True Stories
True Story 1: A Photographer's Quest for Perfect Light
Photographers are inventive people, especially if it comes to lighting. This True Story shows what embarrassing moments I had to go through to get some perfect portraits of smiling people.
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...and showed June my invention. It took her a while to understand, but she was as curious as me and tried it...
Title: June looks suspicious into my invention
Photo Code: 20020525048 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Photographer, Flash Helmet, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Title: June tries the Flash Helmet
Photo Code: 20020525049 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Photographer, Flash Helmet, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Title: June wears the Flash Helmet
Photo Code: 20020525050 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Photographer, Flash Helmet, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Maybe I should explain some technical details of this new invention. The Flash Helmet is basically just a construction helmet with an attached flash, TTL cable and a small umbrella. This construction has several advantages: 1) it is lighter than a stroboframe, 2) it is cheaper than a stroboframe, 3) the flash is far from the camera and avoids red eye effects, 4) the camera can easily turned, while the flash stays always above the lens, and 5) the umbrella softens the light.
Title: June tries the Flash Helmet
Photo Code: 20020525052 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Photographer, Flash Helmet, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Inventions are only good, if they work. So June started to take pictures at first with a small but fast moving target...
Title: June hunts her target, wearing Flash Helmet
Photo Code: 20020525053 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Photographer, Flash Helmet, Park, Tokyo, Japan
...and the result is pleasing.
Title: Kid with blue cap
Photo Code: 20020525017 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Kid, Park, Tokyo, Japan
How about some more adult models?
Title: June hunts her targets, wearing Flash Helmet
Photo Code: 20020525054 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Photographer, Flash Helmet, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Yes, it also works perfectly here.
Title: Laughing Grannies
Photo Code: 20020525024 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Woman, Laughing, Grandmother, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Another example follows...
Title: Guy with can
Photo Code: 20020525026 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Man, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Title: Girl with Minnie Mouse T-Shirt
Photo Code: 20020525028 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Portrait, Park, Tokyo, Japan
June could not stop taking pictures, so I wrestled her down and tried the Flash Helmet by myself.
Title: Laughing Girl
Photo Code: 20020525034 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Portrait, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Title: Guy in a Park
Photo Code: 20020525035 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Man, Portrait, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Title: Girl in a Park
Photo Code: 20020525036 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Portrait, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Title: Girl in a Park
Photo Code: 20020525037 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Portrait, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Title: Smiling Girl wearing Yukata
Photo Code: 20020525039 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Portrait, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Title: Smiling Girl
Photo Code: 20020525040 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Portrait, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Title: Smiling Girl
Photo Code: 20020525041 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Portrait, Park, Tokyo, Japan
Yeah, it worked better than expected but we found a rather unplanned side effect of the Flash Helmet...
Title: Smiling Girl
Photo Code: 20020525042 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Portrait, Park, Tokyo, Japan
...the photographer suddenly turns to be an attractive model for random people with film or video cameras. People took actually more pictures of us than we took of them.
Title: Smiling Girl
Photo Code: 20020525043 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Girl, Portrait, Street, Tokyo, Japan
Finally some details: The Flash Helmet is a very simple construction. You just need a construction helmet (between 1,000-5,000Yen or 5-50 US Dollar, can be even cheaper found at flea markets)...
Title: The Flash Helmet
Photo Code: 20020526011 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Flash Helmet, Invention, Tokyo, Japan
...an umbrella (about 60 centimeters or 2 feet), some spare parts to fix the umbrella and a TTL cable (here a Nikon SC-17) to the helmet, some tape to fix the cable behind the helmet and a flash light (here a Nikon SB-28DX) or something equivalent.
Title: Flash Helmet
Photo Code: 20020526013 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Flash Helmet, Invention, Tokyo, Japan
Note: Use 2 screws to fix the construction, so that the flash and umbrella will not bend if wind hits the umbrella. Also the umbrella should be fixed with tape or a screw, so that it will not fly away.
Title: Flash Helmet, Detail
Photo Code: 20020526014 (Please use this Photo Code for Inquiries)
Keywords: Flash Helmet, Invention, Tokyo, Japan
This is actually version 3 of my Flash Helmet, I made 2 tries before, but never documented it and never used an umbrella, just the flash. Later somebody told me that a photographer used this kind of device already in 1920! So I am just the re-inventor :-) And now I hope that you are inspired and wish you a happy shooting!
This True Story ends here. You are welcome to leave a comment in the Guestbook or have a look at other True Stories.
