Old School Off-Camera Flash

I did a little research and discovered that back in the “old days” it was common for portraits to be taken in a darkened room where the photographer would open the lens, flash the composition using a flash bulb or some other lighting device and then close the lens. The film was so slow that there was little worry about remnant images immediately before or after the flash and that was the only way to make sure the composition was flashed while the lens was open.

Trying a little experiment of my own, I loaded my Holga with Kodak Tri-x, mounted it on a tripod and turned out all the lights. Since it was also night time it was very dark in the room. With my son posing in front of the camera I opened the shutter on the bulb setting, flashed the small electronic flash a few feet to the side of the camera and then closed the shutter.

What you see above is the results. The Holga lens definitely adds to the “look” but the lighting is what really makes the photograph. 

By comparison, the shot below was taken under the same circumstances but the flash was mounted in the hot shoe and the shutter was tripped in the usual manner.

Although this is an interesting photograph the subject appears washed out and the image is flat due to the proximity and the full frontal blast of light while the shadows in the first image provide depth. Aside from an experiment to establish what I have to do to use flash photography with vintage cameras that have no synchronization shutter speed, it’s also more evidence that off-camera flash is better in many ways than on camera flash – definitely something to keep in mind.