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The flash is off camera

What prompts many professional photographers to separate the flash from the camera and shoot manually, which requires a lot of effort and precision, bearing in mind that keeping the flash above the camera ensures that the light is automatically directed towards the subject according to the point of the lens itself, and it also avoids them having wire connections that impede their movement...? It must be that this method has exceptional results that make it worthwhile to bear the troubles, leading to distinctive artistic images.

It is true that photography with a flash mounted on the back of the camera often gives us pictures that are relatively flawless, but this traditional form of photography remains limited in results if we want to get distinctive pictures with special artistic impressions for our photos taken with a flash, and from here many tend to separate the flash from the camera Orienting it by hand.. or rather, controlling its direction in order to get better results than those achieved by the flash while it is in its traditional position on the camera. A comprehensive review of this method must be made, while realizing its negative effects in the event of misuse, before we seriously consider adopting it in future photography with flash. separated from the camera.

Flash holder - local separation

- Before talking about separating the flash away from the camera, it is necessary to point out a smaller step in this field, which is changing the position of the flash by adopting a special holder for it to keep it with the camera, but in a location other than its traditional location. The flash holder (*) allows us to control the direction of the light so that the light is focused on the subject at an angle that differs slightly from the line extending between the camera and the subject, depending on the distance between the flash and the camera.

And because this method also does not need wired connections - for synchronization between the shutter (*) and the flash - it will have less hassle. We also point out that installing
The flash on the stand, instead of being mounted on the camera itself, makes only a slight difference in the illumination of the subject, and this means that the shading will be less as well, and thus the effects will be less, as well as the trouble.

Handheld flash.
In order to achieve lighting effects on broader levels, the flash must be completely separated from the camera, and the most important thing here to do what we want correctly is to keep the camera straight and the flash pointed in the right direction.
This method needs many experiments, and as a guide, we say that the more we raise the flash above the level of the camera, the more shadows we get closer to those produced by the sun's rays.

In terms of the distance here between the flash and the subject, this matter also has a great impact on the resulting shadows, if the subject, for example, is an arm's length away from the camera. The maximum height of the flash will be between 6.5 and 8 feet approximately.
This style is ideal for both artistic and casual portraits. The location of the shadows on the face is the secret of a good portrait.
And we can confirm this with several experiments to obtain distinctive results.
It should be noted here that automatic exposure will work properly with this method as well as when using a flash holder.

separate substrates

Installing the camera or the flash - or both of them separately - on a tripod or any special stand avoids the hassle that we face when working with handheld devices.

And with a long wired synchronization link, we can get multi-field lighting locations that cannot be achieved with flash holders attached to the camera.
Or even with a handheld flash. Where the limited possibility of movement of our hands.
Here the biggest drawback is the connection, which becomes a source of inconvenience, as well as confusion. Which is caused by separating the flash from the camera, due to automatic operations, including misleading the sensor. To avoid this, some companies have

displayed in its containers, as well as providing a separate sensor as one of the basic accessories for its cameras. The best use of pillars corresponds with fixed, rigid images, such as pictures of flowers, for pictures of snapshots of people bound within a work, such as pottery, decoration, or the like.

The hassle of separating the flash from the camera - pillars

But in addition to that, the separate pillars that allow us to move the flash unit very close to the subject, and on one of its sides if we want to, to obtain more distinctive artistic and creative works put us in front of the problem of exposure, and the closer the flash is to the subject, the more impossible it is.

The specified distance is that interval depending on its automatic tint.
Here we have to use the manual exposure and adjust it depending on the flash unit schedule. In this case, it is between the flash and the subject, instead of the interval between the camera and the subject.

And because the indicative numbers are usually calculated according to the condition of the flash on the camera and with the light being directed directly at the subject - face to face -, removing the flash from the camera necessitates - reducing the indicative number - by approximately 30 percent if the light is directed towards the subject, at an angle of 45 degrees, i.e. That here we have to multiply the guide number set on the camera by .. Thus, the number 50 on the flash turns into 35 .

We can replace it by turning on the flash automatically, provided that we calculate the adjustments that will affect the aperture of the lens. If we are in the field of adopting an aperture of 80, with the presence of the flash on the camera and we shift the flash to the middle between us and the subject, then we must reduce the aperture to F / 11 in this field. We also have to realize that the greater the distance between the lens and the subject, the more the shaded area doubles. When taking pictures of portrait faces, it is worth paying attention to the shadow created by the nose, as this may leave a dark stain on the face. If the flash is placed in an inappropriate location.

Nature of subjects and light effects

Finally, it is necessary to be accurate in dealing with subjects according to their nature, as the portraits are perfectly suitable for portraits. If we are dealing with a face with soft, smooth skin, this subject is given a light touch of shadows, more seduction and softness. As for faces with severe wrinkles, it must be photographed clearly. And without shadows, where the wrinkles give a dramatic touch. The most important thing is that we finally leave our experiences with the final decision in dealing with the subjects that we encounter, and this is not limited to faces, but rather in most fields, including inanimate life subjects, which gives us great freedom in the field of choosing light effects. In this area, the first thing we have to take into account is what is the objective that you want to emphasize more: color, shape or structure? If the color is the most important in the subject that we want to photograph. Keeping the flash close to the camera becomes more effective in providing almost shadowless lighting, allowing for better color prominence. But if we want to emphasize the shape of the subject, we will need to separate it from its background by means of lighting, and we can achieve this with a single flash, either by using a reflective board behind the subject between the background and the flash, or by illuminating the subject from behind - separating the flash from the camera and focusing it behind the subject - and it is worth mentioning that Backlighting comes with the best results when it is confined to transparent subjects such as glass, for example.

It remains to be mentioned that all of these light effects can be adopted if there is a single flash unit. Or one light source, but with more than one light source we can do many experiments to get a variety of impressions.