Use Off Camera Flash With A Smartphone

Phone And Cameras

Okay this is just cool. I imagine when my son grows up he’ll be able to use a smart phone the same way that I use a DSLR today. I remember when my grandfather used his Instamatic camera and that was high tech at the time. Even knowing that I still can’t be help but be impressed as new technology evolves.

You need to put a few apps together, a small piece of equipment and, maybe even a light meter. However once you get it together you can now use a smart phone with off-camera flash.

I’m sure at some point in the not too distant future this will all happen with TTL remotely.

Imagine our excitement when after years and years of mobile photography being so limited that we were able to shoot a photo using our phone and have an off-camera strobe go off to provide extra illumination. These capabilities have only recently become accessible. Sure, Nokia had manual camera control with their line of phones but what both Android and iOS both offer is comparably more mainstream.

When browsing the Android store of manual shutter control apps, I found the Manual Camera app that allows the user to set the ISO, shutter speed, focusing, white balance and many more parameters. But we had also recently got the Triggertrap Flash Adapter in for review.

And when using both of them together, we were able to shoot an image mostly illuminated by strobe.

What You Need
– An Android or iOS phone with either Manual camera for Android or Manual for iOS.
– An Android or iOS tablet with the Triggertrap Mobile app.
– An off-camera flash or strobe.
– A tripod with the MeFOTO Sidekick 360, although we didn’t use one of this tutorial
– Triggertrap mobile adapter
– A handheld Light Meter

The Setup

You’ll want to begin by setting up your light. To shoot these images, I used a very standard lighting setup that I have over at the Phoblographer that makes a scene look like it’s totally lit by window light. Then I set up my flash along with my iPad with Triggertrap mobile. This took a bit of figuring out but you’ll need to turn on the flash, plug in the adapter, then plug the other end into the tablet, and then connect the adapter and the cable from the tablet. It’s a bit complicated, but it will work.

Then you’ll want to set your Triggertrap app to the sound sensor mode. When this is done, adjust the settings according by moving the little settings slider. Then give it a test. If it fires, then you’re good to go.

Finish this article over at the Phoblographer

Source: Phoblographer

Image Source: A Yee

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