•   home  
• about denis
• upcoming programs
•   gear  
• contact us

Using the Denis Reggie Dual-Flash Bracket

After 25 years of toting heavy manual lighting gear, flash meters, and radio slaves to every wedding assignment, Denis Reggie and his back were ready for a change. Current technology allows for a far lighter and quicker solution for professional quality location lighting. Denis embraces the Canon wireless E-TTL system used with Canon D-SLR cameras - his current favorites being the EOS 1D-Mark III, 1Ds Mark II, or the wonderful 5D. No need for radio slaves, flash meters or the time and hassle of adjusting flash output during the wedding formals session. Denis' clients appreciate the speedy portrait session and not having flash meters (in their faces!) and repeated flashing for light measurement turn the wedding into a commercial or fashion shoot. Less (production) is more (enjoyable)!

The wireless E-TTL principle is based on signaling one or more "Slave" units with a "Master" unit mounted on the camera's hot shoe. Currently, Denis uses a total of 3 Canon 580EX II flash units (to act as Slaves and Master), and, for minimizing battery changes and speeding recycle times, 3 Canon CP-E4 battery packs. Each flash unit holds 4 "AA" batteries while the CP-E4's each hold 8 more "AA" batteries - all 12 batteries should be identical in rating. Maha Powerex rechargeable NiMH "AA" batteries and matching chargers are his favorites.

Though Denis finds that one "Slave" flash unit typically has enough power for group photography - especially when shooting at f:3.5 or f:4 with his Canon EOS 1D Mark III, f:4 to f:4.5 with his 1Ds or 5D - he prefers using 2 Slave units pointing into the same umbrella for the sake of redundancy. Why? Mostly because the current Canon flash signaling system needs line-of-site between the master and slave (it is not a radio based signal), so the added measure of dual 580EX II Slave units means that misfires are all but eliminated. Denis often points the red receiving panel on the Slave flash units directly toward the master for optimum signal handshake.

Denis designed his dual-flash bracket to be fast, light, rugged, and very easy-to-use.

Here's are his steps for getting professional quality lighting for formal group photography at wedding assignments. As you will find, this simple flash rig ideal for countless lighting challenges and delivers superb results.

We use Canon 580EX II flashes set for E-TTL mode (other Canon speedlite EX-series will also work), a 9-foot Bogen Avenger light stand and a 42" umbrella. His camera choice is a Canon D-SLR, usually the EOS 1D Mark III, the EOS 1Ds Mark II, or the 5D. Here's an equipment recap:

• 1 Denis Reggie custom designed dual-flash bracket,
• 2 EOS 580EX II flashes mounted on above bracket as "Slave”units,
• 2 Canon Compact Battery Packs (each pack holds 8 AA batteries),
• 1 EOS 580EX II flash set to "Master”or a Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2
• 1 Bogen Avenger light stand and
• 1 42" umbrella

Setting up the Umbrella

Denis likes the Bogen/Manfrotto Avenger model 3363 light stand but the bracket works with any standard light stand. Setting up the umbrella light involves

• attaching the bracket to a light stand,
• attaching the flashes to the shoe mounts on the bracket,
• attaching the external battery packs to the lower bracket arms using Velcro,
• inserting the umbrella stem into the vertical bracket arm and
• setting the flashes for master/slave operation

The slave units attach to the bracket using a standard shoe mount. The shoe mount also has a small screw to help secure the flash. The shoe mounts attach to the bracket with a thumbscrew to allow different orientations of the flash sensors. Sometimes it is helpful to turn the sensor for the flash toward the camera while keeping the flash head pointed toward the umbrella.

The external battery packs attach to the lower bracket arms using the included Velcro. The umbrella slips into the upper arm of the bracket and is held in place with a thumb screw. The umbrella should be far away enough from the flashes so that the entire umbrella is illuminated. Pull down the wide angle diffuser on the slave units in order to fully illuminate the umbrella as shown in Figure 1.

You can press the depth of field preview button on the camera for a modeling flash to check the illumination. See page 50 in your manual for important information regarding this feature. (Don't go nuts with this and overheat and damage your flash head.)

Finally, you need to secure the umbrella against the wind if you are outdoors. The lightweight design of this lighting setup makes it extremely portable and quick to move but you will need an assistant or sandbags to keep it from sailing away.

Setting up the Flashes

The flashes for the umbrella are triggered wirelessly and exposure is controlled by the Canon camera's internal flash system (there's no need for a flash meter or radio controlled triggers, the Canon camera/flash system does it all!). Canon 580EX wireless mode is controlled by the selector switch just above the locking ring. The modes are

• OFF for normal on-camera flash operation,
• MASTER for the controlling one or more off-camera flash units and
• SLAVE mode for the unit to fire when triggered by a unit in Master mode, or the Canon ST-E2 device.

Consult the instruction manual for specifics of your Canon EX flash model.

Set the wireless mode of the flash units (mounted on the bracket) to Slave mode. The flash on the camera's hot shoe should be set to Master mode. (Alternatively, you can use Canon's Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 to fire the flashes in lieu of the on-camera flash in Master mode. Make certain that each of the 3 flash units are set for the same channel. The two slave units should point into the umbrella but the master flash (on-camera) works best when aimed directly at the slave units as shown in Figure 2.

Denis does not set any flash compensation on the flash itself. Instead, he sets Flash Exposure Compensation on the camera if required - rarely more than 2/3 stop... subjects in lighter/white attire may require "plus" compensation, while subjects in dark/black attire might need "minus" compensation. Most groups with subjects in attire of average color/reflectance will not require any flash compensation; use the camera's histogram to verify proper exposure.

Because Denis prefers only one direction of light, his on-camera Master flash unit is set to NOT participate in the exposure; the master unit only acts as the trigger unit to fire the off-camera slave units. To adjust the Master flash unit, use both the SEL/SET button and "-”buttons to adjust the unit for no flash output during exposure -- icons on the flash unit's LCD panel confirm this setting. See instruction manual for more more details. Procedure for adjusting the 550 flash is different from the 580 model, but pressing Zoom button while in Master mode will cycle through available adjustment options on the 580 flash and the icons appearing on the flash units LCD panel will give an indication of the adjustment.

Summary

Here is a recap of the steps involved in Denis' umbrella setup:

1. Assemble the umbrella using the dual-flash bracket, two 580EX II flashes with optional external battery packs, 1 umbrella and 1 light stand. The slave units should point into the umbrella. Use the built-in wide-angle diffusers on the two slave units for best lighting results.
2. Set the wireless selector switches on the bracket-mounted flash units to Slave mode. Do not enter any flash exposure compensation on the actual flash units - this is better accomplished by adjusting FEC on the camera body. All flash units must, of course, be on the same channel (default 1 is fine). If preferred, the bottom portion of the flash unit can be rotated toward the camera using the thumbscrew under the bracket's shoe mounts. Make sure you turn the flash head (top portion of the unit) into the umbrella regardless of how the bottom portion of the flash unit is oriented.
3. Set the wireless selector on the on-camera flash to Master mode; remember to adjust the Master Flash OFF using the SEL/SET and "-" buttons. This means the master flash will trigger the slave units only and will not participate in the exposure. It's best to aim the on-camera master flash directly towards the bracket/slave units/umbrella to make sure the slaves units receive the firing signal. If you prefer, you can use Canon's Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 to fire the slaves instead of another 580EX II, though ST-E2 units do not perform as well in high ambient light environments and cannot be aimed directly to the Slave units.
4. Position the umbrella and camera as you normally would an shoot away. Remember to turn return the wireless selector on the Master flash unit back to the normal "OFF" setting when you are finished with umbrella photography, otherwise the flash will not operate properly for your regular, on-camera flash exposures.

To order a Denis Reggie dual-flash bracket, print, complete, and fax this order form to us at 404.745.8500.