Speedlite System Digital Field Guide

Transcription

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3 Canon Speedlite System Digital Field Guide 3rd Edition Michael Corsentino

4 Canon Speedlite System Digital Field Guide, 3rd Edition Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis, IN Copyright 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: Manufactured in the United States of America No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) , fax (978) Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, , fax , or online at LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEB SITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OF WEB SITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEB SITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) , outside the U.S. at (317) or fax (317) Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-ondemand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at For more information about Wiley products, visit Library of Congress Control Number: Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Canon is a registered trademark of Canon, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

5 About the Author Michael Corsentino is an award-winning contemporary wedding and portrait photographer, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom expert, author, national speaker, and workshop leader based in Northern California. Shooting digitally since 1999, he made his first exposure when he was 12 years old and hasn t put his camera down since. His 35-year love affair with the magic and science of photography is more passionate today than ever. Stylish, dramatic, edgy, and modern images set Michael s photography apart. His award-winning blend of photojournalism, fashion, and editorial styles have made him an in-demand portrait and destination wedding photographer. Equally passionate about educating, Michael loves to share his lighting and posing secrets, post-processing techniques, time-saving workflow strategies, and shooting philosophy with other photographers during his inspiring workshops and speaking engagements.

6 Credits Senior Acquisitions Editor Stephanie McComb Project Editor Kristin Vorce Technical Editor Michael Guncheon Copy Editor Beth Taylor Editorial Director Robyn Siesky Business Manager Amy Knies Senior Marketing Manager Sandy Smith Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Richard Swadley Vice President and Executive Publisher Barry Pruett Project Coordinator Katie Crocker Graphics and Production Specialists Carrie A. Cesavice Andrea Hornberger Christin Swinford Quality Control Technician Dwight Ramsey Proofreading and Indexing Susan Hobbs BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services Vertical Websites Project Manager Laura Moss Vertical Websites Assistant Project Manager Jenny Swisher Vertical Websites Associate Producer Josh Frank Shawn Patrick Doug Kuhn Marilyn Hummel

7 To my dear mother, Stephanie, without your beautiful love, caring, and lifelong support of my artistic dreams, I wouldn t be who I am today. Thank you so much! To my father, Joseph, thank you for igniting the spark that turned into a wonderful 35- year love affair with the art, science, and magic of photography.

8 Acknowledgments I owe a great debt of gratitude to the many wonderful people and innovative companies who have helped make this book a reality. Were it not for their generosity, time, and endless patience with all my crazy and repeated questions, this book would not have been possible. A big thank you to the following companies and individuals who have generously provided equipment, educational materials, images, software, supplies, and technical assistance for this book: F.J. Westcott, Manfrotto Distribution, Lastolite, Honl Photo, MAC Group, ExpoImaging, idc Photo, Drop it Modern, Syl Arena Photography, Kubota Image Tools, Nik Software, OnOne Software, Sylights.com, Amherst Media, TriCoast Photography, Backgrounds by Maheu, Canon U.S.A., The Eyelighter, MOLA Softlights, Fotodiox, Vello, Barbour Backdrops and Props, Shannon Michelle Photography, Gary Fong, PhotoshopCAFE, Steele Training, Photogenic, Fstoppers.com, Karl Taylor Photography, LEE Filters, ProPhoto Connect, HoneyGrids, Tether Tools, Think Tank Photo, California Sunbounce, Mike Larson Photography, RadioPopper, Photek, Lovegrove Consulting, Lightware Direct, Michael Bass Designs, Hildozine, Enlight Photo, Lensbaby, Don Gianatti Photography, Joe McNally Photography, Graphic Authority, and RPG Keys. Special thanks to the talented photographers who ve graciously contributed their images: Dennis Urbiztondo, Adam Duckworth, and Stacie Frazier. Throughout my career, I ve been lucky enough to connect with some truly amazing people in this industry and, in the process, have made many treasured friendships. There are so many individuals and companies who deserve special thanks for their support, help, and mentoring along the way. These are the folks who ve believed in me from day one and shown incredible generosity and kindness for which I ll always be grateful. For them I would do just about anything. They are Dennis Urbiztondo, Sal and Taylor Cincotta, Kevin Kubota and the Kubota Image Tools team, Andrew Funderburg, Skip Cohen, Scott Bourne, Christopher Becker, Stephanie Devaux, Elena Hernandez, Colin Smith, Kevin La Rue and the team at Nik Software, Mike Wong and the team at OnOne Software, Jules and Joy Bianchi, Joey Lawrence, Amber McCoy and my friends at F.J. Westcott, Doug Gordon, Charlie Moshure, Candice Cunningham, RC Concepcion, Mark Astmann, Frederick Van Johnson and, of course, Tim I gotta run! Riley. Thanks to following photographers who have mentored, educated, and inspired me from afar through their websites, and blogs: David Hobby, Scott Kelby, Joe McNally, Syl Arena, and Chris Orwig. I am indebted to each of you for sharing your knowledge and passion as well as helping me and countless others become better photographers.

9 To Stephanie McComb, my awesome Acquisitions Editor, for her always-calming demeanor, handholding, and gentle yet firm adherence to the deadlines. She kept me on track, told me everything would be okay when I was stressed, organized all the details involved in producing this book, and was always quick to reply to my many, many questions. To Kristin Vorce, my Project Editor, for her cheerful attention to all the bits and pieces of the book, for helping to organize my scattered brain, and for her patience while explaining the various processes to me again and again. She was a true pleasure to work with and her contributions definitely made this book better and made me look better! To my fine editing team at Wiley for their marketing insight, skillful editing, and continuous support and encouragement. A special shout out goes to my buddy, Dennis Urbiztondo. Thank you so much for your amazing friendship, endless patience, and support. You are one of a kind, and I m honored to call you my friend. Everyone should be lucky enough to have a friend like you. Finally, eternal thanks to my mother, Stephanie, for her boundless love, support, and infusing me with her love of the arts at an early age. Throughout my life, your encouragement, endless laughter, belief in my dreams, work ethic, and class have been my guiding light!

10 Contents Introduction xiv QT Quick Tour 1 Getting Up and Running Quickly Taking Your First Photos with the Speedlite....3 CHAPTER 1 Exploring the Canon Speedlite System 9 Features of the Canon Speedlite System EX/600EX-RT EX/600EX-RT specifications and features Main components Function buttons, dedicated buttons, and Select dial EX/600EX-RT accessories EX II EX II specifications and features Main components Control buttons and Select dial EX II accessories EX II EX II specifications and features Main components Control buttons EX II accessories Other Components of the Speedlite System EX EX II EX OC-E3 Off-Camera Shoe Cord Speedlite transmitter ST-E3-RT ST-E2 wireless transmitter Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX... 44

11 CHAPTER 2 Setting Up Your Speedlites 47 Power Requirements Non-rechargeable Rechargeable Flash Modes E-TTL II E-TTL Manual Multi-stroboscopic flash Zoom position Auto Zoom Adjustment for APS-C Sensors Adjusting Flash Exposure Compensation EX/600EX-RT EX II EX II AF-Assist Beam EX/600EX-RT EX II EX II LCD Panel Illumination Custom Functions Setting Custom Functions on the flash Setting Custom Functions via the camera Auto Off mode CHAPTER 3 Flash Photography Basics 71 Studio Strobes or Speedlites? Color Temperature and White Balance What is Kelvin temperature? Choosing the white balance White balance presets Balancing for the ambient light Using Bounce Flash Why and when to use bounce flash Camera and Speedlite settings Explaining Flash Exposure and Specifications Guide number Aperture Distance Guide number Distance = Aperture... 93

12 Sync speed Second-curtain sync Fill flash CHAPTER 4 Using Your Flash Off Your Camera 99 How the Speedlite System Works Wirelessly with Your Camera Overview of Wireless Flash Setup with the Canon Speedlite System Step 1: Choose a flash mode Step 2: Choose a wireless mode Step 3: Choose a channel Step 4: Set up groups or slave IDs Step 5: Adjust the flash ratio levels Setting Up Master and Slave Flashes Masters Slaves Setting Up a Wireless Manual Flash EX/600EX-RT in Manual mode EX II in Manual mode Setting slaves for manual flash Using Wireless Multi-Stroboscopic Flash Setting Up Channels and Groups or Slave IDs Channels Groups EX/600EX-RT EX II EX II Setting Flash Exposure Compensation Setting FEC with the 600EX/600EX-RT set to Master Setting FEC with the 580EX II set to Master Setting FEC slave flashes Testing and Modeling Flash from a Slave Unit Remote Release from a Slave Unit Linked Shooting with Radio Transmission Using Your Speedlites with Radio Triggers Using your Speedlites with PocketWizards Using your Speedlites with RadioPoppers

13 CHAPTER 5 Setting Up a Wireless Studio 141 Introduction to the Portable Studio Cables, Cords, and Triggers Extra-long E-TTL cords Custom cables Cable releases Tethered shooting Radio triggers White Balance and Filters White balance and the ExpoDisc Neutral density filters for wider apertures Light Modifiers Reflectors Gels Grids and snoots Diffusers, small flags, and bounce cards Umbrellas Softboxes Beauty dishes Ring flash Specialty brackets Backgrounds and Background Stands Seamless paper backdrops Collapsible backdrops Muslin backdrops Canvas backdrops Contemporary backdrops Backdrop stands Motorized backdrop support systems Space Considerations Setting up for indoor shoots Setting up for outdoor shoots Traveling with Your Wireless Studio Camera cases and bags Portable light stands CHAPTER 6 Lighting Concepts and Patterns 183 Concepts of Lighting Studio lighting Portrait lighting types

14 Mood and drama Lighting patterns Using Speedlites for Outdoor Locations The preflight Remembering light theory Setting power output Modifiers and Their Qualities of Light One Light, Two Lights, Three Lights! One light Two lights Three lights APPENDIX A Posing Basics 231 Developing Your Style Positioning the body Positioning the hands and arms Paying attention to the details Positions to Avoid Planning Poses Traditional posing Editorial posing Glamour style APPENDIX B Rules of Composition 247 Keep It Simple Silhouettes Limiting focus The Rule of Thirds Field of View Leading Lines and S-Curves Symmetry APPENDIX C Resources 259 Websites and Online Learning DVDs and Video Downloads ipad Apps Books Workshops Trade Shows Magazines Associations

15 Light Modifiers Light Stands Reflectors Brackets Lenses Radio Triggers and Remotes Backdrops and Support Systems Cords and Cables Equipment for Tethered Shooting Filters Bags and Cases APPENDIX D How to Use the Gray Card and Color Checker 268 The Gray Card The Color Checker Glossary 270 Index 279