How can I trigger a manual optical-slave flash from a TTL flash without misfires from the pre-flash?
Asked 12/16/2016
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I want to use a TTL flash as my main light and trigger a separate manual studio flash as a hair light. The manual flash is in optical slave mode, but it fires too early because it reacts to the TTL pre-flash instead of the main exposure flash.
Is there any way to make this work without buying a dedicated TTL receiver or other specialist trigger?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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If your manual flash has a second (or third) slave mode, often called "S2" (or "S3"), that will ignore the first pre-flash from your TTL flash you can set it to "S2" (or "S3") and see if that solves your problem. A few manual flashes will have an adjustable delay that can be used to do the same thing. If your manual flash has neither of these capabilities then your only other option without buying anything else is to use the TTL flash in manual mode so that it does not emit a pre-flash.
In general manual flash is preferred over TTL flash for studio work because it can be more consistently applied from shot to shot.
Your subject may be wearing dark clothing and have a very light complexion. The same subject may then change into a lighter outfit. If you're using TTL flash then the TTL system is going to alter the output to make the lighter outfit the same brightness as the darker one which will cause the subjects skin tones to be exposed darker as well. Or you may have two or more models with lighter or darker skin tones and clothing. The way you arrange them in the frame will change the way the TTL system calculates exposure and your results will not look consistent.
The preflash from a TTL system, particularly if multiple groups are used, could also close your subjects pupils down which is often not desirable.
TTL flash is really intended for situations where the photographer doesn't have as much control over every aspect of the lighting, of the subjects, and of the situation. A party, for instance, where people are moving around in dim light and where the shooting distances are changing rapidly from shot-to-shot.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
9y ago
0
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Yes, sometimes. Check whether the manual flash has an optical slave mode such as S2 or S3. Those modes are designed to ignore the first TTL pre-flash and fire on the main flash instead. Some flashes also offer an adjustable slave delay that can do the same job.
If your manual flash does not have a pre-flash-ignore mode, then the simplest no-extra-cost solution is to put the TTL flash into manual flash mode, which eliminates the metering pre-flash.
If you want to keep TTL on the main flash, an ordinary optical slave on the second flash may not work reliably. In that case, you would typically need some kind of trigger/receiver setup rather than optical slave triggering.
For studio work, many photographers prefer using manual flash for all lights because it stays consistent from shot to shot, while TTL can vary with changes in subject tone, clothing, or composition.
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