Before making any comments on multiple strobes, remember that final results are what count. Marc Chamberlain who has won the advanced photographer of the year award more times than anyone else in club history, almost exclusively uses a single strobe.

As with most techniques in photography, using a second strobe has advantages, but also introduces trade-offs that must be dealt with. A second strobe can give you more even lighting as well as much more control over shadows. A subject being lit from multiple angles, can become almost three dimensional in the final photograph. Two properly positioned strobes can reduce or eliminate most back scatter problems. Scatter is controlled by moving the strobes out away from the camera and then angling them in toward the subject. In this way a minimum amount of the water column between camera and subject is lit. With wide or ultra wide lenses, two strobes can light the entire area within the frame.

With all these benefits, other than cost, why wouldn't everyone always want to use two strobes? Lets look at the trade-offs. Most of the problems associated with using a second strobe come down to improper positioning of one or both strobes. To control shadows and depth in a photograph you must begin to visualize the desired final result and position your strobes accordingly. If you currently are having problems with basic exposure and/or strobe placement using a single strobe, adding a second strobe will only double your problems.

When doing wide angle photography, lighting the entire area within the frame is not necessarily an advantage. For example, if

Shadows are also not necessarily a bad thing. A single strobe will produce more shadows. If properly placed they can serve to enhance and separate a subject from it's background. Shadows are everywhere in nature. If two strobes are used and all shadows are eliminated, the result can be a very unnatural studio look.

It's only been in the past couple of years that I have moved to using two strobes. I like to use two low to mid power, SB-105, strobes. By using two matched power strobes, I don't have the added complexity of one being a primary and the other a secondary. If I want an unbalanced effect I go manual and vary the output of each strobe. I also often find myself shutting down one strobe and just using one.

In summary, a second strobe is simply another tool that can be added to your system. It will allow you to light subjects in ways you can't with a single strobe. It will also complicate strobe positioning and can produce very unnatural flat, studio like results. As any other tool or technique there are situations when a second strobe will enhance your final result and others where it will detract.

Your questions and comments are welcomed.

Randy Morse
E-Mail: RMorse@rickeng.com