This weekend I really became aware of the benefits of digital for
formal flash work. Those hyper-expensive units are only really useful
for paparazzi work! You can do really well on the cheap.
The problem was that a family member was selling a house and was
unhappy with the shots that the nice man from the agent had produced
- pro-photog with a Nikon high end and a rather wide lens. This house
has great view but is oldish and fairly dark inside. Seller was cross
that the vistas from the dining room were burned out almost totally
as this is a major selling point. He is the cousin who teaches
Photoshop but has not done any studio work since his film days. Did
I, was the question, have anything wide enough as he didn't?
Consider this for a rig. My tiny 8mp Ricoh GR Digital with its wide
converter - effective 21mm perspective. Mounted on a big Manfrotto
with his SBtwentysomething flash and Stofen diffuser on it (the flash
was 3 times the size of the camera). Meter for the mountains in the
distance and light up the room - bounce the on-shoe flash and two
slave-triggered, cheap, low power mono-blocks with umbrellas (typical
economy portable beginners kit - under $400 second hand). Laughable
really but I know thta the GR renders flash well.
To my amazement it worked brilliantly - everything from the leg under
the table to the distant sunlight mountains through the window.
Now, it occurred to me that you can use anything with a digital,
anything at all. We just banged away until we got it right and we
didn't have too many adjustments - the monoblocks only have full or
half power choices. Shoot and check the histogram and zoom in on the
display on the difficult areas. (The shadows under the table, the
white on white cornices, the distant, blue hills).
I just ordered up one of those Sunpack slave brackets for use with
any old manual flash, plus a new Sunpak shoe mount flat panel flash
'cos I've realised that if you are using a compact, even an Oly one
like an 8080, you can trial and error it like mad and use any old
flash rig that you can cobble together. Remember when we used to use
Polaroids to check flash?
He was so pleased that we went off and reshot the bathroom and
bedroom as well. Great.
Free at last of the fear of flash!
AndrewF
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