[6-05] “Speedlight to strobe”

I was surprised to learn, after many years of doing photography as an amateur, that experienced photographers do not rely on constant light.

Maybe in the past: the photographers set up halogen or tungsten bulbs, and I imagined these lights were moved around in the studio and positioned to create the dramatic effect we see in a magazine or fashion images.

This is not the case. A few years ago I saw a video of Annie Leibovitz photographing a guitarist in a hotel. She had an assistant carry a light that only activated whenever she took the image.

A constant light constantly emits light; like the sun, or a light-bulb, it allows us to see things and walk safely in a room.

But photographers rely on flash; a light that is emitted only when the image is taken.

In the past, I suppose flashes were synchronized by wires (now wireless).When a film camera is release, the shutter opens the flash occur while the shutter is completely opened; the flash ends, shutter closes, and voilá, the image was lit—as if the light was always on.

And so it came as a surprise to see professional photographers use flash, not constant light.

Nobody sees the light. One must look at images to examining the lighting pattern.

I began flash with a typical flash, or speed-light, and upgraded to strobes in late 2018.

I now introduce constant light with existing flash set-ups, and my goal to work with both fluidly.