Refrigerator with Flash

[Pichead]

For this one I set my Nikon SB-600 Speedlight on its stand and put it in the refrigerator on a shelf about chest-high. I then placed my D700 on my tripod at just above floor-level. I pre-focused on the area where I would be standing and then locked the focus down by switching to Manual.

I set the camera mode to Manual and dialed the shutter speed to 1/250th of a second. This was done because it was light in the kitchen and I wanted only the light coming from the flash to be visible when I took the image. I had the aperture at f/7.1. There wasn't any huge strategy here. It just worked out as an ideal 'middle' aperture for the flash lighting I was going to be using.

I held the remote trigger in my hand and stood in front of the fridge. I used the Nikon D700's CLS to trigger the flash and the light coming from the D700's pulse bounced off the white refrigerator door and fired the SB-600.

I imported the photo into Aperture 3 and adjusted the crop. I increased the black point slightly, leaving only parts of me and the door visible, as that was the look I was going for...

If you do this, remember to take the flash out when finished. I headed straight for the camera after taking the shot and actually forgot it for about 10 minutes when I went to grab a drink and noticed it sitting on the shelf. If I weren't thirsty, I might have been shopping for a new flash this morning.

[ill_noize]

Interesting pic. Did it come out the way you wanted it to?

[Pichead]

Originally Posted by ill_noize

Interesting pic. Did it come out the way you wanted it to?

Eh, about 60%. I could have thrown in additional lights to produce a different mood, but once I got into it, I began to like the minimalist approach...

So, yes and no...

[MOmilkman]

Pretty cool.
I'm most impressed how you can take a pic in daylight that looks like the middle of the night.
I know it's all about playing with light but I just haven't figured that out yet.

Nice shot.

[zona5101]

Excellent post. Thanks for sharing the technique...and it confirms what has been mentioned before...the CLS flash doesn't add to the exposure (or if it does it is very minute).
Nice job.

[PBW]

Another creative shot Pichead. I'm loving your work my friend

[abhijith.rao]

Nice shot and thank you for explaining the technique!

[Pichead]

Originally Posted by PBW

Another creative shot Pichead. I'm loving your work my friend

Thanks for the comments

[Indigo November]

Very nice. Love it!! Thanks for telling us how!

[candyjob34]

Thank you for sharing with us your photography. I think it would be nicer if you include colorful bottles on your refrigerator. The black background will create wonderful effects on highlighting other colors.