Reddit reviews Pixel 11.8 feet/3.6M E-TTL Off-Camera Flash Cable Cord, DSLR Flash 580EX II 550EX 430EX II 420EX 380EX

> I know there are more professional tools than the ones I want to make myself but I really enjoy making them, and personalizing the main one, which is my camera.

> I just prefer a minimal size/always at your dispose light over the fastidiousnes of increase the weight of your camera and mounting/unmounting parts . As you can imagine I'm an amateur, looking professional is the least of my worries.

These are absolutely legitimate reasons to want to do this. My points don't apply.

> Your photos are great by the way, really , but what I'm looking for is to take pictures like this : https://www.flickr.com/photos/66469336@N02/23102037215/in/album-72157661350740135/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/66469336@N02/24396867472/in/album-72157661451662613/
> Which I recognize is not the most beautiful style for night pictures, but hey, it is mine.

On the contrary, your style is actually very attractive and serves a niche. Your photos don't come across as amateur; they have a very defined style and I actually like them quite a bit. I might personally expose the background slightly more, but otherwise I think what you're doing is great. It really captures a moment that's more than just grabbing shots of people smiling at the camera: you're catching people as they're having a good time, and they're involving the viewer in their moment.

Because of this, some of the traditional lighting rules simply don't apply. "Use a larger diffuser to soften the light", for example, is irrelevant of the light source also becomes part of the scene. The first photo you show actually has the phone present as a prop of the scene: your subjects are taking a selfie. The lighting in that scene makes perfect sense, and it works.

So, most of my advice about lighting in this context? Forget it. I'd still recommend against gluing something to your camera, but consider my hot shoe idea: buy some hot shoe caps (they're available in both plastic, and metal with a 1/4" threaded post), and then attach your light to those. You can use stronger adhesive so it won't fall apart while you're shooting, and you don't have to worry about removal later because they'll just pop off the hot shoe later. You might also consider using an external strobe but taking it off-camera. There are many ways to do this, but the cheapest is simply a flash shoe cord, which is available from your camera's manufacturer, or third-party for significantly less money.

However, if you're happy with the results of a tiny LED (and I think you have reason to be), I see no reason to change what you're doing. As a photographer, it's important to establish a "look". You've done that, and I see no reason to stray from it unless you want to experiment. It's clearly working for you. :-)

you don't really NEED it, you can get wonderful shots just bouncing an on-camera flash off a reflector, but you'll find when using an off-camera flash the light in your shots will look more natural, and you'll have much more flexibility for lighting and posing.

You can use the flash you are looking at off-camera by using a hot shoe cord or radio triggers (For example, Yongnuo RF-206 are found cheap on ebay).

You'll also find cheap softbox and umbrella kits floating around, which will improve the quality of your light. In a pinch you could bounce the flash off a reflector (even some white cardboard, or bedsheet. Be careful bouncing off walls as you may add a colour cast to the light).

I think there are TTL compatible cables that you can get like this. You can at least use your current flash with it's TTL Capabilities, even if not with total control.

Depends, do you need TTL?

One easy thing to do is get a hotshoe extension: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GR6IUK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003GR6IUK&linkCode=as2&tag=vwllss-20

Obviously you're then limited to 10 feet off camera, although that's still quite a bit

If you'd like wireless you could get some cheap radios. I'm a big fan of Yongnuo's better stuff. It's direct from China so it's not supreme quality, but it's the "high end" Chinese stuff so it's actually quite reliable. I have 6 Yongnuo triggers and I'm very happy with them.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050E7OSM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0050E7OSM&linkCode=as2&tag=vwllss-20

The problem there is they're manual only, meaning you have to fire off your flash(es), look at your screen, and adjust them appropriately. This isn't so bad and it's what I do when I have a portrait session. In the case of a careful portrait I prefer the control over the automatic. Note you don't need to look at your screen if you buy a flash meter, but they're quite expensive.

The last option is a TTL radio, which lets you both go wireless and automatic. They cost upwards of $250 per unit (so $150-$500 for a pair to use your flash with).

http://shop.radiopopper.com/radiopopperjrxstudiokitusca.aspx

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TAPOQ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001TAPOQ0&linkCode=as2&tag=vwllss-20

Also, do yourself a favor and get a LONG cable to pull the flash from your shoe, don't go OEM.
http://www.amazon.com/Pixel-E-TTL-Off-Camera-replaces-OC-E3b/dp/B003GR6IUK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347991996&sr=8-1&keywords=e-ttl+cable
And check out Strobist: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/02/welcome-to-strobist.html

you need either:

1) Off-Camera Flash Sync Cable

or

2) Wireless Flash Trigger

It's best to start with a cord, and not overcomplicate things. As your skill progresses, you'll eventually want to move to a wireless trigger.

Yep, but third party. Looks like I was wrong and it's $20.
http://www.amazon.com/Pixel-E-TTL-Off-Camera-replaces-OC-E3b/dp/B003GR6IUK

I have one of these and it works just fine. I'm an amateur, and using it for hand-held macro like I described in my post, so take that as context for my recommendation :)