Speedlight hidden in the fridge and triggered wirelessly

Once you take your speedlights out for a walk and shoot photos outside, even if you don’t go further than your own garden, then you will feel the need for wireless flash triggers such as radio remotes. Yes, they open up a whole new world of lighting. But these hot babies also might burn a hole into your wallet. Before you reach really deeeeeeep into your “Pocket“ and invest in “Wizards” of the well known brands you should have a look at the alternatives. You really should.

It’s Thursday again so I’d like to share with you a little treasure that I discovered this week. If you are using Speedlights then you wil want to know how to use them 100% reliable.  And I found a little eBook that masterfully answeres exactly that need. As good as this is for you, for me that’s a tradgedy,

Sasha and Linxi posing for bodyscapes, lightened with speedlights. We wrapped the Chinese models in christmassy, kitchy red giftwrap. That caters for a strong contrast in many respects and a sort of crossover between the eastern and the western culture.

If I got the chance to shoot some awesome bodyscapes but I don’t have a striplight with me – should I let this chance just pass? Dude, no way!

When I was young, I’ve seen MacGyver on TV. Give that dude a ballpoint pen and a chewing gum and he will manufactor the wildest things out of it. A bomb, a laser or whatever he needs on his quest. So in situtation where I need a striplight but I just don’t have one I will ask myself: What would MacGyver do?

Linxi, Sasha and Ajiao posing under the speedlight in a simple hotel room

One of the rather dramatic beauty lighting setups is the one where light comes soft but directed right from above the model. That’s the light which makes a colorful punk hairdo really glowing. However, in the video below I use it for a slightly different purpose: It throws dramatic light onto my model and at the same time it lets the rest of the dizzy hotelroom that we are shooting in sink into dark black shade.  Ain’t that handy?

Linxi posing between shower curtain and rimlighting speedlight

Would you like to give your bodyscapes the edge? With some deliniation light? This video is a little add-on to my previous video regarding how to use a showercurtain as a softbox for photoshoots.

How many large, body sized softboxes do you usually have with you, when you are on a trip in a foreign country? 5? Two? One? … None? Not a single softbox in your check in luggage? OK, no problem.
 

Last time while visiting Beijing, I noticed that a new model joined our Chinese modelling online forum. Her name is Amelia.