Understanding Off-Camera Flash

#tutorial #photography #flash
I recently explained the principles of using off-camera flash in my interiors video. It was a tutorial within a tutorial, and even though I shot some images in order to demonstrate what I was explaining, it wasn’t nearly as thorough as I wanted it to be.
So I’ve gone and shot some more, and I tried to be more scientific about it to help you visualize the differences in camera settings and power output and flash position, so you can see how this works.
I learned what I know through the photographer David Hobby from his website Strobist - I definitely recommend him if you want some further reading. Once this stuff clicked for me, it totally changed the way I look at photography. strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html
For simplicity, we aren’t talking about how to compose a shot, or how to light a car, or how to use light modifiers, we’re just focusing on the camera and flash settings, and how they affect your image.
Camera equipment shown in this video (commissions earned):
Godox V1N Flash Speedlight for Nikon amzn.to/48vgCXa
Godox XPro-N Wireless Flash Trigger Transmitter for Nikon amzn.to/3NEffxp
The best way to attach a speedlight to a stand: amzn.to/3tnnGpY
Manfrotto Light Stand amzn.to/3RMLGuD
Nikon Z 6 II FX-Format Mirrorless Camera Body w/NIKKOR Z 24-70mm amzn.to/34lWB9B
Nikon Z 7 FX-Format Mirrorless Camera Body amzn.to/3SGYPVR
My favorite lightweight travel tripod: amzn.to/3w8ROkR
DEER IN HEADLIGHTS ( Buck in Springfield Pa.) by @myothervideo
kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWjHfKR7eLV8Ztk
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[@zeinjaber6923]

I don’t understand how this channel hasn’t blown up. Your videos are a fantastic blend of information, creativity and just straight up clean content. Keep it up dude!!

[@klintonkacatin]

Bro the algorithm chooses. Plus most people want flash. This has information so not sexy

[@capturingthemachine]

thanks so much, I appreciate it!

[@abdallah_m]

Your channel is quickly becoming the best for these kinds of educational videos. This video as well as "using CPL filter" are my favorites so far, thank you!

[@capturingthemachine]

Wow, thanks! The CPL video was challenging to make so it's great to hear that. 😄

[@derkritiker7598]

I just started with car photography as a hobby. In my opinion, your videos are the best

[@capturingthemachine]

Wow, thanks so much!

[@SebastianAndreiIordache94]

lemme hit like before watching the video because you're a guarantee of a good lesson

[@capturingthemachine]

thank you! 😅

[@saltsyn]

best facts, best voice speed, thanks a lot. I usually use your videos as correction to my ongoing vision and i always get some non-obvious facts

[@capturingthemachine]

So nice of you, I really appreciate this

[@tomzphone]

I have seen many videos talking about the relationship of ISO, aperture and shutter speed but this is one of the best and easiest to understand.

[@capturingthemachine]

amazing to hear this, glad it helps!

[@JustinBerke]

Bro, these are spectacular lessons. Absolute king.

[@capturingthemachine]

wow, I appreciate it!

[@YellowDieselGolf]

I thought I already had a good understanding but you've blown my mind with lots of new ideas. Thank you.

[@capturingthemachine]

Great to hear this, thank you!

[@LiamSmell]

You are one of two photographers (the other being Simon D’entremont) that make just perfectly executed informative videos about photography. I connect with yours a bit more though since I mainly photograph cars. You definitely deserve more subscribers.

[@capturingthemachine]

Wow, thank you! I will check out Simon's work 👍

[@weementaldavy5987]

Thanks for this excellent video which by far is the best i've ever seen and impossible to improve by anyone . 👍

[@capturingthemachine]

Wow, thanks!

[@STEVERAYSTUDIO]

Dude.... i needed this video. Thank you so much for posting this

[@capturingthemachine]

Glad I could help!

[@ardeesnapper]

That's a great video, the function is explained clearly. Thanks for sharing

[@capturingthemachine]

Glad it was helpful!

[@dsv]

thank you for those tips. I will definitely try them out with my camera and flash :)

[@capturingthemachine]

excellent!

[@unlearningcommunism4742]

You deserve to have at least 50x more subs

[@capturingthemachine]

Appreciate that!

[@michaeltulloch2315]

thank you for sharing. you’re content is extremely helpful, as i’m a photographer working with some awesome cars everyday. you teach me a lot, and i know it takes time to make these videos so thank you!

[@capturingthemachine]

Happy to help, thanks so much!

[@itsresurge7683]

sorry to ask but how did you get into car photography? i lost focus of my goals last year and lost a couple potential clients due to my own laziness but i aim to push myself this year and actually pursue my dream of photographing cars for a living. my issue that i am not sure exactly where to begin. i plan to try and attend car meets as well as my get license so that it is easier to travel as well as practise taking shots with my own vehicle, as well as find photo locations.

[@psubst9054]

Awesome chanel! Thanks for tutorials and your time!

[@capturingthemachine]

thanks so much!

[@mikemcnelly2780]

Another great video! Looks like a ton of work went into make this one, well done. Thanks for sharing this with the community!

[@capturingthemachine]

Much appreciated!

[@jeffmichaels2672]

Epic explanation…..nice work 🙌

[@capturingthemachine]

Thanks a lot! 😊

[@deep2048]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping the community to learn the process each 'stop' at a time.

[@capturingthemachine]

thank you, my pleasure!

[@9vor11]

Great Video Kevin 🙏🏻

[@capturingthemachine]

Thank you 🙌

[@VIJAYSANKAR]

Very scientific! 👏🏼

[@capturingthemachine]

thanks! 😄

[@prosunsport1]

Well presented

[@capturingthemachine]

Thank you! 🙂

[@_mannyponce]

very helpful. Thank you!

[@capturingthemachine]

my pleasure, thanks!

[@pathfindercod4638]

Outstanding video, thank you!

[@capturingthemachine]

Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!

[@MrEvoToYou]

I learned so much from this video! Too bad I don't even own a flash! 😅

[@capturingthemachine]

thank you! Shooting car exteriors with flash is not my favorite to be honest, I think it's nice to know and helpful at times, but good natural light will always be my fav 😁

[@tofu042]

chapeau for the Radiohead nod

[@capturingthemachine]

😄😄😄

[@nicolelongneckergallery]

Really good tips.

[@capturingthemachine]

thank you!

[@TimFilmsCars]

Timely as usual, I've had an AD400Pro in my cart for a few days. Nice video, thanks!

[@capturingthemachine]

Thank you! I have a couple AD200s, but have not tried the AD400Pro

[@zakariya6269]

🔥🔥🔥

[@capturingthemachine]

🙌

[@TheAntast]

thank you!!!!!!

[@capturingthemachine]

You're welcome!

[@heymikeriley]

Going to try some flash stuff this weekend! Do you ever use continuous light for cars? I guess during daylight you’d need the power of a flash? If you were shooting in dark light and wanted to brighten something up, would continuous or light bars be of use?

[@capturingthemachine]

I have an old video about shooting with continuous lights, it's kind of weirdly specific 😆 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZa0fXyHqbN4nqs The lights come a long way, but a flash just offers so much more power than any continuous light (this side of a Hollywood production). In daylight, flash lets you shoot against the sun, using a flash as a full light to balance the part of the car in shadow. Flash also can help make a car pop on a cloudy day. There might be more, but I think there are two main kinds of continuous lights for photography: Projector-type Continuous lights (like Aperture/Amaran), which are great for video, and lightwand/LED stick type lights. Continuous lights are mostly good for indoor and/or if it’s very dark. Lightwands/LED sticks can be bright, but they don’t put out a ton of light, so they’re best for lightpainting (which I’ll have a video about soon). Projector-type Continuous lights (like Aperture/Amaran) are great, but are power hungry, so once again, you need to be indoors or close to an electrical outlet. But a nice thing is that you can see and shape the light in real time, so you aren't guessing and doing trial and error light you would with a flash or light painting. Not sure if any of this helps 😅

[@Michaelajacksonfilms]

Thank you

[@capturingthemachine]

thanks for watching!

[@JohnnyWooh]

This might just make me pick up my old 500D and Speedlite 430 again 😂

[@capturingthemachine]

hell yes!

[@devin_chen]

I think I need a Porsche to learn this better

[@capturingthemachine]

😁😆

[@matepancel8300]

Really good video!!! How esle would you use off camera flash in car photography? (other than interior) Im thinking about doing some kind of light painting with it as my light bar isnt powerful enough to do it well enough

[@capturingthemachine]

thanks! You can use the flash (like lightpainting as you said) to strobe different sections of the car, and then composite them together in PS. It's also really great for shooting portraits of people in/around cars. You can also shoot a car into a sunset and use a light to add fill to the shadows.

[@IgorHorvat]

Great video, as always! One question tho' - how would you light a black car?

[@capturingthemachine]

Thank you! I avoid it if at all possible 😅 I once had to light some black vehicles in a photo studio. It wasn't really a car studio, so it had white walls, but no overhead softbox. I pointed the lights at the walls, and that reflected white wall created nice highlights around the car, and that was the only way to get good results. In the real world I would try something similar - rely on the reflections rather than pointing lights at the car.

[@IgorHorvat]

@@capturingthemachine Thanks! I also thought that lighting a black car is basically drawing reflections, and not really lighting 😆

[@capturingthemachine]

@@IgorHorvat well put!

[@eelco6587]

Thanks for the interesting video! I am looking for ways to improve my car photo's with lighting. Because I also make video's constant light would be more logical for me. Do you also have experience with constant light for car photography/video?

[@capturingthemachine]

Yes, that's a good question, I use Amaran 200 lights for filming myself for these videos, and sometimes bring them to locations for video stuff. The constant light Amarans are amazing, but they're also more of a hassle - they're bigger, and they require AC power or a generator. If you're in a studio or a location where you have access to power and can take your time, it will work, but you don't have the flexibility of just being able to set up anywhere. (I used them for photos in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZa0fXyHqbN4nqs) It sucks having to get two sets of lighting kits, (I had to upgrade all this stuff ~2 years ago), but right now a photo flash is still the best for still photos. The portability, power, and battery tech has changed so much in the last 10-15 years, making it cheaper and way more usable. You can at least make sure your light modifiers use the same mount (Bowens, in the case of Amazon) so you can reuse the same softboxes between video and photo lights.

[@CEEPMDEE]

What a shame.. I have a 993, camera gear and have not took time to photograph my car yet.

[@capturingthemachine]

993s are fantastic to photograph, good luck!

[@danielz8186]

My goodness!! 2:27 You really put in the work to show the differences!! I really appreciate you sir 🥹

[@capturingthemachine]

I appreciate the recognition 😄😄😄 thank you for watching!