Do I need flash trigger or flash only is enough to try

[r90t]

Hi, I ordered a flash Godox tt685 and while it’s coming, I am considering if I should buy trigger. I do think that the price for the godox x2t is very low now - 45 euros. However I am not sure if I really need trigger to start and play around. Is it absolutely necessary or you think I should start from on camera flash? Thanks!

update. Home use: portraits, kids parties, macro once in a lifetime

 

[rumple]

update. Home use

Try bounce flash first. Indoors, you can generally make the light on the subject come from wherever you want.

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neilvn.com

 

[r90t]

That’s my plan. I assume that should be enough for the beginning

 

[photolando]

Well, no, you don't need have to have it. But when you are ready to try off camera flash, you will also need a stand and perhaps a modifier like an umbrella or small soft box.

But you can get great results on camera as well but either bouncing off a ceiling or even a nearby wall, if it is white or light grey. Or you can buy modifier that fit on the flash itself.

A lot of my work is covering corporate events and I always shoot with on camera flash. However I also use a bounce card so some of my light goes up to the ceiling and back down and also some goes straight ahead. This gives a nice filled in look without looking too contrasty.

 

[Klaus dk]

Look up Strobist 101. It's a very useful tutorial on the use of light in general and speedlights in particular.

 

[Gato Amarillo]

I too was going to suggest Neil Van Neikerk. See also his 'black foamy thing'

Black foamie thing - Tangents

Black foamie thing / Black foamy thing Also be sure to read the article on how to bounce on-camera flash. The results with the Black Foamie Thing and proper bounce flash technique, can easily give you portraits like this with flattering light, where there is no hard flash shadow...

neilvn.com

Gato

 

[Ellis Vener]

it depends on what you planning to use flash for.

Casual snaps? You don’t need the radio.
Shooting quick portraits and bouncing the light off of a nearby wall or ceiling? You probably won’t need the radio.

Want to play with dramatic off camera lighting angles? You’ll need the radio

Want to use light modifiers (umbrella, softbox)? You need the radio. You’ll also need a soft or and/or umbrella, and a lightstand.

Getting the light off camera gives you more options in changing the quality of the lighting.

 

[Harvey M43]

If you decide you like bounce flash & want to take it to the next level I'd consider a second TT685. You can use one on camera as a fill & control the second off camera flash with it rather than buying a trigger for your current TT.

 

[Ellis Vener]

As Harvey has directly points out: you can always make things more complicated.

 

[Harvey M43]

LOL

Options are good

 

[Ellis Vener]

Agreed!

 

[Gato Amarillo]

If you decide you like bounce flash & want to take it to the next level I'd consider a second TT685. You can use one on camera as a fill & control the second off camera flash with it rather than buying a trigger for your current TT.

I often use the little TT350 on camera as fill and trigger. Smaller, lighter, and cheaper than a second 685, and easier to handle on-camera. But with enough power to do the job.

Just to make things more complicated. LOL

Gato

 

[BAK CDN]

RE: not sure if I really need trigger to start and play around. Is it absolutely necessary or you think I should start from on camera flash?

You don't really need a trigger to start.

But if you want more than one or two people well lit in a picture, and you can't move the people to near a white wall or a white ceiling, or under some open shade or farther away than a wall with shadows behind them, a trigger is very handy.

It gets the flash off the camera, and allows placing the flash so it creates controllable falloff (not blasted foregrounds and dark backgrounds, within reason)

You'll not need one, ever, if you don't want to get at least slightly serious.

With a trigger on the camera, you can hold the flash in your left hand, or put it on a stand.

Yes, you can twist and turn the flash head, for bouncing, without a trigger/

You can learn a lot without a trigger, and even more when you have one.

BAK

 

[r90t]

Makes sense, thanks everyone. I guess I will play around with flash, maybe then get a silicon modifier and if that’s not enough, consider radio setup either with trigger or another flash.

thanks everyone for the advises and helping me to spend less.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

Hi, I ordered a flash Godox tt685 and while it’s coming, I am considering if I should buy trigger. I do think that the price for the godox x2t is very low now - 45 euros. However I am not sure if I really need trigger to start and play around. Is it absolutely necessary or you think I should start from on camera flash? Thanks!

update. Home use: portraits, kids parties, macro once in a lifetime

Consider, instead, a Godox TT350. It can serve as both a trigger and an on-camera flash, letting you use your TT685 off-camera. For run & gun portraits, I often hold the larger speedlight in my left hand and set the on-camera TT350 to -2EV to provide fill. Getting the main flash off-axis makes a "studio light" look that's so much better than the deer-in-headlights look or the low-contrast bounce-everywhere look of on-camera flash alone.

Here's a blog post I wrote long ago about this approach:

How to Get Small - Part Five - Studio Lighting in Your Pocket

 

[rumple]

I often hold the larger speedlight in my left hand

So, kind of like "strobe on a rope" only with radio.

Strobist: Strobe on a Rope

strobist.blogspot.com

 

[Ellis Vener]

If the flash is going to be within arm’s length of the camera “strobe-on-a-rope” is an technically elegant, simple solution and one I’ve been using since the late ‘80s. It still works great because it’s reliable. Also most radio sync systems need at least 0.5 meters (about 20 inches) separation between controller/transmitter and the flash before they work reliably.

 

[Gato Amarillo]

...

Consider, instead, a Godox TT350. It can serve as both a trigger and an on-camera flash, letting you use your TT685 off-camera. For run & gun portraits, I often hold the larger speedlight in my left hand and set the on-camera TT350 to -2EV to provide fill. Getting the main flash off-axis makes a "studio light" look that's so much better than the deer-in-headlights look or the low-contrast bounce-everywhere look of on-camera flash alone.

Here's a blog post I wrote long ago about this approach:

How to Get Small - Part Five - Studio Lighting in Your Pocket

This is much what I do. I have done it with two 685s, but prefer the smaller, lighter 350 on the camera.

 

[Jacques Cornell]

If the flash is going to be within arm’s length of the camera “strobe-on-a-rope” is an technically elegant, simple solution and one I’ve been using since the late ‘80s. It still works great because it’s reliable. Also most radio sync systems need at least 0.5 meters (about 20 inches) separation between controller/transmitter and the flash before they work reliably.

My Godox triggers work fine even when they're on the camera and the flash is six inches away on a bracket. OTOH, I had terrible experiences with TTL sync cords back in the day and gladly chucked 'em all in the trash after adopting Godox gear.

 

[Jigal]

My subjects are mostly puppies inside our living room. The first few weeks they live inside a litter box with their mother and the on camera TT-685II set to bounce on the ceiling and walls (both white) is enough.

When they start walking around the room the recharge time between flashes becomes too long because more light is needed to illuminate the room. At that moment I use the TT685 as a trigger and fill flash to get highlights in their eyes. I have a Godox MS300 hidden behind the tv and pointed to the ceiling as the main light source. It doesn't need to be used on full power so the time between flashes is mostly below 1 second.

Perhaps it's wise to start with the TT685 as on camera flash and depending on how your style develops you can get other strobes, flashlights or a trigger later on.