Studio Advertising Project- Speed Lighting.

Speed lights are additional lights that can be attached on to the top of the camera.

The speed light can also be detached and placed somewhere else to light up a certain part of an image, there can be many speed lights used at once because if you change the speed light to the master setting then when the camera fires it will set up all the flash's that are being used within that set up.

A speed light is essentially a portable studio as this is a powerful light.

There are many different settings for a speed light and a camera:

TTL- Through the lens this means that the flash exposure is metered through the camera lens, so it knows how bright or dim to flash, the speed light also pre-flashes before the photo has been taken however the pre-flashes are not visible to the human eye as it happens so fast that the eyes don't see it but the final flash will be seen as i happens for a longer time.

Program mode: This is when the camera sets the exposure and quickens the shutter speed to stop camera shake however if slow sync mode is being used then the background maybe dark.

Aperture Priority- This is when the photographer sets the aperture then the camera selects the flash exposure to the right exposure so then the photograph has the best exposure possible for that certain aperture, the shutter speed is restricted so then it prevents camera shake, unless slow sync mode is being used.

Shutter Priority- This is when the photographer sets the shutter speed and the camera will chose the aperture which correlates with the chosen shutter speed then the speed light will calculate how long to flash for.

Exposure Compensation- This setting effects both ambient and flash exposure.

Flash exposure compensation- This affects the flash exposure only.

Remote shooting.

There is a way of using the speed light whilst its not attached

When the speed light is detached the setting on the speed light must be changed to remote which will then set off any speed lights being used the extra speed lights can be used to light the foreground as well as the background, which would be the same set up that you would use in a studio.

The Creative lighting system also know as CLS which is a setting allows the camera to control the exposure of the flash.

If you wanted to measure the exposure then you would use the TTL setting, each speed light can be measured separately, a speed light can have light modifiers attached to it such as a snoot or soft-box , this can be done using a stand that has a speed light attachment at the top then a lighting attachment can be added such as a soft-box.

When a speed light is off the camera but the photographer wants to use it they would change the speed light setting to Remote mode they would also do this to any other speed lights being used, the camera`s flash setting would be changed to Commander mode that then sets off all the speed lights being used when the photographer takes the picture.

If you are using a speed light as part of a wireless setup then you would need to change the camera settings to make the camera flash a "remote control" for any speed lights being used, you would change these settings by:

Going into the camera settings by clicking Menu, then go down to the Custom Menu section.

You would then click "E Bracketing flash."

Then press E2- Flash control for Built in flash.

You would then need to use the toggle to select the Commander mode setting which will look like this.

some Cameras will have a different abbreviation for the setting but they all do the same action.

The mode that is currently selected in the photograph is the setting you will need to use as the

"--" mode is what makes the camera flash a "remote control" for the speed lights being used within the setup that the photographer is using.

The speed lights that are being used must be in line of the cameras sight so they will fire when the photographer wants them too other wise the lights will not fire then the image will come out under exposed however the speed light may be come out of sync with the camera if they are not within the line of sight.

When the camera settings have been set up, you must set the speed light settings to Remote.

Your speed light should look like this.

Make sure the channel is set to 1, this setting is on the right hand side of the speed light.

The flash should be set to TTL, this setting is on the left hand side of the flash.

Before you start your shooting make sure the cameras flash is popped up, if not then you can pop the flash up by pressing the lightening bolt which is located at the front of the camera as shown in the images below.

Once you have done that then take a few test shots to double check that the lights fire, if all lights fire then you can proceed to do the shoot that you want to, if the flash is too weak to expose the image to the best exposure then move the flash closer to the camera or subject you are photographing.

How the position of the flash effects the image.

The direction in which you aim your speed light will give you different lighting for example if you are taking someones portrait and you use a direct flash then it will look like this:

If you bounce the flash off of a wall or ceiling then it will look like this:

The bounced flash makes the skin appear warmer and prevents the flash being bounced back from the models glasses.

If you turn the flash into a remote flash then the photograph will look like this:

The remote flash lightens the part of the face which it is facing and the other part of the face is then darkend as there is no flash there to lighten it up.

If you use a speed light at the front and back then add a colored gel then it would look like this:

The gel creates a warm glow on the models face and the back light creates an outline on the side of the models face this then makes him stand out from the background.

If you use a front remote light with no gel but your background light has a gel over it then it will look like this:

The gel light coming in from the back gives the background and the outline of the model a warm glow which is acts as a form of soft lighting.

The images shown above were all taken indoors, the images shown below were taken outdoors on an overcast day.

This image was taken without a speed light:

The natural lighting makes the model stand out from the background and also makes the models face look soft as the lighting is not "harsh" on his face.

The image below is what an image will look like if you use the sky metering and do not use a flash:

This makes the model appear shadowed and almost silhouetted, his facial features are shown but they are not clear as there was no flash involved to light his face.

This image was lit up using a fill in flash:

The fill in flash, lightens up the face where the natural light did not reach to.

The flash can be see in the models glasses as it is a reflective surface but the flash was also directly in front of the model.

The image below was lit using a fill in flash but the exposure was locked on the background:

The exposure lock on the background combined with the fill in flash makes the image look like it was taken in the evening and the flash on the models face makes him stand out from the background, again the flash can be seen in the models glasses as the speed light was in the same place as the previous photograph.

The photograph below was lit up using a speed light however the speed light was taken off the camera:

The flash was not directly in the models face therefore the flash reflection can not be seen in the models glasses, the non direct flash makes the models face look warmer and softer as there is no direct flash which is a "harsh" light, because the speed light is off the camera it can be placed in a different angle to which you are shooting at.

The image below was lit with the off camera flash but with exposure lock.

The flash combined with the exposure lock makes the models face appear soft as the light is not directly in his face, the exposure lock makes the lighting lighter on the left side of the models face.

The image below was lit using a front light and a back light:

The front light lit up the models face which makes his facial features visible on the photograph, the background was lit using another speed light which had a orange filter over it which was then faced towards the wooden panels, which gives the background a warmer glow.

Using Speed lights to create professional head shots.

In this image it shows the set up used for the image shown below, in this set up shot, a reflector is being used t bounce light into the models face, on the left you can see a portable softbox that has a speed light attached to the back of it, in the foreground you can see the photographer in position ready to take the models photograph.

This photograph was taken by using the set up shown above, the background is out of focus which makes the model stand out in thee image, the reflector bounced the light back into the models face as it was an overcast day which meant there was not much natural light so when the speed light flashes it reflects off the reflector to bring light back into image but also lights up the model more than the natural light did.