External Flash Unit Questions

In the last few days I've had a couple of great comments from readers regarding the use of of external flash units. In my previous post regarding "6 steps to shooting great interior photos" I claim you need and external flash.

The first question is can't you just get by with a tripod? Yes, you can as I did for years but as I will show with examples in my up coming book, most of the time interior shots look better when using a external flash. Built-in flashes just don't have the power to brighten a whole room. Also, an external flash helps with the pesky problem of burnt-out windows because a flash unit boosts the interior brightness level to closer to the outside brightness.

Second comment is that if your camera doesn't have a "hotshoe" for mounting and syncronizing a flash, you can use what is called a "slave" flash. Slave flashes are fired by the light from a built-in flash units but are more powerful. Some come with a bracket to mount your camera on or you can just set the slave close to your camera. Either way the light from your built-in flash triggers the slave flash. Slave flash units can be purchased online at places like www.bhphotovideo.com for as little as $49. Typically the more expensive slave flashes are more powerful.