As photographers we are all trained to hate the flash, but in some situations it is necessary.
We wedding warriors are forced to make gorgeous photos in dim churches, super dark reception halls, and quite often the outdoors just do not cooperate in terms of providing wonderful light. We turn to our speedlights for assistance, unhappily, but with a few bits of insider knowledge we can take those bright and awful bursts of light and turn them into something wonderful.
Today's entry features some general information on which batteries to choose for your speedlight. I currently shoot with a Canon 580EX II, but these tips can be applied to just about any speedlight of your choice.
Recently I discovered that using a P-E4 battery pack can greatly reduce the refresh time on my speedlight. Nothing is worse than missing shots waiting on that little red light to turn on again! If you are internet savvy you can find them for around $20 online. They hold 8 batteries and greatly increase the rate at which you can get shots, and for an antsy wedding party ready to get their groove on this can be a lifesaver.
Inside your speedlight and battery pack you need some batteries, and the general consensus is that the Eneloop lithium rechargeable batteries are the best. They are a little more expensive to get started out with, but after three uses they completely pay themselves off. They retain their battery life much longer than other rechargeables. (They look really cute, too.)
I hope these tips for getting better flash refresh have been helpful, and I will have more information to come.
My Gary Fong diffuser arrived in the mail today and I am very curious to see how it holds up! It looks absolutely hilarious, but if it can give me some great lighting than I am more than happy to look like an idiot who strapped a margarine cup to my speedlight.
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