Digital SLR Photography - UK (2020-01)

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58 Digital SLR PhotographyJanuar

ACQUAINTYOURSELFWITHTHEINTRICACIESOFOFF-CAMERAFL ASHANDTHE

FACTORSANDACCESSORIES THAT CAN HELPYOUCRAFTBEAUTIFULLIGHTING

FLASH ACCESSORIES

WIRELESSTRIGGERS

Tofireyourflashwhenit’soff-camera,most

camerasrequire a triggertobe attachedto

thehotshoeandareceiverattachedtothe

flash.Nikon’sCreativeLightingSystem

doesn't,however,andcantriggeroff-camera

flashgunsusingthepop-upflash,butmost

photographersstillpreferto usethem.

Mostmarqueebrandsdooffer their own

models,suchasNikon’sWirelessSpeedlight

CommanderorCanon’sSpeedlite

Transmitter,but wherethird-partybrands are

concernedit usedtobePocketWizards that

ruledthe roost.Thesedays,however,there

aresomanybudget-friendlyoptions,with

manyretainingTTLandgivingyouthe ability

tocontrolmultipleflashgunsorgroupsof

flashguns.Yongnuo,Hahnel,Neewerand

Godox,forinstance,allofferTTLoptionsbut

therearealsomanygreatlow-costtriggers

providingmanualcontrol.

An alternativetowirelesstriggersis aflash

cordthatconnectsthecamera’shotshoeto

theflash,allowingyoutoretainautomatic

functions,howevermostareonly1mlong.

Wirelesstriggers,onthe otherhand, workby

infraredorradiofrequenciesallowingthe

flashguntobeusedat greaterdistancesfrom

the camera.Whateveryouchoosetobuy,

make surethe modelis compatible with your

cameraasfew are universal.

MODIFIERS

Therearemanyvariationsof modifierall

designedtoshapeandimprovethequalityof

thelight fromyourflashgun.Fromringlights

andsmalldiffusersthat attachdirectly tothe

flashhead(suchasGaryFong’s Universal

LightsphereandMagMod’sMagSphere)to

speedgridsthatfocusthelight coverage and

reflectorsthatbounceit, suchasthe

FlashBenderbyRogueandMagMod’s

MagBounce.Softboxes,in theirmanysizes

andguises,areperhapsthemostpopularof

allandwiththeir collapsibledesign,are

portableandfareasiertoset-upand

dismantle thantheir studio relations.You

can,however,buymountsthat enableyouto

attachaflashguntoyourexistingstudio

softbox.But,remember,thebigger the

softboxis themorepoweryou’ll needto

createevencoverage, soyoumayneedto

usemultipleflashguns.Lastolite,LumiQuest,

Neewer,GodoxandWestcottare a few of

thebrands worthlookingat.

REFLECTOR

A collapsiblereflectoris essentialforany

portraitphotographerandis justas useful if

workingwithnaturallight orflash.Availablein

differentshapes,sizesandcolours,youcan

bounceflashoffffthem and onto your subject.

COVERAGE:Thisreferstotheangleof

coverage, otherwiseknownastheflashangle.

Thisis theareathatthelightfromtheflashcan

coverin termsofthelens’sfield-of-view.

GUIDENUMBER:Indicatesthe relative

strengthoftheflashunitin relationtothe

distanceyoucanhavebetweentheflashand

yoursubjectfora correctexposure.Thehigher

theGN at thelongerfocallength, the higher the

outputyou’llbenefitfrom.

FLASHSYNCSPEED:As a cameracantake a

photofarfasterthana flashcanfire,thecamera's

syncspeedis thefastestshutterspeedyoucan

usewithflashbeforetheshuttercurtaingetsin

theway.Thisis typicallybetween 1 /160sec–

1/250sec,dependingonthecameramodel.

Somecamerasandflashgunsofferhigh-speed

syncmode that allowsyoutoshootupto

1 /8000secusinga fastseriesofflashpulses.

RECYCLERATE:Thetimeit takesfortheflash

to rejuvenateitsfullchargesothatit canbefired

again.Shortrecycletimesmeanyoucanshoot

consecutiveframeswithflashmorequickly.

DEDICATEDFLASHThisis anothername

usedtodescibea flashgunthat's compatible

withaparticularbrandofcamera.

HOTSHOE:Theplateontopofyourcamera

thatconnectsandmountsthededicatedflash.

Theflashcommunicateswiththecameravia the

hotshoeforaccuratesynchronisation.

LINEOFSIGHT:Someflashgunsandtriggers

communicateviainfraredandreliesona 'lineof

sight' with the transmitter to work correctly.

TERMINOLOGY EXPLAINED

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