Amateur Photographer – 13 July 2019

42 13 July 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

FOR MANY of us, our fi rst

encounter with fl ash comes when

we engage the pop-up on our

camera. The initial results are

often dishearteningly poor. Harsh,

frontal light from a pop-up fl ash

is fi ne for snaps in dim interiors

(and at a push, as a subtle fi ll for

outdoor shots). But it destroys any

sense of mood and obliterates the

play of light and shade that gives

form to our subjects.

If the pop-up doesn’t put the

newcomer off fl ash for good, then

the natural upgrade is to purchase

a speedlight, also known as a

fl ashgun. This trusty piece of

kit can be useful for all kinds of

situations. However, if we stick it

on the hotshoe and point it at the

subject the results will be much

the same as the nasty pop-up.

Luckily, we do have other options.

LIGHTING equipment can open
up a new world of photographic
opportunities. Suddenly you don’t
have to seek out the perfect light
for your subject: take your lighting
gear on a location shoot and
you can make your own instead.
Whether you want to photograph
a person outdoors, capture an
architectural interior, or lift any
kind of subject, learning how to
light on location can be a powerful

Testbench

The trusty

speedlight

Lighting on

location

weapon in your creative arsenal.

The right kit for location lighting

will vary depending on what you

intend to shoot, and the ambient

lighting conditions. For example,

in some scenarios, an LED (such

as the portable and impressive

Rotolight AEOS) can be a great

location light as unlike fl ash you

can judge the light by eye and

adjust the colour temperature to

match the surroundings. However,

LEDs aren’t powerful enough to

overpower the sun, so they’d be

no use for lighting a portrait in

direct sunlight. For this you’d need

a more powerful fl ash.

Lighting on a budget

A basic speedlight (such as the

cheap-as-chips, manual-only

Neewer TT560) is ideal for all

kinds of location lighting, as long

as you have a separate wireless

trigger to fi re it off-camera. A

budget trigger is similar in cost to a

memory card, so it’s a worthwhile

investment. Freed from the

hotshoe, you can place your

speedlight behind the subject or

The castle here is lit with a

speedlight fitted with an

orange gel to match the warm

colour of the sunset. Parts of

the scene were illuminated

over several frames, then

merged together in software

With stroboscopic

mode engaged, a

speedlight is capable

of multiple, rapid-fire

flashes for special

effects like this

Some speedlights have a zoom that

changes the spread of light to match

your lens. Here’s the difference

between 24mm and 200mm

24mm

200mm