Contact: James Gilberd, [email protected]  |  027 444 3899  |  04 382 9502 10am-3pm.
Location: 1st floor, 37 Courtenay Place, Wellington CBD

Camera settings for shooting with studio flash, the basics

Note: We accept no liability for any damage caused to your camera by connecting any of our radio triggers or flash units to it. There hasn't been any damage to date, but some camera warranties exclude damage due to attaching non-brand accessories.
(Canon 200D MkII, The flashes give an exposure level that can be set quite low but typically is similar to bright outdoor conditions, but just for a thousandth of a second or so. Typical camera settings for using the flashes at medium power would be:
  • Set the camera to Manual exposure, M on the top dial.
  • ISO 200, or 100 if preferred.
  • White balance: Auto, Flash or Sunlight, or approx. 5,300 degrees Kelvin.
  • Shutter speed 1/125 or up to 1/200th, but don't exceed your camera's max. sync. speed for flash.
  • Make sure your shutter is set for single shots, not motor drive!
  • Allow a few seconds between shots for the flashes to recharge.
  • Lens aperture - f6.3 to f11 is usual when shooting against a plain background, but you can use larger apertures for shallow depth of field if you turn the flash units down. There's plenty of flash power if you want gretaer depth of field.
  • Turn your camera off before fitting the Elinchrom radio trigger onto the hot shoe.
  • Turn the radio trigger on and test to see if the flashes fire and you're getting photos. Check your camera's histogram and highlight warning for final exposure adjustments.
  • At the medium settings above, the lighting in the room doesn't have any effect on the photo, unless the low winter sun is shining right into the room, so you usually don't need to black the room out.
  • Shoot RAW files. If shooting JPEG, avoid Auto White Balance if using coloured backdrops.
Exposure: we can measure the flash exposure for you with a flash meter, but it's good to enable the Histogram display and Over-exposure warning (clipping, highlight alert). Take a test photo and then view the histogram and highlight alert information in playback. This will give you a much better gauge of your exposure settings than simply looking at a screen view of your photo.
Silent shooting mode: on some camera models this will not allow the flash to fire, so the trigger won't work. Disable Silent Shooting mode if using flash.

Mirrorless camera notes, Canon R, Sony Alpha and others

Canon R-series: If your viewing screen/viewfinder looks too dark, go into the first menu, find Exposure Simulation and select Disable. This decouples the viewfinder brightness from the camera's exposure settings. You'll want to enable this setting again before shooting in normal light conditions.
Sony Alpha series: If your viewing screen/viewfinder looks too dark, go into
Menu 2 and turn the Live View Display setting OFF. Be very careful mounting the radio trigger to the hot shoe, which is designed to accept Sony flashes only.
Lumix - in the menu, find Monitor Display and switch on Constant Preview.
Fuji X series - (spanner menu) Screen Settings / Preview Exp. WB - OFF, Natural Live View OFF (probably)
Other mirrorless cameras: Nikon Z series, Olympus, etc - these will have similar requirements around viewfinder settings for the studio environment. You may have to consult your instruction manual or search online for the viewfinder settings required. Contact the studio in advance of your photo shoot if in doubt. (When we find out the settings the notes will be added here. We're not aware of any hot shoe connection issues with brands other than with Sony and some Canon models.
Canon DSLR note: some recent model Canon DSLRs (Canon 200D MkII, Canon 1500D) lack the central connection on the hot shoe needed to connect to the flash radio trigger. If you have a Canon Speedlite with manual exposure control, this can be used as a trigger - it can set off the flash units' built-in slave cells. Note: we now have a Canon-dedicated Elinchrom radio trigger. It should work with most Canon cameras and offer full control of the flashes, but I haven't tested in with the models named above.
Hot shoe of Canon 200D mkII (aka SL3). Note the absence of the central connection. You cannot connect a normal studio flash trigger to this camera, and it also lacks a synch. cord connection terminal. If you have a Canon Speedlite that connects to this camera, it can be used to trigger the studio flash units. Some other Canon cameras also have this hot shoe connector omission.
Hot shoe of Canon 200D mkII (aka SL3). Note the absence of the central connection. You cannot connect a normal studio flash trigger to this camera, and it also lacks a synch. cord connection terminal. If you have a Canon Speedlite that connects to this camera, it can be used to trigger the studio flash units. Some other Canon camera models - the 1500D - also have this cursed hot shoe connector omission.
More info about this Canon camera problem
New Elinchrom ELC Pro HD studio flash units, photographic studio for hire wellington, elinchrom studio flash lighting, central cbd, studio space for hire, professional photography, function room, darkroom, hire rates, video studio shooting, book launches, pe=resentation room for hire wellington central cbd
October 2019: Courtenay Studios is equipped with new Elinchrom ELC Pro HD flash units and accessories.
The Canon 1500D is one several Canon DSLR models that cannot connect to a studio flash system because it lacks the crucial central connection pin on its hot shoe. Canon 200D MKII
The Canon 1500D is one several Canon DSLR models that cannot connect to a studio flash system because it lacks the crucial central connection pin on its hot shoe.
photography studio space, event venue for hire, central Wellington CBD, Courtenay Studios
June 2013 - Courtenay Studios opens as photographic studio and potential small events venue available for hire in central Wellington

Links - new additions welcome

We are adding contact info for people and services. If you are a makeup artist, stylist, technician, photographic assistant, designer, art director or other person who has been involved with photo shoots at Courtenay Studios and would like your name and contct info listed here, please contact James Gilberd at [email protected] and we'll sort it for you.
Makeup artist: Zoe Fannin
 021 140 3020  [email protected]  www.themakeupartist.co.nz 
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