Tutorials

Aperture
Depth of field
Exposure
Field of View primer
Home made ring flash
Special Flash Effects



Tutorials are given a difficulty rating out of five stars(*). Five stars being the hardest to master.

Flash effects -Article and photos by Dan H.

How to use your flash to obtain special effects.

Difficulty level- ****
Equipment - Off camera flash with either a flash cable or that can be remote controlled by the camera.


Introduction
Special effects with flash photography are used often in magazines and other publications for advertising or promotion.

---------------------------- Jack Daniel's bottle ---------------------------- Setup: -1 white bed sheet draped over a table with a cushion behind it to hold it up. -Over the sheet was about 4 feet of clear wrapping paper (clear coloured wrapping paper, $8.99 at local craft store) -The flash itself is lying sideways (portrait orientation) directly behind the bottle, behind the sheet and on the table. Nothing propping it up. Equipment: -Camera: Nikon D70 -Lens: 18-70mm -Flash: Nikon SB800 Settings: -Flash: on remote (if you need help with remote I would be happy to chat with you on MSN or e-mail) -Flash: in manual setting, 1/16 power - set by camera in flash menu. -Camera: 1/90s at f/8, ISO200 *some settings aprox Post processing: -Photoshop filter effect.

--------------------------- Single orange shot --------------------------- Setup: -White paper towel on table with a black fabric studio background draped over something to prop it up in the BG -Nice quality wine glass (very clear) -The glass was almost completely full (for best splash effect) -Flash was off to the left, just slightly behind the black background in order to avoid getting any light on it Timing: -I had my hand on the shutter button and I was dropping the orange, it was very simple, as I let go I hit the button and it worked great Equipment used: -Nikon 18-70mm (kit lens for D70) -Nikon SB800 flash Settings: -Flash: on remote -Flash: in manual setting, 1/16 power -Camera: 1/90s at f/8, ISO200 *some settings aprox Post processing: -Photoshop, levels

------------------------------ Multiple orange shot ------------------------------ Setup: -White paper towel on table with a black fabric studio background draped over something to prop it up in the BG -Nice quality wine glass (very clear) -The glass was almost completely full (for best splash effect) -Flash was off to the right Timing: I had my hand on the shutter button and I was dropping the orange, it was very simple, as I let go I hit the button and it worked great Equipment: -Camera: Nikon D70 -Lens: 18-70mm -Falls: Nikon SB800 Settings: -Flash: on remote -Flash: in RPT (repeat) setting, 1/64 power at 5x20hz -Camera: 1 second exposure time at f/8, ISO200 *some settings aprox Post processing: -Photoshop, levels

---------------------- Water tap shot ---------------------- Setup: -Hand held using a household sink Timing: -I had the tap dripping on a slow constant basis and shot by trying to match the timing Equipment used: -Camera: Nikon D70 -Lens: 70-300mm G-type lens -Nikon close up lens attachment No.6T (cost : $100-$150can, it attaches to the lens like any other filter but allows you to get closer to your subject thusly making it bigger in the frame. I was about 12 inches away rather than 2 meters away without it) -Flash: Nikon SB800 Settings: -Flash: on remote and off to the left (fairly close to the camera) -Flash: in manual setting, 1/16 power -Camera: 1/90s at f/8, ISO200 *some settings aprox Post processing: -Photoshop, levels (there was a little hint of background tone left over)