It has been awhile since I have written one of these things but I figured now would be a good time to do so. After planning my own wedding and trying to find a photographer (which I found!! Woohoo! Traci Burke from Traci Burke Photography! Love her! ) and taking pictures for a Friend's daughter's 1 year birthday party; I realized I have been missing something with my portraits and that is some other type of light source besides my pop up flash on my Rebel Xti DSLR Camera especially when taking them outside of a studio setting at certain times of the day when natural light just doesn't work out for you.
So, I started to do some research on either getting a diffuser, reflector, or ring light for my camera. As I am sure other photographers find, half of the time when I need a flash in darker rooms and areas I don't need the direct light or flash as it tends to wash out the subject matter.
The other day, my soon to be husband and I were running errands and I told him about what I was searching for he told me about this External Flash at Target called Targus Electronic Flash. I went ahead and bought it because it was a deal I could not pass up but before I opened to try it out I had to do some research on the brand and what others thought.
Well, most of the reviews said it was just that, a cheap Flash. They continued to read on to not waste your money but I took that as a challenge and for the price I had to test it out for myself just to see what it was like.
I must say I am impressed and glad I took the challenge! I actually like it! It actually turned out not so bad for a $50 flash. I wouldn't pay any more for it though. It does allow you to angle the flash so you can have either direct flash or move it to 3 or 4 different angles including facing the ceiling (which is what I was looking for to begin with). It also seems to work pretty well with my camera. Most reviews read the shoe did not fit with their camera and that it was too light and fell off. Well it has a lock mechanism, so, I jiggled it after locking it into place and it was as snug as if it came with the camera originally. I was also concerned that it would run down the battery of my camera. Which it turned out it does not, as a matter of fact it uses its own battery source (2 AAs to be exact). Yes, the speed of the flash can act up at times but I found it better than the speed of the pop up flash that came with the Rebel Xti originally when it acts up.
Also, after taking a few test shots of a cross hung in a darkened hallway. They turned out pretty well for the price of the Flash. Yes, after you upload you will still have to make a few adjustments in your photo editing software(s) but it is very little compared to the editing you have to do if you do not have an external Flash.
The picture composition I have posted with this blog shows 3 of the angles I tried out with the flash and just tweaked them a little after uploading (each with the same amount of editing so you can see the difference.)
As stated before, each image was taken in a dark hallway with only the light of this external flash. Number 1 is the power of the direct flash from the Targus external flash which you can see washes out the cross. Mind you, to take all three of these I was about 4-5 feet away from the subject matter. Number 2 was taken with the flash facing the ceiling which filled the hallway with enough light to see the cross but still too dark and muddy for my liking without editing it some more. Where as, Number 3 (which is the one I was going for from the three of them) was taken with the flash at a 75 - 60 degree angle and gave it more of a happy medium.
In all, after this tiny test shoot I am pretty impressed for the price and what it has to offer. I will eventually get a Speedlite external flash but I find the Targus is a good starter External Flash. :)
Now all I need is someone willing to be my muse to test this out for portraits! If you made it to the end of this blog and are looking for some portraits either for your portfolio or some nice family portraits for your mantle and are willing to try out my skills ;) Don't be afraid and contact me via email at CreateNovate@gmail.com! I'd love to get together and take your portrait!
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