Shoot to Thrill: Speedlight Flash Techniques for Photographers

by Michael Mowbray

Overview

For decades, professional photographers have been using large, expensive studio lighting setups for their shoots. While powerful and effective, they have certain limitations. A new generation of photographers has embraced speedlights, battery powered flashes that can mount on your camera or be triggered remotely. After years of using studio lights, Michael Mowbray switched over to speedlights. He started gradually but soon realized he could shoot nearly everything with speedlights. Specializing in wedding and senior portraits, Mowbray found freedom and renewed creativity with these lights. As he states in the introduction, he no longer chases light, he creates it.
The book begins by outlining the core concepts for using speedlights as a primary light source. Knowing how light works allows you to control it. The same goes for your camera. Understanding how the flash and the camera interact using the camera’s metering system is the center of Mowray’s speedlight technique. It’s also important to understand how your camera and flashes communicate while they aren’t attached to one another. The ability to have remote flashes tucked into unique places for a shoot opens up the lighting options available to you. In addition to wedding and senior portrait photography, Mowbray works in fashion, commercial and family photography. The versatility of speedlights allows a professional photographer to work in many genres.
After covering the core concepts, the book presents 60 of Mowbray’s world class images. Each photo is accompanied by a list of the equipment used for capturing the shot, alternate related images and a lighting diagram. One of the major advantages of a speedlight portrait system is that it allows you create the light you want virtually anywhere. Interesting unlit nooks magically become great photo settings. A common theme across much of Mowbray’s location work is using speedlights to create light and contrast where none currently exist. A shoot may require that you work at less than ideal times of the day. It is possible create your own sunrise, shoot at night when there is little natural light, or make the daytime look like night. This flexibility opens up the number and type of clients your business can handle. Attention to detail with the placement of lights can be the difference between a run-of-the-mill portrait and a striking, award winning image. Mowbray provides great detail on what went into making each of his photographs.
Don’t get stuck in a rut using the same modifiers and the same lighting over and over again. It may work fine but it will ultimately limit you. Clients like choices, especially when they are investing a lot of money. Choices can often lead to bigger sales as clients feel the need to order more of the varied looks and styles. Working in edgier lighting styles and clothing combinations, unique backgrounds or locations can expand the variety of shots you get from a session. Whether going for that classic studio look or crafting something very dramatic and modern, speedlights give you the ability to improvise and expand your techniques.
While Mowbray’s main focus is the power and flexibility of speedlights, he also provides great tips for composition and location scouting. Also necessary is the ability to improvise on the spot if your planned location doesn’t work out, like his rained out plans for an outdoor bridal shoot. While creative use of speedlights gives a lot of control over the image created, there are some instances where digital postproduction adds something extra that really makes the photo pop. Mowbray gives a number of examples where editing helped make the final image exactly what he and the client were looking for.
Containing lots of images, diagrams, and detailed text, this book provides readers with a thorough understanding of the benefits of shooting with speedlights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608956920
Publisher:	Amherst Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/13/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	25 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Since opening Beautiful Portraits by Michael in 2001, Michael Mowbray has gone on to win many awards for his portraiture and was named a medalist in the PPA International Photographic Competition in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He has had the highest scoring wedding portrait in Wisconsin six out of the past seven years, including Wisconsin Best of Show-Wedding 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. He has won the prestigious Kodak Gallery Award five times, and the Fuji Masterpiece Award for Outstanding Wedding Portraiture three times. Michael has also been named one of the Top 10 photographers in Wisconsin multiple times and “Best of Madison” by the readers of Madison Magazine.

Michael gives back to the photographic community by sharing his expertise in classes, seminars and educational videos. As one of the “3 bearded mentors” who created the nLightn Tour, Michael shares his lighting and creative approach with photographers around the country. He is known as one of the leading experts in speedlite photography. Also, as a founding member of the charity Families Forever, he gives back to the community at large by sharing his time and talent with families stricken by terminal illness.

Table of Contents

About the Author
Foreword
Introduction
Core concepts
TTL speedlight exposure control
How speedlights can communicate TTL information across distances
High speed sync (HSS) for Canon cameras and Focal Plane (FP) for Nikon
The definitions of and differences between soft and hard light

Studio setup
In the Spotlight Open doors to find inspiration.
Madonna of the Rocks Work with what nature gives you.
Temptress Find a muse to help you explore creatively.
When it’s art, it’s not cheating Go the extra distance to complete your vision.
Bridge Players Speedlighting in the rain.
Arising Create your own sunrise.
Luminous A play of light and dark.
A Dip in the Sun A new view on an old pose.
Bench Pressing Go low, get wide, shoot big.
Boldly light when none has gone before Create light to make anyplace fit your vision.
Going Parasoling Dramatic profile lighting is beautiful in the midday sun.
Rusty Big soft boxes can work outside.
The Spiky Sun You don’t need a studio strobe to shoot deep and get a spiky sun in your shot.
Katie An alternate way of creating a classic studio portrait.
Making Light Where There’s Nothing at All Shoot at night and complement existing ambient light.
Is this Iowa? No, It’s Phoenix. Fight the strong desert sun and win.
Going Out on a Limb Lightweight, portable speedlights help you light where studio strobes are not practical
Night and Day Techniques for making the daytime look like night for a noir concept.
Sunset How to work with the classic sunset portrait request.
A Little Flare Put the sun in your background for a little creative flare.
Black Swan Uplighting for drama.
Raising the Level of Difficulty Understand what TTL “sees” when you have a white dress and a bright background sky.
Clean and Simple Speedlights can be used to create classic studio portraiture.
Bending the Light Combining the Lightbender softbox with the Lightbender reflector for a beauty portrait.
Have Light, Will Travel Creating beauty lighting in unusual locations.
A Bounce and a Kiss Simple bounced flash can light portraits on location.
Getting a Little Punchy Using speedlight to punch up boring soft light outside.
Wandering Eye Nissin makes some very nice alternatives to Canon and Nikon flashes.
Here, Kitty Kitty Shooting TTL model images outside in the brutal cold.
Many Ways to Soften Simple diffusion panels can become instant softboxes.
Lighting with an Accent Using ambient light as your key and your speedlight as an accent light.
Isolating the Subject Using framing and light to pull attention to your subject.
Zooming is Far Out Using the Zoom feature on speedlights to coax extra power and distance out of your flash
A Kiss of Light Cleaning up the green color cast from grass and foliage with a little kiss of flash.
Theatrical Performance Getting creative with light in a historic theatre.
Brassy and Sassy Finding unusual and cool places for portraiture.
Quiet Beauty Adding drama to a classic bridal portrait.
Glam Black and White Sharing secrets to creating a high contrast BW beauty portrait.
Empire of the Sunset Working with TTL to create a powerful portrait
Let There Be a Light With speedlights and a little creative Photoshop magic, you can create anything you desire.
Doing Double Duty Understanding the direction and spread of light coming from your speedlight.
Joan of Arch Lighting a dramatic bridal pose on location.
Take the Dress for a Walk Playing with the visual contrast of pretty versus gritty.
Lighting Naturally Using soft light from your speedlight to blend naturally with outdoor light.
Spice It Up with a Little Color Using colored gels on location for a creative twist.
Temperature, Temperature Using flash to create cool, blue light when photographing in tungsten light
Getting Soft on Location Creating an instant softbox quickly on location.
Vintage Studio Using a standard studio light modifiers with speedlights.
Slash of Light Creating a simple spotlight effect using the Snootzie.
Environmental Portraits Leveraging the speed and portability of speedlights to create executive portraits quickly and efficiently.
In Depth Lighting Quickly switch from shallow DOF to deep DOF when using TTL OCF.
Spring Out of the Blossoms Creating light to separate subjects from a busy background.
Blue Sky at Night Controlling all of the parameters of lighting a nighttime portrait.
Building Family Connections A new way to create winning family portraits.
Xtreme Portraits for Athletes Compositing for senior portrait athlete photos leads to big sales.
Filling the Blues Filling in shadows is more than half the battle when photographing outside.
TTL Studio Portraits Understanding TTL better by using it for everything.
Smoking Hot Bass Riff Creating a cool look for an aging rocker.
Going Commercial Part 1 Complex lighting for a commercial project on location.
Going Commercial Part II Green screening for maximum post production flexibility.