Nikon Flash Class: Spring 2017



Meeting #6-References
  • Ambient: Light that’s already there. Click here. And here.
  •  Bounce Flash (wall, ceiling, palm of hand). Click here.
  • Paper Plate (white, please). Click here.
  • Spaghetti Box Snoot (narrows the light). Click here. And here.
  • Black Foamy Thing (re-directs). Click here.
  • Dome (Sto-Fen) (raises light source, diffuses up close). Click here.
  • Bounce Card (built in, basically ceiling bounce, don’t use it outdoors) Click here.
  • Gels (green and orange, fluorescent and incandescent) Click here. And here.
  • Reflectors (muslin, foam core, commercial). Click here.
  • Gary Fong Light Sphere (Gary Fong Video) “Always works!” . Click here. Watch Gary work by clicking here.
  • Umbrellas (shoot through). Click here.
  • Umbrellas (silver, “choke up”). Click here.
  • Grid Spot Focus the light, tight beam. Click here.
Link to Nikon SB-600 Manual: Click here.

Meeting #5
Used Nikon Speedlights: Click here to see a listing of used speedlights sold by Adorama, a well-known on-line presence in the photo world.


Meeting #4

ISO 200, Daylight White Balance, 1/250 of a second, F 5.6
Placement Of The Flash: In this pair of shots, you can see the importance of flash position. At the left, the flash was mounted on-camera. From this nearly "on-axis" position, all sense of 3-dimensionality is removed from the face, and Jason's sweater appears grey and texture-less. With the shot on the right, the flash was position at Jason's eye level, aligned with his nose, using an extension flash cable with iTTL capability. This is the foundation for an interesting photograph.

Nikon School - The Speed of Light: Nikon created this 30 minute video to introduce the potential of the new automated flash system. It focused primarily on what the system could do, and not so much on the "how". Click here: It's worth seeing once.

Hands on Guide to Creative Lighting: This 2.5 hour video was created in response to the shortcomings of the earlier Speed Of Light video. Here, Bob Krist introduces the components of the CLS system, and takes you, step by step, through the configuration. To see the entire video, click here.
  • Commander Mode: Advance to 52:45 for instructions on configuring the SB-800 as Commander.
  • Remote Mode: Advance to 47:06 for instructions on configuring the SB-800 as a Remote.
Lighting Kit: To see Bob Krist's traveling lighting kit advance to 1:14:07

Equipment Links: 
  • A Beginner's Lighting Kit: Here are the basic pieces of equipment you'll need. Notice that Mr. Hobby is doing everything manually, and as such, his advice can be applied to just about any camera that has a standard hot shoe. Click here to begin your journey.
  • Umbrella Stand Adapters: The once piece of equipment that really ties everything together is the Umbrella Stand Adapter.Also called a Swivel Umbrella Adapter, or a Umbrella Bracket, depending on who sells them. Click here to read more. 
  • Umbrellas: There are two basic types: Shoot Through and Reflective. Read more by clicking here.
When Speedlight Present Is Absent: Click here for some samples of why your maximum flash synchronization speed is important.

On-Camera Flash Portrait Mini-Tutorial: Click here for some suggestions for on-camera flash portraiture.

Classic Portrait Lighting: Click here for a post on classic portrait lighting.
Super Saturday

Flash can be used to provide detail in high contrast, sun-lit environments. It is easiest when you main subjects have little or no sunlight lighting them directly. In this sample, nearly all of the facial light is provided by the flash. Click here for some lighting guidelines.

Occasionally, sunlight on the face is unavoidable. Here, a bright spot on this tennis player's nose is apparent. Take the shot first, try to make the next one better. Unfortunately for me, that second shot never occurred.


Flash As Fill: When using flash to add detail to the shadows, be sure that it doesn't overexpose the sun-lit highlights. Dial down you fill to prevent hot-spots.


When there are no major highlights, you can push the flash a little harder, since there are no highlights to burn.

Meeting #3
Long Flash Cables. Click here for prices on a 10 meter (33') Vello Off-Camera flash cable.

Strobist Resources
  • The Bare Essentials: Click here.
  • Light Stands: Click here.
  • Umbrella Stand Adapters: Click here
  • Umbrellas: Click here.
Off Camera Flash: Using An Extension Cable
Click here to view source posting.

Getting the flash farther from the lens axis will add to the thee-dimensional effect of your image. The effect is created by the shadow cast by your flash. In this shot, you get a sense of the subject's facial form by the shadow cast by his nose and chin. You can get a sense of how much the flash improves the shot by looking at the people in the background. When used up close, the brightening of the nearest subject helps to separate him from those in the background. When used with a wide angle lens close to your subject, simply holding the flash at arms length can have a dramatic effect.


This second shot, rendered in black and white, give a very journalistic look to the photo. In this second sample, the flash appears to be close to the axis of the lens, based on the "thinness"of the shadows below the chin. Notice the difference between the man in the foreground (fully lit shadows) and the subjects in the background.

The common, 3' long coiled extension cable allows you the freedom of positioning your flash at arm's length from either side of the camera. When the flash is held in the right hand, you'll need to use a left hand hold. With a proper cable, you'll be able to keep your TTL functionality.

As the distance increases, you'll need to get your flash even farther from the lens axis. Here, the flash is attached to a 3-foot monopod, held high overhead.

Direction Of The Light
  • The Nose Knows. Click here.
  • Advanced Portrait Lighting. Click here.
Meeting #2
On-Camera Flash Modifiers:


 The Paper Plate Lighting Modifier. Click here for details on this (almost) free flash modifier.


Camera Instruction Manuals
Nikon D3200
Nikon D3300 
Nikon D70
Nikon D7000
Nikon D7100
Nikon D7200 
Nikon D750
Nikon D800
Nikon SB-600 Speedlight
Nikon SB-700 Speedlight 
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
Nikon SB-900 Speedlight
Nikon SB-910 Speedlight

What I love about flash: The Buffalo Wild Wings Commercial.  

Meeting #1
  • Joe McNally is a well-known photographer and Nikon proponent. Visit his Webpage here.
  • See "Da Grip" here.
  • Very useful Nikon Speedlight videos are listed  here. 
  • The Left Hand Grip can be seen here. 
  • Click here to get prices in rentals prices for the SB-910 and the SB-700 speedlights from:

BL West Coast HQ
1664 Industrial Road
San Carlos, CA 94070 


Apertures: For additional information on Aperture Size as it relates to exposure, click here.

Triggering Voltage: Do you feel lucky? Here's how to check your own flash.

Bounce Flash References:

Neil van Neikerk: Bouncing Your Flash

Neil van Neikerk: Bouncing with The Black Foamie Thing

Flash Primer: Adorama Camera has an excellent primer of speedlight/flashes. Click here.

Reference: David Hobby, A.K.A. The Strobist, has produced the modern equivalent of the Library of Alexandria for flash users. References to some of his appropriate postings will be found throughout this post.

You Tube Video: Bob Krist, Joe McNally, and the Nikon School - Guide to Creative Lighting. Somebody posted the DVD, in full, on You Tube. I don't think it's legal, but check it out before somebody takes it down. This DVD is so detailed that you'll learn just about everything you'll need to know about the Nikon Speedlight System.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)