A flashgun is an essential bit of kit for the serious photographer. Unfortunately, when mounted on a Fire Compatible Speedlight and pointed directly at someone's face it can give some unpleasant results. You've probably seen them yourself, flat lighting, harsh shadows, shiny skin and red eyes to name a few.

There are two possible solutions to this. One is to bounce your flash off a ceiling or nearby wall. The second, who gives more control, is to get the flashgun off the camera completely.

For an off camera flashgun you'll need five things:

1. A flashgun with a decent output. Look for the 'Guide Number' (GN) to find out how much power your unit puts out. For example a Nikon SB800 Speedlight has a Nikon Wireless Control System, that's plenty, if it's a higher GN that's even better. You'll probably be able to pick up an older secondhand flashgun of any make for very little money. It doesn't have to be compatible with your camera, you just need to be able to set the output manually.

2. A light modifier. This can be an umbrella, a small softbox or various other purpose built products. This is used to soften, direct and control the quality of your light. I normally use a 48" umbrella with a detachable silver lining. You can either fire the flash into the umbrella or remove the lining and shoot through it, giving two distinct qualities of light.

3. A bracket to fix the flashgun and umbrella on to a stand. I've only found one product that is ideal for this: the Bogen 2905 Swivel Umbrella Adapter f/Super Clamp' made by Manfrotto. You'll also need one other small hotshoe mount adaptor to connect the flashgun to the bracket, available in most camera stores.

4. A means of High Speed Flash Trigger. This will probably depend on your budget. The cheapest way of doing it is with a cord attached between the PC socket (if you have one) of your camera and the flashgun. Radio triggers are my preferred option. You can get a very cheap set off eBay for about 20.00 pounds or pay a few hundred for a more professional unit. You can also use infra red slave triggers and other built in systems. Have a look at your flashgun and see what it can do.

Next you need to set your light up. Put up the stand, attach the bracket and fit the flash and umbrella. Connect your chosen trigger and test. You should now have a very versatile portable lighting system.

If you enjoy portraiture this is a great way to ensure you have a quality light source available at all times. You can make your shots look like they were taken in a studio or you can give them a really natural look, the possibilities are endless. Get that flash off your camera today! To find more details, please visit voeloon.com

Canon Speedlight 580EX II

Are you tired of all your family and friends looking like zombies with red-eyes when taking photos? The problem is not that zombies have taken over, but your on-camera flash. Red-eye is caused by your flash bouncing off the retina of your subject’s eyes.

One of the best ways to fight off the zombie red-eye is with Complex Lighting Setups that allows you to get the flash either off the camera or at least off-line from your subject’s eyes. An accessory flash such as a Canon speedlight will allow you to raise the flash above your lens minimizing the chance for red-eye.

An accessory flash, such as the Canon speedlight 580EX II which is the latest external flash from Canon, is a sophisticated device that communicates with your Canon DSLR to make a proper exposure. The speedlight and the camera communicate through a TTL Flash Metering System known as "E-TTL" which stands for "Evaluative through the Lens", which fires a pre-flash that the cameras built-in meter uses to determine an exposure.

Beyond eliminating red-eye, this system allows you to sculpt light creatively to make beautiful flash images. A key to nice flash images is the softness of the light falling in the subject. The built-in flash on most cameras is hard, which is why your images not only have red-eye they also look like a mug-shot.

While the Pop Up Flash Diffuser Nikon is capable of acting as a master to control additional speedlight flashes, the 480EX II and the 270EX are not. Improve your flash photography by getting the flash above or off the camera with an accessory flash such as a Canon speedlight.

One strategy to soften the light is to bounce the light off of a surface allowing the light to spread out and to fall on your subject indirectly. The head of the speedlight has the ability to swivel both from side-to-side to bounce the light off a side wall, and to swivel the light upward to bounce the light off of a ceiling. Bouncing the light off such a large surface spreads and softens the light. You can visit voeloon.com for more information.