George the Flasher

Perhaps I should qualify the title. We're talking about flash photography here, not what you're probably thinking. Sicko.

I've been in a number of situations lately that required the use of flash (and specifically, off-camera flash) to get the desired photograph. I've long since learned that the pop-up flash on your camera does little more than blanket a subject in harsh light. Sure it lets you capture the subject in low-light levels, but usually at the expense of any vibrancy the scene once had. But flash itself is not evil as I once thought. Properly applied it can open up a whole realm of possibilities.

But simply knowing about photographic techniques and actually applying them are two totally different beasts. It takes a lot of repetition to understand the variables, and even more to be able to control them effectively. Unfortunately, for most people this repetition can turn a tolerable experience into a painful one. Obviously I could practice on inanimate objects (or less grumpy people), but I feel that portraiture is a whole other world than still-life photography. Sure they are very similar, but the human element adds a dimension of emotion and unpredictability. And it's the type of photography that I'm least comfortable with, so I want to improve.

So what else is a man to do when his wife has gone off for the evening? Why, take pictures of himself, of course! I think being in control of the flash makes it seem less harsh. More importantly, having the time to make mistakes is critical to the learning process. So I spent an hour or two fiddling with tripods, flash, and camera, making serious faces (or seriously goofy faces?), and hoping that this time I was actually in the picture. I have to admit that being on the other side of the lens is a very odd experience... but I wasn't about to let that stop me!

The results? Mostly crappy photos that I won't be sharing. But I did learn a bit more about diffusing light, and also a bit more about how to control my own flash (it's an old Vivitar flash that's actually made for a Canon *hiss*). I am fairly pleased with one of the photos though. I've given it a bit of a scrub in Lightroom and Photoshop Elements. Let me know what you think.

Learning how to flash

I'm sure you were expecting to see some photos and prose regarding my recent trip to Germany. You'll have to wait. All of my photos from Bonn were deleted (by Windows itself, thank you very much), so I'm currently in the process of recovering them.

In the meantime, I had the opportunity this weekend to learn how to flash... or rather, I visited my good friend Richard, and he opened the secret door to the forbidden world of flash photography.

Having recently visited my friends in Germany - one of which is a wonderful studio photographer - I got a little bit inspired to take off my 'outdoor/landscape/nature photographer' hat, and try on something new. I checked out the well-known Strobist blog to get an idea of what flash photography is all about... and I realized that what I don't know about it could fill a warehouse (or a blog about flash-photography).

Richard has been doing more than a little dabbling in studio photography, and I have been impressed with his results, so I was hoping to get a tutorial. I borrowed a flash (SB-600) from Ryan and Richard and I set up shop.

It's incredible to think how much altering the lighting on a subject can change a photo so dramatically. Studio photography is very meticulous work, requiring careful study of the results to determine what should be tweaked (light intensity?, aperture?, angles?, diffusers?, more lights?, less lights?, etc...) to get the shot you want. On the other hand, it opens up a whole realm of creative possibilities, allowing you to simply experiment.

Here is a sample of a series of shots I took of some lillies that Richard bought (uhm, for his wife, right Richard?). I won't explain what I changed between each shot (like I remember!), but the session was a struggle between getting a nice bright shot, while emphasizing the form and depth, and still retaining detail in highlights and shadows.



I think the end result is pretty good, at least for a first-timer.



It was wonderful being able to utilize my macro lens properly - with still subject, sturdy tripod, and good lighting. A pop-up flash doesn't quite cut it for a macro image with 'pop'. I think - one of these beautiful days - that I will invest in my own flash so that I can continue to push my creative boundaries... or, perhaps Ryan won't notice that he's missing his :P

Thanks to Richard for the help, and for a fun (albeit short) photo session.