One Big Group, One Flash
April 13th, 2011 | Photography TipsOpen shade & cloudy day are great for photographers because they give us soft and diffused light. Open shade and cloudy day however can be a curse as well. With diffused light coming from the top, it can create “raccoon eyes”. The eyes are under shadow and thus lifeless. If we are shooting an individual or a couple, we can bring in a small softbox to solve the problem. What happen if you had a group of ten men?
Let go GUERRILLA. Just one flash…on a paint pole.
Lighting always come first. However when it comes to artificial lighting, I find it easier to think composition first before I think light. “Figure out where you wanna put your camera, then figure out where you wanna put the light,” the old sage aka Joe Numnuts McNally taught me that.
In this case, I worked out the arrangement and positioning of the guys, framed them nicely with the greens at the back. Took a test shot. Immediately, I noticed the problem of raccoon eyes. Probably fixable if we wanna Photoshopped the hell out of it but why don’t we get it right on camera?
Ambient light shot. No flash. Not bad straight out of camera. Do you notice the shadows around the eyes? Those are “raccoon eyes”.
One remote flash on Radiopopper on a paint pole held by my trusty assistant, Johan right behind me. The flash was 15 feet above the ground. Natural light usually comes from above. The paint pole gave us the height to replicate that feel.
Two important points about the flash setting and distance of the flash:
One. It was on maximum zoom, 105mm. SB800.
Two. It was placed about 20 feet from the group, right behind my shooting position. The flash on my camera worked as the master/triggering flash that didn’t contribute anything to the exposure.
The maximum zoom ensured I got as much punch as I could out of the flash. The distance feathered the light enough to cover the entire width of the group with even lighting. If the flash was too close to the group, it would create harsh and uneven light. I just wanted a gentle flick of light to fill the eyes and the dark color suits.
diagram by http://www.lightingdiagrams.com/
I had 5 minutes. These boys wouldn’t last more than 5 minutes in 80% humidity with these suits.
ISO 400, f/3.5, 1/200 with a 70-200mm.
First shot with the fill flash. Flash at TTL 0.0. Unsurprisingly, it was too bright. Camera’s metering system was fooled by the dark suits and dark background. “Hey it’s so dark here. Let’s put lots of light into the scene.” So the TTL meter figured.
I dialed the flash to TTL -2.7. Voila!
A small light source 20 feet away should give us hard light. The further the light source, the harsher light right? Yet by reducing the power of the flash it becomes a softer and friendlier light source that can cover a big group handily.
I was in a pinch. I had 5 minutes before these boys killed me. One flash on a paint pole saved the day.
April 13th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Very nice reminder on the greatness of one small flash if being used properly.
Small hero that saves the day
April 13th, 2011 at 8:25 pm
great technique! -2.7 really made it looked natural. I find Joe’s advice is really genuinely right, lighting is often just a modifier, great location comes in first. Thanks for sharing sifu! I
April 13th, 2011 at 10:02 pm
Great sharing! Probably we shall try it on charge up 2013
. I have a ques though. How do you know to dial -2.7? Is it pure guess or there are some basic formula?
April 13th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
Rui Di: It was a guess. Verify it by checking the LCD screen with a Hoodman Loupe.
April 13th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Two important points about the flash setting and distance of the flash:
One. It was on maximum zoom, 105mm. SB800.
Two. It was placed about 20 feet from the group, right behind my shooting position. The flash on my camera worked as the master/triggering flash that didn’t contribute anything to the exposure.
i got abit confuse , 1 or 2 flash ?
April 13th, 2011 at 11:43 pm
Jim: The flash on my camera is the master flash that commands and triggers the remote flash on the paint pole. The master flash function purely as a commander. It does not contribute to the exposure of the scene. The remote flash on the pole is set to TTL -2.7.
April 14th, 2011 at 9:31 am
Excellent post Louis, do you think you can post the non-flashed photo or at least the ambient exposure? I’m curious as to how much ambient there is to illuminate the group prior to the flash pop. Thanks.
Dave
April 15th, 2011 at 6:03 am
[...] links is this tutorial post from Malaysian wedding photographer Louis Pang. He shows you how to light a group of 10 using a single speedlight. Check it out and get a glimpse at why Louis is rated as one of the world’s premier wedding [...]
April 15th, 2011 at 9:47 am
Wow! I really don understand all these technical terms but Louis, I’m mesmerised your photography!
April 15th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
I’ve got a couple questions for you Louis. Why did you shoot this group with such a shallow depth of field? I often find myself in a quandary about whether to use TTL or Manual for these types of shots. What made you pick TTL?
On one hand TTL is faster but on manual I could pick a power setting, then if it was too powerful and I wanted more depth of field just going up a couple of stops would solve the power problem with the flash. The other problem I have shooting TTL for big groups with one flash is that if you aren’t careful your flash can be giving a full dump of power and kill itself rather quickly. With manual I feel I know how much power the flash is using and I can bump up the ISO if I feel that flash is working too hard. I don’t think it’s much of an issue when it’s cloudy but it can still happen if you are pushing into higher f-stops.
Thanks. I really enjoy your work.
April 16th, 2011 at 1:44 am
Ian: Great question! Shallow DOF to blur the background and separate the groom from the rest of the boys a bit.
TTL v Manual? I could have done it either way. The first shot, flash gave a huge dump of light as you can see. So dialed it down to -2.3 or -2.7 and it worked quite nicely. I think of TTL flash just as I do TTL exposure on 3D matrix metering. If I shoot against a bright background, I will need more exposure. If I shoot against a dark background, I will need less exposure. Now, I apply that in TTL flash.
April 22nd, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Nice tips. Great shot! Keep it up Louis
April 29th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
nice one there louis pang! always admire your work