do you have a favorite casual outdoor OCF setup?

Never thought about shooting OCF outdoors until now. I have a 600EX and a TT1/TT5 combo. I can also use my 430EX as optical slave.

Any recommendations on taking shots of my kids playing in the backyard on the swingset?

Should I use a simple (even possibly DIY) diffuser or just shoot direct flash? I really think that using an shoot-through umbrella is overkill.

Since I have the PWs I will be able to achieve HSS via ETTL-II.

Any suggestions offered are appreciated.

I for one am curious what suggestions others might post as I've just been toying with OCF since Christmas...

coeng wrote in post #15491322
Never thought about shooting OCF outdoors until now. I have a 600EX and a TT1/TT5 combo. I can also use my 430EX as optical slave.

Any recommendations on taking shots of my kids playing in the backyard on the swingset?

Should I use a simple (even possibly DIY) diffuser or just shoot direct flash? I really think that using an shoot-through umbrella is overkill.

Since I have the PWs I will be able to achieve HSS via ETTL-II.

Any suggestions offered are appreciated.

The little diffusers only waste power and dont make any difference in softness. Its all about size, and those little things do practically nothing. They may work inside where you have bounce surfaces, but not outside. An umbrella or larger softbox is not overkill.

My favorite outdoor setup is to have the sun behind the subject so that their entire face is in shadow and the sun is acting light a hair/rim light. Then use the flash for fill on the face.

Well it depends on what you're trying to achieve. If you're shoot this noon-time, one flash will not be able to overpower the sun unless you get it REALLY close to your subject. And you'll lose too much power if you go HSS against the sun so you'll be shooting at f/11-ish. You're gonna need an ND filter if you want to open up your aperture. Just something to consider.

If it's right around sunset times, then one flash should do the trick.

I wouldn't recommend shoot direct flash unless you have no choice (ie need the full power, going for harsh lighting look, etc). I would go with a shoot-thru umbrella if you're just starting out for simplicity and ease of use.

Yep. My "go to" rig is a twin speed light setup and umbrella.