The never-ending quest for better flash photographs

When the topic of flash photography comes up online someone will eventually link to the information at The Strobist. This guy has forgotten more than I will ever know about flash photography. He has a ton of useful information and it will probably require several readings to absorb much of it, especially if you are new to flash photography. One of the setups he uses a LOT is a single umbrella on a stand with a Speedlight flash (or other brand) controlled by wireless triggers. I love the results he has been able to achieve with this so I invested in a similar set up.

Now, I cheaped out on the wireless flash triggers. The industry standard for wireless flash triggers is a product called Pocket Wizard. Each one of these beauties costs about $175 and you need two at a minimum (one for the camera and one for the flash). GadgetInfinity sells a competing product that sells for about $36 and includes both a transmitter and receiver. Needless to say, I went with this cheaper option. However, I did encounter some shortcomings right away. With my shutter speed set to 1/125th I had several initial exposures that were either completely dark or half dark.

This is caused by sync problems between when the flash ignites and when the shutter opens. 1/125th is well within the product specs which should sync up to 1/200th. This may be due to some interference in my house. The trigger can use four different channels. By switching to a different channel I may see better results. More likely, however is that the battery that came with the unit was weak. After using it on a shoot for my church, the trigger stopped working completely. After replacing the battery the triggers began working perfectly. I knew this product was not 100% reliable when I purchased it. If you want 100% reliability you spend the money for the Pocket Wizards. For the cost savings I am going to try to live with intermittent sync problem.

When the sync did work, I was really excited about the results. The lighting was very soft and diffuse and I now have the ability to light my subjects from different directions to achieve different effects.

This new equipment opens the door for me to experiment with some new techniques such as side-lighting for a Rembrandt effect. Moving the flash off-shoe and off to the side does a lot to minimize flash shadows (which I have come to hate.) Also, notice no reflection in the glasses. The softer light from the umbrella reflection is more pleasing and uniform and creates a more natural looking photograph. Buying new equipment does not ensure better photographs, however. Now it is time to start learning how to use this new gear and see if the results I can achieve are better than what I have done in the past.