One of the challenges in the studio when using off camera flash is getting the right balance between light on the background and your subject. I use the "Group" control on my Canon flash system to get the look I want.

For this shot, I used four Canon flashes: two on the backdrop and two for the subject. I set the backdrop flashes to "Group B" and the subject flashes to "Group A". I then used the flash control menu on the Canon 60D to play with the ratios between the two groups. When I want a bright background, the ratio can be as extreme as 8:1. Usually I'm set around 4:1 or 2:1.

By simply changing the settings in the menu on the 60D, I can adjust my lighting scheme without ever moving from the shooting position. If you haven't experimented using Groups this way, give it a try.

More Off Camera Flash Tutorials

If you want to learn more about getting pro results from simple flash units, be sure to check out my Off Camera Flash title on Lynda.com. I show you all sorts of helpful lighting techniques that are especially good for portraits.

Off Camera Flash - Basic Techniques for Pro Results

Light Modifiers for Off Camera Flash

Off Camera Flash - The Single Light Portrait

"More Off Camera Flash" - Digital Photography Podcast 233

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We were heating up Jiffy Pop popcorn (as much fun to make as it is to eat) over a camp fire the other night, and I grabbed my Canon 60D, composed a shot, and captured the moment. It was already dark in camp, and our only real illumination were the coals and occasional flame from the fire.

I love the shot, as much for sentimental reasons, because it captures the feeling of friends and family sitting around a fire, talking about random subjects, and of course eating popcorn. I didn't even have to think about how I was going to make the photograph because I knew my camera can record excellent images up to ISO 3200, and decent ones beyond that.

So I was free to just pick up the 60D, compose, shoot, then put it down and grab a handful of hot popcorn. I never fell out of the moment. High ISO capability makes this easy.

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When you go on a hike to take pictures, you might be thinking photography, but you're also an outdoorsman, whether you want to be or not. You still need to deal with sun exposure, dehydration, and cuts and bruises. And what about being as comfortable as possible while you work?

In this episode, I cover the "10 Essentials" that you should have in your daypack, along with your camera gear. Not only will you be prepared for mishaps, you will have a more enjoyable experience.

The 10 Essentials

• Water (1 liter or more)
• Food (I like Builder's Bars and nuts)
• First Aid Kit (include large gauze pads)
• Sunglasses
• Hat
• Sunscreen
• Matches/Bic Lighter
• Knife
• Map/Compass
• 1/4 roll of TP
• (Solar Blanket)
• Extra Layer (usually wind breaker with hood)
• Lip Balm
• Flashlight (LED's are compact and bright)
• Bandana
• Whistle

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (30 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Smoke is the July 2011 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is July 31, 2011.

TDS Nov. Aperture Workshop

I'm considering adding an Aperture Workshop on Nov. 12th and 13th. If you want your name on the reserve list, or just more information, drop me a line.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- The $7.99 Sample Kit is back! And with free shipping.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography.

Need a New Photo Bag? Check out the Lowepro Specialty Store on The Digital Story and use discount code LP20 to saven 20% at check out.

High ISO performance, sophisticated noise reduction, fast lenses... who needs a tripod for outdoor photography? Well, we all do -- at least some of the time. This waterfall shot at Sugar Loaf State Park required a 4-second exposure at ISO 100. Plus, I had to work from a slightly precarious spot. The only way to steady the camera in that particular location was with a tripod.

I'm the first to admit that this isn't my favorite photo accessory. But when I suspect there might be an opportunity for a dramatic depth-of-field composition, or a long exposure water shot, I'll buckle up a set of sticks.

Having a rig that won't break your back makes this decision a bit easier. For this shot, I used a Giottos VGR9255 that weighs only 3 lbs and a Photo Sport 200 AW that's very comfortable, even with a tripod attached.

For the shot itself, I used a Canon 60D with a EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom. I added a polarizer to allow me more flexibility when stopping down the shutter (because of its 2-stop density), and relied on the self-timer to trip the shutter (so I wouldn't jar the camera). I work in Aperture Priority mode for these types of shots, but Shutter Priority is great too. What you really need to do is get out of Program mode.The shot was processed in Aperture 3.

There were only a handful of other photos recorded with a tripod on this trip. But, I wouldn't have been able to create the images I wanted in those instances otherwise.

Top Photo: Sugar Loaf Waterfall by Derrick Story. Bottom Photo: Lowepro Photo Sport 200 AW by Pat Scheetz. Click on images for larger versions. More images are published on the TDS Flickr site.

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- The $7.99 Sample Kit is back! And with free shipping.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography.

Need a New Photo Bag? Check out the Lowepro Specialty Store on The Digital Story and use discount code LP20 to saven 20% at check out.

I've been testing the Buffalo Cloudstor with an eye toward it helping me better manage my photography content, both in the studio and while on the road. I have good news and bad in this regard. We'll start with a brief overview of the Buffalo network drive and the good.

What Is the Buffalo Cloudstor?

For testing, I purchased a Buffalo Technology CloudStor 2-Bay (1 x 1 TB) Gigabit Ethernet Network Storage CS-WX1.0 for $129. I thought was a great price for a unit that provides Raid 1 mirroring between the drives, network connectivity, and software to make cloud access a snap. To get set up, all I had to do was connect the drive to my Airport base station via the supplied Ethernet cable and turn on the drive. I then registered with PogoPlug (Buffalo's online partner), downloaded the desktop app for my Mac, and spent about a half an hour configuring the set up.

The only problem I had during this process turned out to be my own fault. When I first got the Buffalo, I swapped out the 1 TB drives for a couple of 2 TB drives that I already had. The Cloudstor didn't like them for some reason. But I didn't know that at first. I thought I was having connectivity problems, but in reality, it was the swapped out drives. When I finally figured out to put the original 1 TB drives back in, every thing worked great. Go figure.

Access to My Master Raw Files While on the Road

Even though the Buffalo can perform a variety of cool tasks, such as serving up your iTunes library from afar, I was basically interested in two things. First, I wanted it to store my master Raw files so I would have access to them from anywhere in my studio, and while on the road.

My workflow is that I work with a referenced Aperture library on my MacBook Air while traveling. So I have a hefty library full of thousands of Jpeg previews with me. But every now and then I need the original Raw file, and having those available via the cloud would be handy. Since my Projects in the Aperture library are organized the same way as the referenced file folders on my external drives, finding a master image is a snap.

On average, it took the Buffalo Cloudstor about a minute and a half to download a 27 MB Raw file from a remote location. Not blazing fast, but workable for those times I need a couple masters while on the road. In the studio on the local area network, it was faster.

Using the Cloudstor as a Raw File Backup While on the Road

The second task I was interested in was using the Cloudstor as an image backup device while I'm working on location. Wouldn't it be nice to upload a day's shoot from the hotel and know that all of your Raw files are safe and sound back home? Unfortunately for Raw shooters, the technology just isn't there yet.

I tried a sample shoot of 79 Raw files that totaled about 2 GBs of storage, and uploaded them off the card via my MacBook Air to the Buffalo Couldstor about 6 miles away at my studio.

A 2 GB upload required 2 hours to complete via the cloud.

Even with really good cable Internet access on both ends, the upload took 2 hours. On a normal day's shoot, I rack up between 300 and 600 Raw files, and the Internet connection on the road often isn't nearly as good as what I tested at home. So it's conceivable that the upload would not be finished by the time I got up the next morning, or that the Internet connection would timeout before completion.

The Bottom Line

The Buffalo Cloudstor network drive is a terrific value considering that you get TBs of storage, easy to use software, and all of this capability at a great price. You can use it to share files on your local area network, and better yet, remotely via the Internet.

You can preload it with your master image files by connecting a separate hard drive via the Cloudstor's USB port on the back of the unit, then access those files from anywhere you have an Internet connection. It's not the fastest server on the planet, but it's fine for small batch downloads.

It can also serve as a back-up for traveling photographers, but it's not practical for large batches of big Raw files. If you shoot Jpegs, you'll most likely have a good experience as long as you have good bandwidth.

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For the May '11 Photo Assignment, TDS shooters got their Eco on to create this gallery titled Shades of Green. Monotoned? No way. A visual tour through one of our favorite colors? Yes! And which one will be the SizzlPix Pick of the Month?

The July 2011 assignment is "Smoke." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Member Participation page. Submit your photo assignment picture 800 pixels in the widest direction. Deadline is July 31, 2011.

Please follow the instructions carefully for labeling the subject line of the email for your submission. It's easy to lose these in the pile of mail if not labeled correctly. For example, the subject line for this month's assignment should be: "Photo Assignment: July 2011." Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. And feel free to add any IPTC data you wish (These fields in particular: Caption, Credit, Copyright, Byline), I use that for the caption info.

Photo by David Gary Henry. (Click on it to see enlarged version.) You can read more about how David captured this shot, plus see all of the other great images on the May 2011 Gallery page.

Good luck with your July assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for May.

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Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion. The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

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Here's the problem when you click the new Olympus 12mm f/2.0 prime lens into place on the redesigned E-P3 body: You never want to take it off. Seriously.

I've been testing this combination for a few weeks, and every time I considered switching to the new 14-42mm zoom (which is very nice, btw), I found a reason to keep the 12mm mounted. Actually, there are a number of reasons:

• The 12mm f/2.0 looks amazing against the matte black body of the E-P3. The feel of the machined metal, design of the barrel, and that big objective glass in the front is addicting.
• It focuses fast. Olympus has overhauled the focusing system in the E-P3, and combined with the 12mm lens, the speed is blazing. (Also great with new 14-42mm, once I actually tried it.)
• Sharp. Edge to edge sharpness.
• Wide field of view. The 12mm prime is a 24mm equivalent on a full frame camera. (You double the focal length on micro four-thirds bodies.)
• Snap Focus. The focus ring can be pulled back toward the body allowing you to manually focus the camera with a dampened feel that harkens back to the day of great prime lenses. I'm also thinking of what I can do with this when recording full HD movies with the E-P3.

When I work with the E-P3 and 12mm prime, in all honesty, I feel like I have that top of the line German camera I always wanted, but could never afford. That doesn't mean this combination is cheap, but it's within my range.

The new Olympus PEN E-P3 with the redesigned 14-42mm zoom is $899 US. The 12mm f/2.0 prime lens is $799 US. For about $1,700, you get a solid, state-of-the-art digital body, a zoom, and a fast prime lens. (As shown in the top photograph.) That's nice.

I'll be writing more about the E-P3 itself. You can read the basic overview of the camera here. And here's more information on the 12mm f/2.0 prime lens. I've published a set of images on Flickr that show you different views of the camera and some photos captured with the 12mm lens.

More to come on all of this!

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