# My Huawei P30 and iPhone 11 Pro Shoot with an Innovatronix CPFlash 550W Off camera flash



## John Fantastic (Oct 19, 2020)

As I near retirement age, the portability of the smartphone and the continuous improvement in computation photography has made mobile photography a great value proposition for me. Of course the main attraction has been the ease of carrying one. I also admire the fact that you can shoot silky shots of waterfalls even without a tripod and without the use of neutral density filters. Also like the the idea that its so easy to take HDR shots.

For me the print size capability of a smartphone is good enough for my needs knowing that I have not printed anything bigger than an A3+ (13"x19") print in the last 10 years.

It is time for me to upgrade as my gear is more than 10 years old. I was thinking of going FF DSLR or Mirror-Less Camera but balk at the expense of buying a new body and new lenses which cost in the thousand of dollars. But in the end I preferred less bulk and weight more than anything else.

What has prevented me from going mobile photography all the way was the fact that no reliable Off Camera Flash was available with the smartphone. Well at least until now. When I read about the Innovatronix CPFlash 550W I decided to try it out.  I bought 3 pieces as my style of photography almost always use external off camera flashes.

I have come to the conclusion that I can now shoot 95% of the time with my Smartphone and the remaining 5% which mostly will be Sports Photography and wildlife will be relegated to my DSLR.

Here are some shots I took last Saturday with my Huawei P30 Pro. I used 3 off camera flashes, set as master and 2 slave flashes. I also borrowed my wife's iPhone 11 Pro to try it out. I have asked a friend model, to pose for me. The pictures here have been reduce in resolution to make uploading faster. I also edited it in Photoshop using burning and dodging only. In the next few months I will continue practicing with my new toys as I gain experience and skills in using them.

Feel Free to ask me any question about my shoot. As I do intend to create my own Youtube channel as part of my retirement plans. 

All shots were  taken at broad daylight. inside a barn . Huawei P30 in Manual Mode 1/250S  IS0 200  aperture at f1.7 (fixed) . Apple iPhone 11 Pro using a LR Camera app in Manual mode 1/250s ISO 200.




 


I also tried a day for night effect. same exposure 1/250S ISO 200 Huawei P30 Pro in manual mode.


 


This is the image without the Off camera Flash being triggered. I think I underexposed it by more than 3 stops. 



 


Here is the normal exposure of the barn.



 


I also took some shots using my wife's iphone 11 pro using the native camera app with AF/AE Lock and Exposure compensation but I have difficulty because its like shooting in program mode using an external flash. Have a hard time predicting the compensation required . Secondly  the iPhone has a mind of its own with regards to the effects that you want to achieved. Here is an automatic editing that the iphone did to my image.



 

Luckily my wifes phone has a Lightroom App which I decided to use in manual mode and I was able to take shots without any problems.  Please forgive me if I dont do justice with my iPhone shots. This is the first time I shot with an iPhone and I spent more time fiddling with the controls than taking the shots. I just want to test it with an iphone. It seems also that LR greatly reduced the resolution of the images. I just don't know yet how to set it right. 



 

In general I am quite happy with the fact that I have a suitable Off camera flash for my smartphone and I can finally retire my DSLR for 95% of my photography requirements.


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## John Fantastic (Oct 19, 2020)

Here is a typical shot of mine taken years ago with an EOS600D DSLR using 2 off camera flashes. I am fond of this kind of shots and its various combinations.


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## John Fantastic (Oct 20, 2020)

I just found this review about the CPFlash 550 done by Lighting Rumours. 

Innovatronix CPFlash in the studio - Lighting Rumours


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## John Fantastic (Oct 21, 2020)

Here are my old photos taken with a DSLR (EOS 600D) with multiple Off Camera Flash.


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## John Fantastic (Oct 22, 2020)

My style of shooting involves many low power Off Camera Flashes that are not obvious OCF. It would be virtually impossible or really very hard technically to achieve shots like this without the use of OCF Flashes. 

I use Yongnuo when I was still shooting with a DSLR. Now that OCF flashes are now available for smartphones, Most of my shots will be migrated to the smartphone. The good thing about the Innovatronix CPFlash 550W is that it syncs with your smartphone at any shutter speed even at 1/10000 because it is a continuous light source. You can also use the CPFLash 550W for your DSLR and even video light and effects. 

Here is an old picture circa 2010 that I shot with an EOS400D  I think.
technical specs: 1/30 sec. f/7.1 10mm with 4 yongnuo OCF speedlites


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## John Fantastic (Oct 25, 2020)

Here is another DSLR image that I will eventually reshoot with my Huawei P30. Again it involves External Flashes that are low power but multiple units. I am planning to revive my shooting schedule of at least once a month.


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## John Fantastic (Oct 27, 2020)

Here is another shot I took with my DSLR which involves multiple Yongnou external flashes . I think I used 6 Off Camera Flashes here but the effect is remarkable and can never be achieve without off camera flashes. This image can easily be achieve with a smartphone in Manual Mode and multiple  CPFlash 550W.

I will do this again with my smartphone when the pandemic restrictions have been relaxed and air travel gets back to normal.

Next Month I intend to shoot with my smartphone again, this time I will make it a tutorial for those who want to do more serious photography with their gear .


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## John Fantastic (Oct 30, 2020)

I just discovered the video effects possible with the CPFlash. Although I don't do videos, Its nice to know that this lights are capable of some cinematic video effects.


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## tee_nori (Nov 6, 2020)

Wow, John! That last photo is absolutely outstanding!

Very curious to know how you know how to position these off camera lights for best effects.

How close are you to your subjects?

Stunning!! I did not know phones could capture this!!


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## John Fantastic (Nov 16, 2020)

Hello tee_nori, Thank you for the reply

By trial and error. 
I will be posting another shoot sheduled this weekend next week. this time in will be more of a turotrial.



tee_nori said:


> Wow, John! That last photo is absolutely outstanding!
> 
> Very curious to know how you know how to position these off camera lights for best effects.
> 
> ...


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## John Fantastic (Nov 16, 2020)

Thank you Alexthenewbie,

Next week I will be posting another shoot of mine, but this time I will make it a tutorial. 




alexthenewbie said:


> I'm a follower of this thread now. Very interesting new topic for mobile photography. Thank you John.


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## John Fantastic (Nov 20, 2020)

I am not a professional photographer, neither do I do a lot of Wildlife or Sports Photography and I don't print images larger than A3+ (13"x19"). So instead of spending more than 4000$ on a new mirrorless and a variety of lenses I decided to use my smartphone. For my needs a smartphone is better for me than an ILC as I can carry it anytime without the bulk. 

Here is my latest shoot in a studio using a Huawei P30 smartphone and 2 Innovatronix CPFlash 550W external flash. One on the left is used as a hairlight, while a another off camera flash in a softbox on the right of the frame . My interest in photography has definitely returned thanks to the smartphones.


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## John Fantastic (Nov 22, 2020)

Here is a "Bazaar Shoot" with a P30 single CPFlash 550W external flash . Took me less than 3 minutes to set-up this shot.


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## John Fantastic (Nov 24, 2020)

Thank you Alex, I hope you enjoy photography as much as I do. 




alexthenewbie said:


> John Fantastic said:
> 
> 
> > I am not a professional photographer, neither do I do a lot of Wildlife or Sports Photography and I don't print images larger than A3+ (13"x19"). So instead of spending more than 4000$ on a new mirrorless and a variety of lenses I decided to use my smartphone. For my needs a smartphone is better for me than an ILC as I can carry it anytime without the bulk.
> ...


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## John Fantastic (Dec 6, 2020)

alexthenewbie said:


> John Fantastic said:
> 
> 
> > Thank you Alexthenewbie,
> ...



Hello Alex, and others I just created a new thread in "Beyond the Basics" about a tutorial in OFF Camera Flash Photography using Smartphones. Below is the link. Please feel free to ask me any question as I would enjoy that very much. 

TUTORIAL:OFF CAMERA EXTERNAL FLASH USING SMARTPHONES


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## John Fantastic (Dec 16, 2020)

Here is a shot I took about 4 weeks back. The instant feedback of digital capture and the ease of controlling all the power output of the flashes from you smartphone makes the technical side of photography a non-issue. Any beginner can now start taking pictures using off camera flashes. This shot uses 4 Innovatronix CPFlash 550 External flashes 




 
Huawei P30, f1.6, 1/100 Sec, ISO 400, 36mm (35mm equivalent)

Here is the layout diagram


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