Tomorrow Night - 12 Keys to Awesome Off-Camera Flash – FREE Webcast!!!

Hey everybody - don't miss this FREE 90 minute July 8th Webcast tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. with award winning photographer, trainer, and author - Michael Mowbray! 

REGISTER FOR FREE RIGHT HERE!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, PhotoPro Network is presenting an entire series of "Members Only"webcasts this year but is making this first webcast open to everybody FREE!!!

Michael is an amazing photographer who has perfected the art of lighting with his little speed-lighting gems. Check out his images here and his new Speed-lighting book "Shoot To Thrill" right here. I just picked up my Kindle copy and can't wait to get into it!

This "LIVE" rapid fire program is just what any photographer needs to take his/her lighting and photography beyond the competition!

FREE REGISTRATION RIGHT HERE!

I’ll be moderating the program with my good friend Paul Goodman – we both hope to see you there!

P.S.  We also have a few copies of Michael’s new book give-a-ways for our audience too!!

12 Keys to Awesome Off-Camera Flash – FREE Webcast!!!

Hey everybody - don't miss this FREE 90 minute July 8th Webcast with award winning photographer, trainer, and author - Michael Mowbray!

PhotoPro Network is presenting an entire series of "Members Only" webcasts this year but is making this first webcast open to everybody FREE!!!

Michael is an amazing photographer who has perfected the art of lighting with his little speed-lighting gems. Check out his images here and his new Speed-lighting book "Shoot To Thrill" right here. I just picked up my Kindle copy and can't wait to get into it!

This "LIVE" rapid fire program is just what any photographer needs to take his/her lighting and photography beyond the competition!

FREE REGISTRATION RIGHT HERE!

I’ll be moderating the program with my good friend Paul Goodman – we both hope to see you there!

Shooting By The Light Of The Silvery Moon: More Budapest Images

Good Morning Everybody,

Today is our last day in Rovinj, Croatia.  We’re planning a short day trip to Porec, Croatia to check out a few of the sites then it’s back to our home away from home and packing the bags for an early departure tomorrow.  Before we head to Salzburg, Austria  I thought I’d take a chance with the internet and share with you the last day’s shoot from our Budapest Master Class. 

Shooting By The Light Of The Silvery Moon

Well, not really the moon light, but some pretty blanketed daylight.  Most of the day was overcast and the clouds were pretty thick in the sky making for a really gray (and dim) day.

The images are quite a bit different from the others I’ve posted so far from our class because today’s images are mostly made with just the available light present in the locations featured in this day’s shooting session.  I’ve got about seven favorites so lets get right to them.

Photo 1: Ballroom Dance

This first image was a quick grab shot.  The ballroom was off limits to all hotel guests because a wedding was taking place in the room in just a few short hours.  As we walked past the ballroom, I asked our model to step in so I could get a quick photo.  We quickly set up the off camera flash, posed the bride and shot away.

My only regret is that I didn’t have a wider lens on the camera.  The room was beautifully set and the wider optic would have captured the grandeur all the better.  But hey, we were going to get kicked out any second so I grabbed what I could ;~) In about 60 seconds I had the image I almost wanted.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with my Tamron 28-300mm VC lens at 28mm, 1/50 second at F6.3, ISO 800.  Lighting camera right, Canon 600 EX-RT speed-lite through my Zumbrella. 

Photo 2: Stained Glass Fantasy

I loved how the stained glass windows lined up the stairs of the hotel and had been eyeing them all week hoping to capture an image or two with one of our models.  This one is probably my favorite.

My technique is the same as what I’ve described in many photos from the week’s shoot – off camera flash through my Zumbrella and balance the light with the ambient.  I did tweak the image in Lightroom 5 for my final result.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with my Sigma 12–24 mm lens at 24mm, 1/50 second at F6.3, ISO 2000.  Lighting camera right with Canon 600 EX-RT speed-lite through my Zumbrella.

Photo 3: Dancing In The Clouds

I love this image.  Or maybe it’s the fabulous bridal gown I love.  I have to say, it was the most unusual and beautiful gown I have ever seen.  It was a hit with all the other models and the class as well.

The photograph is just a simple window light image.  What I like about the composition is how I positioned the bride against the relatively plain-looking, rectangular wood paneled shapes in the background.  I had to be careful with my camera position that her profile fell in between the rectangular shapes you see on the back wall.  Had I been less careful and caught one of the shapes on her face, it would have completely distracted the viewer from my main subject. By stepping back and really using a longer focal length lens I was able to compress this mundane background into something that looked quite pleasing.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with my Tamron 28-300mm VC lens at 119mm, 1/40 second at F5.6, ISO 12,800 – yep, that’s right – super high ISO. 

Photo 4: Line Dance

This is another straight available light photograph.  From the second floor of the hotel LaDawn spotted the arrangement of the outdoor furniture below and thought it might make an interesting setting for a portrait.  It looked compositional interesting to me so we went to work.  I carefully positioned Clara among the pieces of furniture till I had the composition I wanted.

Notice that the only vertical element in this image is the model.  Everything else is a diagonal line.  I think it’s that “contrast of line” that makes the image. The lines seem to frame up our subject perfectly.

The original monochromatic feel of this color image created by Clara’s black jacket and the very dark rattan furniture led me to de-saturate the image completely for an interesting black & white photograph.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with my Tamron 28-300mm VC lens at 135mm, 1/100 second at F5.6, ISO 3,200. 

Photo 5: Beauty Among The Ruins

This is a very simple, straightforward portrait made once again with the existing light of the scene.  The light was coming in beautifully from camera left and really defined Clara’s facial features splendidly.  Notice too that with the very broad light source how beautifully her eyes are illuminated.

Compositionally, I wanted to pick up the repeat of the architectural elements you see in the background. By positioning our subject opposite the vanishing point of those elements your eye is easily drawn directly to our lovely subject.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with my Tamron 28-300mm VC lens at 260mm, 1/100 second at F5.6, ISO 3,200. 

Photo 6: Evening Beauty

I’m wrapping this series of images with my second favorite image of the day. (My favorite was the image I posted in yesterday’s post.) This structure is right of the entrance of the Gellert Hotel. I’m told by one of the locals that it is not everybody’s favorite piece of architecture in Budapest.  It design seems incongruent with the historical surrounds of the city.  Hey, what can you say – some like it - some folks don’t. I happen to like it for this image especially.

I think it offered a very cool background for this photograph.  The sun had long since set but I was still able to pick up a little sky color with my exposure.  I like that the sky did not go deep black.

I knew I needed to add my off-camera flash – Zumbrella/speed-light combo – to get the dimensional lighting I wanted. The initial test shot needed something else though.  The subject was blending into the background too much.  I needed a back light.  And, my little speed light did the trick nicely.

The combination of center symmetry composition and by “go-to”  lighting gave me the shot I was looking for.  Hope you like it too.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with my Tamron 28-300mm VC lens at 28mm, 1/160 second at F5.6, ISO 400.  Lighting camera right, Canon 600 EX-RT speed-lite through my Zumbrella and Canon 600 EX-RT speed-lite pointed at the subject 12 feet away at 1/2 power.

Photo 7: Gellert Girl

This image is a variation of yesterday’s image.  I just shot it with a much wider view.  I do like how I pulled in most of the Gellert Hotel for this composition. This image is without the added backlight of yesterday’s post [link] but still looks pretty cool.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with my Sigma 12–24 mm lens at 12mm, 1/25 second at F5.3, ISO 1600 Lighting camera left with Canon 600 EX-RT speed-lite through my Zumbrella.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  The sun is shining bright (finally) and the air is cool.  It’s a perfect day to take another exploration around beautiful Croatia.  Check back again soon and I’ll share a few more of our travel experiences with you.

See ya’ soon, David

”Sitting Pretty"

”Sitting Pretty"
©David A. Ziser

Here is another image from Molly’s session.  I’m putting it up as the “image of the day” because I think it captures perfectly the personality of my subject. I love the easy smile and relaxed pose.  I love too the gorgeous lighting and gentle breeze in the scene.  The soft back lighting from the nearly setting sun did a wonderful job separating Molly from the much darker background.  It was the perfect day for a portrait shoot.

Camera specs; Canon 5D Mark III fitted with Tamron 28-300mm lens at 184mm, F6.3 @ 1/200 second, ISO 200. Enjoy! -David

Technique Tuesday: Big Lighting From Small Speedlights

Good Morning Everybody,

It's a busy week for us since we will be traveling for the next  five weeks.  Not only do we have Photoshop World to get presentations polished, power points reviewed….we also have to pack for four more weeks of travel after that. But, more on that later.

Technique Tuesday: Big Lighting From Small Speedlights

Hey gang, I’ve prepared a pretty cool Technique Tuesday for you today. I'm going to keep it short and sweet but I think there's a good lesson here. And it shows the added versatility that we can bring to our speed-lighting techniques.

Recently I had to the opportunity to photograph of family portrait. We were outdoors with the beautiful vineyards in the background. The problem was that the vineyards were in direct sunlight so I had to place my subjects in the shade.  As a result, the direction of the natural light was flat and not flattering on my subjects.

Most of the time I prefer to use flash whenever I'm shooting outdoors. It just guarantees that I'll get the direction of light on my subjects exactly the way I want it. That was also the case in this portrait session – I wanted directional light on my subjects. But, I wanted that directional light to be a very, very soft and flattering light as well. Remember I’m in direct early afternoon sunlight. 

The way I handled the lighting situation is what I demonstrate in our tutorial today. Why not hit the PLAY button below and enjoy the show. I hope today's lighting lesson helps bring greater flexibility to your speed-lighting as well and I hope you get even better portraits than ever before.

___________________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today. It's back to work getting ready for our next BIG adventure.

Everybody have a great rest the day and I'll see you soon.

Adios, David

An Image Peek From My Spain Workshop Or Variations On A Wide Angle Lens Theme

Good Morning Everybody,

Things are coming together… slowly but surely around the studio.  In effect, when we returned from our travels, we walked right into the holiday rush. That’s not a bad thing – it just means that we hit the ground running. We should be in pretty good shape by this time next week and we’re keeping all of our clients happy – the most important goal for any business.  Anyway, on with today’s post.

An Image Peek From My Spain Workshop Or Variations On A Wide Angle Lens Theme

I promised you a peek at some of the photographs I captured during my Spain Workshop. Today I’d like to share with you a couple of those images. As I was preparing for today's post, the number of images I was selecting was getting quite large so I decided to break it down into a smaller selection of images for today. I think there just may be a Technique Tuesday or two in the making here ;~)  So that being said let's get on with the image preview.

Photo #1:

This is just a simple, traditional portrait of our bride taken in the lobby of the same hotel as the Image of the Day post above.  The camera’s vantage point is slightly higher so we see more of the floor in this image. Lighting was from camera right from my  remotely fired Canon 600 TX – RT strobe.  I used the beer koozie (never leave home without one) to control the cone of light illuminating the subject. It really gave us a nice spot light affect on the bride.

Photo #2:

Next we moved to an area of the hotel opposite the registration area. What I loved about this location was the long strong diagonal lines that I saw in the ceiling. To accentuate those lines my camera's position was going be quite low and, as you can see from this photograph, so I positioned the bride a few steps up so that I'm actually below the floor on which the bride is standing.

We brought the light in from camera right to create the loop lighting pattern on her face. I carefully positioned her head within the ceiling’s architectural elements to create this quite dramatic wide-angle portrait of our bride.

Photo #3:

From the previous photograph you can see that the window light was coming in quite heavily from the left. I wasn't sure if I liked the bride looking away from that bright light source so, in this image I chose to reposition the bride to face camera left. This was the same direction as the light was coming through the large span of windows and created a much more believable, natural light on the bride. To be consistent with the strong directional room lighting I also brought my off-camera flash, my Canon 600 EX-RT speed light, in from the left as well.

In this image I also wanted to create a much smaller cone of light so that I wouldn’t have any extraneous light hitting the ceiling to draw viewer’s attention away from my main subject. I shared a different lighting technique by just manually zooming the flash to create that smaller cone of light which created for me the nice natural falloff on the bride.  The zoomed speed-light creates sort of that Hollywood lighting effect that I often bring to my portrait sessions. But, when I look at this image I thought it could be enhanced a bit more with a little backlighting.

Photo #4:

In this image I simply added another Canon 600 TX-RT speed-light placed on the floor behind the bride. I love how I can control the light output of both flash units –  the one coming from camera left and the one behind the bride separately with my on-camera speed-light. Canon’s new speed-lighting system gives me maximum flexibility when setting up these kinds of lighting situations.

The position of the bride's head against the ceiling was most important to me. I didn't want any of the sharp lines or angles hitting her right in the head so I carefully positioned her head in front of a less busy area of the ceiling.

But, do I have any reservations with this image?  I do in this regard. I'm looking at the shadow being cast on the steps camera right. Sure, I can fix it in Photoshop but, a softer light source coming in from camera left may have solved my problem a bit more easily. The problem with using a softer light like shooting through my Zumbrella would've added a complication to the ceiling by illuminating the ceiling as well. This is one of the situations where we have to make a compromise. I think I prefer the lighting on the bride alone without allowing too much light to reflect on the ceiling. It allows the bride to just “pop” out of the scene - which is really what I wanted.

Photo #5:

I solved a little bit of my shadow problem, mentioned above, by using a slightly tighter crop in this image. I still think this is a very nice three-quarter length portrait of our beautiful bride. The backlighting “pops” her very effectively from the background and I really like the beautiful dimensional lighting on her face. I'm pretty happy with how these photographs evolved.

This is important: We have to remember one thing when using small light sources. Be sure that the bride's bouquet is slightly behind her gown. I let the bride's bouquet come a bit too far forward in this image and, as you can see, the light has cast the bride's bouquet shadow across her gown. This is a common and easy mistake that we just need to keep in mind and be aware of whenever taking bridal photographs with smaller light sources. We always have to be aware of just how the shadows are going to fall on the scene to avoid the ugly shadows!

Photo #6:

This image is exactly the same lighting set-up as the image we see above. The only difference is I chose a vertical crop. Look how that crop really affects how you perceive the image.  The vertical crop really enhances the strong diagonal lines that we see in the ceiling.  And, I think, adds a stronger element into the composition that renders itself a bit unusual in this dramatic bridal portrait.

In looking back over the previous photographs you may prefer the horizontal image instead but this post is really a visual exercise on how I “see” when composing my images.  That’s particularly true in these last five images.  They are just my variations on a mostly wide angle theme.

When I'm shooting I'm constantly thinking about how I might improve or change the final portrait. I can easily do that with wide angle lenses or by changing the crop from vertical to horizontal. I'm also thinking about how I can best light the subject in the situations and conditions I find myself in on the day of a wedding.  Do I want the subject backlit?  Do I need to keep the light from falling onto the ceiling – or pews – or marble tiled alter…?  How and where will the shadows fall?  These are all important considerations when designing your images. That is – if you want the best result not just for you but your client as well.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today. I'm still working hard on trying to get the final details worked out on our PhotoPro Expo for next February. Even though it still three months away we’ve got to get all the marketing pieces ready to go and get the website 100% complete. So, that makes a push time for us around here today. That said, let me wish everyone a great weekend and I'll see you again next week.

Adios, David

Creative Speedlighting Workshop Coming To Cincinnati, OH Next Sunday!!!

Hi Everybody,

I was talking with my Ace#1 photographer, Nickolas Viltrakis, this evening and he asked me to share with you this very cool seminar coming your way next Sunday. Nicholas and my good buddies, Eric Cameron and Jason Lykins presented dynamite programs at our PhotoPro Network Summer School and hit it out of the park!  I have to tell you, this seminar looks like it’s going to be one heck of an exciting program.  But instead of me telling you about it. 

Let me turn it over to Nicholas to tell you more about it. 

PhotoMentorGroup

Support - Education - Friendship – Fun

“Photographers: I promise you’ll learn things that you can use Sunday October 14th! If you’ve ever wanted to make beautiful images easily with the Canon or Nikon speedlights you already have now is your time. The PhotoMentorGroup is putting on an encore performance of their Creative Speed Lighting workshop from the Photo Pro Network’s Summer School this year! You can improve your lighting quickly and cheaply in one night! Sunday October 14th at 1:00pm at Mansion Hill Studios in Newport Kentucky! This is the best opportunity to learn tricks, build your portfolio, meet great people, and ask questions in a supportive environment!” … Nicholas

The Creative Speedlighting Workshop will begin at 1:00 pm at Mansion Hill Studios gallery (601 Washington Ave, Newport, KY 41071) and will include an on-location model shootout putting theory into practice at one of Cincinnati's premier parks! The fee for this workshop is an introductory rate of seventy five dollars (one hundred and ten dollars at the door)! Best part is you can bring a friend or your second shooter for only fifty dollars (seventy five day of)!! We’re really hoping to see you there! Space is limiting the number that can attend so please RSVP today to ensure you get a seat at this valuable session!

What you’ll learn:

• Pros and Cons of Speedlighting
• On camera Single light techniques
• Bounce Flash techniques
• Off camera single light technique
• Off camera double light
• Three light scenarios
• Sun as a Second Light
• Modifiers
• High Speed Sync

From real life examples from weddings, parties, portraits, and band shoots!

Check out images from other PhotoMentorGroup Events below:

Church of Rock and Roll shoot with Craig Weiglein: [link]

Explosive Wedding Growth Seminar Orlando Florida: [link]

Waterfall shoot with James Hollenberg [link]

Advanced Speed Lighting Workshop with Jason Lykins: [link]

PhotoPro Network’s Summer School Louisville Kentucky: [link]

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Hey gang, I hope you’ll check it out.  Nicholas is a great shooter and his approach to speedlighting is a creative breath of fresh air to any photographer wanting to make a difference in their photography.

Highly recommended,  David

Technique Tuesday: Happy B-Day & New Orleans Wedding Shoot – Part Two

Good Afternoon Everybody,

First off, let me thank everyone for all the birthday wishes that came pouring in from around the world.  I read each and everyone of them and really THANK YOU all for the very kind thoughts. Yes, it’s another year older for me today – should I try that box of Grecian Formula or not ;~) All joking aside, a person is as old as they feel and I really don’t feel as old as I’m suppose to be.  I think it comes down to how one embraces life, always looking on the bright side, and always embracing all the new challenges that we sometimes must face.

This past weekend, after all the trials and tribulations of dealing with 3 cancelled Delta flights, and all the frustrations in trying to get my daughter, Elizabeth into town, I can happier report that we all had a great weekend even though it was much shorter than expected.  The highlight of the weekend had to be the trip to Kings Island and the marathon riding of the coasters. 

I remember a few years ago, I mentioned to LaDawn that I felt my coaster days were over. I was heading into that 6th decade of my life and felt like I was needing to slow down.  Part of those feelings were due to the extra weight I had put on and an overall felling of losing some of my never-ending energy. 

But about 4 months ago a few students in my Master Class and I were discussing getting and staying in shape. They convinced me it was my time to take the “bull by the horns” and do something about how I was feeling. The following week I began my journey to do just that. Now 4 months later I’m walking 7-8 miles a day, eating sensibly, and am currently 50 pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of my journey 4 months ago.  I felt alive again – and ready for the Kings Island coasters!!!

Now you have to picture this.  I am quite literally the “most senior” person in all the coaster lines.  I read with trepidation all the cautions about riding the coasters with bad backs or necks, high blood pressure, and the myriad listing of ailments that I probably have to some degree or another.  But, none of that deters me away from a great coaster ride. And, I want the front car too!!

Anyway, this weekend showed me that I have a few more years in me to ride the great coasters of the world and I can’t wait!!! Alright gang, time to get back to our regularly scheduled feature – Technique Tuesday.

Technique Tuesday: New Orleans Wedding Shoot – Part Two

As I’ve previously mentioned, we had a great time in New Orleans a few weeks ago. My wedding shoot-out was a kick because I got the opportunity to shoot with the new Canon 600 EX-RT speedlites and I really put them through their paces. In my first post about my shooting experience [link1], I covered a lot of details about the strobes. I also posted two other very informative articles covering my use of the strobes that you can find right here - [link2 and link3].

In today's shoot I will walk you through several more images from that session. As I review the series of images I’ll discuss the lighting, the exposure, and the compositional challenges we faced during that shoot. I was thrilled with the results that I was getting.  During that class-time, the bride had her mother with her, so I shared all the images with her mother as well as with the bride.  The bride and her mother were both ecstatic over the results.  

Why not hit the PLAY button below and let me share a few more those images with you here today.  I think you'll enjoy the show.

Other links discussed in today’s post:

Quick Hit Monday: My First Day With Canon 600EX-RT Speedlights–WOW!

Technique Tuesday On Wednesday: New Orleans Wedding Shoot - Part 1

Bonus Post: Canon 600EX-RT Works Great For Reception Photography

Canon 600 EX-RT speedlite info: [link]

David Ziser’s 42” Zumbrella: [link]

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Hey gang, that's it for this Birthday Boy today.

Have a great rest of the day and I'll see you soon, David

"Stairway To Happiness"

"Stairway To Happiness"
© David A. Ziser

Here is one of my favorite images from my Friday Wedding Shoot down here in New Orleans.  We were working in the Westin Hotel on Canal Street, a very busy hotel – it was booked at 100% – but still we managed to pull off this very cool wedding image.

Obviously the staircase works as a great background for this wedding portrait.  In fact on Saturday, we saw a photographer also “working the steps”.  I liked the stairs from ground level but after heading up the stairs and viewing the composition from the second floor, I liked this view even more.  Look how the stairs just sweep your eyes right down to the bride. The stairs also offer the perfect framing elements for this beautiful bridal portrait.

Lighting was a “piece of cake”. I had one of the class members holding one of my Canon 600 EX-RT speedlites about 12-15 feet coming in from camera left.  I was also using my 42” Zumbrella to soften the light on my bride.  Be sure to catch the discussion below about I I used the Canon 600 EX-RT speedlites for this shoot.

I then asked LaDawn to grab a second speedlite and place it behind the bride to highlight the veil.  I need to mention that both Canon 600 EX-RT speedlites were flying on totally “automatic” mode – no power settings to worry about at all.  That fact made it exceedingly easy for me to work quickly in the very crowded hotel.  Not having to worry about the lighting gear and its settings will make any photography job super fast and efficient.

Look at the photograph – lighting is perfect!  Like I say below, I was really impressed with Canon’s new 600 EX-RT speedlites.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with Canon 24-105 IS lens at 55mm, F5.6 @ 1/80 second, ISO 1250.  Enjoy!  David

Quick Hit Monday: My First Day With Canon 600EX-RT Speedlights–WOW!

Good Morning Everybody,

I can't believe it, we been in New Orleans for three days and I think I've already put on 5 pounds and that's even trying to avoid some of the fabulous, rich food that is so delicious. So much for the diet when you're in New Orleans – that's for sure!

We landed in NOLA late Thursday morning, got settled and began walking the French Quarter to just get the lay of the land. The rain was looking to wash out our walk so we took cover under the waiting area for the Natchez Riverboat Cruise.  We saw 5 young kids take cover as well.  It turns out that were aspiring jazz musicians and before long were jamming for the crowd. A fellow who was a cook for one of the restaurants was on his way to work but stopped long enough to join the musicians and before long had the entire assembled crowd sing “When The Saints Come Marching In.”  Check out my video below.  It was a way cool experience!

New Orleans has always been one of our favorite cities to visit – the people, the culture, the colors, the smells, the food, the history, friends in the area and so many other great things about this wonderful city is why we enjoy it so much.

Friday I was up bright and early, did a quick 5 mile walk up the Riverwalk and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise over the mighty Mississippi. Then it was back to the room to get ready for my wedding shootout class.

Thanks To The Rain, My Wedding Shootout Was Pretty Exciting

I was excited about the class because, because B&H had just sent me three brand-new Canon 600 EX-RT speedlites to play with. I was planning to give them a good workout during my class. Confidentially, after just a few minutes shooting with them, I have to tell you, they were wonderful! But more on that later.

We spent the morning portion of the class going over the lighting and compositional concepts I like to review and discuss before we actually head-out on a shoot. Think of it as sort of a warm-up for our location session. My good friend Ralph Romaguera, lined up a gorgeous church for us for our afternoon session but, as luck would have it, the bad weather rolled in and it looked like it was going to be far too difficult to keep the bride and all of us dry in trying to relocate to the church location.

We quickly switched to Plan B and decided to stay inside and shoot around the hotel instead. Don't get me wrong - the hotel turned out to be a great place to shoot . It had a fabulous staircase, wonderful second floor balcony area, and large, beautiful windows overlooking the Mississippi River.

We made great use of all the locations within the hotel and captured some fabulous images for our bride. It turns out my model was actually a beautiful young lady who is going to be an actual bride in just about four weeks. She was wearing her actual wedding gown, had her wedding day hairstyle created by her beautician and even asked her florist to make a duplicate bouquet like the one she would be carrying on her wedding day in August. So, the bottom line was this. With our beautiful bride in a great location, we captured some fabulous photographs for her.

Flash Photography Just Got A Whole Lot Easier!

That's right, after my experience with the brand-new radio controlled Canon 600 EX-RT speedlite units, flash photography and off-camera flash has now become the easiest thing in the world to accomplish. Anyone reading this blog knows I am a HUGE proponent of off-camera flash – that is putting a directional light on the scene and the subject to capture detail and dimension in every photograph.

Unfortunately, I think most photographers seem to be put off by this concept. Many photographers are happy enough just to be shooting with on camera, non-directional flashes.  Maybe they think off-camera flash is either too difficult or too hard to do . The fact of the matter is that the new Canon flash units make off-camera flash technique almost automatic.  No,  not almost automatic - they make the use of off-camera flash absolutely automatic!

I was a bit hesitant not knowing what to expect in using the new flashes. And, as with anything new, getting started, learning the equipment, adjusting to a new routine, (especially in front of a class) at first may seem quite daunting. But, I have to admit, after grabbing the manual, reading and reviewing the settings for approximately thirty minutes, I was off and running and very surprised to see just how reliable and consistent those early results were.

So, here we are on my wedding shoot in New Orleans. How are the Canon 600 EX-RT speedlites going to handle?  Were they going to be difficult to adjust to obtain the correct exposure?  Would they be easier or more difficult to use than my off-camera Quantum flash I’ve been using for so many years?  My initial “out of the box” experience answered all of those questions and more.  The new Canon flashes are the easiest strobe units to use that I've ever experienced in my life. It simply is a matter of turning them on, setting the on-camera flash to Master mode and the off-camera flash to Slave mode and start shooting away.

The strobe units, when “talking” with the camera, produced images that were exposed beautifully – the entire process was effortless and uncomplicated. I was never a big fan of the optical system of the 580EX II strobe units.  They were great as regular strobes but I never found them to be as reliable or practical as I needed when photographing my weddings. The new radio controlled Canon 600 EX-RT speedlites are a completely different animal and, after my experience on Friday, offer a brand new, very compact, easy and efficient way of photographing my weddings.

OK, Time To Give Them A Try

Off-Camera 600EX-RT Flash Bare

On my first try I wanted to see how the off-camera strobe would perform under my normal shooting conditions.  I set my Canon on-camera flash as the MASTER strobe but did NOT want it to fire. It’s purpose was to only fire the off-camera strobe.  I wanted to see just how accurate the off-camera strobe would be on it’s own. 

I had one class member hold the strobe, while mounted on a mono-pod, off-camera creating the loop lighting pattern on my subject's face that I'm always looking for. I made my first exposure and it was perfect. I was surprised that is worked so easily! Notice the sharp edged shadows on the back wall – that’s because of the small light source used for this image.

Off-Camera 600EX-RT Flash Through Zumbrella

The next setup was to shoot the Canon 600 EX-RT speedlites through my Zumbrella and see if I could obtain the same result.  We attached to the mono-pod my umbrella adapter and threaded the Zumbrella in place.  I also positioned the 600 EX-RT wide-angle diffuser over the front of the flash to get the maximum spread of light from the flash through my Zumbrella, and then fired away. Once again the exposure was perfect. Also notice how my Zumbrella softened the background shadows very effectively too.

Off-Camera 600EX-RT Flash Through 84” Westcott Translucent Umbrella

After that quick opening volley of lighting success, I decided to add the Westcott 84” Translucent Umbrella in front of the 600EX-RT.  Could I still get a consistently accurate exposure? I had to have LaDawn hold the large umbrella about 5 feet from the umbrella to get the small strobe to fully illuminate the umbrella.  Creating a photograph with such a large light source really gives you a very soft light on the subject.  Not only was the light very soft – no shadows at all, the exposure was just right too.  Amazing!

An Unlikely Soft Box

We spent the rest of the afternoon working our way throughout the hotel finding the best locations and capturing some amazing images.  I’ll follow up with another post showing more those results. You will definitely want to tune in ;~)

OK, fast forward to last evening.  I was one of five photographers at the convention conducting a small workshop with the convention attendees. In my relaxed workshop we discussed all things concerning wedding photography.  During the two hour program I made a comment about how technology is constantly making our job easier.  I decided to further demonstrate my point with my Canon 600 EX-RT speedlites.

I asked LaDawn to place one of the 600EX-RT’s into a small shopping bag she had with her. The flash was set up exactly as it was the previous day for my wedding shoot.  I figured after my Friday flash success, I could place the strobe into anything even slightly translucent and turn it into a soft box – why not a white paper shopping bag?

I then had LaDawn position the bag containing the radio slaved Canon flash next to Ronnie, one of the class members.  I wanted it’s placement to give me my standard loop lighting pattern on my subject.  Once everything was in place I fired away.  So what do you think of my new paper bag soft box?  Heck, maybe I should call it a bag box ;~)  Anyway, you get the idea just how easy it NOW is to use off-camera flash thanks to Canon’s introduction of their brand new 600EX-RT radio controlled strobes.

Links to:

Canon 600 EX-RT speedlite info: [link] 

David Ziser’s 42” Zumbrella: [link]

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  We’re out the door early to catch a program or two and then hit the trade show.  Then it’s off to see some of the New Orleans sites and sounds and probably partake of the over abundant edible goodies here in the Crescent City.

Have a great rest of the day and I’ll see you soon, 

David