Flash gun newbie advice

[swoosta]

Hi
I have a Canon 40d and I am thinking about getting a Canon Speedlite 430EX MkII Dedicated Flashgun. I have never used a flash gun with the camera. Is it a case of just putting it on and shooting or is there more to it - go easy with me!

[Cathus]

if only it was so easy.

Just like your camera, there are easy ways & more complicated ways to use flash. You can of course, just stick the camera on P auto & fire away & the flashgun will do a reasonable job.

If you want to control the light, you will need to learn more about flash photography, the different settings, how it interacts with manual & automatic, TTL, on or off-camera, bounce, etc etc.

But don;t let that stop you getting a gun & using it in its basic mode, you can learn more as you use it.

[rawphotography]

I am in a similar boat at the minute. I just finished a photography diploma a few months ago, I'm a perfectionist, all be it a crap one, I love to shoot as often as possible, its my dream to make it a job etc...yet the other day I just bought my first flash gun and know little more than the basics and so am starting from scratch. I understand the basic ideas of bouncing and diffusing flash the ideas of using off camera flash to change the results. I am about to make a cheeky purchase on amazon of a few bits of a kit to really extend the possibilities.

As one flash beginner to another, I would suggest getting a flash cord (they can be gotten really cheap), enlisting the help of a mate, and taking the same portrait, but with on camera flash, then with the gun, then bounce the gun off the sealing, fire it as a slave off to the side, put diff materials in front of the flash to diffuse, and just study the results of the different ways. I'm still not really there yet. but a portrait session the other day definitely boosted my understanding somewhat

[Drew Smith]

Get a flash and experiment with it. You don't need a 'person' to sit as a subject either, just use something appropriate.

Try direct flash, bounce flash off the wall, ceiling etc and see what the difference is. You can have a huge amount of fun with your flash on camera and your photographic needs may never take you to off camera flash, so take your time and enjoy yourself.

If you want to go off camera with your lighting then you will need to start considering just where you're going to shoot - if it is in a studio location and doesn't need to be portable you may decide that 'speedlites' are not the way to go.

Welcome to a whole new way to spend huge amounts of money!

On that note: you don't need to buy 'Canon' speedlites either. The Nissin Di622 (119 quid on amazon) and Di822 are great at half the price of Canons and come with built in diffuser, catch light card and variable power settings.

[MattUK]

As for on-board flash, I bought this the other day: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diffuser-Oly...5635728&sr=8-1

It's a tiny cost, and it's awesome. For the first time, using the pop-up flash is actually useful. I use it in conjunction with the Nissin Di622 (which doesn't support high speed sync by the way)