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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> Flash advice please
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09/15/2012 04:02:09 AM · #1
Hi

As many will know, on occasion I photograph models; but mostly I use natural light. In the studio I may use strobes and I'll manually set those up through trial and error.

In a couple of weeks time, I'm shooting indoors where I'll probably need to use some artificial lighting and it would suit me to have a mains power free solution that is reasonably portable. I know the solution is to stick a flashgun on a light stand with an umbrella and that I might need two but...

I've never owned a flash gun - I have a macro ring flash I've used for bugs but other than that...

I'm not sure I really understand the whole ETTL thing in terms of how you actually exploit this functionality, I don't really understand the relative benefits of manual setups with light meters, the use of a Canon speedlight transmitter, the whole Pocket Wizard thing etc.

Given that I've only used studio strobes in a trial and error fashion, what advice could people give me in terms of:

1. Resources I should access to learn a bit more about getting the most out of flash guns
2. Hardware I should look to purchase (I'd like to minimise cost here - this sort of shoot won't become a habit for me, but I want to do a really good job for this shoot).

Any advice would be much appreciated. Please do state the obvious, I am clueless.
09/15/2012 04:24:16 AM · #2
I'm no expert done 5-6 boudoir/nude shoots and learning as I go. I bought one of those cheap sets on eBay, 2 x 200 watt heads, small softbox stands all in a bag. Good to learn with, to this I had a ex550 and I added a yn-560 from amazon (£50)

Then I've bought lots of bits umbrellas, hot shoe umbrella brackets, I ditched the cheap transmitter that came with and bought 3 pocket wizards as it was annoying me not firing on the optical slaves while using softboxs etc

I've also bought a big 1.2 m high x 40 strip box with a 40 degree grid that works really well for nudes.

As for resources, I've bought a few books but the best bet is YouTube namely mark Wallace snap factory he has great videos

My next purchase will be a Seckonic light meter then I'm watching a set of elinchrom ranger quasars on ebay at mo

As you'll soon get fed up feeding batteries into speed lights and waiting 2 mins to recharge

But trial and error is a good way to go, allenp is great with lighting

It's an expensive addition though when you start adding beauty dishes and grids and Octoboxes hehe

heres a new one, it is an advert for sekonic but his setups are great and make you think

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ykPKYS48Ew&feature=g-all-u

Message edited by author 2012-09-15 06:34:06.
09/15/2012 06:11:23 AM · #3
Giles_uk is right, it is a building process. One quick and inexpensive way to get started is Kevin Kubotas Lighting Notebook. He runs through nearly every imaginable setup, from one-light to five-light, shooting indoors and outdoors, shooting one person and shooting groups, shooting by yourself and shooting with assistants. He covers all types of kits. Every example is a two-page spread, showing the shoot setup, the out-of-camera result, and the post-processed result. Yes, you could get all this on YouTube, but in this book, you have something you can carry around and refer to while on a shoot. It can also be useful to flip through to see what it takes to get certain results so that you can decide what equipment you need/want to buy ahead of time.

Good luck!
09/15/2012 05:19:13 PM · #4
The strobist is often recommended as one of the best places to learn about lighting.

I haven't touched my strobes in a year. I just seem to prefer finding my shots in the real world in natural conditions, though they aren't always optimum.
09/17/2012 06:20:33 AM · #5
i just got light it, shoot it retouch it, by scott kelby came highly recommended on amazon
09/17/2012 10:14:47 AM · #6
Hi Paul,

for an inexpensive \"learn all\" experience, Ild start with Strobist.com. This will give you a good idea of different setups, dealing with different types of lights, triggers, etc. Theres also an emphasis on cheapest possible quality equipment.

You trial/error experience is sure to be a help. Systems like ettl try to predict optimal lighting for you, but allow for adjustments up and down a couple stops. These tend to be slightly more expensive solutions. Manual flash in conjuction with light meters is also an option. Once you have the ratio of your lights setup, you go up to the model, you trigger the meter (via sync cable or radio) and it gives you optimal camera settings for good exposure in that setting. You can set constraints on settings too, for example: iso @ 100 shutterspeed at 1/200 then get the aperture value. Once you have a value, you know you can go a stop up/down on the lights or adjust depth of field by the stops if you choose to do it that way. There are photographers who insist that those who don\'t use lightmeters are shams, and there are successful photographers who rely solely on their reflected light meter.

One option may be to invest in a battery+invertor system to make use of the lights you\'re used to. I use alienbees+vagabond, but if something like that is not an option-you can always go for flashguns that are much cheaper than the standard fare from canon/nikon.

Radio triggers come into play when there\'s enough line of sight interruption to warrant a radio trigger to facilitate the signal. I m assuming you\'re running a 5dmkiii, which means you\'re likely going to be stuck on manual using any pocketwizard offering for now. Pocketwizard sells an ETTL friendly version that doesn\'t yet have mkiii support. Also, the pocketwizard system is a bit expensive-reliable yes, but you pay for it. If you need a cheaper solution, strobist offers many options.

For portraits, unless you\'re goin for edgy, sharp looks, i suggest a modifier of some sort. Umbrellas are good- softboxes are better still for a softer look ( you dont need to go overboard here, 24 inches will do splendidly). You can go moreso in that direction with octaboxes, and other modifiers, but you really don\'t \"need\" to. A good pair of books by Neil Van Niekerk \"off camera flash\" and \"on camera flash\" do a good job of explaining different techniques for lighting and exploiting the ettl system for best results. He is generally a big advocate of mobility and flash, with most of his work circling around weddings and portraits. neilvn.com has a \"tangents\" blog which has some of his articles up as well.

Light, Science, Magic is a good book. Other good suggestions have already been made here. I hope some of what i wrote down is useful to you

09/17/2012 03:34:38 PM · #7
Originally posted by Paul:

Hi

As many will know, on occasion I photograph models; but mostly I use natural light. In the studio I may use strobes and I'll manually set those up through trial and error.

In a couple of weeks time, I'm shooting indoors where I'll probably need to use some artificial lighting and it would suit me to have a mains power free solution that is reasonably portable. I know the solution is to stick a flashgun on a light stand with an umbrella and that I might need two but...

I've never owned a flash gun - I have a macro ring flash I've used for bugs but other than that...

I'm not sure I really understand the whole ETTL thing in terms of how you actually exploit this functionality, I don't really understand the relative benefits of manual setups with light meters, the use of a Canon speedlight transmitter, the whole Pocket Wizard thing etc.

Given that I've only used studio strobes in a trial and error fashion, what advice could people give me in terms of:

1. Resources I should access to learn a bit more about getting the most out of flash guns
2. Hardware I should look to purchase (I'd like to minimise cost here - this sort of shoot won't become a habit for me, but I want to do a really good job for this shoot).

Any advice would be much appreciated. Please do state the obvious, I am clueless.


Here's a wide ranging primer I wrote up for another thread. Any more specific than that and it gets way to overwhelming and needs to be answered on a question then answer basis, so peruse that and then see where you're at.
09/17/2012 04:07:18 PM · #8
you know spirit, i thought i saw you write something up on this - but oculdn't recall exactly where. Good stuff
09/17/2012 04:12:03 PM · #9
Many thanks for all of this. I shall peruse!!

Cheers

Paul
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