Nikon Creative Lighting System Digital Field Guide E-Book

Benjamin Edwards

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Serie: Digital Field Guide
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 288

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Detailed coverage of the three high-end speedlights builtexclusively for new Nikon SLRs Nikon speedlights put creative control of flash at thephotographer's command, and with Nikon's Creative Lighting System,flash control is practically intuitive and possibilities areseemingly endless. However, setting up, synchronizing theequipment, and determining lighting ratios can be a daunting task.This new edition of a bestseller puts your mind at ease in aflash. Award-winning photographer Benjamin Edwards begins with thebasics and demystifies the complexities of using multiplespeedlights, adjusting flash outputs, and setting up a wirelessstudio in an understandable, approachable way. * Teaches you how to fill in shadows, reveal detail, and add asense of motion or visual effects to your images, all withautomatic ease and total wireless control * Includes coverage of other Creative Lighting System componentssuch as Nikon's wireless commander and macro speedlights * Explores the basic functions of the SB-910, continues with theSB-700 and the similar, but less expensive, SB-600 * Boasts unique, detailed advice on lighting specific subjects:weddings, pets, product shots, corporate locations, portraits,large groups, sports, and much more While the Nikon Creative Lighting System speedlights are likehaving a low cost, wireless, studio lighting system that's portableenough to fit in a camera bag, this invaluable guide does fit inyour camera bag and goes where you go to help you take control ofthis amazing lighting system.

Leseprobe

Nikon® Creative Lighting System Digital Field Guide, Third Edition

Table of Contents

Introduction

Quick Tour

Getting Started

Taking Your First Photos with a Speedlight

Chapter 1: Exploring the Nikon Creative Lighting System

Main Features and Functions

Anatomy of the Speedlight

SB-R200

SB-400

SB-700

SB-900

SB-910

Camera Compatibility

D3000, D3100, D5000, D5100

D90, D300s, D700, D800

D3s, D3x, D4, F6

Included Accessories

SB-700

SB-900

SB-910

Add-on Accessories

SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander

R1/R1C1 and SB-R200 kits

SG-31R

Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Nikon Speedlights

Power Requirements

Nonrechargeable batteries

Rechargeable batteries

Navigating the Speedlight Settings and Menus

Flash modes

The SB-900 Custom Functions menu and settings

The SB-910 Custom Functions menu and settings

The SB-700 Custom Functions menu and settings

Chapter 3: Flash Photography Fundamentals

Understanding Flash Exposure

Key Terms

Flash Basics

Achieving proper exposures

Flash sync modes

Flash Exposure Compensation

Understanding Color Temperature

The Kelvin scale

White balance settings

Mixed lighting

Using Repeating Flash

Using Bounce Flash

Using Fill Flash

Simple Light Modifiers

Diffusion domes

Bounce cards

Speedlights versus Studio Strobes

Chapter 4: Advanced Wireless Lighting

Flash Setup for Advanced Wireless Lighting

Setting Up a Master or Commander Flash

SB-700, SB-900, and SB-910

Built-in flash

Setting the Flash Mode

SB-910

SB-900

SB-700

SU-800

Setting Up Remotes and Remote Groups

SB-910

SB-900

SB-700

Making Adjustments on the Fly

SB-910

SB-900

SB-700

SU-800

Chapter 5: Setting Up a Portable Studio

Introduction to the Portable Studio

Equipment

Stands

Brackets and multiclamps

Umbrellas

Softboxes

Diffusers and reflectors

Backdrops

Filters

Transporting Your Portable Studio

Chapter 6: Advanced Flash Techniques

Action and Sports Photography

Setup

Tips and tricks

Macro Photography

Setup

Tips and tricks

Night Photography

Setup

Tips and tricks

Chapter 7: Flash Techniques for Portrait Photography

Indoor Portraits

Setup

Tips and tricks

Outdoor Portraits

Setup

Tips and tricks

Pet Portraits

Setup

Tips and tricks

Still Life and Product Photography

Setup

Tips and tricks

Wedding and Engagement Photography

Setup

Tips and tricks

Appendix A: Creative Lighting System Gallery

The Swan Sings the Blues

Boxing Ring Bride

Pink Shoes Amongst the Moss

The Castle’s Keep

LaChureca

Georgia On My Mind

Triple Take

All About the Shoes

Romulan Ale

Appendix B: Resources

Informational Websites

Workshops

Online Photography Magazines and Other Resources

Equipment

Appendix C: How to Use the Gray Card and Color Checker

The Gray Card

The Color Checker

Glossary

Nikon® Creative Lighting System

Digital Field Guide,

Third Edition

Benjamin Edwards

Nikon® Creative Lighting System Digital Field Guide, Third Edition

Published by

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

10475 Crosspoint Boulevard

Indianapolis, IN 46256

www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-02223-8

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Benjamin Edwards is a wedding, portrait, and humanitarian photographer based out of Bend, Oregon, where he and his wife, Lauren, operate Benjamin Edwards Photography. Benjamin previously worked on Kevin Kubota’s Lighting Notebook: 101 Lighting Styles and Setups for Digital Photographers (also published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).

He has been featured in the September 2009 issue of Photo District News magazine and on Framed, a web-based series for photographers. Benjamin also won a Hollywood Film Festival award in 2009 for his short film, Cry Out for Congo, and has been recognized as a Photoflex Pro Showcase Member.

Credits

Senior Acquisitions Editor

Stephanie McComb

Project Editor

Amanda Gambill

Technical Editor

Jeff Wignall

Copy Editor

Marylouise Wiack

Editorial Director

Robyn Siesky

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Senior Project Coordinator

Kristie Rees

Graphics and Production Specialists

Jennifer Mayberry

Mark Pinto

Quality Control Technicians

Jessica Kramer

Lauren Mandelbaum

Proofreading and Indexing

Laura Bowman Estalita Slivoskey

Dedication

For my Parker. I know you’ll change the world.

Acknowledgments

I’ve learned that the best things in my life and business have been the result of being surrounded by exceptional people. For their creativity, support, and love, I thank:

Lauren Edwards, you’re simply my better three-quarters and our partnership in life is truly divine. Without you, I couldn’t do what we do.

My boys, you’re shining lights in my life. Thanks for letting Daddy work a few weekends.

Kevin Kubota, you’re my creative, collaborative partner, a source of inspiration, and my best friend. Thank you for showing me all that you have, and for showing photographers and normal people everywhere that to give back isn’t to empty one’s self, but rather to fill oneself.

Tiffany Lausen, everyone needs a Tiffany in his or her life. Your creative support and energy have been a true blessing.

Stephanie and Amanda at Wiley, thank you for being here for me and answering the onslaught of questions.

Photoflex, thank you for your continued support and for making stellar gear.

Nikon, the best.

Introduction

From its origin in the Greek language, the word photography literally means painting (or writing) with light. It’s fairly safe to say that if you were to remove light altogether from the photography equation, you’d have a difficult time capturing the perfect picture. You could also say that the addition of light, or the ability to create it quickly and efficiently, could go a long way in helping you create your very own masterpiece.

When Nikon introduced the Creative Lighting System (CLS) in 2004, it was mostly overlooked. The industry was focused on the rapidly changing advancement of digital SLR (dSLR) cameras — more specifically, how many megapixels could be jammed into a new generation of image sensors. This was a shame because the Nikon CLS was the most amazing development in creative photography in decades. The ability to completely control the output of multiple lights, and do it wirelessly with full Through-the-Lens (TTL) metering was a true breakthrough.

The popularity of the Nikon CLS has grown exponentially in recent years as more people are becoming interested in off-camera, photographic lighting. With the SB-400, SB-700, SB-900, and SB-910, no other company comes close to offering such a multitude of tools for specific lighting needs.

The main features of the CLS are its ability to get the flashes off of the camera and control them wirelessly. Nikon refers to this as Advanced Wireless Lighting (AWL). Simply put, when the flash is on top of your camera (or even attached to a flash bracket) your freedom to place the light source exactly where you want it is limited. AWL eliminates these restrictions.

With the CLS, you can direct and modify all of the light from your camera. This gives you the ability to create images full of depth and dimension, with far greater ease than with traditional studio strobes, and at a much lower cost to both your wallet and your back.

The Evolution of the Nikon Creative Lighting System

Nikon introduced wireless Speedlight control in 1994 with the SB-26 Speedlight. This flash incorporated a built-in optical sensor that enabled you to trigger the flash with the firing of another flash. While this was handy, you still had to meter the scene and manually set the output level on the SB-26.

With the release of the SB-28 in 1997, Nikon omitted the built-in optical sensor. You could still do wireless flash, but you needed to buy the SU-4 wireless sensor. Wireless flash still had to be manually set because the pre-flashes used by the Through-the-Lens (TTL) metering system caused the SU-4 to fire the speedlight prematurely.

In 1999, Nikon released the SB-28DX. This flash was made to work with Nikon’s emerging line of dSLRs. The only difference from the SB-28 was the metering system — the film-based Through-the-Lens (TTL) metering was replaced by Digital Through-the-Lens (dTTL) metering. This metering system compensated for the lower reflectivity of a digital sensor as opposed to film’s highly reflective surface. (Don’t worry; there won’t be a test on this at the end of the book.)

In 2002, Nikon replaced the SB-28DX with the SB-80DX. The changes were minimal — more power, a wider zoom, and a modeling light. It also brought back the wireless optical sensor. Before, although you could use this speedlight wirelessly, you still had to set everything up on the flash.

When 2004 rolled in, Nikon revolutionized the world of photographic lighting with the SB-800, the first flash to be used with the new Creative Lighting System. The first camera to be compatible with the CLS was the D2H. Using the D2H with multiple SB-800s enabled you to control the speedlights individually by setting them to different groups — all of which were metered via pre-flashes and could be adjusted separately.

With the introduction of the D70 (and, later, the D70s and D200), users could now control any number of off-camera speedlights with the camera’s built-in flash. Of course, using this had some drawbacks. With the D70s, you could control only one group of speedlights. The D200 could control only two. Even so, it was remarkable. Prior to this, you could never use a speedlight off-camera while retaining the function of the intelligent Through-the-Lens (i-TTL) metering. Today, all Nikon dSLR cameras are CLS-compatible, but not all of them allow you to control the lighting with the built-in flash. However, any of them can be used with a speedlight acting as a Commander to control any number of off-camera speedlights.

Eventually, Nikon augmented the CLS line with a little brother for the SB-800: the SB-600. While lacking some of the features of the SB-800, such as the ability to control speedlights and no PC terminal, it’s still an amazing little flash.

Nikon also released a couple of kits for macro photography lighting: The R1 and the R1C1. The R1 Macro Lighting Kit includes two SBR-200s, which are small wireless speedlights. They can be mounted directly to the lens via an adapter. You can also purchase the SBR-200 separately, which enables you to use as many lights as you want. The R1C1 Kit is essentially the same, except that it includes an SU-800 Commander unit. The SU-800 is a wireless transmitter that allows you to control groups of flashes (just like the SB-800, but without a visible flash).

Nikon has rounded out the CLS with the bare-bones SB-400 (2006), the efficient SB-700 (2010), and the flagship models, the SB-900 (2008) and the SB-910 (2011). The newer models offer the photographer the ultimate Creative Lighting System. With great attention to detail and ergonomics, and enhanced user-interfaces, never before have so many features been so easy to access.

Released in late 2011, the SB-910 is the culmination of years of research and design. With a faster recycle time (2.5 to 3 seconds, depending on battery use), an improved Thermal cut-out feature, and a multipoint AF-assist Illuminator that now covers the field of view of a 17-135mm lens with 51 focus points (39 focus points for a 24-135mm lens), the SB-910 is the new CLS workhorse.

What’s in This Book?

While I certainly recommend that you read your camera and flash manual at least once, most of us find the best use for an owner’s manual is as a sleep aid. Technically written and devoid of user experiences, manuals leave out the parts like, “Oh yeah, this works sometimes, but when it doesn’t, try this.” That’s where this Field Guide becomes your best friend.

This book does include the nuts and bolts information usually included in a standard manual. However, it also covers tips and advice. It also includes sample images and setup diagrams that explain how a shot was created using the Nikon CLS.

Finally, some photographers may be so intimidated by off-camera lighting, that they shoot only in available light. That’s fine if it’s your passion, but what happens when there isn’t any light available? Creative, off-camera lighting takes a bit of time and practice to master, but it can be done — I’m proof of that.

This book will assist you throughout the learning process, but it won’t do the work for you. It’s important that you take the information contained in these pages and put it into practice. Find a willing model (anyone that will hold still for you will do) and experiment. Also, remember that mistakes are only little markers on the road to success.

With a newfound appreciation for the Nikon Creative Lighting System and an understanding of Advanced Wireless Lighting, you’ll be well on your way to a new season of creative photography.

Are you ready?

Quick Tour

Any photographer who uses a camera with a built-in flash usually realizes very quickly the limitations these little light sources present. While a built-in or pop-up flash may serve well in a pinch, adding one or more speedlights to your photographic arsenal enhances your capabilities well beyond those that a built-in flash can provide.