Speedlights and Speedlites: Creative Flash Photography

Last year while traveling around the country on one assignment we accumulated $6000 in excess and overweight baggage fees. We learned a lesson about outrageous baggage charges—needless to say our client was not happy with the final invoice. Fortunately, we have a solution this year. Instead of six cumbersome cases of strobes, power packs and light stands, I bring three compact bags of speedlights and accessories. It is easier on the client’s wallet, not to mention easier on our backs.

Speedlights represent a paradigm shift in lighting. They are small but mighty, packed with complex computers capable of being integrated more fluidly into any photo shoot. Unfortunately, professional and amateur photographers have been treating them much the same way they have for decades. Their full potential is not being realized.

Since light is such an important, but difficult, component of photography, engineers designed the flashes to be practically foolproof. With little knowledge or effort, a beginner can make an acceptable image every time. As a byproduct of marrying a “smart” light with a “smart” camera, all manner of miracles are possible. These systems work together to control white balance, exposure, focus and histogram.

With TTL (through the lens) flash metering, automatic exposure is a given. In addition, we can set several flashes off-camera that can be manipulated to control how much light each unit contributes to a scene, and we can do it without hard-wiring them together or without external triggering devices.

The digital revolution has given us instantaneous feedback so we can see how to change power on each flash without moving from the ideal vantage point. The artist no longer has to filter himself or herself. Every new frame can have a different lighting ratio, a different ISO or a different emphasis for aperture or shutter. Each speedlight becomes a separate instrument in an orchestra. The discerning photographer can “conduct a symphony” and “color each stanza” by accentuating each individual light.
We wrote the book Speedlights & Speedlites: Creative Flash Photography at Lightspeed to inform photographers of all types, whether commercial, sports, fine art, fashion, etc., of the great capabilities and to help them navigate through unchartered territory. Here are some highlights.
—Lou Jones

Traveling at Lightspeed (photos 1 and 2)
We mulled over the cover of our book for quite a while and rejected a lot of ideas. By accident I struck upon featuring the Speedlight in the photograph. I also wanted to incorporate a number of the techniques that we talk about in the pages of our book. But like everything, it all comes down to money. There was a budget. We searched a lot of models’ portfolios to find the perfect subject. In the end I pressed Leah, my studio manager, into service.

I wanted to imply movement. We handled this in a couple of ways: The photograph was shot on a slant so the woman’s hair hung at an angle. We used a fan to add to the illusion. A tungsten light was placed behind the model to create some blur.

There were four Speedlights, in three groups, doing separate jobs: lighting her face and hair with daylight; adding the comet-like background light; emphasizing the blue color, but keeping it off her face. The trick was timing when to have Leah initiate the stroboscopic Speedlight in her hand each time we made an exposure.

We used lots of gobos to keep each light from “contaminating” the others. There was a great deal of fine-tuning, but the whole shot was done in about 20 exposures, which is a testament to the methods we have at our fingertips.

Lobsterman (photos 3 and 4)
During a workshop in Cape Cod, I was demonstrating lighting with the help of one of the participants. I set up a character model against a wall of lobster buoys. We had brought the clothing (red coat, yellow boots and fedora) and the rope as props, but they were for other shoots.

It was a perfect overcast day so every highlight and shadow was well within limits, but the model’s dark skin was right on the edge and that was the most important element in the picture. I opted to set up a remote Speedlight on a stand, off to the right, close to my subject. The Master flash was camera mounted and the camera was in Program Mode. So with sufficient ambient light, the off-camera strobe defaulted to create directional fill light intended to put a reflection on the man’s face and some tone in the red coat. The Master acted merely as a wireless trigger.

I worked around all the students who were also vying for position. All decisions were made looking at the LCD and histogram. No formula exists to determine a good portrait, especially while in the making. A lot of things have to happen: character, color, content and timing. It was all done on the spur of the moment, but was the best picture I took all weekend.

Doctor (photos 5 and 6)
For many years I have photographed healthcare assignments: hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, medical schools, insurance companies. Getting good photographs in these places is all about access. And once in operating rooms, research facilities and nursing homes, speed is a big issue. The situations can change quickly because of vacillating health conditions, privacy issues or patients’ whims. We used only three Speedlights for this photograph, all outfitted with softboxes: small, medium and large. We added light gels to two of the flashes, green to the lightbox used to illuminate the CAT scans and chemical beakers in the background. I was trying to duplicate the fluorescent color it normally emitted so I added light blue on the flash and a small softbox directly behind the foreground CT scan. We were directed to emphasize the doctor in an environmental portrait. Strategic placement of Speedlights can be very directional and increase the drama of a potentially mundane scene.

Spiral Staircase (photos 7 and 8)
We knew it was very ambitious to try and take advantage of this architectural detail. It was chosen for its visual impact rather than its historical significance. In addition, running up and down the staircase was exhausting. To get dramatic spread from the Speedlights without them showing in the frame was a lot more complicated than I first thought. Each level was a physical obstacle to line of sight. So the light banks containing the Speedlights were just outside the frame, hidden by the floor above. It was like assembling a puzzle. Distance was also a problem. From the top level to the first floor was pushing the limits of wireless range. Since the softboxes were placed various distances from the models, we controlled their different power settings all from the Master.

Speedlights and Speedlites, Creative Flash Photography at Lightspeed (Focal Press) by Lou Jones, Bob Keenan and Steve Ostrowski is available everywhere or from the Focal Press website (www.focalpress.com).

Lou Jones is one of Boston’s most diverse commercial and art photographers. This prolific, award-winning photographer specializes in photo illustration and location photography for corporate, advertising and collateral projects. His client list is impressive—IBM, FedEx, American Express, Oldsmobile, Aetna, Museum of Fine Art, Fortune Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, and National Geographic. Jones’ assignments have taken him to Europe, Central and South America, Africa, the Far East and 48 of the 50 states. Assignments have placed Jones on location at NASA, Boeing, Universal Studios, British Telecom (England) and Saab (Sweden).

Bob Keenan is a Boston-area photographer. A retired electrical engineer, Keenan spent his career designing and developing radio frequency communications equipment, so working with the wireless speedlights and the concept of light pulses is a natural fit. Keenan is a graduate of the Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging’s photography program.

Steve Ostrowski is an award-winning photographer with over 30 years experience in commercial, editorial, annual report, fashion, portrait and event photography. He has worked with small flash as a studio and location lighting tool since 1977. He is currently an instructor at The New England School of Photography in Boston, MA, teaching editorial photography as a major course of study, digital camera techniques, and specializing in teaching lighting with wireless TTL Flash.