Nikon D3 Dramatic close-up lighting made easy

Close-up Speedlights

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

Brighten your subject for natural beauty

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.

Close-up lighting: Step-by-step

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

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

error, the ideal angle and Speedlight positioning was

determined. The result: a shot full of mystery and

drama.

To create a sense of fantasy from simple ornamental

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

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

a second SB-R200 was placed behind the glass and

angled downwards, with the extreme close-up position-

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

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

a dreamlike image of a rabbit running across the field at

night.

Reveal depth and space from ordinary objects

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

Group B:

Illuminates from

below

Group B: Diffused from

behind using Extreme

Close-up Positioning

Adapter

On-camera Commander

SU-800 Commander on

top of camera

Diffuser SW-12

Group A:

Illuminates from

above

Group B:

Illuminates subject

and background

On-camera Commander

Group A:

Illuminates subject

Group A:

Diffused from below

SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander

Dramatic close-up lighting made easy

Simple operation lets you easily command

wireless remote Speedlight operation.

Allows easy attachment and detachment

of SB-R200 Speedlights to the lens.

Flexible, dependable

flash control. Can be

handheld, clamped on a stand or attached to

the lens using the SX-1. The lighting angle

can be adjusted by tilting the flash head.

SX-1 Attachment Ring

SB-R200

Wireless Remote

Speedlight

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

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.

Nikon Wireless Close-up

Speedlight System

R1

R1 comes equipped with two

SB-R200 Speedlights, and more.

Explore fine details with flexible, wireless

control

R1C1

R1C1 comes equipped with the SU-800,

two SB-R200 Speedlights, and more.

Group B:

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.