Wedding Bell Blues

1/180th second, F 11.0, ISO 200

Vintage Wedding Gowns: Wedding Fashions Throughout Time was scheduled for May 18, 2018, and I was anxious to make a photo to help publicize the event. Two models would be at the Historic Courthouse for a final fitting of their gowns the week before, so I jumped at the chance to make a flash-enhanced outdoor photo at the Historic Courthouse in Redwood City.

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Location lighting has become far less daunting since the introduction of the Godox AD200 flash, a self-contained, speedlight sized flash that packs a 200 Watt-Second punch. Not only that, the designers have given a lot of thought into how the unit would be used in the field, and they created a mounting system that integrates both the need to secure the flash itself while providing an attaching point for a variety of light modifiers. They came up with the Glow S-type Bowens Mount Bracket which has a hole to accommodate umbrella shafts at the bottom of the mounting ring. There are also recesses to accept the Bowens mount compliant soft boxes. And as a final pleasant surprise, the mounting ring's diameter is the same as the "lollipop" mounting disk used in the Lastolite E-Z Box softboxes. It costs about $20.00, about what you would pay for a conventional umbrella mount, but much more versatile considering the options you get for mounting light modifiers.

If you bought the AD200, you know it comes with a bare bulb adapter and flash tube. When used, it allows light to completely fill the corners of a softbox's diffusion surface, reducing hotspots and giving a more even light distribution for softer lighting. The clamping arrangement of the  Glow bracket simplifies the mounting of the AD200, and just about any other flash or speedlight.

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With those 200 watt-seconds at my disposal, I didn't think twice about using a softbox. This weekend I used an Adorama Glow 31" x 31", an obvious knock-off of the Lastolite E-Z Box. At about $40.00 (mount bracket included), it costs less than one fourth the Lastolite unit. The softbox collapses into a compact bundle which you then stuffed into its own zippered bag. Adorama thoughtfully provides a semi-rigid case that holds both the collapsed softbox and the necessary mounting ring, allowing you to gather everything you need except the flash itself, and a dedicated triggering device. Since I knew my car would be parked a short distance from where I would be working, I brought a 12' lightstand, mainly for the stability provided by its long legs.

I chose my location, a covered seating area beside the square, because it allowed me to better control my flash exposure without having to deal with any direct sunlight. The image at the top of the post was the best of the bunch, and I subsequently submitted it for publication. But at the last minute, I was asked to pull the image in favor of one showing only one bride.  Since we had been experimenting with a bouquet toss photo, I was able to submit this image instead. 

1/180th second, F 9.0, ISO 200

The visual elements are too spread out for my taste, and this shot would not have been my first choice. Normally, the bride would throw the bouquet over her shoulder, but I needed a face to go with the dress, and this was the result. It is funny that she looks more like she is about to catch the bouquet, rather than having just thrown it. Timing was critical, and it took nearly a dozen attempts just to get this shot. Try as I might, I never got a photo with the bouquet much close than this.

Glare Spots: Softboxes provide a broader light source resulting in a gentler transition from highlight to shadow. I might add that this is not the same as lowered contrast, since that is the result of light bouncing off reflective surfaces such as the wedding dress or bare skin. Softboxes also create huge glare spots on glasses, as you can see here. This photo was not submitted because of the glare, and serves as a reminder that when shooting from a low position, the height of your light source could cause some trouble.

This combination has proven itself powerful enough for outdoor work. I will replace my preferred light stand with a short monopod held by a relatively tall assistant. Hopefully, I may be able to test at Carnaval in San Francisco.

Here's the final image, as it appeared in the May 15, 2019 edition. Again, the exposure proper balance between the shadows and the highlights give both saturation and detail to the entire image, with no inky shadows or blocked highlights.

Back To Basics: Backup Flash

Improvised plastic cover in place

You Need A Backup Flash: As photographers, we know that having a backup camera is a necessary precaution. Why shouldn't this apply to flash? When working indoors, you can't always count on high ISO settings to give you enough light to make a proper exposure, so flash may be your only suitable light source.  Having a second flash could save the day if your primary fails. But what if the two flashes could also be used in a controller/remote capacity? I've done this routinely with my Nikon speedlights, but until now, couldn't justify fully buy additional Fuji flashes to fill out my Fuji kit. Since I started to drift away from my usual Nikon DSLR camera solution, I started looking for a way to achieve that same level of versatility while adding as little to the weight of my kit as possible.

Mini Backup: For backup, I have two mini-flash candidates that provide TTL exposure metering for the Fuji: A Nissin i40 and an Adorama Flashpoint Zoom-Mini. Both claim to have controller/remote capabilities, but were initially purchased because they were "cute". The Nissin has fallen from favor due to some performance quirks I can neither explain nor forgive*. However, the Flashpoint unit, a.k.a. Godox TT350F , while modest in size and output, can double as a radio controller for the Godox TT685F that already rides in my bag. The little flash occupies the same space as a coiled flash cord, and offers several distinct lighting (TTL) options:

• The small TT350F can be used as a radio trigger and the larger TT685F used with an umbrella or small soft box.

• The large TT685F can be used to provide a bounced fill light, while the small FF350F can be used as a narrow-beamed key light.

• Both flashes could be used together in a direct key / fill light combination.

Cameras and the protective cover for the Flashpoint were removed to show the general layout

My bag, in its current configuration, accommodates two cameras and two flashes. Stored in the left compartment are two plastic boxes: one for the pancake lens and the other for an assortment of lens hoods, lens caps, and filters.  The X-E1 sits on top. In the center, the folded Adorama Flash Point Mini Zoom minus the improvised protective cover. The X100T sits on top. The full-sized Godox TT685F sits at the right.

Be really REALLY careful when you cut!

Here you see the inverted plastic box with the lid open. The flash cover was made by cutting along the inked line to remove one side and the lid. This little "garage" sits on top of the flash, as seen at the top of this post. If you are careful, a craft knife will work. I used a band saw because it was handy.

Defeating Radio Trigger Delays: There is always a short delay when using radio triggered flashes. As a result, the flash may discharge after the second shutter curtain (a quaint term from when the shutters were made of rubberized fabric) has started to close. When using a focal plane shutter (X-E1), it appears as a dark band across the bottom of the frame. This clipping only occurs when shooting at the maximum flash synchronization speed, or one shorter in duration.

When using the X100 and its "sync at all speeds" leaf shutter, I would normally rely on a neutered flash cable to bypass any unnecessary TTL communication between the flash and the camera. Instead, I could now use the shoe-mounted, TT350F in manual mode and trigger the more powerful TT685F using its built-in optical slave in the manual mode, eliminating the delay. This is done by setting the on-camera TT350F to manual and rotating the head towards the TT695F which has been set to fire using the built-in optical slave. 

While this my seem like an overly complicated game plan, I feel comfortable that given a short period of time, I can meet almost any lighting challenge that might come along. But in reality, nearly all of my work is done with a single, on-camera flash and my flash-at-any-speed Fuji X100T, and these two items are instantly accessible. The fun begins when I have an abundance of both time and energy to make a photo I would really be happy with.

*When used in the manual mode, the Nissin  i40 will deliver a full-power discharge only when the sync speed is 1/250 or slower, based on some simple exposure tests.