Using the flash on your camera illuminates a dimly-lit subject and captures details lurking in the shadows but photographers also use a flash for situations during the day to enhance their shots. Many off-camera flashes are large cumbersome units, designed for use in a studio. You'll need portable versions if you intend to take your photography on the road.
Instructions
1. Buy a slave or two. Slave flashes are independently-powered units that react to another flash, emitting a burst of light. They are easy to carry in your camera backpack. Make sure you bring some cord or clips to fasten them to trees, poles or buildings for a portable flash source.
2. Bring a large adjustable flash to shoots when you're photographing important events, like weddings. Powerful flash units illuminate large wedding parties and connect to your camera through the hotshoe on top or a small cord that runs underneath.
3. Recruit a friend to hold a reflector to bounce the flash back on the subject. One of the least expensive methods of redirecting your flash is with a large piece of architect's foam board, sold in office stores, held at a angle to capture your flash and reflect it onto the subject to eliminate unwanted shadows in your photos.
4. Buy or rent strobe lighting for shooting photos outdoors or at a remote location. Great for eliminating harsh mid-day shadows, strobes come in various sizes and generate enough directional light to offset the shadows created by the overhead sun.
5. Bring a soft box to attach to portable flash units when you want to diffuse a harsh burst of light. Soft boxes come in all sizes and fit on standing or camera-mounted flash units. With a sheer screen to soften the flash, portraits turn out beautifully.
6. Make your own version of a soft box by purchasing a thin white fabric umbrella and placing your flash unit behind it, allowing the light to filter through softly. Softboxes make great portrait photos.
Tags: your camera, your flash, burst light, flash units, portable flash