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Chapter 9 Action and Event Photography
Figure 9-51. Moving the light source to one side of the
camera and tilting it downward from a higher level will
eliminate most of the problems encountered with direct
on-camera flash. Be careful when aiming the light to
cover your subject sufficiently. (Porter’s Camera Store)
Shoe-mount flash units do not have red-
eye reduction, but they can be used in a way
that not only eliminates red eye, but overcomes
the other problems of direct flash. The simplest
method for improving results with an on-
camera flash is to diffuse or soften the light it
produces. Diffusion is accomplished by placing
a translucent material—a piece of tracing paper,
frosted plastic, or even a white handkerchief—
over the flashtube. This will cause the light rays
to scatter, eliminating the harshness of the light.
Several types of translucent plastic diffusers are
commercially available. The diffusion material
lowers the light output, making an exposure
adjustment necessary with manual flash. As a
rough guide, assume you will have to open up
one f-stop for each layer of diffusion material.
A second method is to remove the flash
unit from the hot shoe and position it more
effectively. By using a coiled sync cord, the flash
can be moved a foot or more to one side of the
camera, as well as being raised, Figure 9-51. Some
photographers use a bracket like the one shown;
others prefer to hold the flash in one hand and
operate the camera with the other. This off-camera
flash method will eliminate not only red eye, but
troublesome flash reflections from eyeglasses,
mirrors, and metal surfaces. The higher positioning
of the light also throws shadows downward behind
the subject and out of sight. Because the light is now
striking the subject at an angle, instead of straight
on, the flattening effect of direct flash is relieved.
Depending on the situation, the flash also may be
slightly further away from the nearest subjects,
making it less likely that they will be overexposed
and burned-out.
Light coverage can be a problem when using
direct flash, especially with wide-angle or telephoto
lenses. Most flashtubes project a cone of light that
will evenly cover the subject with a lens as wide as
28 mm. When a wider lens is used, such as a 24 mm
or a 20 mm, severe light fall-off will be noticeable
on the edges of the picture. Special wide-angle flash
heads, or supplementary lenses slipped over the
standard head, will spread the light for adequate
coverage. When using a telephoto lens, the opposite
problem occurs—the angle of light coverage from
the flash is considerably wider than the angle of
view of the lens. As a result, much of the light is
wasted, as well as being weakened by the distance
it has to travel. A number of shoe-mount flashes
have a zoom design that includes wide, normal,
and telephoto settings. The telephoto setting
concentrates the light into a narrower beam to
minimize light fall-off with the more distant subject.
Several types of flash projection devices are made
to permit adequate lighting with longer telephoto
lenses, Figure 9-52.
Figure 9-52. Special light-projection accessories, such
as the Project-A-Flash, are made to attach to flash units
when using telephoto lenses of 300 mm or greater
length. These devices are most often used in bird and
small animal photography, where such long lenses are a
necessity. (Tory Lepp Productions)