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Prybis

Flashes

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Does anyone use off camera flashes to take photos of there flies? I am thinking of getting another flash to use wirelessly off camera. My camera is the Sony A57. I have one Sony HVL-F20AM flash and one Sony HVL-F42AM flash. My thought is to get another F42AM flash. Using the f20am on camera with the 2 f42 am off camera. Not sure if this is a good idea or not. Thanks for the help.

 

Mike P.

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Both flashes you have are wireless capable.I would use them both off camera and let the cameras built in flash trigger them but you could get by with just one flash.

The HVLF42 is a powerful flash.You could use it wireless on 1/32 and use a white foam board as a reflector and that would be more than enough flash.

You are going to be shooting close up so too much flash will be hard to control.I use a HVL36am sometimes and i use a white piece of nylon over the flash head to diffuse it.Works pretty good.

Your camera does have TTL so i would take advantage of it.Let the camera set the output and your photos should be lit great.

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For fly photography I use the macro setting on my camera, and mount my camera on a tripod. A felt backdrop minimizes reflection from the background. For lighting (I shoot in a nearly dark room) I mount an LED video light around ten inches behind and slightly above my camera so the light shines just over the top of the camera. I made an adjustable bracket to hold the light out of an aluminum yardstick. My LED light has adjustable brightness and temperature. Since the light stays on (not activated by the camera) my camera is set up to keep the shutter open for 0.5 to 1.5 seconds. This creates as much depth-of-field as possible. I don’t have my notes in front of me so can’t tell you the camera and light settings I use - but you’d have to learn what works best for you anyway. Google “LED video light” to see what’s out there.

 

IMG_0759.jpg

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I would highly recommend off camera flash or another off camera light source. If you have the right setup I would suggest getting all of your flashes off of your camera. I use 2 wireless flashes through a diffuser. If you're just going to focus on flies, you can pick up an inexpensive online tabletop diffuser box and it will really help the quality of the light. Same things people use for taking photos for products on ebay.

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