Manual Flash

I prefer to manually set and adjust the light/power output of my flash units.  In static portrait situations, where the distance between the subject and the lights doesn’t change much, I get very consistent flash exposures and color from shot to shot.  TTL is great for fast-paced photography (i.e. event photography) but I prefer manual control if there’s time to take a few test shots as I dial-in each light to achieve the effect I want.  And once the power settings on those lights are set, I can be confident that a series of looks and poses will turn out well.

Setting up Manual remote flash triggering using an external flash trigger:

• Set flash to Manual (M) mode
• Set flash to Slave mode (radio preferred)
• Check Channel & Group settings, example…
  • Channel “1”
  • Group “A”
• Set flash power (e.g. ⅛ power)
• Check trigger Mode, Channel, and Group settings