Creative frog photography with off-camera flash
Every single frog species has the potential to offer you a gorgeous shot. It must therefore follow that some other variables define the final output of the image. Among such variables, light is probably the most important. No matter how photogenic frogs may be, if the lighting is unattractive, the picture will be doomed to fail. Consequently, it is important to understand that the way these little models come up in your pictures is largely dependent on the quality of the light available to them.
This leads us back to the most versatile devise in frog photography: flash. This powerful tool is capable of producing quality light for frogs whenever they need it (mostly at night). Of course, we know that the light from a flash unit is not photogenic per se. Two properties of light, position and directionality, must be considered in order to turn flash into a usable light source. This can easily be acomplished by using your flash off-camera. Used in this way, flash units are capable of replacing, and quite often improving, natural light. Indeed, frogs will look their best in your pictures if you literally use your flash off-camera to illuminate them. By varying the angle of the flash relative to the subject, you will introduce depth and texture and give your pictures more pleasing light overall.
Before we examine how to use a flash off-camera, let's look at some of the benefits of this technique in regard to frog photography. The skin of anurans is usually marked by folds, ridges, warts and tubercles. By getting your flash unit off-camera, these details can be emphasized with directional lighting, which suggests texture and reveals shape. Instead, if you used a flash on top of your camera, most of these important skin textures would be "lost" in the picture because all the shadows fall behind the subject. By eliminating the shadows, the subject looks very flat and lacks dimension all around.
If used wisely, off-camera flash can create light that looks as natural and flattering as ambient light. Even better, an external unit gives you freedom to illuminate each frog in a customized way. Depending on the species, you may want to highlight dorsal color patterns by placing the flash above the subject; or you may want to bring attention to the eyes, in which case you may have to place the flash low in relation to the frog. It's really just a matter of creativity!
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| Having an assistant to hold and position the wireless flash allowed me to carefully compose this shot while the light was coming from the desired angle. |
The first question you may have is how to trigger a flash unit that is not mounted on the camera. A popular method, particularly among macro photographers, is to connect an extension cord to the flash and move it away from the camera, either by hand-holding it or by placing it on a flash bracket that attaches to the bottom of the camera body. The other possibility is to trigger the flash remotely with a wireless system.
Extension cords can be used effectively when lighting small frogs. These flexible cables let you connect a flash unit to your camera’s hot shoe so you can choose the lighting angle that best suits the subject as you move the light source independently of the camera.
Extension cords give you some leeway on where to position the flash unit. That said, you will need to be very close physically to the subject in order to achieve the desired lighting effect. Although you could buy a longer cable, it will always restrict where you can place the flash.
Since off-camera flash is all about total creative lighting control, you may wan't to skip the constraint of using a cord and look at the wireless method. Wireless flash controllers emit pulses of light or infrared signals that activate your flash from great distances (in terms of macro photography). These versatile accessories are ideal for multiple flash setups in which portability and flexibility are essential.
Going wireless means that you can place your flash unit exactly where you want it. Since an extension cord is not used, you don't have to worry about cables getting in the way. In many ways, this can be a huge advantage when photographing frogs. Let's say, for example, that you want to photograph a rain frog on a leaf. If you were using a sync cord, chances are high that the hanging cable could bump the frog's perch, thus ruining the shot. Even worse, if the frog happens to escape, not only the possibilty to photograph that individual vanishes, but sometimes, the chance to photograph that species vanishes as well. Just like that!
Another reason why you may want to explore the wireless possibility is to backlight your subjects. Backlighting doesn't work for everything. Frogs though, appear to be an exception. Among them, two anuran families tend to look particularly beautiful when backlit: arboreal frogs (Hylidae) and glass frogs (Centrolenidae). In the case of hylids, an artistic possibility is to capture a silhouette of an individual that is perched on a leaf. With glass frogs, backlighting produces gorgeous results as the light passes through their translucent bodies, revealing intricate details of their internal structure.
The creative effects of backlighting need not be limited to the frog families mentioned above. Indeed, almost every single frog species can benefit from this technique. More concretely, backlighting can be used to highlight the contour of frogs. This rim light separates the subject from the background quite nicely. Plus it adds dimension and dramatism.
My flash unit is triggered remotely through the ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter, a wireless device designed to control slaved Canon flashes. It's portable, versatile and lets me control the power output of my Canon Speedlites.
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| A wireless flash was placed behind and slightly above this nocturnal frog. The goal was to separate the subject from the background by introducing a rim light. |
Once you are able to trigger your flash remotely, you have to figure out where to put it. Although you could hold your camera in one hand and the flash unit in the other, your hands would be full, making it cumbersome to manually focus or to adjust camera settings. Imagine having to be shuffling around your equipment when photographing glass frogs in a cold-water stream at night, or when shooting calling toads in a swamp. In structurally complex habitats like these, at least one of your hands should be free in case you happen to trip or want to prevent a frog from escaping.
An extra arm is inevitably needed to overcome this problem. It can either be someone else's arm or a mechanic one such as a bracket. Both techniques are particularly useful for in situ shots of amphibians, in which the animal is portrayed exactly as found. This, the less intrusive type of frog photography, lets you record scientifically valuable behaviors such as use of specific microhabitats, social interactions between individuals, calling postures and feeding strategies.
I recommend the bracket option anytime you are alone shooting in the field. These accessories are designed for mounting external flash units somehow farther away from your camera than if you had it directly mounted on the hot shoe. Some models, like the Wimberley Macro Bracket, are conceived for nature photography. As a matter of fact, only those designed for macro photography (i.e. those with an articulating arm) are useful for shooting frogs.
Using a macro bracket can be both practical and enjoyable. A creative possibility is to use two flashes at once, each supported by an independent movable bracket. Setting both units on slave and pressing the shutter causes the remote to activate both flashes, one works as the key flash, while the other acts as a fill. This strategy solves numerous lighting problems while offering tremendous creative choices.
Regardless of how convenient a flash bracket may be when shooting frogs in the field, the ideal scenario is to have an assistant hold and position the wireless flash for you. In this circumstance, just grab your camera as you normally would and let the assistant aim the flash so it lights the subject from the best angle. The most effective placement of the flash will vary with the subject, so don't be afraid to shoot dozens of pictures while bracketing the flash position.
I apply the techniques described above when shooting frogs at night. If natural light is available I mix it with the light from my flash using a completely different approach. In those cases, I hand-hold my flash unit while my camera sits on a tripod. This technique is useful for chilled-out frogs and allows me place the flash anywhere I want to achieve creative lighting effects. That said, it's important to point out that the majority of frog species aren't likely to wait for you to set up a tripod, which makes it difficult to shoot in situ. This technique will require you to bring the frog into a clearer location where you can persuade it to pose for the picture. Consequently, it's essential to be familiar with standard handling techniques to ensure that the animal will not become stressed or injured.
When used together, tripod and flash will unveil a whole new world of creative possibilities for frog photography. Having your camera supported by a tripod allows you to achieve the best possible image quality and frees your hands to hold the flash unit where wanted.
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| Depending on the placement, wireless flash can be used to introduce edge contrast. I this case, textures are emphasized in both the frog and the leaf. |
Now that your camera is resting securely on a tripod, the best thing for you to do is to play around with the lighting of the picture. You can start by placing the flash as close to the subject as possible without it actually being seen in the photo. Try to position it so it is aiming at your subject diagonally from above. This position resembles natural light and fills-in the shadows under the frog. Furthermore, you achieve a wraparound light that looks softer and more flattering.
Although the placement of the flash described above appears to work effectively for most frogs, you will soon come across situations in which, for example, the best placement of the flash might be directly above the subject, such as when photographing species with intricate skin folds on the flanks; or even behind the subject, such as when shooting translucent frogs. Off course, you will not get it right off the bat, so take as many shots as you can while varying the intensity and position of the electronic light source. Just choose the lighting angle that best suits the frog you are photographing.
Recently, I photographed an interesting frog species deep in the montane forest. The ambient light was dim, so the only way to successfully use it as the main light source was to shoot on a tripod. I tried to portray the frog exactly as I found it: sitting on a huge fallen leaf. I visualized the picture in my head and noticed that the reticulated venation of the leaf could contrast nicely with the texture of the frog. I took a natural light exposure and checked the image. The textures were not even visible! With the camera supported by a tripod I held my wirelessly-triggered flash unit behind and slightly above the frog and tried another shot. Even though natural light handled the main exposure, this teeny touch of light completed the lighting setup by defining shadows and introducing contrast.
Even as a fill, using two flashes at a time is a terrific way to light your subjects. With anurans, you could easily let one flash illuminate the portion of the frog facing the camera while the other unit creates an attractive rim light as it illuminates the frog from behind.
Without any doubt, adapting the light to the particular conditions of the scene can be tremendous advantage. After all, creating a great photo is all about lighting. Now that you control the light, is time for you to fulfill the enormous photographic potential hidden inside frogs. The possibilities are endless!