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Using fill flash outdoors (pic)

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Steve Bingham

Steve Bingham

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Using the D200 and a SB800 (SB600 will also work great) I tried something a little different. Using a cheap 60" umbrella mounted on a cheap stand I used the SB800 aimed into the umbrella (very portable setup). The camera was 10-12' away (60 degrees) with a Nikon 105mm VR on it. The mountain man wanted an outdoor portrait. This is one of a series. I was blown away by the sharpness of this lens at f11 - everywhere. A 2' x 3' print is scary sharp. (sharp lens+tripod+strobe). VR was off.



--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com
 
This is another lens I keep raving about. I love the sharpness from corner to corner. Again this was taken af f11 and fill flash umbrella setup. I hope this encourages others to try this sort of setup. An outdoor studio for $60 and a Nikon SB800.



--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com
 
Steve Bingham said:
Using the D200 and a SB800 (SB600 will also work great) I tried
something a little different. Using a cheap 60" umbrella mounted on
a cheap stand I used the SB800 aimed into the umbrella (very
portable setup).
Click to expand...
How did you mount the umbrella and speedlight to the stand?

--
-Kent

Life is too short for slow glass.
http://www.pbase.com/kjoosten
 
Hi Steve,

Great shots.

I use flashes off camera from time to time too..but I found this ingenious tripod for my flash to mount onto anything with. It's called a gorillapod, check it out for yourself.

http://www.joby.com/

Rich
--
It doesn't matter what you use as long as you know how to use it!
 
So glad you asked. The Nikon D200 (and other models) have a mode where it can trip other flash units and STILL do the TTL exposure correctly (I set the aperture on the camera to aperture priority and f11). You will have to struggle with the instruction book to find it. It is 4 deep in the menu selection. Arrggg. The Nikon SB600 and SB800 also have programs that coordinate with the camera's TTL system when fired remotely.

In short, everything is built into the camera and flash units. You can use 1 or many off-camera flash units. The camera was 8-12 feet from the subject. 60 degrees, and 7-10 eet off center the flash was on a cheap stand with umbrella and a $13 clamp that holds flash, stand, and umbrella.

The beauty of this setup is its extreme lightness. 5' umbrella, stand, clamp, and flash feel like they only way 5-7 pounds - total. Very light and portable. The 5' umbrella produces a very soft and controllable light source.
--
Steve Bingham
http://www.dustylens.com
http://www.ghost-town-photography.com
 
Great photos - good tips... always in a hope using this to have a windless day...

The $13 item has however a drawback: the flash is pretty much off centre of umbrela.
Someone with a little skill can make it better with almost $0 additional cost.

I made one, years ago; if someone is interested I can take a photo of it and later today post it, now I have to go to work.
Joe
http://joecan.smugmug.com/
If you are always telling the truth, you don't have to remember what you said.
 
excellent shots
 
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