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Features

10 Simple Lighting Hacks You Can Do With a Hot Shoe Flash

Chris Gampat
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06/12/2015
1 Min read
This is how we lit the shot of almonds in this blog post.
This is how we lit the shot of almonds in this blog post.

There are lots of cool things that you can do with off-camera lighting that can give you better photos or help you get your creative vision across much better when natural light isn’t available. It can also be very fun to do if you’re willing to experiment. We’ve rounded up a number of hacks that you can do with a hot shoe flash and that can be done in the convenience of your own home with stuff you most likely own or can create in the span of a weekend.

Give these a try and let your creativity run this weekend.

Enhance weak window light by putting a flash against window blinds

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Magmod flash modifier review images magsphere other images from fuji (1 of 5)ISO 4001-125 sec at f - 4.0

Get softer light by using the built-in wide angle diffuser

Pro Tip: This image was shot for my friend's Etsy shop using the wide angle diffuser. It resulted in many of the details popping more. This is how you make the results from a portrait lens pop even more.
Pro Tip: This image was shot for my friend’s Etsy shop using the wide angle diffuser. It resulted in many of the details popping more. This is how you make the results from a portrait lens pop even more.

Fix a beauty dish to a flash by using a Gary Fong Light Lightsphere Collapsible

BHInsights Chris Gampat Beauty Dish Speedlite Mating (2 of 8)

 

Line a panel with crinkled tin foil, and bounce the light off it for extra punch

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Westcott 7 foot umbrella with Grace (2 of 27)ISO 1001-200 sec at f - 5.6

Drag the shutter with second curtain flash to capture fast motion

Model: Bec Fordyce
Model: Bec Fordyce

Use stroboscopic mode to create the look of a multiple exposure

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Capture One Edits IQ250 matts dark combat series 25

Put a strobe against another colored light source to overpower it and get better colors

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Conquering Mixed Lighting (2 of 3)ISO 4001-60 sec at f - 2.0

Place a light source behind a reflective surface to get less reflections

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Asus Zenfone 2 camera review product images (4 of 11)ISO 4001-25 sec at f - 2.8

Mimic the look of a large softbox with a large reflector bouncing the light

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Profoto B2 First impressions review portraits with Lauren (3 of 8)ISO 1001-160 sec at f - 2.8

Use a flash in bright sunlight by using an ND filter with your lens

f1.4
f1.4

 

gary fong hacks hot shoe flash natural light reflector second curtain silver window
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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