Tradewinds Resort

Photography Tip - two strobe off-camera-flash setup

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Nikon SB-600 Speedlight on tripod to frame left & Nikon SB-800 Speedlight on light stand to frame rightIt is no secret I am a big fan of strobist photography, which simply put is the use of off-camera-flash.  To me it is the key to great sunset portraits, and really portraits of any kind for that matter.  The photo above (taken on St. Pete Beach, see more here) may look like a big undertaking with a complex setup, but with a little practice and the right gear anyone with a DSLR can be doing it in no time.  That said, here is the gear list I used:

  • Nikon D300 DSLR
  • Tamron XR Di II 17-50mm f/2.8 lens
  • Nikon SB-800 Speedlight (with diffuser cap)
  • Nikon SB-600 Speedlight (with diffuser cap)
  • Yongnuo RF-602 wireless flash trigger and 2 receivers
  • generic light stand with swivel flash bracket umbrella holder
  • basic tripod

The Yongnuo trigger and receivers only need to be setup once ever, which just involves setting them all to the same channel.  The trigger just attaches right to the DSLR's hotshoe and works automatically.  So that takes care of getting the two strobes to work remotely.

Setting them up just means screwing them onto the swivel flash bracket on the light stand and the tripod plate.  For positioning, that depends on the angle of composition, the background elements, etc, but mostly I put the light stand at that height above and down onto the subject and the tripod at eye level to the subject in front or to the side.  So that takes care of the physical aspect of the lighting.

Both strobes need to be setup manually, as the trigger/receivers do not work with any TTL modes.  Put each strobe into its Manual Mode and then select the power, which often is 1/2 power for the strobe on the light stand and 1/4 power for the strobe on the tripod, though of course the power setting is greatly dependent on how much available light there is and the distance the strobe is from the subject.  Sometimes I use much less power.  Now all the lighting is setup.

All that's left to do is get the settings dialed in on the DSLR.  For the above shot I used: 

  • Manual exposure
  • f/5.6
  • ISO 400
  • 1/60th
  • WB - sunny
  • RAW + JPG mode 

Again, these settings vary wildly based on available light.  The sun was already set by the time this shot was setup, thus I used a larger aperture than normal (usually f/8 of f/11 for such a shot) and a slower shutter speed and a bit higher ISO (normally I always use the lowest ISO).  I did not want to use any larger aperture than f/5.6 because I wanted to make sure both people were in sharp focus and to be able to get background elements in some detail.  I did not use a slower shutter speed because I know I can handhold 1/60th no problem, but any slower might introduce blur because of my shakiness or the couple's.  Thus, I increased ISO to 400 so I could maintain the aperture and shutter speed limits I wanted to.

Finished shot edited in Aperture 3, Color Efex Pro 3 and Photoshop CS5

Tradewinds on St. Pete Beach Sunset Wedding

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Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/8 ISO 200 1/160th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedWhen photographing a wedding on a beach, such as this one at Tradewinds St. Pete Beach, there are many factor's out of the photographer's control.  First and foremost of course is the sun, and how bright or not bright it is that afternoon, as well as the number of beach-goers wondering around in the background.  So it is not too often that everything comes together as perfectly as can be reasonably expected as it did for Jennifer and John's beach wedding, i.e. brilliant but manageable sunlight and a near empty beach.

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe Tradewinds Resort is also a good beach wedding location because of its nearby sea grass-covered sand dune, which is my preferred background for the after-ceremony formal portraits, as at that time the sun is usually still too powerfully backlighting the water.  

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250thJennifer and John had a very above average number of guests for a beach wedding, which made the big group shot a particular challenge.  I am actually not entirely satisfied with how this shot come out.  There was no point in using my two strobes as they could not light such a long line of people, so I had to rely on the sun to help me out.  People's instinct in group shots is to curl themselves into a semi-circle.  My want was for a very straight, if not slightly convex line to be formed.  This would allow sunlight to evenly light all the people.  Despite several minutes of asking everyone to keep backing up and trying to put them in place, I apparently was not strong enough in my prodding as the people on the right side of the shot are still too much in cross-shadow.  I tried!  That would be the Don Cesar Resort in the far background.

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/8 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 to left & SB-600 to rightAfter the big group shot and the many wedding party shots, at last it was just Jennifer, John and I along with the sun and Gulf of Mexico.  There were not gale force winds that evening, the veil is being held by a bridesmaid (photo secret).  

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/8 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 off camera to left & SB-600 to rightThe blues were very vidid that sunset, and there were just enough clouds to make the sky interesting.  To me, I think a kissing portrait looks best when the couple is not actually quite kissing.  An actual kiss squishes faces in an unflattering way.  That's why I ask couples to keep their lips slightly apart or only just touching.  Jennifer and John did a great job with their almost-kissing form.

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 to left and SB-600 to rightJennifer really like the lacy bamboo canopy setup for their wedding ceremony, requesting a shot of her alongside what I hope is an artificial (or previously long-lived) starfish.  This was a bit tricky to light as she was in shadow under the canopy and the sunset was dancing on her shoulder.  This is where experience counts as I was able to properly position my two strobes (one on a light stand the other a tripod) in time as the sunset is on its own timetable.  

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 to frame right & SB-600 to frame left this timeI had already packed up nearly all of my photo gear.  Jennifer and John were strolling back toward the Tradewinds.  Then I noticed the fantastical violet and reds of the twilight sky that had formed after the sunset.  My arranged photography time was finished and fulfilled.  I had no more official photography duties.  However, I knew as a photographer I could not pass up such a background and beckoned for J & J to come back pointing at the sky.  I quickly got my gear back out and setup before the sky had time to change its mind, and was able to produce the above shot, and got the moon overhead as well.  See that empty beach?  Such a shame to have such few witnesses to a wonderful Florida evening. 

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    • Big Family Candid Beach Portraits at Tradewinds Resort St. Petersburg

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    A Charlie's Angels inspired portrait on the beach at Tradewinds Resort St. Petersburg 

    Marillee's big family were all going to be in the same spot, St. Petersburg, Florida for just a few days.  Fortunately my schedule matched theirs and we were able to meet at the Tradewinds Resort for my biggest to date candid family beach portrait photography session.  There were eleven immediate family members and a few other friends of the family who lived locally as well.  Only one of these people was not yet old enough to drive, so managing so many people in a finite time (before sunset) to produce the best possible candid portraits was still a challenge, but not an overwhelming one.

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens natural lightAs is usually the case, the family only had a few requests, and left all the other shots up to me.  One request they did have was the above photograph of all of them, save for the baby, wearing their sunglasses.  

    The ever popular nowadays group jumping portrait on Tradewinds Resort beachWhile I had them all standing next to each other along the water they were very up for my suggestion of a group jumping shot.  However, getting all 10 people to jump at the same time was only a modestly successful venture due to differences in vertical leap and desire to touch the sky!

    Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8 natural light processing in Color Efex Pro 3 (tonal contrast filter)The action shots continued as I asked the brothers to show me who had the fastest forty time.  I would judge the results in this photograph to be unofficial as a good bit of tom-foolery was present at the start of the race, which is not unexpected in any form of brotherly competition.

    Portrait Tip: have a shy person engage with the others in the portrait instead of stiffly looking into the cameraWhile the brothers recovered from their sprints, I had the matriarch and patriarch of the family take up with the apple of their eyes, their lone precocious grandson.  Note the tip in the footnote of the photo.  If some one cannot just relax looking into the lens, the next best thing I find is to have them interact with the others in the portrait to at least get a natural expression, if not their entire face showing.

    Nikon D300 Tamron XR Di II 17-50mm f/2.8 lens B&W processing in Silver Efex ProOne final shot of the entire family in a panorama crop.  If you want to be able to see the faces of 11 people better in a group shot, cropping to a panorama orientation does the trick.  I also think it is very pleasing for a portrait to only include the upper torsos of a group of people.  

    Photo Tip #2 -- Use the youngest as a prop! He won't mind and everyone else will enjoy it.If you cannot get a toddler to stand still, well then hold him up!  There was just no getting all the ladies in the family to be composed and the family toddler as well.  So I asked if they could all hold him together, which resulted in lots of laughs for everyone involved and to me a quintessential candid portrait.