A flashgun is an essential bit of kit for the serious photographer. Unfortunately, when mounted on a camera and pointed directly at someone’s face it can give some unpleasant results. You’ve probably seen them yourself, flat lighting, harsh shadows, shiny skin and red eyes to name a few.

There are two possible solutions to this, one is to bounce your flash off a ceiling or nearby wall. The second, which gives more control, is to get the flashgun off the camera completely.

For an off camera flashgun you’ll need five things:

1. A flashgun with a decent output. Look for the ‘Guide Number’ (GN) to find out how much power your unit puts out. For example a Nikon SB800 Speedlight has a GN of 56, that’s plenty, if it’s a higher GN that’s even better. You’ll probably be able to pick up an older secondhand flashgun of any make for very little money. It doesn’t have to be compatible with your camera, you just need to be able to set the output manually.
2. A light modifier. This can be an umbrella, a small softbox or various other purpose built products. This is used to soften, direct and control the quality of your light. I normally use a 48″ umbrella with a detachable silver lining. You can either fire the flash into the umbrella or remove the lining and shoot through it, giving two distinct qualities of light.
3. A bracket to fix the flashgun and umbrella on to a stand. I’ve only found one product that is ideal for this: the ‘Bogen 2905 Swivel Umbrella Adapter f/Super Clamp’ made by Manfrotto. You’ll also need one other small hotshoe mount adaptor to connect the flashgun to the bracket, available in most camera stores.
4. A small portable light stand, but big enough not to fall over when you have attached an umbrella.
5. A means of triggering the flash. This will probably depend on your budget. The cheapest way of doing it is with a cord attached between the PC socket (if you have one) of your camera and the flashgun. Radio triggers are my preferred option, you can get a very cheap set off eBay for about 20.00 pounds or pay a few hundred for a more professional unit. They all work, the cheap ones may need a bit of glue from time to time. They are made up of two or more units, the transmitter goes in the hotshoe of your camera, receivers can be connected to one or more flashes.
   You can also use infra red slave triggers and other built in systems. Have a look at your flashgun and see what it can do.

Next you need to set your light up. Put up the stand, attach the bracket and fit the flash and umbrella. Connect your chosen trigger and test. You should now have a very versatile portable lighting system.

For your first shots make sure the umbrella is set as far away as possible from the flash unit. The farther away the umbrella, the larger the light source, a larger light source means a softer and more natural looking light. Set the power of your flash manually to a quarter or half power and do some test exposures, you’ll soon get an idea of the setting you need. Always use a manual setting for this technique, ttl won’t work.

Find a willing subject and start experimenting. Move your light around them and see how it affects the mood of the image. Set the flash high up and slightly off center and you’ll get a nice soft light. As you move it round to either side of your subject, it will get darker on one side of the face and start to look more moody. Bring the flash closer to the subject and the light gets softer, move it back and you’ll get a harder effect.

Try different modifiers, see what you like. You can also use a bare flash, when it’s off the camera it’s a more useful tool. You can bounce it off a wall, or for a really hard look, point it straight at the subject.

Don’t forget to take the ambient light (the light that’s already there) into account. You might choose to overpower it with your flash, you might want to balance it out, so you are using both light sources. Flash is very, very fast so the speed setting on your camera will affect only the ambient light, the aperture will affect ambient and flash together. Once you get your head round this you will have a lot more control over combination lighting.

If you enjoy portraiture this is a great way to ensure you have a quality light source available at all times. You can make your shots look like they were taken in a studio or you can give them a really natural look, the possibilities are endless. Get that flash off your camera today!

EZ Octagon Softbox Light Review

540W STROBE STUDIO FLASH LIGHT KIT BARNDOOR SOFTBOX SET $229.95

NEW PHOTO STUDIO TENT KIT CUBE LIGHT BOX TRIPOD SOFTBOX $70.15

PHOTOGRAPHY VIDEO STUDIO SOFTBOX COUNTINUOUS LIGHT KIT $259.99

2x PHOTO SOFTBOX CONTINUAL LIGHTING 8 LIGHT STUDIO KIT $98.95

48″ Photography Studio Light Softbox Photo Tent Kit $99.00

NEW 3000W PHOTO STUDIO LIGHTING SOFTBOX LIGHT KIT 302C $390.00

24″ Photo Studio Light Box Tent Softbox Tripod , LS07 $28.50

2 x Strobist Flash Mount Softbox Light Stand Kit New $94.99

Video Lighting Kit PHOTO STUDIO PORTRAIT SOFTBOX LIGHT $109.99

Phtography Studio Light Softbox Video Light Kit WF02 $99.00

Photo Studio Lighting Softbox Video Light Kit Boom 02MX $314.00

3-Lamp Cool Daylight Fluorescent Lights with Softbox $69.99

NEW TWO 42″ WHITE PHOTO LIGHT STUDIO UMBRELLAS SOFTBOX $18.95

2000W VIDEO PHOTO STUDIO LIGHTING SOFTBOX LIGHT CASE US $132.95

Photo Studio Lighting Softbox Light Kit Boom Set X104 $129.00

2400W 3 Light SOFTBOX BARNDOOR PHOTO VIDEO LIGHTING KIT $299.99

2 x White Photo Light Studio Umbrella Softbox 33″ GG29 $9.50

White Photo Light Studio Umbrella Softbox 32″ GG28 $7.00

Photo Studio Lighting Light Kit SoftBox Video Kit, 02WF $154.00

NEW 2000W PHOTO STUDIO LIGHTING SOFTBOX LIGHT KIT $154.95

Softbox Video Lighting Kit 2400Watt Photo studio Kit 3s $169.99

24″ STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING SOFTBOX PHOTO TENT KIT $49.95

24″ STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY LIGHTING SOFTBOX PHOTO TENT KIT $54.95

2x PHOTO SOFTBOX CONTINUAL LIGHTING 8 LIGHT STUDIO KIT $98.95

Video Studio Lighting Kit 2000w Softbox Kit With Case S $169.99

Umbrella Softbox Lighting Kit 800w Video lighting Kit z $154.99

NEW 3000W PHOTO STUDIO LIGHTING SOFTBOX LIGHT KIT 302C $390.00

NEW 480W 3 SOFTBOX STROBE/FLASH PRO STUDIO LIGHTING KIT $303.95

Photo Video Studio Portrait Softbox Lighting Kit 17KT $362.00

Umbrella Softbox Lighting Kit Photo Portrait Video Kit $69.99

Softbox Lighting Kit Photo Studio Video Lighting Kit 16 $129.99

Photography Video Studio Portrait Softbox Lighting Kit $189.99

Video Lighting Kit PHOTO STUDIO PORTRAIT SOFTBOX LIGHT $109.99

Umbrella Softbox Lighting Kit Flourescent Lighting Kit3 $69.99

Photo Studio Lighting Softbox Video Light Kit Boom 02MX $314.00

2x STUDIO PHOTO LIGHTING STAND UMBRELLA KIT SOFTBOX BAG $94.90

2000W VIDEO PHOTO STUDIO LIGHTING SOFTBOX LIGHT CASE US $132.95

2x STUDIO PHOTO LIGHTING STAND UMBRELLA KIT SOFTBOX BAG $75.95

Photo Studio Lighting Softbox Light Kit Boom Set X104 $129.00

2400W 3 Light SOFTBOX BARNDOOR PHOTO VIDEO LIGHTING KIT $299.99

Photo Studio Lighting Light Kit SoftBox Video Kit, 02WF $154.00

NEW 2000W PHOTO STUDIO LIGHTING SOFTBOX LIGHT KIT $154.95

PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO LIGHTING SOFTBOX VIDEO LIGHT KIT 99 $299.99

Photo Studio Video Softbox Lighting Kit 2000w With Case $169.99

Softbox Video Lighting Kit 2400Watt Photo studio Kit 3s $169.99

PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO LIGHTING SOFTBOX VIDEO LIGHT KIT NEW $189.99

2x PHOTO SOFTBOX CONTINUAL LIGHTING 8 LIGHT STUDIO KIT $124.90

Photo Studio Lighting Softbox Backdrop Stand Muslin $289.00

Octagon Softbox Video lighting Photo Studio light Case $109.99

2000w VIDEO STUDIO SOFTBOX PORTRAIT LIGHT LIGHTING CASE $149.99

Off Camera Flash Photography

Off-camera flash appears intimidating to many amateur photographers, because it sounds (for understandable reasons) like something complicated, expensive, and difficult. And it can, in fact, be all those things without the right guidance. But with the right advice, even a beginning photographer can get started with off-camera flash easily and inexpensively.

Today, using small hot-shoe flashes off-camera has become the beginner’s path to great photographic lighting, a realm that in the past required big, expensive studio lights and a big studio budget.

Not anymore.

New technology had made it possible for anyone to take professional-looking photos using the small, detachable flashes (called Speedlites or Speedlights, by Canon and Nikon respectively) that are designed to mount on top of a digital SLR camera. Be getting them off the camera and triggering them remotely, we get studio quality light without the big studio gear.

Best of all, the equipment required to get the flash off the camera costs only a fraction of the price of the flash unit itself.

According to photographer Phil Steele in his off-camera flash course at SteeleTraining(dotcom), a photographer can buy the basic off-camera flash equipment for less than $100.

The basic requirements:

1. A light stand – to hold everyting

2. An umbrella or softbox – to soften and spread the light

3. An umbrella bracket – to mount the flash and umbrella

4. A trigger device, typically a radio trigger

In the last few years, new technology has radically dropped the price of Hong-Kong-made radio triggers, making it possible to buy all this gear, combined, for less that half of the cost of the flash unit.

Now, anyone who wants to make the effort to learn the techniques can have professional-looking light on a low budget.

Small-flash photography should not be thought of as a low-budget compromise for those who cannot afford big studio lights. The strobist-style small flash setup has some real advantages over studio lighting in being portable, battery-operated, smaller, and lighter to pack and carry around.

And although it’s possible to get started on a low budget, photographers should be careful, because it’s easy to spend huge sums if one goes by the advice of certain “experts” or just goes out and buys the most widely advertised gear. Getting started affordably takes some knowledge and research.

With the right advice, the amateur photographer can put together a solid off-camera flash kit on a shoestring budget and get photos just as good as those shot by a photographer who spent ten times as much on equipment.

One source of such guidance is the online video course at SteeleTraining(dotcom) entitled “How to Shoot Professional-Looking Headshots and Portraits on a Budget with Small Flashes.” This 9-video series gives a complete top-to-bottom education in small flash photography, from equipment, to photo shoots, to post-processing.

Anyone interested in better photographic lighting should investigate the new options for inexpensive, off-camera flash photography, especially before investing in big studio lights. You may find that the equipment you already own, with a few small additions, can provide all the light you need.