Slave strobes, off camera Options

[Alex_Mustard]

For the last couple of years I have been dabbling increasingly with using slave strobes off camera, for various lighting effects. At times it has been quite challenging, mainly because of the lack of information on using them creatively in open water (as opposed to in caves). Very little has been written, which is surprising as this is certainly not a new technique.

Anyway, I finally feel I am beginning to get my head round the technique, learning which effects work best, how to create them (strobe positioning and power) and recognising occasions and opportunities when slave strobes will contribute something beneficial. Perhaps one of the hardest problems to solve is getting the slave senor off the strobe - which is essential if you are to hide the strobe from view and therefore have the light, but not the source, visible in the shot. Many strobes have built in slave sensors but these are on the strobes meaning the slave strobe cannot be hidden well.

I am still working on a reliable solution to this - as I have found the existing UW slave sensors troublesome. I have also had difficulty tracking down long strobe cables - as an alternate firing solution.

Any help on these issues gratefully received.

That said I have been pleased with the results I am getting and I am now really confident that there is a lot more to come. Here is a selection of the shots I have produced:

VW Beetle (3 slaves inside - one trigger, two main ones; + 2 strobes on camera):


Crinoid Backlighting (1 strobe behind, one on camera):


Truck on Thistlegorm (1 strobe in truck, two on camera):


Fish school on reef (1 strobe under school, two on camera):


Alex