Canon Posts Part Three of My Flash Tips

I just wanted to let you folks know that Canon has posted the third of a three-part series I wrote about Canon's Speedlites. Part One was about why you might need an accessory flash unit and how to decide which one to choose. Part Two explained how to use some of the more esoteric features that are poorly explained in the owner's manual. Part Three is about how the benefits of using Canon's wireless E-TTL II system.

My motivation for writing this series was the relative scarcity of information about Canon Speedlites (or any brand other than Nikon, for that matter). What you find tends to be very specific to how a particular photographer uses them. My goal was to collect what I thought were the most useful tidbits and present them on Canon's Digital Learning Center. I'd be very interested to know whether you find this information useful or not.

If you'd like to learn more, whole books and chapters have been written about how to use off-camera flash. There's even a blog or two devoted to this topic. It can seem overwhelming at first, but even a little knowledge and skill goes a long way. There are photographers who've built a whole career and lighting style based on using only one light. All it takes to join their ranks is a light source and the will to learn how to use it.

Comments

[Bruno Monteiro]

Thank you! I will give it a thorough read now! Looks very interesting!

[Dan]

Gordon, Part 2 was the first time I've seen FEL and high-speed sync actually explained in a way that made me say "Ah ha! Now I get it!" Thanks!

[fabrizio]

it seams unbelievable that just with two flashes is possible to obtain photos like the first one considering that one flash is on the camera

[Gordon Lewis]

Which photo are you referring to? If it's the photo of the blonde in the blue dress, then the diagram clearly shows three flash units, not two. There is one on the left for the key light, one on the camera for fill, and one behind the model, aimed at the background.

[fabrizio]

What I meant is the flash on the camera generally produces a shadow, is it possible that a third flash for aimed at the backgroud reduces that shadow?

[Gordon Lewis]

Whether or not flash on camera produces shadows depends on:

1. How close the subject is to the background on which the shadow would fall

2. How close the flash is to the lens axis

3. How bright the flash is relative to any other light sources

Basically, if the subject is a few meters away from the background, the flash is directly above the lens, and its output is one or two stops lower than that of the main light, it either won't cast a shadow or whatever shadow it casts won't be visible to the camera.

[Mark]

Gordon,

Just got my 580EXII. Thanks for this great overview. Some articles I read previously led me to believe that Canon flashes are not as versatile as Nikon's. It looks like my new flash (and future additional slave units) will be up to most tasks.