James Pratt

Photographer, Writer, Storyteller, IT networking professional

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Quick shoot with Westcott FJ400 flash

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I attended a Bedford photo walk recently and took a few minutes to play with a Westcott FJ400 flash on my Nikon Z6. I only shot for about 30 seconds and shot in manual mode so I could mix ambient and flash lighting. Since I have shot so much studio and outdoor flash, it is much easier for me to shoot and think in manual flash mode rather than TTL mode. With manual mode, I am the one controlling the flash and can dial in my lighting. When I shoot in TTL mode, I have to depend on the camera to dial in the flash. And while modern digital cameras are amazing, I don’t use them enough in TTL flash mode to really understand what they are doing with the flash. So since I am very experienced with flash, it is easier and faster to do the flash adjustments in my head.

Below are a couple of shots I got from the session – just with a single Westcott FJ-400 with a bare head. I much prefer bare head flashes over soft boxes.

I much prefer how the light falls off with bare-head flashes rather than softboxes. I like to have shadows in my pictures and soft boxes are shadow killers if held close to the subject. I think shadows create more drama and interest.
I shot this on my Z6 in color, but converted it to black and white in Lightroom. I often shoot my Z6 and Zfc in black and white mode so that what I see in the viewfinder is black and white rather than color. It just helps me to see better in black and white. The image is still capture in full color, but the shooting experience is in black and white.

Subjects

4x5 film 4x5x365 agriculture Amazon Web Services bicycle Bill Dragoo BMW Brass Ball Bobbers combine Darwin Motorcycles dirt bike drag racing Edmond El Reno film Fortinet Guthrie Ilford Delta 100 Ilford Delta Pro 100 Ilford HP5 Jeep John Deere Kawasaki Kay Pratt Kodak TMAX-100 Lexington Micha Young motorcycle New Mexico Nikon Norman Conquest Oklahoma Oklahoma City Oklahoma Living Oklahoma Living Magazine Oklahoma Today Ride Oklahoma South Canadian River Thunder Valley Raceway Tombo Racing Tommy Bolton Toyo 45A Toyo VX-125 wheat harvest Wrangler

About James Pratt

I am an Oklahoma based writer, commercial photographer, editorial photographer and adventurer based in Oklahoma City. I love telling stories about people. A motorcycle is my preferred means of travel, and I have over 5,000 hours piloting small airplanes. My editorial photography has been published in hundreds of magazines and my commercial photography has been used by dozens of companies worldwide.

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Subjects

4x5 film 4x5x365 agriculture Amazon Web Services bicycle Bill Dragoo BMW Brass Ball Bobbers combine Darwin Motorcycles dirt bike drag racing Edmond El Reno film Fortinet Guthrie Ilford Delta 100 Ilford Delta Pro 100 Ilford HP5 Jeep John Deere Kawasaki Kay Pratt Kodak TMAX-100 Lexington Micha Young motorcycle New Mexico Nikon Norman Conquest Oklahoma Oklahoma City Oklahoma Living Oklahoma Living Magazine Oklahoma Today Ride Oklahoma South Canadian River Thunder Valley Raceway Tombo Racing Tommy Bolton Toyo 45A Toyo VX-125 wheat harvest Wrangler
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