Dog Photography | Using Flash Duration to Freeze Motion

Posted on 21 February 2020 | By Flash

Today Jeff Carpenter talks about "Flash duration", what it is and how you can use it to "freeze" movement.
Many new photographers wonder if they need a studio flash with High-Speed Sync, and yes, HSS can make many situations more accessible. However, I have never come across a problem where it was necessary to use it.

Many new photographers wonder if they need a studio flash with High-Speed Sync, and yes, HSS can make many situations more accessible. However, I have never come across a problem where it was necessary to use it.

In this series, I will show you a few ways to create the same effect as with HSS when you think you need it.

Firstly, what is the flash duration? The flash duration is the length of time the light is emitted from a studio flash unit. Simply put, it is the length of time a studio flash emits light for a single burst Learn more about flash duration and IGBT technology.

I'll show you a short demonstration of how to flash duration works with my dogs Raven and Wesley.

Dog Photography | Using Flash Duration to Freeze Motion

ISO 100 | Shutter Speed 250 | Aperture f/8

Einstein E640 studio flashes

I am using two Einstein E640 studio flashes, both of which I set to Action Mode to enable short flash durations. I set my camera to ISO 100 and my shutter speed to 250sec. To set my aperture correctly, I first turned off my flashes and took a series of test shots, adjusting my aperture until the ambient light no longer affected my exposure. In my case, I ended up with f/8.

Turn your flash, back on and adjust the power of the flash to get the right exposure.

On my main light, I have a silver Beauty Dish incl. 30-degree grid and on my backlight I have a 7-inch reflector with a 20-degree grid sometimes with a blue filter.