How many flashes do u think I would require for travell photography?

[adambacker]

<p>Hi,<br />I am a passionate photographer who is into travell photography and I've been into photography for the last 5 years. My subjects involve Nature, Lanscapes, Still Life, Potraits (People whom I meet during travel), real life, documentary etc etc...In short what ever that comes in front of eyes during travel I just capture it. I would like to know, <strong>1)</strong> <strong>How many flashes do you have ? ,2) What is the level importance you give them?...3) Do you think a dedicated triggering system like PW- FlexTT5 & MiniTT is required? , </strong>I have got a Canon 580 EX II, with Seculine remote trigger.The problem is that I can shoot with the flash in manual only, and not ETTL.<br>

I bought my flash 3 months back, and It was last week I tried a real portrait shoot with my friends, which I have posted in my blog <a href="http://www.adambacker.blogspot.com">www.adambacker.blogspot.com</a>. I would appreciate if you can view them and give me comments.<br>

My Present Kit:<br />Canon 5D M2, Canon 7D, Canon 50mm f1.8 II. Canon 85mm f.18 USM, Canon 17-40 f4 L IS USM EF, Canon 24-104 f4 L IS USM EF, Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS USM EF<br />Looking forward to read you views and opinions<br>

<strong>my website</strong> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.adambacker.com/" target="_blank">www.adambacker.com</a> & <strong>my blog</strong> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.adambacker.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">www.adambacker.blogspot.com</a>)</p>

[matthijs]

Since you ask...

 

1. Pop-up and studio.

 

2. Small.

 

3. I use wire more often than wireless. (macro for fun)

 

Probably I'm not the one to ask.

 

Kind regards, Matthijs.

[dave_holland]

<p>Put all your stuff in a bag. Then carry it for a day. Then come home, tired and hungry. How much of what you carried did you use? Remember that storage of unused equipment can be a problem when you are traveling, and so there is vested interest in efficient travel. You've got too much stuff to travel far with it.<br>

If you want to travel with off-camera flash, then I would take your 7D and use it's optical trigger to fire your 580, and you retain ETTL. That way you can leave some of the extra triggering gear at home.</p>

[dan_south]

<p>1. Three. I just took a big trip and left all three flash units at home. Not once did I miss them.</p>

<p>2. I don't understand the question. They work when I need them to. I just don't always need them.</p>

<p>3. Required? No. Are the HELPFUL? Sure, they can be depending on what you're trying to do.</p>

<p>Rule Number One: Don't travel with gear that you don't understand thoroughly.</p>

<p>P.S. I just called Miss Cleo, and she said that the link to your blog is about to get whacked.</p>

[fmueller]

<p>1. One (420ex with ST-E2)<br>

2. Important for my aquarium photography, left at home when I travel.<br>

3. Depends on what you want to do.</p>

<p>I like to travel light, which is also why I prefer a Rebel over the heavier cameras. You have a fantastic set of gear, but I wouldn't want to carry that heavy stuff around all day as it is - let alone ad several flash units.</p>

[pictureit]

<p>Hello.<br>

My subjects are similar to yours, Travel Portraiture, Environmental Portraiture etc. I travel with one 580ex, and an St-E2, but use these only to balance with available daylight. I find that using flash in all portrait situations is s great help in adding "punch" to a subject and filling in eye socket shadows, hat rim shadows etc. Normally shoot with Camera in Manual mode, getting exposure using available light and using flash for fill in, thereby balancing tones in extreme conditions, mid-day sun etc. I agree with other posters, only carry what you're definately going to use, leave the rest at home, your shoulders and back will thank you.</p>

 

[JDMvW]

<p>Oh lord, this post just made me realize that I don't have a single old East German flash!</p>

<p>Now I'll have to try to find some, somewhere.</p>

<p>I've got a passel of old manual flashes, guide numbers and all, but the only freestanding Canon flash I carry is a 430EX, but I've never actually used it except to test that it worked.</p>

<p>I'm afraid I sympathize a little with Henri Cartier-Bresson, who said</p>

<blockquote>

<p>And no photographs taken with the aid of flash-light either, if only out of respect of the natural light - even when there isn't any of it. Unless a photographer observes such conditions as these, he may become an intolerably aggressive character.</p>

</blockquote>

[anthony_zipple]

<p>For travel, unless you have someone to manage your gear, less is more. One flash like a 580 or 420 will suffice for most things. And if it is not enough, then do without. If you want to carry a lot of gear and worry about equipment breakdowns, a spare flash that mostly sits in your luggage is not a bad idea. However, a spare body is even more important than a spare flash... and a tripod is really useful for low light work.</p>

[anthony_zipple]

<p>I meant a 430, not a 420. Clumsy typing!</p>

[peter_j2]

<blockquote>

<h1><strong>How many flashes do u think I would require for travell photography?</strong></h1>

 

</blockquote>

<p>None.<strong><br /></strong></p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>For modern EOS DSLRs - 3 flashes (plus about 6 for older film bodies 35mm and MF)<br>

Medium importance to me<br>

I use wireless triggering with the DSLRs and Canon flashes but often use cables</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>For modern EOS DSLRs - 3 flashes (plus about 6 for older film bodies 35mm and MF)<br>

Medium importance to me<br>

I use wireless triggering with the DSLRs and Canon flashes but often use cables</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>3 EOS dedicated flashes plus about 6 - 8 for old film systems 35mm and MF<br>

Flash is fairly important<br>

I use wireless quite often but will also use cables</p>

[richard_oleson]

<p>There may have been a time when I traveled with a flash, but I can't recall ever having done it.</p>

[pturton]

<p>1. 9 or 10 that I use occasionally<br>

2. 5%<br>

3. no<br>

With my Canon 10D through 1D4 bodies, flash is the last resort to me. A tripod, other support or high ISO give me the results I want when light is low. My kit contains eight f/2.8 or wider lenses.</p>

[Ian Taylor]

<p>I just spent 2 months in Bangladesh shooting under some tough conditions. I used the new Flex and Mini PWs along with one 580EX2. I also had an umbrella, a Fong diffuser and a reflector. (white/silver). I also had a STE2 to dial power up and down on the 580. Worked very well.<br>

I was working for some big NGOs, so I had assistants when I needed, but not always a lot of time.<br>

I found this lightweight combo could get me out of most situations. Few samples:<br>

Handheld 580 with diffuser:<br>

http://iantaylor.ca/junkies.jpg<br>

Flash with Fong diffuser in the dark corner of the hut:<br>

http://iantaylor.ca/rangpur2.jpg<br>

Handheld flash hitting subject from 45 degrees. No diffuser:<br>

http://iantaylor.ca/haor.jpg<br>

Handheld coming in from other side of hut:<br>

http://iantaylor.ca/hut.jpg<br>

580 with shoot thru umbrella:<br>

http://iantaylor.ca/care.jpg</p>

[marc_felber1]

<p>From my experience you will not need a flash for nature photogrphty. Using a flash causes more problems than it's worth. Flash makes the colors of birds look fake, and the eyes purple. I use a high ISO setting plus, I use Ev +1, 2 or 3. Noise is not a problem with 1d or 1ds. Some bird viewing spots don't even allow flash especially in Ecuador.</p>

[steven_crist]

<p>For your stated shooting no flash is needed. Do you really think for portraits of people you meet on the street they are going to stand while you set up multiple lighting? You lose all spontaneity. Your 7D has a built-in flash so that will suffice indoors in low light. Travel light and shoot a lot. </p>

[jim_krupnik]

<p>One 580EXxx strobe with a few creative light modifiers, and a basic set of velcro attached gels to mix and match lighting balance will expand your creative horizons a great deal over settling for purely natural lighting. I use many strobes for work, but just one in my pocket with something like the ABBC bounce card, and a wad of Velcro tabbed gels in my other pocket really opens up an entire new world of lighting control when I'm traveling light. It is not a limitation at all, daylight or darkness. It will allow you to simply do more....</p>

<p>And yes, it is just as important on a camera like the G9, as it is on a full DSLR to be able to control lighting. Usually, I illustrate my posts with images shot with the G9 and a 580EXxx strobe with a bounce card. In this case, the G9 was chosen as the subject, and shot with a 50D, EF-S 60 f/2.8 macro, and the MT-24EX Speedlite. Set up your 580EXxx with Velcro, and you own your lighting world. Gels are anywhere from free to cheap, and you should get comfortable using them.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

<p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3367/4573341024_09a5b353a8.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333" /></p>