Dramatic close-up lighting made easy

o s e - u p S p e e d l i g h t s

Wil Meinderts, Jan Vermeer and Danny Ellinger — Nature

photographers at Foto Natura team (The Netherlands)

Nikon’s Wireless Close-up Speedlight System is flexible, consistent and amazingly easy to operate. You can expect superb performance straight out of the box, with their small diffusers providing beautifully soft light. Whether attached to the camera or handheld, the two SB-R200 units included are capable of a wide range of lighting situations, but

add an SB-800 or additional SB-R200 units, and you seamlessly control nearly every aspect of lighting – even in poorlylit loca- tions. The 105 mm VR Macro lens is ideal for this type of shoot- ing, especially when insects are your subjects, but for any seri- ous macro photographer, the R1C1 is a must-have tool.

http://www.fotonatura.com

Camera setting data: Camera and Speedlight: D200 and R1C1

Lens: AF-S VR Micro 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED

Shutter speed: 1/125 sec.

Aperture: f/13

Exposure mode: Aperture-Priority Auto

Flash mode: i-TTL

Image quality: RAW

Brighten your subject for natural beauty

Speedlight tips: close-up lighting

The SX-1 and SB-R200 Speedlights offer exciting creative possibilities for multiple lighting.

The SU-800 can also be bought separately, and features simpler operation and a wider range of options than the SB-800. And because there’s no distracting pre- flash with the SU-800, some pho- tographers prefer it when shoot- ing people and

animals.

C l

Explore fine details with flexible, wireless control

Detail can be crucial to the impact of an image. That’s why Nikon

SU-800Wireless Speedlight Commander

Simple operation lets you easily command wireless remote Speedlight operation.

© Foto Natura team

© Foto Natura team

Some subjects don’t pose willingly. Here a butterfly momentarily lands on a vivid orange flower. The day was overcast, so three SB-R200 Speedlights were used: one is attached to the camera and pointed directly at the butterfly. Two off-camera units have been angled for side-lighting and background fill, with diffusers softening the light for a more natural look.

Group B:

 

Group A:

Group B:

Illuminates subject

 

Illuminates subject

 

and background

On-camera Commander

 

offers the ultimate tools for creative and versatile close-up light- ing. Designed to work seamlessly with Nikon's i-TTL Wireless Creative Lighting System, both the R1C1 and R1 bring an amazing level of simplicity and automation to the lighting process. Close-up lighting has countless uses for nearly every kind of sub- ject matter. Hobbyists enjoy capturing ornamental patterns found on coins, flowers and other small objects, while people photogra- phers take advantage of the shallow depth-of-field for intimate portraits. And with no wires to get in the way, you can handhold the Speedlights to make quick adjustments or to follow moving subjects, such as insects. From medical applications to food pho- tography, the R1C1 and R1 will make you see things differently. Both the R1C1 and R1 contain a comprehensive assortment of accessories, including the SW-11 Extreme Close-up Positioning Adapter, the SJ-R200 Color Filter Set, the SW-12 Set Diffuser, the SW-C1 Flexible Arm Clip and a set of five adapter rings to ensure the SX-1 Attachment Ring can be mounted on virtually any NIKKOR lens designed for close-range photography. Whichever set is right for you, both make mastering close-up flash photogra- phy simple, fascinating and fun.

SX-1Attachment Ring

 

 

 

 

Allows easy attachment and detachment

 

 

Close-up lighting: Step-by-step

 

of SB-R200 Speedlights to the lens.

 

Sometimes small units make a big impact. The model

 

 

 

 

 

 

holds a shard of mirror in front of her face, which is illu-

 

 

 

minated by two handheld SB-R200 remote units: one

SB-R200

 

from above and one from below. After a little trial and

 

 

error, the ideal angle and Speedlight positioning was

Wireless Remote

 

determined. The result: a shot full of mystery and

Speedlight

 

 

 

drama.

Flexible, dependable

 

 

 

 

 

flash control. Can be

 

 

 

 

handheld, clamped on a stand or attached to

Location: Turtle Bay Resort

© Joe McNally

the lens using the SX-1. The lighting angle

 

 

 

 

can be adjusted by tilting the flash head.

R1C1

 

Reveal depth and space from ordinary objects

 

 

 

R1C1 comes equipped with the SU-800,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

two SB-R200 Speedlights, and more.

To create a sense of fantasy from simple ornamental

 

 

 

glass, one SB-R200 was placed underneath, emphasiz-

 

Nikon Wireless Close-up

ing the thinly carved rabbit relief. To draw out the blue,

 

a second SB-R200 was placed behind the glass and

 

Speedlight System

 

angled downwards, with the extreme close-up position-

 

 

 

 

 

 

ing adapter SW-11 and diffuser SW-12 helping to create

 

R1

 

the illusion of a dual-tone blue background. The result:

 

R1 comes equipped with two

a dreamlike image of a rabbit running across the field at

 

SB-R200 Speedlights, and more.

night.

 

 

 

© Noriyuki Yuasa

Group A: Illuminates from above

Group B: Illuminates from below

On-camera Commander

SU-800 Commander on top of camera

Diffuser SW-12

Group B: Diffused from behind using Extreme Close-up Positioning Adapter

Group A:

Diffused from below

8

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Nikon D3 Brighten your subject for natural beauty, Close-up lighting Step-by-step, Speedlight tips close-up lighting