Anyone here use shoot throughs for larger groups/more complex arrangements? Please tell me about it.
Better: how about an engagement shot (in dress/tux or out of dress/tux: whatever), indoor, location shot? I am looking to buy a pair of 45" Westcotts/Photoflexes, and would like to hear your experience/suggestions.
It doesn't matter how powerful your flash is for the coverage, it matters on the size of the umbrella and the positioning. There's an article on the strobist blog that details this. But the farther away the umbrella light source is, the more coverage and more power you'll need. It's completely possible to overshoot your umbrella as well. Set the 580EX to 24mm zoom and but the umbrella close to a wall and shoot. You'll see the shadow of the light affected by the umbrella and then on the outside you'll see the hard light you get from firing over the edges of the umbrella.
Mike - I think that fact is what scares people most about off-camera lighting: 1/2 distance from light to subject is 1 stop in-camera. In full manual, that idea makes me feel like I'm juggling totally uncontrolled elements: from light spillover control to subject/backdrop lighting ratio controlled by both flash power and distance relative to each other...all narrowed through the lens to that little bitty focal plane...and THEN you can start thinking about shutter and aperture. I have to experience this myself, and I have to experience it a lot, becasue no matter how well it is explained, doing it makes it happen, right? Good thing I'm not burning up roll after roll of Provia...
On the up side, my mother (who is very busy spending my inheritance on home improvements and vacations as all of her children directed her to do since my dad died) decided she'd forgotten my birthday last year. She didn't, but that's not the point: she bought everything in my Amazon cart for me as a gift. 2 - 8' light stands, 2 - 45" convertible umbrellas, 2 swivels, a super clamp, and a big padded tripod/lighting carry on.
And...2 Honl speedstraps, 1 - 8" snoot, 1 - 5" shorty snoot, and 2 gobo/barn doors that I had in my wish list. She neglected to buy the 70-200 f/2.8L Canon lens I had in there, which is understandable: she's remodeling her kitchen. Sometimes everyone needs a mom, I guess.
So, in a week (sooner, if I get my new memory cards after smacking down a seller on Ebay who sold me 5 counterfeits) ) I'll have Stobist open on my laptop, my kids up in a room with a big ugly pink wall (to be draped with some WalMart sheets, one set estimated about 30% gray and another about 80% gray, if a little blue), and a whiteboard with notes on it in the shot as I experiement with setups and such. More to come.
Now you are going to make me go try it just to see with a pair of 580's or 383's for that matter and my two 43" convertable's. :D
The shoot I'm scheduled for is up in Alberta in June, and there are tons of well-lit outdoor spaces I can go to for natural light shots. I'll use the umbrellas for bride/groom portraits I think. I'll have a month to experiment as well, so long as I place my order today: pair of 45's (I'm gonna go look at Strobist and see what that 43" was, VI), three swivels (one spare), three 9' stands (two for ligths, one for a 55" Photoflex white/gold reflector that's been rotting in my closet).
Gryphonslair - if you do any experimentation...can you share it please? I'd love to see what you come up with using 580's, and any advice you gather would be greatly appreciated.
And another question: convertables or just plain old shoot throughs? I have the silver ones, but I've read they are a little more harsh than white.
Mike: I have read about a few different schools of thought. Strobist had a recent entry that stated "90% of the time..." he'd use shoot-through. I've not done either, so it's off to practice, practice, practice. I will be getting a pair of 45" convertibles to start, and I have a pair of VERY old 35" silver umbrellas to play with too (inherited them from an old girlfriend's brother). It'll be fun!
Me, I know this little piece of info how it relates to my equipment, but I like to see the result on a lightmeter in advance and go from there.
Time and practice are basically all thats needed along with a lot of reading and understanding what is going on, on the strobist site... it comes together quite fast actually... but the practice and seeing it all happen first hand is what ties it all together.
As I mentioned before, I am more technical than artsy or creative, and I really get off on all that techno-babble... lol.
Hot-shoe flash units can put out a lot of light...but their affect is greatly reduced when you use a diffuser. This is partially because they use a front lens element like a Fresnel lens, which focuses and directs the light. When you diffuse the light beam, a lot of the power is lost because it's not a focused beam anymore.
Of course, not using a diffuser will mean harder light...so, like everything else, it's a trade off.
Strobist is great as the information makes this much easier and much accessible to your average Joe.
From there, a lot of the knowledge and techniques are gained from experience. After learning the basics and practicing for a bit, you'll know that according to your flash's guide number, @ 8 feet away on 1/4 power, you need an aperture of 6.3. Then you stick an umbrella infront of it. That requires about an extra stop of light, so you crank it up to 1/2 power and take a shot. It's about spot on and may need a miniscule change in aperture or flash power.
That's about how it should go for you. Enough time playing with the toys and you'll know exactly what to do for exactly what you want.
You will get a little improvement if you bounce off an umbrella and an even BETTER improvement if you shoot WITHOUT an umbrella at all !
Shoot direct flash and enjoy the best results your strobes can offer you. Set the strobes to shoot medium-wide, BTW. ;)
Outdoor, then. Late afternoon. Have to find a good spot. Speedlites on stands on my right and left, parallel for fill. I'm going to gather a group of my neighbors and pratice, see where ETTL takes me, then transit to manual from there. Thanks Jerry & Mike.
The couple, on the other hand, will be indoors for a few sessions. This is going to get tricky. Maybe that Strobist article on hacking my flash to 12,000,000 watt/sec of output will help. What the heck. They're only $400 a piece... :er:
The couple, on the other hand, will be indoors for a few sessions. This is going to get tricky. Maybe that Strobist article on hacking my flash to 12,000,000 watt/sec of output will help. What the heck. They're only $400 a piece... :er:
you know that was an april fool's joke, right?
:lmao: :)
#If you have any other info about this subject , Please add it free.# |
