Shooting On The Run

Learning and using off camera flash, ala The Strobist, is a great way to really ramp up your photography skills and results. The downside, if there is one, is that once you get used to the outstanding results as compared to bare, on-camera flash, you never want to go back. But that presents some real challenges when presented with a "shoot on the run" situation like you might encouter during an event like a party or reception. You obviously can't run around with a set of stands and umbrellas and then ask people to stand there while you fiddle with the gear and set the exposure. You've got to be able to shoot quickly and move on.

I was presented just such a challenge recently when my new grandson came for a visit. I wanted to have the camera ready and be able to fire in an instant, but couldn't mess with hauling all of the Strobist gear around.

So the night before, I rigged up a DIY bounce card, which consisted of a 5X8 index card, with a few large holes cut in it. I flipped the flash head straight up and attached the bounce card so that most of the light went up to the ceiling, with the perforated bounce card catching just enough residual light to provide some near-on-axis fill. This is a fast improvement over ceiling bounce alone, which tends to create some darkish shadows around the eye sockets and under the nose and chin.

I also bungied a Cybersync flash trigger to the flash so I could hold it off camera at about arms length away. Getting the flash off the lens axis gives a little more form and depth to the light, rather than that typical harsh, washed out look that bare, on-camera flash results in.

To finish the prep, I spent about an hour experimenting with various aperture, shutter and shooting distance combinations to come up with an optimal set that would let me shoot from about 7-8 feet away without having to make any exposure adjustments at the camera. Any minor discrepancies were such that I could fix in post processing.

Now I was ready for Hudson's arrival. Although I shot a lot of typical candid group shots during the week, the two shots in this post were my best keepers and speak volumes to what you can do to get the best of both worlds with a simple set up - namely the beauty of off camera flash and the flexibility to shoot and run.