January 2020DigitalSLR Photography 59
CAROLINE SCHMIDTFLASHMODESEXPLAINED
Likeyourcamera,yourexternalflashoffersa
rangeofauto,semi-automaticandmanual
modesandsettings.Thesemodesdeterminethe
strengthanddurationoftheflash,whetheryou
manuallycontrolpowerorleaveit tothecamera
todecide,aswellasdeterminewhenit fires
duringanexposure– suchasat thestartorthe
endoftheexposure.Whetherit’stoincludeor
excludeambientlight,balancewithdaylightor
overpowerthesun,therearemodestohelpyou
makethebestofeveryshootingsituation.T TLFLASH:An abbreviationforThroughThe
Lens,TTLletsthecameradictatetheflash
exposuresettingsbasedontheleveloflight
enteringthelensduringthecamera’sexposure.
FILL-FLASH:Whenphotographingin strong
sunlightorbacklighting,deepshadowscanbe
castacrossthesubject.Fill-Flash(orForced
Flash)workswiththeambientlightto‘fill-in’the
shadowswithoutoverexposingtheimage.
FP/HIGHSPEED:Somecameras,orflashguns,
offerhigh-speedsync,whichletsyouexceed
yourflashsyncspeed.It’sa hugeadvantageif
youneedtoshootusingflashin bright daylight
at wideaperturesettings.
FL ASHEXPOSURECOMPENSATION:Youcan
usethissetting,locatedeitherin thecamera’s
menusystemorflashgundependingonyour
model,tooverridetheflashoutputbyincreasing
(+EV)ordecreasing(-EV)theflashexposure
whenitssettoAutoorTTLmode.
RED-EYEREDUCTION:Somecamerasoffer
red-eyereductionmode,whichhelpsreduce
redeyecausedbythelightfromtheflashhitting
thesubject’sretina.It’smostprevalentin subjects
withblueeyesbutcanbefixedwithediting.
SLOW-SYNC:Normallywhenyoufiretheflash
thesubjectis welllit butthebackgroundis
renderedblack,Slow-Syncmodekeepsthe
shutteropenforlongertoallowambientlightto
berecorded.It'softenbesttouseSecond-
CurtainSyncwithSlow-Syncmode(seebelow).
SECOND-CURTAINSYNC:Alsoknownas
Rear-CurtainSync,thismodesetswhentheflash
firesduringa slowexposure.Normallyflashwill
fireat thebeginningofanexposuretofreezethe
subjectbutthiscreatesmotionblurin frontofthe
subject,whichcanlookodd.Second-Curtain
Syncfiresa burstofflashat theendofthe
exposuresoanymotionblurtravels behind the
subjectratherthanin front.
MANUALFLASH:Insteadoflettingthecamera
determinetheflashpoweroutput,manualmode
allowsyoutocontrolthepoweroftheflashin
fractions:1/128,1/64,1/32,1/16,1/4,1/2and1/1
(fullpower).Yousettheflashsyncspeedthen
worktheflashpowerfortheperfectexposure.
WIRELESS(SLAVE/MASTER):Whenusing
multipleoff-cameraflashguns,yourmasterflash
triggerstheslaveflashestofire.Youcanalso
groupflashgunsfortheultimatecontrol.
STROBOSCOPICFLASH/REPEATINGFLASH:
In thismodetheflashfirescontinuouslyto
recordthesubjectmultipletimesduringan
exposure to reveal movement in one frame.FLASHGELS
Availablein a rangeof colours,thesesheets
of colouredacetatecanbeusedtomatch
thecolourof flashtodaylightortoadda
burstof creativecolourtoyourflashshots.
Mostareheldin placeusinga band or Velcro.
FLASHBRACKETS
Toattachyourflashguntoa lightingstand
you’llneeda flashbracket.Thebestones
allowyoutotiltandturntheflashandfeature
a sockettosupportumbrella-fitmodifiers.
Therearemanyunbrandedflashbrackets
availablebutLastoliteTiltheadShoeLockis a
worthyconsideration.Therearealso
bracketsthatletyoumountmultipleflash
unitstoincreasetheoutputyougetthrough
a modifierlikeanoctobox;checkout
Lastolite’sTriFlashorQuadFlash bracket.
BAT TERYPACKS
If youfindyourselfdrainingAAbatteries
quickly,youmayneeda betterorback-up
powersource.Mostcamerabrandsproduce
batterypacksfortheirdedicatedflashguns,
butthird-partycompaniessuchas Godox
offer highly regarded packs.
STANDS/PLATFORMS
Mostflashgunscomewith'feet'thatsloton
totheconnectortoenableit tostandup,
howeverthesearen’talwayspracticalif you
don’thavea flatsurfaceat therightheight.
Lightweightbutsturdylightingstandsarea
goodalternative,combinedwitha flash
bracket,andcancostaslittleas£10for
budgetoptions,butthemore you pay the
betterqualityyou'llget.HANDHELDFLASHMETER
Manyphotographersbelievea handheld
flashmeteris obsoletenowthatcameras
featuresuchadvancedTTLandmetering
modes,buttheycanstillbeincrediblyuseful
if youwanttogeta shotrightfirsttime,oras
accuratelyaspossible.Theyparticularly
comeintotheirownwhenyouareusing
multipleflashgunsasyou'reabletometer
eachflashgunin turn.Thisallowsyouto
accuratelybalancethepowerfromreach
flashgunin theset-up.Modelslikethe
SekonicL-308seriescanbeusedtometer
ambientlighttoo,aswellasbeingsuitablefor
usewithstudioflash.WhileLCDmonitors
andhistogramshavemadeflashmetersless
commonplace, they still have their uses.4 7
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ACCESSORISEYOURFLASH
Simpleaccessorieslikecolour
flashgelsletsyoutryoutcreative
techniques with your flash.PhotoMasterclass