In planning this outdoor portrait shoot, we went out the day before and scouted a nearby park, which offered us several nature backdrops from which to choose. We planned to shoot early in the morning, primarily because we planned to take advantage of the early morning sunlight that would likely be creeping in through the trees.

Unfortunately, on the morning of the shoot the entire park was covered in fog and any chance of sunlight was hours away. Had we planned to use only ambient light for this portrait, our lighting situation would have proven to be extremely challenging.

With the help of the Olympus FL-50R wireless flash system, however, we knew that we could take advantage of this very dim, foggy, and flat light and use wireless flashes to create a very dramatic difference in the lighting.

Built-In Flash Results
First, we found a nice grove of Redwood trees to use as the backdrop. Then, we decided to take a few shots using the fully automatic settings on the E-3. The exposure mode was set to Program and the built-in flash was activated to make up for the low light level underneath these giant trees [figure 1].

In the resulting image, you can see that the built-in flash created a very flat and uninteresting quality of light. The face is lit very evenly without any sense of depth to her facial features. This kind of lighting looks artificial and is usually not very flattering [figure 2].

Working with Ambient Light
Next, we changed the exposure mode in the E-3 to Manual in order to begin working on our off-camera flash setup [figure 3]. Take note that the Olympus wireless flash system does allow for fully automatic TTL operation. This can be a very handy feature when you have to work fast and do not have enough time to set the flash output manually. However, TTL flash will not allow the same level of precision and control that is available when working with completely manual settings.

For this particular setup, we had plenty of time and opted to have fully manual control over the exposure and flash output.

Before using the wireless flash system, we decided to take some test shots without any flash at all to determine an appropriate ambient light exposure. In this case, we decided to underexpose the ambient light by about one stop in order to make the background a bit darker and give the overall image a somewhat mysterious quality.

In this result the model appears too dark, but this didn't concern us at this point. The result simply revealed to us how the background would be exposed [figure 4].

In this case the exposure was 1/125th of a second at f/2.8 with an ISO of 100. This exposure was ideal as it allowed us to safely hand-hold the camera, sync the flash, and keep the background out of focus.

Configuring the FL-50R Flash
Next, we proceeded to setup our key light, an Olympus FL-50R flash unit angled into a Photoflex 45-inch Convertible umbrella. This also required the use of a Photoflex Shoe Mount Multiclamp, which attaches to any standard light stand, holds any brand of shoe mount flash, and supports the use of many standard size umbrellas [figure 5].

Using the RC Mode on the E-3
We then turned on the FL-50R and set it to the wireless RC mode, to Channel 1, and to the flash 'A' setting. To do this press the power button to turn on the flash and then press the mode button until the RC Mode appears on the LCD. Turn the left dial to toggle between channels and flash A through C [figure 6].

At this point, the flash unit itself is setup and all of the controls to operate the flash can be from the camera. If you're still unclear about some of the terms mentioned above, such as the Channel 1 setting and the Flash 'A' setting, the following steps should clarify how these settings work.

The following set of diagrams illustrates the camera menu settings required to make the Olympus E-3 ready for wireless flash shooting. First turn the RC Flash mode on by navigating to Camera Menu 2, selecting the RC Mode option and selecting On from the sub-menu [figures 7 & 8].

Once the RC Mode is turned on from within the camera menu, you can control virtually every aspect of your wireless flash operation right from the E-3's Info Menu. In normal shooting mode, press the Info button until the RC Flash control menu comes up on the LCD. To navigate this menu, press OK, use the Arrow keys to highlight the different fields, and OK again to change settings for the selected field [figure 9].

Before we continue, let's take a closer look at the various fields and settings inside the RC Mode control menu. Notice that there are three rows of flash settings labeled A - C. Then turn your attention to the lower right corner of the screen and notice the CH 1 (Channel 1) setting. This system has four channels with each channel supporting three separate flash units.

For this outdoor portrait, we used two flash units. We set the channel to CH 1 on the camera and on both of our flashes. As previously mentioned, we set the Key light to the A setting and planned to have our second light set to the B setting.

Selecting TTL (Through-The-Lens)
Back in the RC Flash control menu, you should see that each of the flash units is set to the OFF setting. Select the Flash A OFF field, and press OK. Here you have the choice of TTL, Auto, or Manual flash operation for Flash A. We selected the TTL mode, which ensured that our key light would properly exposed without any trial and error [figure 10].

Positioning the Key Light
With the RC flash almost fully configured to our liking, we were now ready to place the key light into position. We set the key light, a 45-inch Photoflex umbrella, slightly to the left of the camera and raised it up about seven or eight feet from the ground, pointing the light down onto the model [figures 11 & 12].

At this point, we were ready to take some test shots with the key light to determine an appropriate flash output setting. There was just one more thing left to do in order to sync the RC wireless flash and that was to activate the built-in flash on the E-3.

In our first result using Auto settings, the built-in flash acted as the light source for the shot. However, when the RC Flash Mode has been activated, the built-in flash acts as a communication light, which tells the FL-50R flash unit to fire. In RC mode, the built-in flash does not have any effect on the image itself.

The flash unit must be with in a visible range so that the light from the built-in flash can reach the sensor located on the front of the FL-50R flash. The communication light has 3 settings: LO, MID, and HI.

*For more information about the maximum range of the RC flash system, and for more detailed instructions for using the RC flash system, please refer to page 76 of the Olympus E-3 User's Manual.

Here we can see the result using our one key light bounced into a 45-inch umbrella [figure 13].

The quality of light is very soft and natural. The off-camera position of the light source added some nice natural looking shadows, which help to bring out the model's facial features. As a result, the image appears more three-dimensional than our previous attempt using the built in flash.

Using a Reflector for Fill Light
Up on closer examination, we decided that the shadows caused by the key light were a bit too dramatic. We wanted to fill in the shadows a bit to soften the overall contrast of the image and to keep the lighting as natural lokking as possible.

To do this we placed a Photoflex 42-inch Soft Gold/White LiteDisc in front of the model with the white surface of the reflector pointing up to bounce light from the flash back into the model's face. We used a very handy Photoflex LiteDisc holder and stand to secure the LiteDisc into position [figure 14].

In this result, we can see how the White LiteDisc positioned below the face worked nicely to fill in some of the deep shadows caused by the high angle of the key light. By reflecting some of the light back up into the face, we were able to diminish the shadows under the eyebrows, nose, and chin. This makes for a much more flattering look in portraits, especially for female models [figure 15].

Overall, we were just about satisfied with the result. The lighting was very natural and we had achieved a very pleasing balance between the ambient light exposure and the artificial lighting. The only thing lacking was some separation between the model's red hair and the similar red tone in the tree bark.

Adding a Rim Light
To solve this problem we decided to setup a second FL-50R flash unit to act as a rim light, or separation light. We positioned this flash unit to the far left of the camera and slightly behind the model. We then carefully pointed the flash at a spot just slightly behind the model's head and shoulders [figure 16].

On the FL-50R flash unit, we activated the RC Mode and turned the dial to the Channel 1, Flash B setting [figure 17].

Then, we set Flash B to the TTL setting using the RC mode control menu on the E-3 as described above.

Adjusting the Flash Power Output
One of the most exciting features of the Olympus RC flash system is the ability to manually dial in the flash output for three separate flash even while using the flash in TTL mode. This makes it easy to achieve precise lighting ratios, without ever having to set the camera down. The diagrams below illustrate how to vary the flash output from the RC mode control menu [figures 18 & 19].

The overall ratio between the key light and the rim light is typically subjective. As a rule of thumb, however it often works well to have the rim light about one stop brighter than the key light. The idea being that it adds a bright shine to the edge of the face and figure and acts to separate the person from the background.

Shown below is our final result using this simple two-light setup [figure 20].

To review, here is a side-by-side comparison of the last three images leading up to the final result [figure 21].

Notice how each lighting modification caused a subtle improvement in the quality of the light and in the overall feeling and mood of the shot. In the final portrait, the lighting appears very natural, and the rim light looks almost as if there is sunlight coming in through the trees.

Here's a few more of our favorite shots using this lighting set-up [figures 22 - 25].

Once we had the lighting dialed in, we were free to try some different poses, facial expressions, hair up, hair down, etc... The Olympus E-3 RC flash system proved to be a pleasure to work with on location as it is a compact, easy to use, and very affordable flash system, capable of producing highly professional results.

When used in tandem with umbrellas, reflectors, and other light modification tools available from Photoflex, these RC flash units transform any ordinary snap shot into a highly polished professional image.