Making Something Out Of Nothing: The Boardroom Shot

There is nothing more challenging that trying to make an interesting photograph in a boardroom….
On this particular day, I had to photograph William Stanley of Atlantic Hydrogen at the office as he was coming through town. Normally we would have gotten him with some of the company’s technology, but all that is in Fredericton and it wasn’t possible.
So, I get to shoot him in our board room. Great.

So at the very least I pull out the flash umbrella kit, and do a nice simple portrait.

Since he had a few minutes, I decided to see what else I could come up with, so I threw a flash on a chair behind him and pointed it at the wall and voila!

Hey, that’s a funky background that works! The glow behind him sort of ties in to the idea of power, and the arms of the chair provided those interesting shadow lines. So now I need to add some light to his face to bring him out. So I throw a snoot on my main flash, and do a test.

Okay, so I need to bring the flash in closer! But wait, where did my background light go?
Oh yeah, I’m trying to do this using the Canon wireless system, which needs line of sight between the flashes so they will fire! I try lots of different options,

including bouncing the flash(above) but even that doesn’t work! Of course the only way it will fire is if I point the flash directly him, which ruins the entire effect!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!

So what do I do?

Run to my desk and pull out my trusting NIKON SB-800 to save the day! (sorry, too lazy to do a funny illustration with a cape…)

It’s built in OPTICAL SLAVE will pick up ANY FLASH firing, so the Canon flash gets the heave-ho(not really, it’s the Telegraph’s of course…) and I set my Nikon SB-800 to SU4 mode and it works perfect!

The moral of the story? Buy a Nikon SB-800 as an secondary flash and life will be good! Unfortunately Nikon has discontinued the SB-800 and replaced it with the just as good, but more expensive SB-900.

Want to make sure you get all the latest posts and info? Subscribe!

Noel Chenier
———-
Photographer and teacher
Connect with Noel on INSTAGRAM or TWITTER or via EMAIL
Photography Assignment Generator Apps now available on the app store!
Noel’s Portfolio
Work Done by My Students!

`More Photo Tips`

Some Friday the 13th Themed Photo Tips! March 9, 2015 HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13th!Here are some ideas for taking some spooky themed photographs. (42)
Canada Games Athletes-Golfer Jennifer Armstrong July 25, 2009Today’s Canada Games Athlete portrait is of golfer Jennifer Armstrong. This was actually the first shoot done for this series. I shot her at the Riverside Golf and Country Club where she is a member. So the first day of shooting, the weather was overcast and spitting rain a tiny …
Tips for great Halloween Photographs October 26, 2015Since Halloween is upon us, here are some tips on how to get some great photographs of pumpkins, costumes, and trick or treating! (533)
How To Take Great Photos Of Snowblowing and Shovelling January 2, 2016Snow. It’s a fact of life in Canada. Each winter, Canadians are subjected to hundreds of inches of white stuff that needs to be moved out of the way. And with each snowstorm, we get all bundled up, trudge out into the winter wasteland, and fire up the snowblower/pick up …
Ask Noel:Do I Need To Buy A Light Meter?
February 2, 2016Mike P asks: “Are hand-held light meters still useful? Should I invest in one?” When photography first began, camera’s didn’t have built in meters. You had to buy a hand held device, called a light meter, which would give you the correct settings. As technology improved, companies began to install …