Easy system for off camera flash

Today we are continuing my series on Off Camera Flash for beginners. If you missed the first two posts in the series check them out!

Part 1  //  Part 2

In this post we are going to talk about what to actually buy for your OCF system. When I first started looking into OCF and speed lights I was INSTANTLY overwhelmed and confused with all of the different options and terminology associated with everything. I couldn't distinguish between a speed light and a strobe and a trigger and a pocket wizard and a slave and a master (<---what the heck?!?!) 

I kept putting everything off because I just didn't want to deal with it all. 

But then I was going to shoot my first wedding and I KNEW I needed to be prepared. So I dug in, did my homework and figured out a system that worked for me! I've made a few tweaks since I first started but now I am so happy with the system that I use and in all honestly, the investment is minimal for what you end up getting! 

A simple and inexpensive OCF system for beginners

First thing to mention...if any of the terminology I use confuses you, go back and reference Part 1 in this series to brush up on the lingo. 

Second thing to mention...my set up is mainly for wedding photography, but the system I describe could be used for multiple things. The hardest thing to get your head around is how do you set off (trigger) the flash when its off of your camera? And also...if you also have a light also ON your camera...how does that all work together? 

Let me 'splain. (<----10points if you get that reference) ;-) 

What I use

Currently I use:

• three Yongnuo 560 iii's 
• one Yongnuo 560 iv
• one Yongnuo 560TX (trigger) 
• Two light stands
• Two umbrellas
• lots 'o batteries

To make this as simple as possible since this is a beginner tutorial, I want us all to pretend that I actually have FOUR 560iv's instead of a mix between two different types of flashes. In an ideal scenario, that is what I would have, but I had already purchased the 560iii's before the 560iv came out, so I'm just making what I have work. But if you were to buy anything after reading this tutorial,, I would absolutely recommend you buy TWO 560iv's (or three if you think you need two off camera) and one 560TX. 

Ok so now that we have that out of the way....let me talk a little bit about how all of this works. 

These flashes all have built in transmitters to they can talk to each other without the need of additional triggers. This is SUPER awesome because it eliminates the need to attach other things (pocket wizards, radio poppers etc...) onto your camera and/or the flash on its stand. The flash units will simply talk to each other as is, which just make everything that much simpler. 

So you can have a flash on your camera and another on a light stand across the room, and you can control that flash that is far away (change the amount of light it emits or even turn it off all together) from the flash that is on your camera in your hands. 

If you don't need or want to have a flash on your camera, the 560TX will also control any of the flashes you have on stands around the room. 

In order to make the most sense of this, lets look at a couple of different scenarios. 

Scenario 1- The Wedding Reception 

In this situation, this is my normal set up:

• Flash on camera that I use for bounce light
• Two flashes on stands on either side of the dance floor pointed at the dance floor

I can set all of the flashes on the same channel so they will talk to each other and when I click my shutter all three of them will fire. 

I can change the light output for the flashes around the dance floor from my flash or turn them off altogether if I end up not wanting them on for a few shots. 

Scenario 2 - The Dramatic Shot

Lets say I wanted to take my couple outdoors in the evening during the reception to do a more dramatic night time shot. I want to put them in front of a large tree and light up the tree a little bit as well as light the couple from the left hand side. 

I would put the 560TX on my camera, put one flash on a stand and diffuse it with a large umbrella and put another flash on the ground behind the couple pointing up at the tree. Now I can change the flash output settings for the two off camera flashes from the 560TX that is on my camera. I will underexpose the background and make sure my shutter speed is lower than 160 and shoot everything in manual in order to get desired exposure on the couple with the slight backlight of the light on the tree. 

In this first video, I talk a bit about the system that I use along with different types of speedlights I use and the one trigger that controls everything! 

In the below video I go over the following:

• How to change the channel on a 560TX
• How to change the channel on a 560IV (the same as changing the channel on a 560III)
• How to change the group on a 560IV
• How to change the 560IV from transmitting to receiving mode

You would want to use a setup like this (TX on camera, 560IV off camera) when you don't actually need a flash on your camera as well. 

In the below video I go over the following:

• How to change the channel on a 560IV and 560III
• How to change the 560IV to be transmitter
• How to change the 560III to receiver
• How to ensure the groups are the same on both flash units
• How to change the settings of an off camera flash from the flash on your camera 

This would be the set up you would likely want to use during a wedding reception when you need both an on and off camera flash. 

I know it doesn't look like flash "C" went off in the video, but I promise it did! LOL. 

I hope this is helpful to you especially if you are new to the world of OCF and are considering the Yongnuo brand of flash equipment! As always, if you have ANY questions at all...feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email! 

Harsh, Even and Back Light // examples

Photography is all about light. No matter what your style, light will affect everything about your photo. Where you place your subject, how you expose and then end result of your photograph are all heavily dependent of what type of light you have available and how you make use of it!

You will constantly hear photographers (especially natural light photographers who work mostly outside) talk about "looking for the best light". Before I was a photographer (and honestly even for a while after I started) I was MUCH more concerned with background than good light. But when you REALLY think about it, the subject is the point of the photo, not necessarily the background so you want to make sure that your subject is in the best light possible!

I was out on a session the other day and a friend of mine came along who is interested in learning more about how to use her camera etc...My devastatingly handsome stepson was with us as well and an opportunity presented itself out of the blue while we were waiting for my clients to arrive. I was explaining the concept of harsh light, even light and backlight and we happened to be standing in the exact perfect location for me to get a great example of all three situations!

These three photos were taken in under a minute and I didn't even move, I just changed the placement of my subject (cheesy grinned Kyle.) Also important to note, these photos are all SOOC (straight out of camera). 

Harsh Light

In this first image, the sun was to my back. There were some trees behind me, which are causing that unfortunate shadow across his face and chest. The bright sun shinning on the background completely draws your eye away from the subjects face and even if he would have had an amazing expression on his face, there are too many distracting elements in the photo that it would get instantly lost. I do like the leading lines of the blue fence behind him, but again the light in this photo is so bad that they get lost as well.  

Even Light

You can instantly see a HUGE improvement in this next photo. I sat him down on the stairs that were just to the right of where we were in the first photo. The exposure on his face is totally even with no crazy shadows or hot spots. The exposure on the background is ALSO even (which is so important) Because of the light colored concrete, that also served as a natural reflector to bounce more light onto his face. I framed the photo with him in the middle and cropped in camera so that the background was completely evenly light so there were no distracting elements. 

Back Light

For this photo we were in almost the exact opposite position of the first photo. Now the sun was at his back and I was facing into the sun. Because the tree was there, there was enough diffused light so that the sun wasn't directly hitting my lens causing a ton of haze or flare. I popped a white reflector underneath him just to get a little more light onto his face. His face is evenly exposed and even though parts of the background are more blown out than others, the backlight offers a dreamy golden glow that is almost always visually pleasing. 

Looking at this photo now, I should have had him stand a little to the left (when looking at the photo) so the tree isn't coming out of his head!) Those are always good things to look for when framing your subject in your shot. It can be pretty distracting. Now that I've mentioned it, its probably bugging you too huh!? =) 

Whenever I'm studying specific information on how to do something or how to achieve a certain result, visuals are always helpful for me. I hope to provide many posts like this in the future! I hope you found it helpful to see some examples. As always, shoot me an email or reply in the comments if you have any questions! =)

These three images all shot on:

Canon 6d
50mm f/1.4

Settings were f/2.8 ISO 400 and shutter speeds were 1/3200, 1/640 and 1/1000 respectively.