Wireless flash triggers

Other than discussing the merits of various wireless fash triggers, I thought I'd post a note as to why they are so valuable.

Imaging a situation that you want to add a little edginess, or separation of your subject to your background to your photograph. How do you do it?

The standard method is to have the subject face the camera with the sun over their shoulders. In this way the sun creates some nice rim lights. But if you're indoors or its cloudy, or the background doesn't work for you using this simple technique, you can use a remotely triggered flash to simulate this effect.

There are three methods to trigger the remote flash - one, use a long flash cable, two, use an optical trigger, and three, use a wireless trigger. I like the third option.

Although a physical wire works well, you always run the risk of falling over it, or it not being long enough as it has to be positioned where the lens can't see it.

An optical trigger also works well, but works best in a small room where your use an on camera flash to pulse light at the remote sensor and fire the remote flash. If the sensor is hidden or too far away, or outside it probably won't work.

Which brings me to the wireless triggers. They use a part of the wireless spectrum to send a fire command from the transmitter on the camera to the receiver attached to the flash. They are both reliable and have a very long range. An expensive trigger can fire a flash over 1/2 mile away. Don't ask me why you'd want to do that, but they do have the bragging rights.

Finally, you'll need to buy some adapters so that your flash can use a receiver and the camera, transmit assuming that neither have that factory installed feature. One word of warning. I've bought over 10 triggers through the years, and found that the cheap eBay Chinese products either don't work, only work within a few feet of the camera and are unreliable. You can get reliable triggers for $125 a pair and up. Stick with those.