Hunting Easter Eggs. In this image, one speedlite with a Lumiquest softbox was used to light the egg and another flash in a Lastolite Ezybox was used to light the girl behind. The balanced output was automatic calculated by the E-TTL system, even when the lights where illuminating different planes, requiring different power levels to achieve a similar light effect.
After getting familiar with using a speedlite off-camera, the need for more control will soon arise. Adding one or more additional speedlites to your kit will expand the creative possibilities while the advanced E-TTL system will take care of the complexity of setting and balancing different light to achieve a natural effect.
Mitha and Roses. Two speedlites were used to create this portrait. The main light was located to the right of the image while a soft fill was located to the left and sideways of the model
The wireless E-TTL system can seamlessly grow to support many speedlites in several configurations. Each speedlites can be configured with a group A, B or C. A and B are supposed to lit the subject -wherever in the frame- while C is supposed to illuminate the background.
Belly Dancer fancy dress. - A 3-light setup was used for this image. Two speedlites were setup in front, one on the ground (A), lighting up and one above, pointing down (B). A 3rd speedlite was located behind the girl (C) to highlight the hair. Ratio A:B=4:1, C=+1
The best advice that can be given is to always start with one light, but once you explore many of the possibilities of a single wireless speedlite, the need for additional lights will arise to better control the scenes and multiply your creative possibilities.
Eye with special make-up
Special Make-up - Second light. Introducing a second speedlite allowed us to better illuminated the eye to show the make-up in all its detail.
Home portraits
Elena - xmas portrait
Portrair of Elena: Behind the scenes
Adding a second speedlite to the setup is easy. Just turn the speedlite unit with wireless slave capabilities, to the ’slave’ setting and to the same channel ast the master unit, like for the setup with one slave.
In the setup above, both flashes will equally contribute to the total exposure. To achieve the soft light in the portrait of Elena, one 550EX was set pointing to the ceiling, to “bath” the scene with some soft bounce light, while the 580EX in the sofbox provided additional direction light to the face of the girl.
Nature
Empty Cicada Cocoon - Backlighted with one speedlite fitted with a custom grid
Cicada Cocoon- Added a second speedlite with a small reflector to add some fill, providing a better rendering of the natural environment where the cocoon was found. Using a ratio 4:1 ensured that the fill wouldn't overpower the backlight to preserve the transparent effect.
Cicada cocoon - how to
Flower Close-up, taken with a MR-14EX Macro ring light. A typical issue of macro photography with a ring flash is that backgrounds are rendered very dark due to close distance of the flash to the subject and the light fall off on the background.
flower close-up with MR-14EX Macro Ring light. Using the wireless master capabilities of the MR-14EX, we can independently light the background with another flash (a 580EX in slave mode in this case).
Location Photography
The portable nature of the speedlite system makes it ideal to use it for location assignments, keeping the bags light and transportable.
Model photography on location
Behind the scenes - setup
Vicky - Location portrait
location portrait setup
Events & Party’s
Party dancer
Double speedlite setup. Image taken by Diego García de Rio. Should be correctly accreditted if used. To achieve a professional result even in the middle of a dance party, this particular setup was created. The two speedlites bouncing off the umbrellas are portable all around the dancing hall. The two bounce surfaces create a big area of light that softly illuminates the subject.
The Advanced Home Studio
Delphine - Portrait
Portrait Setup - Speedlites can be used with a variety of modifiers to achieve professional results. In this home studio setup, we used an Ezybox and an Umbrella box, both from Lastolite, to transform the harsh light of the speedlites into soft illumination for our model.
Deenah - portfolio image
Studio setup in a room of the house
Beauty portrait
Beauty Setup - Speedlites are handy to move into different setups. In contrast with big studio lights, speedlites do not heat up and are very light. Changing the whole installation to go from a full body portrait to a beauty close-up only takes a few minutes. Note here the use of 3 speedlites: Above, below and behind (purple) the model. Using the ratio function it's easy to adapt the lighting for the different situations without the need of a flash meter.
