[Closed] Photography question about flahes

Somewhat - though I tend to just use a cord and hold the thing!

The idea of both is to put your flash off-axis with the lens to create a more flattering effect, without a bracket you get much more flexibility!

But indoors I can just bounce, can't I?

Yes, which removes the need for the bracket anyway 😉

Even better - get a softbox that fits on the flash head (Lastolite IIRC do a small one for compact flashguns).

What are you going to be photographing. I got a light stand, soft umbrella and mounting bracket + lead for my flash for around £25. It makes a noticeable difference when taking portraits.

Its nice being free to move around with the camera whilst having a static light source.

Cheers

Danny B

Just for general family snapping (which does lead to some lovely keeper photos, despite how it sounds, hence wanting to do it well). I usually bounce.

I would just add some small flash modellers to give different and more versatile effects. Speedgraphic have a good selection.

My OH got me an umbrella and stand for Christmas a couple of years back. I haven't used it much but when I have tried it, the umbrella makes a massive difference for smoothing out the lighting when doing portrait stuff.

I keep looking at those small lastolite softboxes; they look pretty handy.

I was going to suggest a set of £10, ebay radio triggers to negate the need for a curly lead, but IIRC, you shoot Olympus or some other weirdness, which makes getting triggers problematic...

Edit - I've tried the Ezybox mini softbox from Lastolite and whilst it gives a good, even light, it also eats up a lot of your flash power. Fine indoors, less so outside if it's even slightly sunny.

Over the years I've tried all sorts of modifiers but always gone back to just bouncing the flash (for on camera flash stuff).

(Smug git mode) My Nikon flash works wirelessly as it is; the D80 controls it and off it goes.
The whole thing is still a black art though, to be honest! Need to play with it all a bit more....

Double post.

Off camera flash is FAR more useful than pretty much anything else IME. It's quite easy to hold the flash in one hand and take pics with the other too.

disappointing fast edit there. Was looking for some good otter photoshoppery 🙁

Stumpy - your smugness will vanish as soon as you try to use the CLS in anything other than perfect light. Too dark - nothing happens. Bright sunshine? Nothing happens.

After a few very embarrassing moments, I went out and bought radio triggers - anything triggered by infra red is a bit of a waste of time 🙁

Smug git mode

I dunno, I don't think wireless flash is quite what I need for candid indoor photos. Unless I stick flashes around the room on optical triggers before hand....

It's quite easy to hold the flash in one hand and take pics with the other too.

As long as you donm't need to zoom or adjust anything I suppose..!

How about one of those Gary Fong things?

I use triggers, but sometimes it doesn't get done because of the extra faff/batteries to find/etc.

nothing smug about the nikon system, the olympus system works in a similar fashion with different zones etc.
i wouldn't bother with a bracket though, radio triggers are far more useful and and moving the flash a few cm just means no redeye.

The actual purpose of those flash brackets is to make it so that the flash is higher than the lens when shooting both in portrait and landscape orientations.

Fine if you want to make it easy to shoot portraits with on axis flash - which is why you'll notice a lot of press using them at film premiers etc.

Otherwise it's much better value to get the flash off camera.

There was an Oly one £15 on ebay, that's all.

User-removed, I've used mine at a relatively dark kart track, inside a tent while I was about 30m away and 90 deg off axis (with no direct line of sight), in the Garden on a sunny day, behind furniture to illuminate a dark corner of the living room....it's always worked so far.
If it doesn't work, then there is always the option of a cable, radio triggers etc. so I see it as a bonus, really.
Same with the fact that the infra red remote is only £11. Not a deal breaker, but a welcome addition.