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Having access to large studio strobe lights is great, but so is being able to have a more portable option.
Meet the speedlight (AKA External flash)! One of these plus a small, white shoot-through umbrella gives you a very simple and portable studio option.
(We happen to have Nikon SB-700 speedlights, but for what we're doing today you could certainly use inexpensive third-party brands too.)
Speedlights are often mounted on top of the camera (on the hot shoe), but they can also be used apart from the camera. We call this off-camera flash and that's what we're going to look at.
IMPORTANT INFO: For this project, we are using the speedlight on M (Manual) mode, meaning the light power is set independently from the camera exposure. Flash power runs on a scale of 1/1 (max power) to 1/128 power, with many increments in-between.
SETTING UP YOUR PORTABLE STUDIO
You will need:
a camera
a speedlight
a wireless transmitter and receiver
a stand
a shoot-through white umbrella
a suitable background
a partner/model
Which is which? The one on the right (with three buttons) is the transmitter; the one on the left (with two buttons) is the receiver.
Assembling the gear:
1) Go to your desired location.
2) Set up the stand (to eye-level for now).
3) Mount the receiver on the stand.
4) Mount the speedlight on the receiver (once it's on, be sure to set the lock switch to L).
5) Open the umbrella and install in on the stand (there's a little hole for it just under the top).
6) Mount the transmitter on the camera.
7) Turn on the camera, then the transmitter, then the receiver, then the speedlight.
8) Push the "test" button on both the receiver and the transmitter and see if the speedlight fires. If not, adjust the channels/group settings on receiver & transmitter so that they match.
9) Point your camera anywhere and take a photo to ensure that everything is synched up and firing.
Setting up to shoot:
1) Compose your shot with your model. You need to decide where you're shooting, which direction, etc.
2) Set your camera to shoot in M (Manual) mode. Shoot in RAW (.NEF) if you plan on doing further edits.
WARNING: Your shutter speed cannot exceed 1/250s while using the transmitter, so plan your exposure accordingly.
3) Expose the shot without the flash first. Decide how much ambient (existing) light you want in your shot. If you want to negate ambient light, darken the exposure by speeding up the shutter, narrowing the aperture (raising F-stop number), or lowering ISO. Take some test shots and settle on what you want.
*** If you wish to eliminate ambient light by exposing your shot "darker," you'll need to change your Live View settings so that your monitor doesn't turn black (which will prevent you from autofocusing). Go to the Custom Settings Menu, find option d7 ("Apply Settings to Live View"), and turn that off.
4) Turn on the transmitter, the receiver, and the speedlight.
5) Set the speedlight to "M"
mode (see example).
6) Set the speedlight's zoom to a low number like 24mm or 35mm (see example).
7) Pick a starting value for the flash power (use the SEL button and then the large circle dial; see example)
8) Position the light where you want it.
9) Start shooting! You will need to adjust both the light position and the light power to achieve the overall exposure you want. If your subject is up against a wall and you don't want the wall to be lit up quite so much, pull the subject away from the wall and/or bring the light closer.
PROJECT: SIMPLE SPEEDLIGHT STUDIO
For this project you will shoot a series of images of a model (doesn't have to be the same person) in the studio. You will have a variety of backgrounds available to use but only one speedlight (flash) to work with. CHOOSE AND SUBMIT YOUR FOUR (OR MORE) BEST IMAGES.
Shoot in JPG, as these images will not be edited. You need to get the light perfect in-shot!
You will also shoot in black & white so that you can focus on just the lighting.
To set your camera to Monochrome (Black and White), go to the i menu, find the Set Picture Control setting, and change it to MC.
You need to submit a minimum of four (4) images for this part of the project.
IMPORTANT REFERENCE: Do some prep and reading beforehand by checking out The Strobist, a popular lighting blog and excellent resource for learning about off-camera lighting.
https://strobist.blogspot.com/2015/04/your-basic-lighting-kit-spin-around.html (go to the second half of the page: "Okay, Let's Make Some Photos!")
YOU CAN ATTACH YOUR .JPG FILES DIRECTLY TO CLASSROOM AND HAND IN.
STUDENT EXAMPLES
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