Taravella Level 2 Flash recap.

Last Thursday, I introduced flash photography to most of the class; as a recap I would like to make a list below of the equipment that I brought to class, should you decide to purchase similar elements.

• 43"Apollo Orb Softbox by Wescott  (BH $ 130)
• 30"Octagon Softbox by Cowboy Studios (Ebay around $ 40)
• Maxxum 4000 AF Flash (1985) (Ebay around $ 35) very powerful and inexpensive.
• Remote triggers (Ebay around $ 10), will work well with any flash
• 42" Reflector (Ebay around $ 40) 5 in 1.
• Inexpensive light stand (Ebay around $ 25) Make sure that is sturdy.

If you are serious about flash photography, it is always nice to have at least some inexpensive elements to practice either at class or school.  Of course I will bring every class several Maxxums and triggers for your convenience as well as the softboxes.

There is a great little gadget, a small softbox for portraits, (Ebay or BH around $ 20), it is foldable and very light.

This is an example: 

Vello Universal Softbox for Portable Flash (Large)

So, getting back to the first class: 

• First I showed how a TTL flash mounted on camera with a dome diffuser pointing to the subject directly would project a harsh flat light on the model's face.
• Then I pointed the flash to the ceiling on a 45 degree angle to find out that although less harsh, the light was still not creating any contrast.
• Again, I pointed the flash upwards and a bit back, this time the light was very soft but deeply flat, no contrast, a nice passport picture.
• So I mounted the 42"softbox with a Nikon SB-910 in iTTL mode, put it at a 45 degree angle to our male model and voila!! I got a more 3 dimensional portrait, more sculptorical, with a nice lighter side on the left and a subtle shadow on the right giving the 2 dimensional picture an immediate POP of contrast, no flat anymore eh!!
• After that I used FEC, flash exposure compensation to decrease the power of the flash just a bit and achieve a result that was more pleasing to me.
• Until this moment I was using iTTL mode, so the camera and the flash pretty much did all the work and gave me a nice result. This is like shooting (without flash) in one of the priority modes, you define the f stop or speed and the ISO and the camera accommodates the exposure.
• But I like to customize and tweak everything, so I went to ALL MANUAL, yes, manual flash and manual exposure. Now I was in control of everything.
• The camera and the flash were communicating through light pre_flashes, so I commanded my flash from my camera.
• First I put the flash to 1/16th of its power, having set  the camera to: 400 ISO, f 5.6 with a speed of 1/60. Remember speed only affects the ambient light not the light of the flash over my subject.
• I shot, and liked the results, but if I remembre well the light was a little harsh, decrease the power to 1/32 and the results were much more pleasing.
• Remember, flash photography is quite abstract until you start to discover it and practice it a little bit. Then, everything becomes quite apparent all of the sudden. 

Ok, hopefully I was able to recap everything, next class we will practice on location, so bring your equipment if you have some. I will also bring Rosita for your delight!!

Comments below are more than welcome, please be constructive!!