Followers of my Photo Tips Blog will know that I advocte the used flash in most aspects of photography.It is sometimes the difference between a reasonably good shot and an outstanding one, because no matter how well you use the natural light there is usually the need to "lift" a bit of shadow.
For an average wedding I probably shoot about 60% of my images using flash, were possible I prefer to shoot with off camera flash, and for this I usually use 1,2 or even 3 radio triggered Quantum QFlash T5d-R lights. But this sometimes simply isn't practical and a single on camera flash will be all I have to create the light I want. The obvious advantage with on camera flash is that it is always with you when you need it, but there are also usually associated issues with this type of flash photography because it can often appear harsh and unnatural. So up to very recently I have tended to use a dedicated Canon flash for my Canon camera (550 EX or 580 EX) and most importantly a light modifier to reduce the harshness that this flash will create if used directly on the subject.
The best diffuser I have found to use with my Canon flash heads has been the Gary Fong "Whaletail" due to it's odd shape it always gets a few strange looks looks but really does a great job of diffusing the the light for me. Although having had great results with a Canon flash, I know I always get even better when I use my Quantum lights as they recycle much quicker and are twice the power of even the highest spec Canon or Nikon flash, and most importantly are very consistent in the light they put out shot after shot.
So I decided it was time to look at the Quantum QFlash Trio a QFlash that is designed to be camera hotshot mounted, and when I tried this the results compared to my normal Canon flash made me realise what I had been missing not having a QFlash on camera as well as remote. So as you probably gusted I have now invested in the Trio.
Owning a QFlash Trio gives me even more flexibility with my lighting, and Quantum also make a great range of light modifiers for the QFlash range ....but I soon realised I potentially had a problem because my trusty Whaletail diffuser doesn't fit the Trio head, so I had to think about other possible solutions, and it was then that I remembered that I had a couple of Gary Fong "Lightsphere" diffusers I bought before I discovered the "Whaletail" and like Cinderella's glass slipper they fit my new flash, well maybe not quite as good a fit as that, but they do fit well and allow me to easily flip the "Lightsphere" between landscape and portrait giving me really soft and controllable on camera flash lighting.
Here are some wedding shots taken with this set up and I think you will agree that the Trio with or with the Lightsphere creates some really well light images.
