Minus 2/3 - The Invisible Flash: Crafting Light for Photographers in the Field

193 Pages·2017·23.17 MB·English

by  Gerd Ludwig

Gerd Ludwig
minus 2/3
The Invisible Flash:
Crafting Light for Photographers in the Field
minus 2/3
Gerd Ludwig
gerdludwig.com
Gerd Ludwig is represented by National Geographic Creative and the Fahey/Klein Gallery.
Editor: Jocelyn Howell Project manager: Lisa Brazieal Marketing manager: Jessica Tiernan Layout and
type: Hespenheide Design Cover design: Helmut Kraus, www.exclam.de
ISBN: 978-1-68198-068-3
1st Edition (1st printing, October 2016) © 2016 Gerd Ludwig
All images © Gerd Ludwig Rocky Nook Inc.
1010 B Street, Suite 350
San Rafael, CA 94901
USA
www.rockynook.com
Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services Distributed in the UK and Europe by Publishers Group
UK
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016930699
All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized
in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.
Many of the designations in this book used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are
claimed as trademarks of their respective companies. Where those designations appear in this book, and
Rocky Nook was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. All
product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the
benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. They are not intended to
convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.
While reasonable care has been exercised in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume
no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained
herein or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in China
In memory of Ethan Hoffman
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to Molly Peters, Johanna Renoth, Maxim Ludwig, Maxim Kuznetsov,
Sergey Rezanov, Lauren Greenfield, Lauren Wendle, Douglas and Françoise
Kirkland, and the National Geographic magazine Editors and Photographic Staff
CONTENTS
Introduction
The Icons
Photographs and Descriptions
INTRODUCTION
In early 1989 I was an established photographer married to a photographer with
whom I had a child, our son Maxim, and I found myself at a party of mostly
established colleagues on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. As one would
expect at a party full of photographers, everybody was taking pictures. My friend
Ethan Hoffman was snapping away along with the others, but I noticed
something different about him. He moved with great ease and used his on-
camera strobe * with confidence. I walked over to Ethan, complimented him on
his grace, and confessed that, even with my years of experience, I lacked any
understanding and self-assurance when using a strobe. I had to admit that I had
never taken a successful image with a strobe. Sage-like and full of mystery,
Ethan said to me, “Today, all you need to know is minus 2/3.” At the time, I had
no idea what he meant. I’m sure my face conveyed my confusion because Ethan
offered proof—he took a picture of me with my then-wife and son using the
strobe and promised to send it to me.
© Ethan Hoffman
Later that week, I received a slide in the mail and was totally stunned. How
could a single image, shot with a strobe, be so perfectly exposed? I began
researching the recently introduced through-the-lens (TTL) technology that
Ethan had described to me, which revolutionized flash photography. The process
of TTL is actually very technical, but I’ll offer an abbreviated explanation. The
flash is fired and hits the subject. When the light hits your subject, it then
bounces immediately back to the camera itself, making its way through the lens
where it hits the film plane. The light from the film bounces to a sensor that
measures the light as the exposure builds on the film itself. The sensor and
software then determine when the exposure is sufficient. At this point, the
computer turns off the flash. Remember, this all happens at the speed of light.
Once I had amassed an understanding of this, in theory, I went to the now-
defunct Advance Camera in Manhattan and bought one of the best TTL strobes
on the market to begin putting what I had learned into practice. I soon found that
when using a TTL strobe at its automatic, unadjusted setting, it powers out too
strong of a flash. This gives the image a noticeable and somewhat boring,
intrusive, and excessively strobed “flash” look. Even the first TTL flashes had a
built-in setting to increase or decrease the flash output—that’s when I realized
what Ethan meant when he mentioned minus 2/3.
The human eye has the ability to adjust to varying light intensities—from light to
dark and vice versa—and continue to recognize details. It takes a moment, but
the ability is there. We all know the extreme: when walking from bright daylight
into a dark room, it takes a moment to see the details inside. Photography does
not traditionally afford that same luxury. Though a background may be
beautifully lit with ambient light, the subject in the foreground can be immersed
in shadow. When the background in this sort of situation is properly exposed on
film, the subject in the foreground is silhouetted. Even with today’s digital
technology, opening up the shadows in a RAW file is only possible to a certain
extent, and you cannot achieve the same result as you can when you use a flash.
I used flash in the early days primarily to open up the shadows in an image for
additional detail. I wanted to create an invisible strobe, meaning one that was
unnoticeable, one that didn’t draw attention to the technique behind it. As I soon
discovered, Ethan’s formula of minus 2/3 is an ideal basic setting, one that many
professional photographers feel comfortable with and that allows you to achieve
enough strobe output without creating an overblown “flash” effect.
I quickly began to experiment, reflecting the strobe from the ceiling and
bouncing it off a wall. I also discovered that the general strobe output was cooler
than the ambient light in the situations I photographed. It added a cool, slightly
bluish tint that I didn’t want. This discovery initiated my foray into using gels to
offset the coolness.
Over the years, I learned I could use the flash to add emphasis to specific areas
in an image. I was able to direct the viewer’s attention, create distinction, and
craft more beautiful light, all while keeping the necessary equipment to a
minimum.
Due to the nature of my work for National Geographic , I often carry extensive
luggage (clothing for sub-zero temperatures, protective gear, etc.), so I prefer
lightweight, standard, shoe-mounted flashes. I need to make it as easy as
possible for me to travel and shoot. As a photographer focusing on diverse
cultural and environmental stories, I am often confronted with a wide range of
situations—from classic street photography to portraiture, from scenes in
bustling nightclubs to intimate moments in churches—many of which require
additional, fast, and flexible lighting.
With the advent of digital photography, the TTL technology advanced to E-TTL
(evaluative through-the-lens), which uses a pre-flash (unnoticeable to the naked
eye) to determine the correct flash exposure. As technology improved, it became
possible to detach a flash from the camera’s shoe-mount and maintain
connection via cords that enabled E-TTL technology. This launched a new
chapter in my love affair with experimenting and painting with strobes. The next
step was an infrared transmitter that soon made these cords obsolete. A few
years back, infrared technology was replaced by radio transmission in E-TTL.
Now you can fire off multiple strobes simultaneously with varying intensity and
extremely complicated set-ups (e.g., through walls). This is also known as
“multiple E-TTL flash.”
The purpose of this book, however, is not to describe these multiple strobe set-
ups. My goal is to inspire creative use of these compact units and encourage you
to think outside the box and learn through your own experimentation.
The use of E-TTL flash has changed my photography more than the advent of
digital photography, more than Photoshop, more than autofocus, more than high
ISOs, and more than any other improvement to the medium. Through
experimentation, I have established a reputation of using my flash in new and