one two, testing! New Lighting Method test

[rG-tom]

Hey guys,

Went out today with my gf and her mate just to test a new lighting technique! Neither girls were really rigged for a proper shoot (normally Sarah has full photographic make up on so it shows up properly, today she wore practically none!).

1) first shot of the day, pretty nippy so still got her jacket on! Can see me in the glasses lol

2) my gf's friend who came along for a few shots,

3) Trying a bit of rim lighting (oo err ;o)

4) into the shade a little bit, quite like the setup for this kinda work

5) As above

6) As above mk2

6) Your turn!

7) Bit o' bokeh

8) This didnt reaaaaally work at all, being below the model isnt ideal!

9) Quite like the lighting effect with a very dark forest behind her:

 

[rG-tom]

10) On the way back to dropping Natalie off, passing Hollingworth lake i was presented with a stunning sunset.....despite it being about 3 degrees C outside i made the models jump out for a few shots!

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15) Natalie's Turn

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Set up was my Canon EOS-40D / 24-105 F4L IS with a sigma DG 500 ST Super on the camera, set to not fire acting as a wireless eTTL controller for the 430ex sat on the tripod firing into a 32" White umbrella. Most photos were in AV priority with 2 stops of -EV dialed in, with the flash varying between 0ev and +1 ev depending on what i wanted with the shot.

That's how the set up looked (obviously the camera is in my hand ;p) Yes using a nearly £600 tripod set up to hold a single speedlight and a light umbrella is overkill, but hey ho!

Hope you enjoyed the post, the idea today was to learn the new method of controlling the off camera flashes etc and from that i've learnt a fair bit! So mission acomplished. Also, found a pretty nice location for future shoots.

Tom.

 

[rG-tom]

thanks for the comments guys

I know what you mean about the lower angle but I actually quite like it :$ it doesn't conform to ideals! It was too impromptu and cold to sit down though! I do appreciate the feedback guys

 

[rG-tom]

Hi, see if you can get your hands on some coloured gels for your flashes (can be had for free if you use sample packs). There is quite an obvious colour temperature mismatch between the flash and ambient in a few of the shots which you may be able to adjust using some. Otherwise good work.

oh and get some lightstands too, there's plenty of adequate and cheap ones on your average internet auction site.

ive got some lighting stands I picked up the gitzo so that i if I wanted to do any shots where the camera needed to be mounted on a tripod instead i could, couldnt be bothered carting around a tripod and a light stand!

yea i do need to get some gels, what are these sample packs that you talk of?

Tom.

 

[rG-tom]

ive just ordered some lees filters from ebay, £4 for a set

Also ive just realised i was being thick. Look at the umbrella....it's a reversible white/gold one. I couldve just reversed it to gold

 

[rG-tom]

gah i was in bolton today! lol. Ill give it a shot. cheers

 

[rG-tom]

Thanks for the comments guys

She's seen the thread and is annoyed that i didnt put a few of the others that she liked on, so here they are

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and just one more that i quite liked the lighting on but not the model's pose:

Tom.

 

[rG-tom]

Shot 10 is the only one i like the others look to wooden for me, nice use of light thou.

hehe, i thought #10 was the most wooden one of the lot!

 

[rG-tom]

Cool stuff Tom, good to see you getting used to off camera lighting.
I would suggest learning to shoot in manual mode though, you'll find that making adjustments is a lot quicker and easier.

I know how to shoot in manual, I'm learning how to use the ttl control so I can make adjustments remotely

 

[rG-tom]

yea I know it's different that's why I'm practicing with it before I need to use it

 

[rG-tom]

well you can see the results, not half bad considering ive never used it before! So far it seems quite good, there is a regular pro who comes in work who swears by it who introduced me to it, he loves having the ability to sling a few strobes into good but hard to access locations with some decent batteries in and get on with the job, if the subject changes (mainly band work etc that he does) and he wants a different bias to the lighting he can dial it in via the on camera controller. Seems actually fairly consistant if im honest with you The only time ive had trouble with it was the first shots where i was shooting into a very very bright low sun where depending on my angle it wasn't picking the comms up, but if i made sure i had good line of site with the flash it was fine, and again once the sun died down a bit or i was in shade it worked 100% of the time.

I'd give it a go, especially as with your pocket wizards cant you do radio frequency TTL rather than having to rely on IR? That'd make all my gripes with it disappear

Also one thing i love is it is so quick to adapt, look at the shots of the chow in the other thread, i had the flash at the top of the steps taking shots of the model up there, completely differnt angles and working distances etc to the chow shots, when i grabbed the tripod, dropped the height of it down and took literally 4 shots, all of them lit 100% perfect, in manual i wouldve had to dial it right down first etc, this, just worked.

 

[rG-tom]

What I meant by "not consistant" was if the framing of a shot changes - for example if you all of a sudden pull to a wide shot where the background is very dark, the TTL tries to light the whole frame and so increases the flash power and you end up with a nuked subject. Obviously it can be compensated for in camera, but it's one of those things where you might miss a "moment" due to the TTL trying to do the thinking for you.

With regards to the pocketwizards, they aren't for TTL shooting only for use with a sync cord. Being a radio frequency they can't carry TTL signal.
But a clever guy called Kevin King made a system called "Radio Poppers" which will do wireless TTL. If you're looking for the pocketwizard equivalent for TTL then look no further, these things are amazing.

The more you shoot manual the quicker it gets, I can set up a head and shoulders portrait in under a minute including placement of light stands etc.
Once you get used to it you don't even think about the numbers and 9/10 times I'm within half a stop on my exposures right off the bat.

easy combat to it trying to light the entire scene, whack it onto spot metering and away you go

As you say you can set up a head and shoulders in under a minute, and get the exposures nearly right straight off, I agree and i'm in a similar position (obviously not done quite as much as you but ive got my head around it), but this took under 5 seconds literally, it just works......i do appreciate the use for manual and i will still be using it but IMO TTL has it's place and it's another technique to add to the arsenal

 

[rG-tom]

them radiopoppers at a quick glance look to be quite good! best of both worlds, allow manual remote control of the flashes and TTL will look at them properly when i get home

 

[rG-tom]

The RadioPopper P1 system allows you to use the automatic and
high-speed sync functions built into your existing flash units without
concern of whether or not the master and slave units can “see” each
other. You now have the ability to place your lights wherever you
choose, then controlling the output power of each slave flash from the
camera body manually or automatically via your camera’s ETTL or iTTL
logic system. It’s also the world’s first product to effectively provide
you high speed sync by radio. Enjoy.

 

[rG-tom]

That makes no sense...."controlling the power of each slave flash from the camera body manuallt"....that's not like a remote way of shooting full manual (i.e. changing the power on the back of each strobe) I think it means something else.

no, it is actually EXACTLY like chanigng the settings on the back of the flash

 

[rG-tom]

Completely off topic but what are your opinions on the Sigma flashgun compared to the 430 Tom? Any preferences?

The sigma is a bit clumsier, not as well rounded, but more powerful and can control. The 430ex can only slave!

 

[rG-tom]

Just to confirm, CAN the DG500ST be used as a master trigger, with or without firing itself?

I think it needs to be a dg st super for it to trigger? dont quote me on that as i have only ever used the supers.

Yes it can control without firing itself (in exposure terms that is, it still fire but it is a ms before the actual flashes so it doesnt affect the exposure)



BTW I now use a 580ex mk2 to control, and does allow for much more control but they are triple the price!

 

[rG-tom]

So what do you need for this? Is it as simple as a Flash gun (and wireless transmitter), umbrella and tripod?

How much would an umbrella and necessary mounting bits set one back?

£13 from ebay for a mount and umbrella, inc postage (search for light stand umbrella and there are loads)

It needs a wireless transmitter, or, in my case, im using 2 flashes, one to control the TTL metering, and one acting as a slave.