Using Flash Photography Remote Systems
Try a New Angle With Your Flash Photography
Using a wireless or remote flash photography system is superb. It really does open up the possibilities for, not just night photography, but:
...in fact just about all types of photography!
Using Multiple Speedlights
Think about it for a second or two. If you could fire multiple external flashguns, placed anywhere, how could you take advantage of this? From now on we shall call the remote unit the "Slave".
For Example...
This would then be triggered by the on-camera unit which would be either in a hide or indoors out of view. You can even fire the camera remotely from a computer if you have one. The Canon EOS range for example, have this capability. It is excellent if you have a laptop and want to shoot wildlife! The Canon EOS 7D and later DSLR's even have a built in system for firing the 580 EXII remotely.
The camera and flashguns could all be placed surrounding the subject. With a long enough cable, wi-fi, infra-red or radio triggers, you could take all your pictures from behind a tree. All done without even looking directly at your subject as you see what you take from your laptop or remote shooting device such as the Aputure Gigtube!
The possibilities are endless so it may well be worth you considering the slave capabilities when buying your flash speedlight. If you already have an older speedlight without the slave function (such as the Metz 45 CL-4) but your unit does have a pc sync connection, fear not, there is an answer.
This handy accessory is always in my kit. You simply attach the PC cable from your speedlight to this slave adapter and voila, you have a flashgun with slave capabilities! The adapter has a hotshoe which can be placed on any suitable device. The flashgun can then be placed anywhere within reach of your main flashlight…brilliant!
It cost about $10.00 and is available at good camera merchants like Amazon. Well worth the money. In all my 30+ years of photography and using flash whenever needed, the best flash photography remote system I have found at the time of writing is the Pocket Wizard system.
I currently use two Flex TT5’s and one Mini TT1 transmitter. I plan to add a few more in time as these work exceptionally well!