Flash that splash

Freeze musicians in motion with just a pop of the flash, and add a splash of water for excitement. Jason Parnell-Brookes conducts the fun

Continuing the action, see how to freeze musicians in motion with just a pop of the flashgun and a little water to emphasise the movement

Freezing action is all about using a fast shutter speed, right? Wrong. You don’t need that 1/4000 sec shutter speed to capture all of the detail in a scene. Just a pop of the flash will freeze any movement in your image, so long as you combine it with the sync speed of the flash. Most Speedlights have aflash duration/output length of 1/30000 sec at 1/256 power to 1/980 sec at full power output, so the action is frozen faster than the shutter speed itself.

You can use flashguns to get dynamic action shots that convey a sense of movement. With our samba drummer here placed centre stage, flashguns at the sides highlight the water splashes coming off the drum, giving the portrait a carnival feel. A front-on light also illuminates the drummer, who’s in front of a plain, dark backdrop.

Using this many off-camera flashguns may seem daunting, but we’ll take it one step at a time to make sure you’re confident that each light is perfectly positioned and balanced.