall-aroundmeter,intermsofaffordabilityandreliability,istheL-358.
TheL-358,sadly,hasbeendiscontinued,buttheycanbeeasilyfoundontheused
marketfor$200–$250.Otherwise,theentry-levelL-308canbepurchasedforaboutthe
samepricenew.ThereplacementfortheL-358istheL-478d,whichcanbefoundfor
about$340new.Manyotherlightmetersareonthemarket,butyoucannotunderestimate
thevalueofaquality,accuratelightmeter.Thetopbrands,SekonicandGossen,arethe
go-tometerbrandsformostprofessionalphotographers.

TheMeteringMode
Onceyouhaveaflashmeter,howdoyoumeterforaflashexposure?First,youneedtoset
yourmetertothemanualflashsetting.Theclose-upofthemetertothebottomright
showsfouriconsacrossthetop.Theyrepresent,inorder:
Sun
Lightningbolt

Ambientlight.
Cordlessflash;theflashmustbetriggeredmanuallybyyou.

Lightningbolt+C

Cordedflash;theflashistriggeredbyasynccordthatyourunfromthe
PCconnectiononthemetertotheflash.

Lightingbolt+T

Radiotriggeredflash;youhaveaspecialradiomoduleinstalledinyour
meterthatcanremotelytriggerflashesconnectedtoPocketWizardor
RadioPopperreceivers.

Whenyouarejuststartingout,youwillusuallybeusingthefirstflashmetersetting
(thelightningbolt)andwillneedtotriggeryourflashmanuallyusingaseparate
transmitterandreceiver.Thisiscoveredinchapter4.


TheSekonicL-358lightmeter.

Close-upofalightmeter.

CameraExposureSettings
Flash-SyncSpeed.Whenworkingwithflash,yourshutterspeedmustbesetatorbelow
yourcamera’sflash-syncspeed.Whatis“flash-syncspeed”?Itisthefastestshutterspeed
atwhichyourcameracanoperatewhenusingaflash,firingthelightattheinstantthe
shutterisfullyopen.Formanycameras,thissettingis
or
second.Youwillneed
toconsultyourcamera’smanualtodeterminethemaximumflash-syncspeedforyour
specificcamera.


However,thisflash-syncspeedisbasedonhavinganon-cameraflash.Ihavefound,

inpractice,thattheveryslightdelayyouhavewhenyouuseatransmittertofireanoffcameraflash(called“propagationdelay”)canmakeyoureffectiveflash-syncspeedone
shutterspeedsettingslower.Meaning,ifyourcamera’sflash-syncspeedis
second,
youractualsafeshutterspeedsettingwilllikelybe secondwhenusingoff-camera
flash.Anyshutterspeedslowerthanthatwillalsobesafe.Butthesloweryourshutter
speedis,themorelikelyyouaretointroduceblurduetocamerashakeorsubjectmotion.
Asabestpractice,trytokeepyourshutterspeedatonenotchbelowyourflash-syncspeed
whenworkinginthestudio.Forme,Isetmyshutterto secondonmyCanon5D
MKIII.Ithensetthecorrespondingshutterspeedonmylightmeter.
ISOSetting
ThenextstepinmeteringistosetmydesiredISO,which(inthestudio)isgenerally
betweenISO100and400—andoccasionallyhigher.WhynotjustalwaysuseISO100?
PerhapsyouweretaughtthatanyISOabove100startstogetnoisy.Andperhapsthatwas
true…in2002.Today’sdigitalsensorsgiveustheopportunitytocapturehigh-quality,
virtuallynoiselessimagesathigherISOs.Onmy5DMKIII,Icancleanlyphotograph
portraitsatISO800withlittleconcernforvisible,objectionablenoise.Ifyoufindthe
noiseonthiscameraobjectionableatISO800,thenmyadvicetoyouistoquitpixelpeepingat100percentmagnificationonyourmonitor!Muchofwhatyouseeas“noise”
onscreenwillnotappearinprints.MyotherpieceofadviceistogoshootsomeISO400
or80035mmfilmtoseewhat“noise”usedtobeacceptable.(Weusedtocallit“grain!”)

Thisisthesoleportraitinthisbookthatwasphotographedusingonlyavailablelight.Whyshowit?Itwasshotabout
thirtyminutesaftersunsetatISO25,600ontheCanon5DMKIIIusingan85mmlensatf/1.8withshutterspeedof
second.Istheregrain?Sure.Butisitstillaniceportrait?Absolutely!


AportraittakenatISO800.Noise?Whatnoise?(Settings:Canon5DMKII,

second,f/4.5,ISO800).

Inthestudio,Iwouldmuchratherfiremyflashesat½poweratISO200thanfire

thematfullpoweratISO100.Thereareplentyofprettygoodreasons:
Iwillgetfasterrecycletimes.
Icanfiremyflashatleasttwiceasmanytimesonthesamesetofbatteries.
Iamfarlesslikelytooverheatmyflash.
Iwillhavelesswearandtearontheflashtube,extendingthelifeofmyflash.
Aperture
OnceI’vesetmyshutterspeedandISO,thenextstepistodeterminemydesiredaperture
orf-stop(usedinterchangeably).Whynotjustfiretheflashandsettheapertureaccording
tohowmuchlightwehave?BecauseIwanttodictatethedepthoffieldfortheimage.It
reallyisthefirstcreativedecisionImakethatdirectlytiesintothetechnicalsettingsfor
theimage.
Inthestudio,Iphotographalotofmyindividualportraitsatf/4.0tof/6.3.Thiskeeps
theeyessharpwhilehavingagradualfocusfallofftowardthebackofthesubject’shead.
Thisincreasestowardthebackground,keepingthebackgroundsoftyetwithsomedetail.
Forfamilies,Itargetanapertureoff/11,givingmegreatdepthoffieldandbetter
sharpnessoneveryoneinthefamilyastheirfacesfallintodifferentplanes(varying
distancesfrommylenstotheirrespectivefaces).Foratightbeautyshotofamodelwhois
facingsquaretothecamera,Imaysetmyaperturetof/1.8toattainveryshallowfocuson
theeyesonlyandachieveaverysoftbokehoneverythingfromtheeyesonback.Ihave
differentaperturesfordifferentneeds—alldeterminedbymebeforeanyshotistaken.
Let’sassume,forourexample,thatIhavesetmyISOat200andmyshutterspeedat
second.Now,Iwantanapertureoff/6.3.IpositionmyflashwhereIwantittobe(I’ll
getintogreaterdetailonthislaterinthebook).Then,Iplacemylightmeterrightatthe
subject’sfacewiththedomepointeddirectlyattheflash.Itriggertheflashandgetmy


reading(remember—themeterneedstobesettotheproper“flash”setting).Let’ssaymy
readingisf/8,whichis⅔stopstrongerthanwhatIneed.Inthiscase,Imustturndownthe
poweronmyflashby⅔stop.Makessense,right?AfterIhavedoneso,Itakeanother
meterreading.Itshouldsay“f/6.3.”Perfect.NowIhavematchedtheflashexposuretomy

desiredcamerasettings.ButwhatifIhavemultipleflashes?Whoa,slowdown,Tiger.I
willbecoveringthatwhenIoutlinemultiple-lightsetupsforportraiturelaterinthebook.

ProperExposures
Sowhyshouldyousetyouraperturetotheexactreadingoftheflashmeter?Theflash
meterismeasuringtheamountoflightreachingyoursubject.Bysettingyouraperture,
ISO,andshutterspeedtomatchthemeter,youwillbecreatingaproperexposurethat
representsthetruetonalityofyoursubject.Thismeansyouwillbecapturinganimageof
yoursubjectthatrepresentshowtheyactuallylook(moreonthisinchapter6onlighting
forportraits).Whiletherecanbecreativereasonstointentionallyunder-oroverexpose
yoursubject,untilyouintimatelyunderstandhowtocaptureproperexposures,pleasedo
notgooutandpurposefullycapturepoorlyexposedimages.Ifeelitisbettertousea
properexposuretorecordasmuchsubjectdetailandimagedataaspossibleandcreatively
darkenorbrightenyourimageinpostproduction.Ifyouoverexposeyourimage,youwill
belosingdetailinthehighlights—andblown-outhighlightdetailisgone.Period.Nodata.
Anunderexposedimagelacksdataintheshadows,andwhileyoucansometimesextract
someofthisdatainpost-processing,theresultisalotofdigitalnoiseintheshadows.
Why?Youdidn’thaveenoughdatatobeginwith.
Socaptureaccurate,properexposures.Withthismethodology,youwillalwayshave
theoriginal,properlyexposedimagetofallbackon.

Youcanachieveveryshallowdepthoffieldwitharapidfalloffwithalargeaperturelikef/1.8.Photographedwiththe
Canon5DMKIIIand85mmf/1.2lens.


3.TTL:ADifferentWayofWorkingwith
Speedlights
fworkinginmanualmodeisthebasicwaytostart,thenusingtheTTL(throughthe
lens)modeismorelikeamasters-levelapproach.It’samorecomplexwayofthinking,
butonceyougrasptheconceptsandtechniques,TTLcanstreamlineyourefficiencywhen

workinginfast-pacedlightingsituationslikeyoufindasaweddingandevent
photographer.Personally,Ibelievethereisatimeandplaceforbothmethods,andIwill
switchbackandforthdependingonthesituation.Studiowork?Allmanual.Wedding
outdoorportraitsinthesun?MostlyTTL.Candids?TTL.Outdoorseniorportraits?Amix
ofboth.LetmetalkalittlemoreabouthowIuseTTLforchallengingoutdoorand
locationphotographytohelpgiveyouabetterfeelforwhenIthinkTTLworksbest.

I

HowTTLWorks
Atthecenterofmyoutdoorandlocationlightingtechniquewithspeedlightsisan
understandingofhowtheflashandthecamerainteractusingtheTTLmeteringsystem.
TTLhingesoffofthecamera’sbuiltinreflected-lightmeteringsystem.Thissystem
measuresthelightthatbouncesoffthesubjectandcomesbackthroughthelens(hence
“TTL”).
Fromthere,TTLmeterhasonejobandonejobonly:tomakearecommended
exposuresettingthatwillbalanceoutthescenetoanaveragereadingof18percentgray,
orthemid-pointonahistogramshowingluminance.Letmerestatethatinmoresimple
terms:yourcamera’smeteringsystemwantstoturneverythingintomiddlegray.Takinga
portraitofpolarbearonsnowfield?Yourcamera’smeteringsystemwillwanttoturnit
gray.Takingaportraitofablackpantheronblackvelvetrug?Yourcamera’smetering
systemwillwanttoturnitgray.Thiscanbetroublesomeifyoudon’tknowhowto
compensate.However,armedwiththisknowledge,wecanactuallyusethisconstantto
helpusmakeourdesiredexposures.

“TTLcanstreamlineyourefficiencywhenworkinginfast-pacedlighting
situationslikeyoufindasaweddingandeventphotographer.”
NoticeIdidn’tsay“accurateexposures.”Whileitisimportanttoknowhowtorecord
anaccurateexposureshowingthetruetonalityofascene,itisevenmoreimportantto
knowhowtopushexposuresandbendthemtoourwillstocreatewhatwewant.For

example,Ioftenpurposelyunderexposemiddayblueskiesinordertorenderadeeper
blue.Inreality,theskyatthattimetothenakedeyewasnotasdeepasIchosetorenderit.
Imadeacreativeandtechnicaldecisiontomaketheskydarker—andIdidthatbyfirst
understandingtheTTLmeterreadinginthecamera,andbyknowinghowtooverridemy
camera’sautomatedexposuresettingsinordertoachievemydesiredresult.


Iunderexposedtheambientlightinthescenebyabout1⅓stopsinordertogetarichblueintheskyandwater.I
counteractedthisunderexposurebylightingmybridewithtwooff-cameraspeedlightstocameraright,andmyoncameraspeedlightfiringasafilllight.Theresultisdramaticandeye-catching.Ipoppedthecontrastandsaturationa
littleinpostproductionusingtheNikColorEfexPro“TonalContrast”filter,thenaddedatexturescreenfrommy
Texturelandcollection.

MakingaTTLExposure
We’lllookatthatprocessmoreinamoment—butfirst,let’scoverhowtheflashinteracts
withthecamera’sTTLsystem.


First,themeterreadstheambientlightinthescene.Then,thecameratakesinto
accountanysettingsyouhavemadethataffecttheexposure.ThisincludestheISOand
yourexposuremode.Ifyou’reshootinginmanualmode,yourcamerasimplymarksthe
pointonyourmeterscalewhereyouwillachievea“balanced”exposure,basedon
averagingthescenetomiddlegray.It’suptoyoutomanuallychangesettingsfromthere.
Ifyou’reshootinginaperture-prioritymode(Av),yourcameratakesintoaccountyour
hard-setapertureandsetsyourcameratothecorrespondingshutterspeedinorderto
achievea“balanced”exposurebasedonaveragingthescenetomiddlegray.Ifyou’veset
yourcameratoshutter-prioritymode(Tv),yourcameratakesintoaccountyourhard-set
shutterspeedandsetsyourcameratothecorrespondingapertureinordertoachievea
“balanced”exposurebasedonaveragingthescenetomiddlegray.(Andifyouselectedthe
program[P]mode…well,justgositinthecornerandponderyourpoorlifechoices.No
proshouldbeshootinginprogrammode.)

Next,ifyouareinAvorTvmode,thecameratakesintoaccountwhetheryouhave
dialedinanyexposurecompensation(EC).Exposurecompensationisanimportanttool
thatallowsyoutooverridethecamera’smeteringsystemtomakedesiredadjustments.
Rememberourpolarbearonthesnowfieldexample?Ifyoudialinexposurecompensation
of+1⅓stops,thecamerawillrecordthewhiteofthesceneproperly.Youareessentially
tellingthesystemtoignorewhatitseesandnotmakethewhitesubjectgray;youarethe
masterandknowbetter.

Exposurecompensationadjustmentonthecamera.

Ifyouhaveaspeedlightonthecamera,turnedon,andsettoTTL,thecamerasenses
that.Atthispoint,itwillfireapreflashtoilluminatethesceneat power.Itreadsthe
reflectionofthisflash,mixesitinwiththeexposurealreadydeterminedfortheambient
scene,andthensendsacommandtotheflashtofireatthepowerlevelappropriatefor
achievingandmaintainingabalancedexposureaccordingtoallofthesettingsand
adjustmentsabove.Onesidetracktothiscombinedexposureisifyouhaveseparatelyset
anyflashexposurecompensation(FEC)onyourflashorinyourcamera.Ifyouhave,the
camerawillthenaddtoorsubtractfromtheflashexposurebasedonthisoverride.

“Youareessentiallytellingthesystemtoignorewhatitseesandnotmakethe
whitesubjectgray;youarethemasterandknowbetter.”


Settingtheflashexposurecompensation(FEC)onaflash.Ontheleft,theFECisturnedup+⅔stoponaCanon
580EXII.Ontheright,theFECisturnedup+1stoponaCanon600EX-RT.

Finally,theshutteropensandyourcamerarecordstheexposure.
WhatIhavejustdescribedisaprettycomplexscenariothatallhappensinabrief
fractionofasecondasyoustarttodepressyourshutterbutton.This,myfriends,iswhy
camerasanddedicatedTTLspeedlightscostsomuch:theyhavethesecomplexbrains

insidetohelpyougettherightexposure.Wejustneedtobesmartenoughtounderstand
whatthecamerais“seeing”andknowwhentooverrideandadjustbasedonthis
knowledgeandwhatwewantthecameratorecordfromourowncreativeandtechnical
pointsofview.Professionalphotographyisnotfordummies!

TTLinPractice
Letmeexplainmycoretechniqueinfull.We’lluseamidday,full-sun,outdoorbridal
portraitasanexample.Myfirststepistousethesunasabacklightonly.Thismeansthat
thesunisservingasahairandedgelight—but,moreimportantly,itisnotonthesubject’s
facecausingharshshadowsoraseriouscaseofthesquinties.


Iplacedthesunatthebride’sbackandusedoff-cameraflashtobalancethelightontheshadowsideofmysubject.