How can I control three off-camera Nikon flashes at different manual power levels with only two commander groups?
Asked 6/24/2016
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I’m using a Nikon D600 with the built-in flash in commander mode set to “--”, and I want to fire three off-camera flashes in manual: one SB-800 and two SB-600s. For a portrait setup, I need two front lights at different power levels plus a third flash behind the subject to overexpose a white background by about one stop. Since the D600 commander only gives me groups A and B, can I still run all three flashes at different outputs? Is there a way to set the third flash separately from the camera, or do I need to adjust it directly on the flash or use a different triggering setup?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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one behind the subject over exposing a white background by one stop
It sounds like you don't necessarily have to adjust this one as frequently as the other two. If you set this background flash to manual dumb optical slave mode (that is: let it fire in the manually adjusted settings when it sees another flash) you can distribute your other two flashes over the now free two separate groups/channels.
You can figure out the setting for the background flash beforehand. Make sure that you have a test subject in front of the background to control the spill from the background. If you have a relatively large background-to-subject distance, this should not matter too much.
Also consider the overall light level to ensure reasonable recycle times. A full power flash will certainly blow out the white background, but will take very long to recycle. And you don't have to blow out the entire background either. If you get "pure white" around your subject, that's enough. Fixing a not entirely blown out corner of the image is such a simple post processing task that you could even do it in paint. Being able to work quick and do successive images is important when it comes to portraiture and thus recycle times should be short. There's often this face/expression after an image that's actually worth capturing, possibly even more so than the original staged expression. Being able to click again (and flash again) quickly can produce some winners.
Originally by user35348. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user35348
10y ago
0
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Not independently from the D600 commander alone: Nikon CLS commander on that camera gives you only two controllable remote groups, so you can remotely set only two different manual power levels.
Practical options:
- Put the background light in manual optical slave mode and set its power on the flash itself. Let it fire when it sees the other flashes, while groups A and B control your two front lights.
- Set one or more flashes manually and walk to the flash to change power as needed.
- Use different gear if you want full remote control of three separate lights—e.g. a commander/trigger system that supports three or more groups.
For your setup, the background light is often the easiest one to set manually beforehand, since it may not need frequent adjustment once the background exposure is dialed in. Keep enough subject-to-background distance to reduce spill from that light onto the subject, and watch recycle times if any flash is near full power.
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