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A flashgun is an essential bit of kit for the serious photographer. Unfortunately, when mounted on a camera and pointed directly at someone's face it can give some unpleasant results. You've probably seen them yourself, flat lighting, harsh shadows, shiny skin and red eyes to name a few.

There are two possible solutions to this, one is to bounce your flash off a ceiling or nearby wall. The second, which gives more control, is to get the flashgun off the camera completely.

For an off camera flashgun you'll need five things:

1. A flashgun with a decent output. Look for the 'Guide Number' (GN) to find out how much power your unit puts out. For example a Nikon SB800 Speedlight has a GN of 56, that's plenty, if it's a higher GN that's even better. You'll probably be able to pick up an older secondhand flashgun of any make for very little money. It doesn't have to be compatible with your camera, you just need to be able to set the output manually.
2. A light modifier. This can be an umbrella, a small softbox or various other purpose built products. This is used to soften, direct and control the quality of your light. I normally use a 48" umbrella with a detachable silver lining. You can either fire the flash into the umbrella or remove the lining and shoot through it, giving two distinct qualities of light.
3. A bracket to fix the flashgun and umbrella on to a stand. I've only found one product that is ideal for this: the 'Bogen 2905 Swivel Umbrella Adapter f/Super Clamp' made by Manfrotto. You'll also need one other small hotshoe mount adaptor to connect the flashgun to the bracket, available in most camera stores.
4. A small portable light stand, but big enough not to fall over when you have attached an umbrella.
5. A means of triggering the flash. This will probably depend on your budget. The cheapest way of doing it is with a cord attached between the PC socket (if you have one) of your camera and the flashgun. Radio triggers are my preferred option, you can get a very cheap set off eBay for about 20.00 pounds or pay a few hundred for a more professional unit. They all work, the cheap ones may need a bit of glue from time to time. They are made up of two or more units, the transmitter goes in the hotshoe of your camera, receivers can be connected to one or more flashes.
   You can also use infra red slave triggers and other built in systems. Have a look at your flashgun and see what it can do.

Next you need to set your light up. Put up the stand, attach the bracket and fit the flash and umbrella. Connect your chosen trigger and test. You should now have a very versatile portable lighting system.

For your first shots make sure the umbrella is set as far away as possible from the flash unit. The farther away the umbrella, the larger the light source, a larger light source means a softer and more natural looking light. Set the power of your flash manually to a quarter or half power and do some test exposures, you'll soon get an idea of the setting you need. Always use a manual setting for this technique, ttl won't work.

Find a willing subject and start experimenting. Move your light around them and see how it affects the mood of the image. Set the flash high up and slightly off center and you'll get a nice soft light. As you move it round to either side of your subject, it will get darker on one side of the face and start to look more moody. Bring the flash closer to the subject and the light gets softer, move it back and you'll get a harder effect.

Try different modifiers, see what you like. You can also use a bare flash, when it's off the camera it's a more useful tool. You can bounce it off a wall, or for a really hard look, point it straight at the subject.

Don't forget to take the ambient light (the light that's already there) into account. You might choose to overpower it with your flash, you might want to balance it out, so you are using both light sources. Flash is very, very fast so the speed setting on your camera will affect only the ambient light, the aperture will affect ambient and flash together. Once you get your head round this you will have a lot more control over combination lighting.

If you enjoy portraiture this is a great way to ensure you have a quality light source available at all times. You can make your shots look like they were taken in a studio or you can give them a really natural look, the possibilities are endless. Get that flash off your camera today!

David Perris is an established wedding, press and corporate photographer based in Brighton, Sussex. Visit his website at http://www.luckydogphoto.com/wedding-photographer.html for examples of wedding photography and advice. David also posts selections of recent work on his blog at http://www/luckydogphoto.com/blog/

(c) Copyright David Perris 2009

Digital Photography Tips - 5 Tips To Avoid Flash Blowout

Have you ever tried to take pictures in a poorly lit room with your point and shoot camera? How was it? Doesn't your subject turn out to be completely blown out by the flash? It was horrible to see that your subjects are engulfed by the bright light. So, below are 5 tips to help you avoid this common flash blowout.

1. Stepping back

Various digital photography tips told you to get close to your subjects so that you can fill up your frame. However, the closer you get to your subjects with flash, the brighter they will get.

So, it is wise that you take some steps further from your subjects and zoom into them when you need to flash on your subjects. This can help you to fill your frame and reduce the blowout.

2. Bounce the flash

As any point and shoot camera user already knew, you can't control the direction of the flash (DSLR flash unit can be twisted and bounce the light to other direction). However, you are not cursed to stick with this situation forever. You can change your fate with some effort.

You can use a small white card and place it at an angle in front of the flash so that the light can be directed to the ceiling or wall. One thing about this digital photography tip is that you want to be careful with the material you use to direct the flash. This is because different color can impact the light from your flash. So, you will see a different picture when you bounce the flash with a red card instead of white.

3. Diffusion

Unlike DSLR camera users, compact digital camera users can't control the output of the flash. If you know that your flash is too strong, what you can do then is to stick white tissue or cello tape over the flash unit.

Again, the materials you use to cover the flash unit can affect the light from your flash. So, it is good that you can stick the flash with white or clear and transparent material instead of colorful tapes.

4. Setting

Now this is the time when you look into the setting your point and shoot camera and use the 'night mode' to avoid flash blowout. In this mode, your camera will automatically slow down the shutter speed and take the picture with flash.

While your shutter speed is being slowed down, your aperture size will usually be increase (although you might not be able to control this). When that happens, more light from the environment can be allowed to enter the camera so that it reduces the usage of the flash hence your subject can be properly illuminated.

5. Add more light

This is the most obvious digital photography tips ever. However, this might not be effective when you are in a party or clubbing. You can literally get yourself kick out of the room when you do that.

If that is the case, can you get your subjects to a better lit place? If the flash still blowout your subject, you probably will want to add in the stepping back tip here.

About the Author

Do you enjoy taking photos? Do you want more digital photography tips and techniques? Michael Wong is happy to share his knowledge about digital photography with you and hope you enjoy them. Just visit

=>www.Learn-DigitalPhotography.blogspot.com

Is the White Lightning X800 Flash Unit a high quality product?

Yes. Still supported by the maker, Paul Buff. The guy that now owns and builds Alien Bees.

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