John Gerlach Loc: Island Park, Idaho

20 Ways to Help your Flash Light Objects at Greater Distances

Here is the list I have come up with so far, but there must be something I am missing. If any of you can think of another way to help flash light over greater distances, please let me know. Right now I can easily reach 100 yards at night with my Canon Flashes, but I want more! When I started this about 15 years ago, I killed the flash as most do. How did I murder the power of the flash? I used ISO 100, f/18, had a polarizer on, and let the zoom on the flash head match the wide-angle focal length of 20mm, even though I was trying to light a tree or ten yards away. By using f/8, ISO 400, no polarizer, and zooming the flashhead to 105mm, I finally was able to illuminate the tree. By the way, my detailed book on using flash outdoors for landscapes, wildlife, and macro will be out later this winter.

1. Use a More Powerful Flash
2. Increase the ISO
3. Reduce the flash to subject distance
4. Open up the aperture
5. Shoot with a tilt lens
6. Focus stack to use a larger aperture
7. Use a faster lens
8. No polarizer or any other light-absorbing filter
9. No teleconverter or extension tube
10. No flash diffuser
11. Increase the FEC
12. Point the flash accurately
13. Increase the flash zoom focal length
14. Use the flash manually
15. Use the maximum power level in manual
16. Use a flash extender
17. Fire one flash more than once during long exposure
18. Use multiple flash
19. Use multiple exposure
20. Combine flash with a flashlight

Shown are three hummingbird images where I used four Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites at 1/64 power. That is one way to get more light - use more than one flash.

twowindsbear

How does using a tilt lens help a flash light objects at a greater distance?

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

So, your quest isn't for "more light", but more controlled illumination? You didn' t mention reflectors or shoot thru panels of "SoftFrost".

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Neither of these added items increase direct illumination. Both spread speedlights over a greater area.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Try 1000 candle power torches waved over a building plus very long exposure.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Translation: British 'torches' are American flashlights.

John Gerlach Loc: Island Park, Idaho

I am looking for more light to light objects that are out there a ways, or multiple objects, or a really large object. With a tilt lens, in some cases where the landscape is in mostly one plane, you could tilt the lens to coincide with the plane to be sharply focused, and then shoot with a wide aperture (f/2.8 or f/4 for example) and using those apertures lets the flash light much more. But, focus stacking is a better way to do it. Tilt lenses would only work well for certain subjects, like the patterns at Grand Prismatic Spring.

John Gerlach Loc: Island Park, Idaho

Often you can't use a very long exposure. I often use flash to light the landscape where the shutter speed is a relatively fast 1 second, not enough time to light paint with a flashlight. Admittedly, when I do night skies using 25 seconds, a powerful flashlight does a good job of it.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

"10. No flash diffuser."

jim quist Loc: Missouri

message me when your book is listed with barnes and noble

Capn_Dave

Hello John,
To get more distance on a flash the Better Beamer attachment works quite well and is portable

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=585196&gclid=CjwKEAiA6YDBBRDwtpTQnYzx5lASJAC57ObMzyQedYgv31hIvr3bO4IJeQLv0IHhot8HMlH2R7GAYhoCHdnw_wcB&is=REG&ap=y&m=Y&c3api=1876%2C92051677562%2C&A=details&Q=

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Million candle power spotting light...
Train locomotive headlight...
Both of these put out some serious light photons...

Best,
Todd Ferguson
Harrisburg, NC

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Thanks! Great suggestions.

pjarbit Loc: Detroit, Michigan

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/481319-REG/Gary_Fong_CHRDOM.html

Gary Fong diffuser with chromedome works great. Increases flash output intensity and keeps diffusion soft lighting.

wotsmith Loc: Nashville TN

Duh, A better beamer!