Setting the "MM" on your wireless flash

[MyKey]

I have been so busy lately I have not had time to sit down and do what I love, share and learn with others.

So with that said, the other day while shooting a wedding a shot developed which I felt would somewhat show you the effects of changing the MM settings on your wireless flash. On your flash units (both Canon and Nikon) you can adjust the MM settings of the flash, this works much like the MM on your lens with the lower the number the wider the output of light will be and of course the higher the number the tigher or more "snoot" effect the flash will have.

So with that said here are three of roughly the same images taken at three different MM settings with the wireless flash.

The Master/Commander flash unit was turned off to flash and only on to transmit the signal so the only flash you see in the images is from our wireless unit which exposed the bride.

24mm (Note how much of the back wall is seen but nothing very bright, the flash simply did not have enough output to expose everything well.



70mm (Note how you can start to see the outline of the flash "circle" on the wall and the bride is getting brighter



105mm (Note the bed in front of the bride and the bride herself is nice and bright, almost as if I did a dodge and burn effect around her in Photoshop.) Effective if the light is placed correctly!



These settings are ones which the MASTER/COMMANDER CAN NOT adjust so it must be done mannually on the wireless flash when shooting.

I hope it helps you understand the true power of wireless flash shooting and why I love teaching our workshops and using them so much.

So much power most of us never even use!

[xseption]

Thanks! I found those settings by accident and I wondered what use I could make of them.

Now I know!

[blatallic]

This is good to know....Im going to check my flash out and see what tricks I can do...

[AndrewCCM]

Good visual tip.

[cmalana]

The 'zoom' setting on the flashes can almost be thought of as a virtual 'snoot' for the flashes. It's another manual variable that can be controlled on the flash, in addition to flash power.

Another good tip is that ISO also affects the relative flash power. If you want to extend range of the flash, a higher ISO will also help (and decrease the amount of power needed from the flash - allowing faster recharge).

[rott]

I'm regretting I bought the 420 now; no manual zoom on that guy.

I've used this technique before, I think, accidentally.

Great tips! Thanks! Soon as I get paid, I'm getting your DVD.

[SaSha]

Up until I bought my first SB-800 I never knew flashes had a zoom feature. When I put the diffuser on the flash I heard it hum...it was adjusting itself for the diffuser.

Excellent photo and illustration of what can be done with the MM setting.

[ngoduyviet]

Thanks for the example shots. Easy to understand.

[123canon]

wow! just when you think you know your equipment something jumps out and bites you on the butt!! thanks for taking the time to share!

[guitarbug]

Hey, no fare! I had to attend you're workshop to learn that! lol.. Great tip & good visual. Thanks Mike.

[jagphoto]

Thanks so much for sharing!

[haraki74]

Mike,

Thanks for this. As one who learns best visually, the samples really help.

[PeteQ]

Just one note for Nikon users on this. The Nikon diffuser provided with your SB-800 will automatically drive your flash to the 14mm position as it assumes that you are looking for the widest dispersion since you are using the diffuser cap. The clear wide angle adapter that flips down also drives the zoom to the 14-17mm setting.

800 users, give it a try and let us know if you can manually zoom the flash with the diffuser on or if it is deactivated or tries to zoom back to 14mm.

[Redmouse]

The diffuser flipper thingy will always lock the flash at the widest setting. On both the SB-800 and the 580s.

[Daylon]

So in summation, set to lower mm if you need a broad beam to use as a fill light, higher mm if you need distance or want to emphasize a particular subject, but make sure that you point the flash directly at them for best results with the higher mm settings?