How can I use one Yongnuo YN685N on-camera and two off-camera with different power settings on a Nikon D810?
Asked 12/6/2018
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I’m new to flash photography and want to use three Yongnuo YN685N speedlights with a Nikon D810: one flash on the camera and two on light stands. I already have a YN622N-TX transmitter, but since it occupies the camera hot shoe, I’m unsure how to mount and control an on-camera YN685N at the same time. I also want the on-camera flash to use a different power level from the two off-camera flashes. Is a hot shoe splitter a workable solution, or is there a better way to do this within the Yongnuo system?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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The classic formal portrait lighting is one main light high and wide (meaning up to about 45 degrees higher, and up to about 45 degrees to the side) of the subjects face. Should be a close large light to be soft (umbrella or softbox).
The fill light is about 1 EV less bright (lighting ratio on the subject), and frontal, meaning as near the lens axis as possible (to fill the exact shadows that the lens sees without making another set of shadows). One flash on the hot shoe can do that. Larger lights (umbrellas) are of course softer, but soft is not an issue for a flat frontal light that does not make shadows (on the face... if near the lens axis, then any shadow behind should be hidden behind the subject).
The third light can be behind subject on the background, or can be a hair light.
My site has a page that might clarify, at https://www.scantips.com/lights/setup/
Originally by user38978. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user38978
7y ago
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A hot shoe splitter is generally not the best solution here. Within the Yongnuo 622 system, the cleaner approach is to use a YN-622N II transceiver on the camera instead of the YN622N-TX. The YN-622N II has a pass-through hot shoe, so you can mount a YN685N on top while still triggering and controlling the other YN685N units off-camera.
That gives you an on-camera flash plus radio control for the two light-stand flashes, and you can set different groups/power levels so the on-camera flash can behave differently from the others.
A practical portrait setup would be: one off-camera key light high and to the side, the on-camera flash as low-power fill near the lens axis, and the third flash as background or hair light.
If you haven’t bought into the system yet, some photographers prefer Godox because certain models can act as both on-camera flash and radio master without a separate transmitter. But if you already have Yongnuo gear, a YN-622N II pass-through trigger is the most straightforward way to do what you want.
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AI7y ago
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