LIGHT IT PORTABLE LIGHTING: LET’S GO IN JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS, THE POWER, WORKFLOW, AND CAPA- BILITIES OF MOBILE PHOTOGRAPHY HAVE EXPERIENCED NOTHING SHORT OF A MAJOR GROWTH SPURT, GOING FROM PROMISE TO REALITY. FROM STANDALONE MOBILE APPS TO THOSE THAT SYNC WITH THEIR DESKTOP COUNTERPARTS, MOBILE PHOTOGRAPHY HAS COME OF AGE. By Michael Corsentino
› › LIGHT IT I ncreased bandwidth, less expensive memory, powerful processors, a host of mature software titles, competitive data rates, and robust cloud-storage solutions have all helped usher in a mobile photography landscape that now includes file formats such as TIFF and PSD, once the sole province of the desktop. The march forward is ongoing and promises to continue unabated—great news for the photographer on the go! Lighting manufacturers have done a great job keeping pace with the never-ending quest for increased portability, bringing exciting, first-of-their-kind, lightweight, battery-operated, TTLcap able, and wireless radio-enabled strobe and handheld flash products to market. These, along with a plethora of high-quality portable lighting modifiers designed specifically for photographers on the go, represent a revolution in location lighting and its possibilities. Whether you’re shooting with handheld flash or small strobe, there are exciting developments and new products in each arena. The gear landscape is vast, so in this article I’ll focus only on the tools and techniques with which I have personal experience. I’ll explain how and why I use these tools and share my two favorite, no-fail location lighting patterns. Hopefully, you’ll gain some insight into the exciting world of portable lighting. I’ll be talking specifically about off-camera flash, otherwise known as OCF. It’s how I work 99.9% of the time and it’s what I recommend to anyone serious about lighting work. If you’re not already using OCF, start now! This topic alone could fill an entire book, but suffice it to say that getting your flash off your camera will dramatically improve your results with artificial light. Don’t be afraid, just jump in! exposure modes, flexible groups, and super-simple interface. (If you’re interested in learning how to unleash the power of this exciting system, be sure to check out my forthcoming class on KelbyOne. Yep, a shameless plug!) I’ll cover a few of my favorite Speedlite modifiers below, but first here are my favorite ways to work with the 600EX-RT. As I mentioned above, OCF is the way to go. Once off camera, I vertically orient and manually zoom the flash head to 200mm. I do this when I’m working with bare flash. This does two things: It creates a beam of light that more closely matches the vertical shape of the human body, and it creates a tighter pool of light with a natural, in-camera fall-off. (That means less vignettes needed in post!) If you’re working with a light modifier, you’ll want to let the shape of the modifier dictate orientation, and zoom your flash head to a value that provides enough coverage for that modifier. The 600EX-RT also provides a lot of flexibility with respect to exposure modes. I’ll discuss when it’s best to use manual, TTL, or High-Speed Sync (HSS) below. If you’re a Nikon shooter or you’re using an older Canon flash and you’re interested in wireless radio-based communication between your off-camera flash(es) and your camera, look no further than the PocketWizard FlexTT5 system (http://www.pocketwizard.com). These rock-solid radio triggers are reliable and provide both manual and TTL capabilities. HANDHELD FLASH Let’s start with handheld flash. There are a ton of great options out there but my personal hands-down favorite is the Canon 600EX-RT and ST-E3-RT Speedlite system (http://www.usa.canon.com). This first-of-its-kind radio-enabled wireless flash-and-controller combo is itself a revolution in handheld flash technology and usability via its built-in radio, powerful features, mix-and-match Canon’s 600EX-RT Speedlite has built-in radio-enabled wireless communication, an easy-to-understand streamlined interface, mix-andmatch exposure modes, groups, high-speed sync, and much more. This cross-lit image perfectly illustrates the benefits of radio-enabled communication between flashes and triggers. Because radio signals are unconstrained by line-of-sight requirements, I’m able to easily hide and trigger an accent light placed behind the wall, camera right. This is something not possible with optically based systems. Michael Corsentino › › kelbyone.com 071
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