creative uses for an off shoe cord?

[e r y k]

hello POTN,

i finally received my off camera shoe flash, and i was wondering if there were any tips / tricks to using this cord?

im still trying to get used to having the camera in one hand, and holding the flash in the other hand. my right hand gets tired pretty quickly after a while :(.

what are the benefits of having the flash on a cord vs straight on camera when it comes to shooting people? if i were to shoot a few portraits / models with the off shoe flash, how should the flash be used correctly?

im assuming that when im using an offshoe cord, the flash should not be auto-zooming since it is not directly on the axis above the camera correct?

thanks

eric

[StaticThought]

I got one of these the other day and also managed to pick up a smallish softbox. Works great but same as you, my bloody right arm hurts after a while :cry:

[JustinL]

i finally received my off camera shoe flash, and i was wondering if there were any tips / tricks to using this cord?


In the future, I'd research why buying a product would have benefits before buying the product.

As for uses, I just use mine with my flash bracket. I guess if you had some serious forearms you could hold it in your left hand while shooting with your right, but as you said that gets tiring.

[e r y k]

In the future, I'd research why buying a product would have benefits before buying the product.

hah i knew i was gonna get this line sooner or later. i guess i worded it wrong, what i was looking for is how i should be using it, with a diffuser or not, straight on at 90* or swiveled to some other angle.

[Curtis N]

The cord's main purpose is for use with a flash bracket, but there are a lot of ways to use them.

Creativity, tempered with common sense, will allow you to do a lot of cool stuff with it.

[bieber]

It all depends on what you want to do with it. Hard light can yield some interesting effects, like the image I'm attaching, but you can also soften it for a different look. I'm afraid the length of the cord doesn't give you very much creative leeway, unless you're working very close to your subject.

[RPCrowe]

While it is certainly possible to hold your camera in one hand and flash unit in the other, that is probably not the most expedicious way to use the combination. Unless you have arms like Popeye The Sailor; holding a camera with one hand is not the most solid way to hold a camera.

There are many flash brackets which will enable you to have the camera off the camera and also to keep the flash over the axis of the lens when shooting in both landscape and portrait configurations. Of course, with all of these brackets, you need the off camera flash cord.

Having the flash away from the camera prevents redeye and if bounced with a diffuser/reflector provides lovely soft light rather than the harsh "deer in the headlights" effect of straight-on flash.

Usually, either the flash or the camera will rotate in order to keep the flash positioned over the axis of the lens.

The prices of these units range from very inexpensive ($20-$30 range) into more expensive brackets (which can range in the hundreds of dollars).

Often the units in which the flash will rotate are less expensive than those in which the camera rotates because, they are less complicated. The advantage of having a unit in which the camera rotates is that when you are bouncing flash and using a reflector/diffuser; you do not have to readjust the position of the reflector/diffuser when switching from horizontal (landscape) to vertical (portrait) configuration. With many reflector/diffuser rigs you need to readjust the flash position when switching from horizontal to vertical if you are using a bracket in which the flash rotates.

Here are some brackets with flash rotation:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Flash-Bracket-with-90-Degrees-Flash-Rotate-feature_W0QQitemZ170141474326QQihZ007QQcategoryZ64 354QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tiffen-Stroboframe-Quick-Flip-350-Flash-Bracket-NEW-USA_W0QQitemZ160148588448QQihZ006QQcategoryZ64354Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here are some brackets with camera rotation

http://cgi.ebay.com/Flash-Bracket-with-90-degrees-Camera-Rotate-feature_W0QQitemZ170141361561QQihZ007QQcategoryZ64 354QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/MAMIYA-645-PRO-35mm-DIGITAL-RotaCam-FLASH-BRACKET-NIB_W0QQitemZ130145383346QQihZ003QQcategoryZ64354Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[e r y k]

thanks for the posts bieber and RPCrowe :)