Photography Accessories Are An Easy Way To Extend Your Image MakingPhotography accessories are extra photography equipment that can enhance the quality of your images, extend the capabilities of your camera/lens or make photography less work. You are ready to start photographing the world once you have chosen the right camera/lens. Nothing else is really necessary as long as there is enough light to hand-hold the camera and there is no need to focus more closely than the lens on the camera allows. Some extra pieces of equipments will be needed to go beyond those restrictions. As for cameras and lenses, buy good quality accessories and they will probably last a lifetime of normal use.
Accessory Flash Units Add Versatility, Range and Quality To Your Photos
Most cameras, SLR or point & shoot, come with a built-in flash located atop the body. This is a great feature and allows many shots that would not be possible without it. When traveling light with only the camera and lens the built-in unit can save the day. Much good can be said about minimizing the amount of photography equipment owned and carried. There are also many drawbacks to a built-in flash. The primary problem quickly discovered by everyone is lack of range(distance). Built in flash must be small and light-weight to not bulk up the camera itself. It must also run off the same batteries as the camera and so not draw too much power or have excessive recycle times between shots. This generally limits the use of these units to under 15 feet, sometimes much less. Using a very fast lens helps but fast lenses are much larger, heavier and more expensive. Using a faster ISO(film speed) extends range but compromises image quality from digital “noise” or film grain, especially in compact cameras with smaller image sensors. The second problem noticed by all is “red-eye,” when the eye pupils of people and pets looks bright red instead of black. This is a very unnatural look and though most image-editing programs(and even some cameras) have “easy” fixes they often do not work very well. Red-eye is caused by the light from the flash unit reflecting back to the camera from the red lining at the back of the eye. It will occur whenever the source of the flash is close to the lens and the subject is looking at the camera. Move the flash away from the camera lens or have the subject look in another direction and red-eye does not happen. A third problem with built-in flash is very harsh shadows behind the subject. The closer the subject to the background, the worse this looks. The shadows are dense black, hard edged and halo the subject. It looks like the subject is standing directly in front of a glaring spotlight – not very flattering. The fourth biggest problem with built-in flash is the lack of modeling. Because the light comes from almost the same place as the lens, there are almost no shadows on the main subject to give a sense of depth and texture. Again the “direct frontal spotlight” effect and again not very flattering. All of these problems and more can be solved by moving the flash further away from the lens, the further the better. This means purchasing an accessory flash unit that will mount on the hot shoe atop SLR cameras or on a plate attached to the bottom of a point & shoot. Even the extra four or five inches away from the lens that most of these shoe-mount flashes give can be enough to eliminate most red-eye and all are much more powerful than any built-in unit, greatly extending the useable working distance without extending recycle times. They also use their own batteries, saving the camera batteries for taking more photos. This type of flash is the best photography accessory you can add to your kit for low-light situations.
Accessory Hot Shoe Flash With Bounce/Swivel Head And Built-In Slave
An additional feature I consider a must-have is the ability to tilt the flash head up and down and also to swivel it side to side. This feature allows bouncing the flash off of ceilings and/or walls whether shooting horizontal or vertical images. Bouncing the flash in this way rather than aiming it directly at the subject guarantees no red-eye, greatly softens background shadows, increases modeling and looks much more natural and less harsh. Your subjects and everyone that looks at you pictures will thank you. Also must-have is a built-in “slave” that will fire the flash in response to another flash. This feature allows using the unit with compact cameras that do not have a hot shoe – when the camera’s built-in flash fires it will also fire the accessory flash. The light from the slaved flash overpowers the built-in flash and gives you all the same benefits mentioned above. Any accessory flash with built-in slave can also be used this way with an SLR to create better modeling and shadows. The ability to communicate without wires is also a feature of many newer flashes and SLR camera bodies. It is well worth having, allowing three or four light set-ups with automatic metering that were previously only possible with much larger and more expensive studio light. Even when using only one or two flashes in the field this is much quicker and easier than anything possible using connecting cables. It allows all of us, after a little practice, to bring studio-quality light to many of our outdoor shots. Many more features are available on some accessory flash units but these are the ones I find myself using most often. The technology has come an amazing way from twenty years ago when flash exposures were calculated manually using guide number tables, flash units had to be wired to the camera and any flash could be used on any camera. Just be sure that you get the right flash to take advantage of your camera’s features. To sum it all up – go ahead and use that built-in flash when you are traveling light and need to get the shot – it can absolutely save the day. Also get and learn to use an accessory flash and use it whenever possible to improve your picture quality. The larger flash will also mean getting many more shots that otherwise would have been missed because the subject was too far away for the built-in unit, so take it along whenever possible. And like the camera itself, learn how to use it! Having a powerful and versatile flash unit won’t do nearly as much good as possible if it is only ever used on full auto mode attached to the hot shoe. Future Photography Accessories pages will address how to maximize image quality with a built-in flash unit as well as go into more detail about maximizing accessory flashes.
Return from Photography Accessories to Photography Equipment
|
