What Does a Speedlight Do? A Comprehensive Look

Like a lot of amateurs, I find flashes and lighting intimidating. I hate how on-camera integrated flashes look in the end, so I try and use only available light. I do know, however, that amazing colors and action can be captured with a flash. And I know that I'm missing out.

Fortunately, a friend of mine has a Nikon SB-700 Speedlight, and was happy to let me try it out! Now, I read all about flashes, and power settings, and other interesting things. But, the one thing that I couldn't find were examples of those settings. We only post the good shots, right? So, here it is. The quick and dirty guide to speedlight results!

Camera settings were identical for each picture, and the subject was the same distance: 1/200, f/1.8, approximately 6 feet away. I will present three photos at each setting. One with a wide illumination pattern, one at standard, and one taken with the built-in wide panel diffuser. This is pretty image heavy, but I think it's an interesting look in detail at lighting for the novice.

What I found most interesting about the below images was that shooting on full power doesn't just drain your batteries - in a standard indoor environment with not much in the way of ambient light, this will overexpose your shot when doing a direct ceiling bounce. Only the full power, 90 degree bounce with wide illumination looks halfway decent in terms of color and shadow. But as the other shots show, you can just dial down the power and get the same shot while having a shorter recycle time!

Wide illumination consistently gave the best light, and seemed to kill the hard shadows on the underside of my table. That same shadow only started to disappear at 75 degrees with standard illumination, and never went away with the built-in diffuser.

So where is the happy place? The answer is the worst one out there! It depends! What kinds of colors are you going for? What kinds of shadows do you want present in the picture, or removed? What is your environment like? The beautiful thing with digital photography is that you can experiment and get a feel for what you like very cheaply. This project would have been two rolls of film, plus development costs, all for pictures that, in the long run, are solely for learning. The freedom that digital allows is perfect for learning lighting!

Equipment Used

Nikon D3100 Camera
35mm f/1.8 lens
SB-700 Speedlight (borrowed)
The Thinker

Images

I couldn't help myself. Here's the scene with available light



The top two images in each set will have the wide illumination on the left and standard on the right. The third picture will be with the diffuser.

Flash Angle: Zero Degrees
Power: 1/1


Flash Angle: Zero Degrees
Power: 1/2


Flash Angle: Zero Degrees
Power: 1/4


Flash Angle: Forty-Five Degrees
Power: 1/1


Flash Angle: Forty-Five Degrees
Power: 1/2


Flash Angle: Forty-Five Degrees
Power: 1/4


Flash Angle: Sixty Degrees
Power: 1/1


Flash Angle: Sixty Degrees
Power: 1/2


Flash Angle: Sixty Degrees
Power: 1/4


Flash Angle: Seventy-Five Degrees
Power: 1/1


Flash Angle: Seventy-Five Degrees
Power: 1/2


Flash Angle: Seventy-Five Degrees
Power: 1/4


Flash Angle: Ninety Degrees
Power: 1/1


Flash Angle: Ninety Degrees
Power: 1/2


Flash Angle: Ninety Degrees
Power: 1/4

D.C. Turns to Spring

     After a bit of a break from photography, I decided to jump back into it with both feet. Here in the nation's capital, the annual rite of Spring, the cherry blossom bloom, has kicked off. For those of you not familiar with the cherry blossoms in D.C., the bloom really only lasts for about two weeks (when all of the buds open up). More information can be found here. Like apparently every amateur photographer in the area, I headed down this morning, to catch the warm light of the sunrise on the area.

     What I did not expect was to find a gallery of photographers pointing their cameras almost directly at the sunrise. Sure, there were some neat shots of the Jefferson Memorial to snag, but it seemed like such a waste - after all, the sun rises even when the blossoms aren't in bloom! Admittedly, I tried to grab a nice silhouette shot, as well, but it was more fun to look 90 degrees away from the sunrise to get great shots!

     One of the things that made this little trip so much fun was seeing how everyone else took pictures around me. It challenged me when I saw a neat idea, and it made me think a little more before I pressed the shutter, so that I could keep people out of shots, or to be just a bit more creative.

     I borrowed a friend's macro lens, which was a first for me. It didn't autofocus with my camera model, which made for an interesting additional challenge! In looking at my shots with this lens, it is very apparent that macro photography is meant to be done with a steady hand - a tripod makes for the best image.

Equipment Used

Nikon D3100 Camera
35mm f/1.8 lens
105mm f/2.8 macro lens (a borrowed lens)
55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens

Images

The silhouette-type shot that the hordes were looking for. It wasn't as nice, since the blossoms on the opposite bank remained mostly closed.


This was the light at sunrise. Notice all of the people looking into the sunrise.


I bumped into two friends around this time, one of whom wasn't a fan of the camera. Even still, the warm light makes for great color in the portrait.


An intrepid photographer at the banks.


Your first real picture of blossoms. Enjoy!


One of the macro shots that I was actually pleased with. The amount of blurry photos that I'm not showing you was a real learning experience!


One of the statues dedicated through the basin, facing into the morning light.


Cherry blossom time is a VERY popular time for portrait photos. Now and again, the fun photos from these don't come from the session!


This picture really shows the pleasant stillness of the morning, before every inch of the park became filled with sightseers.


This was taken later in the day. All around me were people talking, walking in tour groups, and generally enjoying the day. Seeing a moment of quiet was really special.


One of my friend's was also taking photos downtown, and he described an image that he was looking for. This was my attempt at putting the blossoms in focus over an out of focus water background.


It's not just a day for artists with cameras at the Tidal Basin.


Yes, spring may, in fact, be here. Urban bird photography is interesting. No need for stillness or blinds - the birds are so used to people that they just go about their business!


With so much pink around, you sometimes forget that there are, in fact, other colors.




Not everyone was sightseeing. Early morning crew practice for George Washington University.


Another macro attempt. This one looks more like a painting, to me. Not really what I was going for, but a neat end result!


My favorite photo of the day. There are animals with their owners all over the place, romping and having a great time. There was only one cat. There was only one cat in a sweater. The cat did not enjoy the commotion, but loved the sun.