Challenges of a Natural–Light Photographer
The first time I attempted off–camera flash, I was working for one company and second shooting with another main photographer who was also fairly new to OCF. We get everything set up, test it, then bring in the bride and groom, and bam!—nothing’s working. So embarrassing. There’s nothing that’ll make you look like a total idiot than obviously not being able to get your equipment to work.
And so began my journey into OCF, and it was a painful one. Between RadioPoppers, PocketWizards and Canon infrared transmitters, I tried it all (and hated it all). My problem, and one I think many photographers can relate to, was that something always went wrong. I needed to have at least five troubleshooting techniques up my sleeve in order to be sure that my system worked properly, since there were always issues—line of sight being interrupted, for example, or high outdoor temps causing the padding on my transmitter to slide down and cover the part that needed to transmit.
