Neil January 26th, 2008

Using shoe mount flashes off camera - My Two lights

The Sniper System

What happens if you’re contracted to be at the wedding for 2-3 more hours and there’s only dancing happening? You just learn to get it - to keep from being bored and to be able to portray the event as the client remembers it. I suggest that you use my general wedding reception tips and techniques for most situations you will encounter, this technique is more of a special trick that I pull out after a few drinks or if the room is not condusive to other types of lighting. Here’s a sample to wet your appetite:

Specifcally this technique is usefull for two purposes

1. Capturing lighting effects - while working in extremely dark areas or with accent lighting from a DJ or band
2. Capturing erratic and wild motions - where you can’t afford shadows from a room light amongst crowded dancers

These ballroom salsa dancers were as fast and skilled as anything you’d see in a movie. They change their angles and moves faster than I can keep up with them. To rely on a room light to illuminate them could be nice, but it would likely overpower the DJ’s spots (thereby loosing the ambiance that is rememberd). In the intricate chase that is necessary to keep the action in my frame I also can’t rely on the window of perspective given by the room light to match the timing and interesting gestures of the dancers so I use my two shoe mount lights. I also very much like the modeling that the sharp light from the flash heads can produce on shiny dresses (seen above). Where the room light technique allows me to give a layered composition and deep perspective - this technique allows me to be right up in the action!

Two shoe flashes - balancing act

The trick to getting good shots that capture the ambient, the action and provide enough fill to highlight that action is to know how your camera is going to react. The only way to really know is to shoot thousands and thousands of frames, so if you’re hoping that this instruction will give you the secret trick - you’re looking for the wrong thing. During my wedding season I personally shoot 8,000+ images a month so that should give you some idea of the volume of practice you should expect before mastering your shoe flashes. The purpose of this document is to give you a starting point for technique and visual inspiration of what can be possible. The hard work and determination to make it a reality for yourself is up to you.Lets step back and look at what you’re trying to catch. The lightshow is moving fast, the people are moving faster. People are reacting to each other and the music and you may need to be anywhere on the dancefloor within a second or two to catch whatever wild action is going on. If you are slow on your feet - you will miss it. I suggest you keep a personal routine of fitness so that you can be nible on your feet even after you’ve been shooting for 6-8 hours at this point in the day. So pull out your shoe flash, put one on the camera and one in your left hand. Start shooting….

You have to know how your TTL metering and flash system will react for the camera you’re using. For instance, when I’m using my Canon 1dM2, I generally have the TTL exposure compensation set to +1/3 and the ETTL(flash exposure compensation) set to -1/3. I also use two 550ex flashes, one on camera and one in my left hand. Both heads are zoomed to 50-70mm to keep the light from spilling onto foreground objects such as arms. Also make sure your focus point is on your subject for good TTL readings. When I was using the Canon 10D I had to use a little more compensation, about +1TTL and -1Flash Compensation - so feel it out for the model or body that you are using and the contrast you want in your images.

If its really dark, then I’ll set my exposure manually at something like 1/30sec (minus two stops to general ambient readings) and the flash compensation between 0 and +2/3. That allows me to hold the highlights while achieving a dark background (with hints of detail) and brighten my subject with a touch of flash. Each event and lightshow is different so you just have to flex with the situation. I also generally shoot with the flash on the shoe adjusted to give less output than the flash in my left hand. Generally a ratio of 1-2. Twice as much light comes out of the flash in my left hand as compared to the output from the camera shoe. At such close range and with the heads zoomed, it does a good job of highlight and fill with a nice round feel. Adjust the ratios to get a more or less directional feel to the light. As you start to play with it just keep your eye on your histogram to make sure you’re getting the contrast and flash output that feels good. Spin the dials to bump up the flash output or give yourself a longer shutter speed to pick up more background.

Now start playing - Exposure

Once you understand your exposure, you can go out and play with other effects based on exposure. I saw this scene and worked 20+ shots to get the right length of shutter speed for the arc, and timed it to circle the bride. I think the shutter was down to 1/4 second on this. Once you get the hang of it you can pre- visualize even these shots. Just go out to a dance club some night if you want to practice, people usually think its cool, and take some glow sticks to hand out if you really want to make it interesting. But let me break down this shot with how I accomplished it, my long left arm (I’m 6′2″ tall) is pushing the light over the head of the flowergirl in the foreground left. The on camera flash overexposed the hand in the center of the green ring a little, which I dodged down a little - but generally its a really good file.Remember you goals in creating your composition:

1. Provide a clear subject
2. Generate compelling color
3. Compose the unexpected

Now you’re saying, how does my exposure affect my composition? Mind bender hugh, well your exposure will determine the level of contrast and detail in the background. And in the green glow light I created a compositional element by dragging the shutter. I’m generally shooting at iso1000 - f2.8 - 1/30sec. The slow shutter speed will give you a nice little blur and just enough lightness in the background to give the photo ‘place’. The balance between the ‘place’ and the subject is the most important consideration as you begin to create macro shapes….

Advanced Play - shaping your light

 

So now you have the ability to create shapes out of darkness depending where your light is positioned. You should look for exaggerated movements, gestures, from the active dancers; and take a moment’s break to frame some siloettes, profiles or other unexpected shapes.

In these two examples I’m only using one shoe flash which accentuates the light shape even further. I don’t generally prefer a single flash as it is too contrasty for my taste, but it’s a good excercise in building the shapes for your composition using the position of your light and the timing of your shutter release. Remember I’m shooting these images with a very wide angle lens and so I’m only inches from the subject - not feet. I often do not even look through the lens because it would be hazardous to get such tunnel vision (somewhat intoxicated people beside and behind me). I simply use the IR beams to see where the center of my view is, and compose to what my experience tellls me are the frame edges. This also alows me to get low and high angle perspectives very quickly. The shot below I my camera flash provided the shadows and the second flash splashed a little light on Elvis bride.

How does it get the softer feel?

When you’re using the two shoe mount flash units in such close proximity they begin to blend as a single source with the help of the slow shutter speed. The cumulative effect of using the two shoe flashes is that of a larger source than it truely is.

Focusing on the light show

Set your flash compensation based upon the intensity of your light show not some formula. If you review your images with a histogram you shouldn’t blow out the image with the flash, only the lighting from the show. The two lights will really help give you a broad source at this distance. I’m shooting mostly with the 16-35mm lens on a 1d Mark2, so you’re looking at pretty wide lens. My wingspan is 6′2″ so I can get that second flash nearly as far away from the camera as the subject.

Side tip: focusing in the dark

Your Canon system can focus in complete darkness using the IR emission from your flash unit. To get the focus for these fast moving shots I often prefocus and lock at the range that I believe I will be from the subject. That also allows me to release the shutter at exactly the right time to capture the gestures, while not waiting for the camera to re-focus while I miss the decisive moment. Remember, very few of these images are going to have ‘critical’ sharpness - but that won’t hinder the unbridled emotion and expression of your subjects (and honestly, they’ll look better blurry anyway). So prefocus on a dress or tie at the aproximate range you want your subject to be and then just lightly hold your finger on the shutter release to keep the lock.

The Jedi Technique

This is just a private joke of mine, but you should seek to get such a fine feel of your camera’s coverage with your chosen lens that you don’t need to look through the viewfinder. Why you ask? So you don’t knock over an intoxicated bridesmaid, step on anyone, and most importantly so that you don’t miss other action while you’re peering uselessly through the viewfinder! Use the IR beam to see where the center of your lens is when it is focused, and then move on to shoot and check your compositions on your LCD. Push your comfort level to shoot from an aerial perspective, or a lower perspective while timing your movements to coincide with your subject. If you get it right once out of 100 shots - it will be a completely unique image!

If this hasn’t been enough for you, you might want some personal instruction at one of my seminars listed on the next page.

• Inspiration