Outdoor Flash Techniques

Flash and High Speed Sync

I have had Canon Speedlite flash for a couple of years now but since I am primarily a wildlife and landscape photographer, I’ve rarely needed a flash.  But, recently I have been watching a number of very good flash tutorials on YouTube and I’ve been inspired.  What has intrigued me most is how the ambient light can be controlled with shutter speed and dark moody images can be shot in full daylight.  Last weekend my fiancé and I had the opportunity to spend a few days at a cabin in the country.  He would be spending his time hunting deer which would leave me hours on my own to practice some of the techniques I’ve been learning about.  Using a flash is simple but, like anything else, takes some practice.  The key to this technique is to put your flash on high speed sync which allows you to increase the shutter speed on your camera.

orbis^® Ring Flash Set up with flowers

 My first effort was with some Black-Eye Susan flowers at the edge of the lake.  I was using my orbis^® ring flash, which fits over my Speedlite, to soften the light.  The flash was then mounted on a little Joby tripod and placed to the side of the clump of flowers.  I used a 30’ Vello flash cord to attach the flash to my camera.  My camera, a Canon 5D MkII  with attached 70-300mm lens ,was mounted on a tripod.  I also hooked up an ioShutter™  cable which I attached to my iPhone so I could remotely trigger my shutter.  Since I was using fast shutter speeds it wasn’t really necessary but there would be less chance of me bumping or moving my camera.

Final image of flowers

I had to adjust my shutter speed up to 1/800^th of a second before I saw any real change in the ambient light.  Next I tried a shutter speed of 1/1250^th and finally at 1/2000^th of a second the background became nice and dark.  I had to move the orbis^® and flash numerous times.  If the flash was too close, the light appeared harsh even with the orbis^® diffuser.  If it was too far away, the flowers did not get properly lit up.  It took about 5 attempts before I got the effect I wanted.  A little tweaking in Lightroom to bring out the highlights resulted in a nice final image

Set up for bottle image - note the flash in the tree!

My next subject was a series of empty glass jars I found lying next to an old dilapidated cottage that was in a field nearby.  I picked up the jars and lined them up on a window sill.  I didn’t use the orbis^® ring flash this time because I needed more direct light and anyway, I couldn’t figure out how to balance it and the flash in the adjacent tree I was pressing into use as an assistant.  I used a plastic diffuser cap on the flash instead.  It had become cloudy by this time and I found that I only needed to push my shutter speed to 1/320^th of a second to get a dramatic look. Using Lightroom, I boosted the contrast and highlights and added some clarity and sharpening to get the theatrical end result.

Final image of jars on the window sill

Image straight out of the camera

My third practice session was with my fiancé Michael.  After hunting for hours and eating a big lunch, he was more than happy to sit in a comfy Adirondack chair by the lake and let me practice on him.  Once again I fitted the Speedlite with the orbis^® ring flash.  It does a beautiful job with portraits.  I set up the flash about 12 inches from the side of his face.  He hadn't shaved in a couple of days and I wanted to capture the texture of his scraggle.  I had to keep asking him to stop smiling since I wanted to capture the fierceness of his hunter persona.  The sun started peeking out from the clouds at this point so it became decidedly more difficult to control the ambient light.  After waiting for a passing cloud, I ended up using a shutter speed of 1/800^th of a second to capture a soft but moody portrait of Michael.  The striking final portrait was achieved in post processing by increasing the shadows and highlights to create a high contrast image that accentuates the texture and lines of the face.     

Boosted contrast produced this dramatic portrait

I’m very happy with my efforts and can’t wait to practice on other types of subjects. If you want to try this yourself, I recommend you watch some of the videos on YouTube produced by Adorama TV and B&H Photo.

The equipment I used that made these images possible are:

Canon Speedlite 430ex flash

Joby Gorilla tripod

Vello shutter trigger cord

orbis^® Ring Flash by Enlight Photo

ioShutter™ cable release and ioShutterPro iPhone app by Enlight Photo

The orbis and ioShutter can be ordered at: http://usstore.enlightphotopro.com/

Use the code: beachftw  to get a 10% discount and free shipping. (expires 04/30/14)

Coming up next:  ioShutter™ vs. Trigger Trap: A review and comparison of these two smartphone controlled camera trigger devices.

Visit my website at www.beachcottagephotography.com