strobist.com -> www.strobist.blogspot.com
One of the best things about running a site like this is watching people use light to elevate their family photos. Every day, someone drops a photo of a baby (or kid, or sweetie) into the pool that looks like it could have jumped off of the pages of a magazine.
Jef79m used a DIY beauty dish at camera left and a shoot-thru umbrella at upper camera right, both with speedlights at half power to overpower daylight. But that still wasn't enough soft light to fill in all of those Butterball wrinkles. Note to the photographer: If you lose your memory card, it might be in Mackenzie's arm somewhere...
Backlinks Monday, May 12, 2008 Light Fare at The Bar One of the best things about attending a week-long photo conference is hanging out with the other shooters and students in the off-hours. In Dubai, this meant almost nightly trips to the "Vista," a restaurant on the top floor of our hotel, seen at left.
And if we seemed a little sleepy while teaching the next morning, it was likely because we had closed the joint down the night before. The last evening saw us too tired even to make it to the top floor.
excellent built-in slave, makes for an easy, impromptu off-camera light setup. Everything happens in manual -- the G9's ambient exposure, the built-in flash, and the SB-800. This is what allows easy use of the Nikon and Canon gear together. If you are used to working in manual, this combo is very quick and easy. You just work out your most important variable, and go from there. Pick Your Most Important Variable In every flash/ambient exposure, you have to first decide what factor is driving the decision-making process. In this instance, it is something a little unusual: The camera's ISO. I say that because great camera that the G9 is, I do not like to go above ISO 100 if I can help it. And if I can get away with ISO 100 in a dark bar, I can do it almost anywhere. In addition, I had the G9's internal flash set on manual at the lowest of three output levels. Everything Else Solves Itself So, back to the thought process.
least hideous shutter speed possible in the dark room at ISO 100. In the end, I was hanging out in the 1/4 - 1/2 second range. Sometimes I would hold the camera still and sometimes I would move it a bit for effect. Now that you know an ISO and an aperture -- say, f/4 or the sake of argument -- your other values fall into place. Next in line would be to find a power level and distance for the SB-800 which exposes your subject properly. What I like to do is to choose a consistent working distance for the SB, and dial in my power level with a couple of quick test shots. In this instance, it was at 1/32 power with a working distance of about 3 feet.
Now, anywhere I stick that flash I will have a properly exposed photo at a light-to-subject distance of 3 feet. Generally, I would just put the flash on the table -- in the direction in which I wanted the light to hit.
I just use the camera's meter to dial my shutter in so that the environment is 2 stops underexposed. In most instances, In this case, we were down into the Hail Mary shutter speed settings. I can also dial in whatever amount of flash/ambient contrast I like via the shutter speed. And everything else is already taken care of by the other exposure choices. Drink With the Left Hand, Shoot with the Right Take young Adam -- just 12 years old -- who came all the way from the UK take classes, ask questions, and offer to sleep on studio floors. Don't laugh -- that is exactly what I would have done at his age. Among the students, it was very easy to see exactly who had made the decision to get the absolute most out of the conference. After-hours at the bar just meant more time for editing and second guessing the day's work. The guys in Chase's class were particularly hard-driven. Soup-to-nuts -- real commercial brief, models, location, editing and post. This may have been a first in the photo class of this kind in the world, especially given the authenticity of all of the components.
Chris Hurtt (who spent the week getting people off of the "green square" and saving them money on post cards) pondering the intricacies of an orange vase lit from the inside by an SB-800. I know what you are thinking: He's three sheets to the wind. But if you knew Chris, you would know that this is a perfectly normal expression for him. I had better photos, but the customs folks made me delete them at the airport before I left the country. Next time you have a fun, after-hours thing going on, give this stuff a try. The manual lighting and exposure process may seem a little complicated at first, but it is not. And it is surprisingly fast to set up -- even if one is not safe to drive at the time. We did some fun stuff in the Dubai classes (and out in the desert) and I will be posting more within the next coupla weeks.
I have tried to answer them best I could -- and found a video to boot -- after the jump. Ring Flash Q-n-A Q: This is pretty neat with one exception. The design of it and the way it flops down, won't it block the infrared focus assist on the SB800? A: Yes, it will block the AF-assist light on the SB-800. But FWIW, I am not sure that this thing is that much of a run-and-gun light source. They have to go where the numbers are, at least at first. Q: A quick search for "Ring Light" or "Ring Flash" on eBay lists a lot of ring flashes that sell for less than $100. So what's the advantage of a ring flash adapter over such an eBay flash? A: I actually have bought, tried and discarded a couple of those types of flashes. They are far too weak (and the light source size far too small) to be very useful for subjects other than macro. Q: Looks like this would block the front of the flash body. any idea if it kills the built in wireless flash capability of say a Canon 580exII? Could I use this unit and still fire another canon flash off-camera? A: It does block the front of the flash, because it channels it to the ring light area. Being a Nikon guy, I tried it in SB-800 Commander mode to see if it would control other flashes wirelessly. Q: By saying "But they counter it by not releasing the light fully until they are an inch or two from the top of the ring, going around. Do you mean that the light output is evenly distributed around the whole ring? A: If the light were emitted all of the way around the ring, it would definitely be hotter up top, which would be closer to the flash. They balance this out by not starting to release the light until it is just a little bit of the way around the circle. The end effect is a pretty even lighting effect around the ring. A: That depends on whether or not your camera will trigger a PW from the PC jack when a hot-shoe flash is mounted. Q: Who wants to bet that there will be a $29 knock-off available in/from Korea within 3 months? This thing has a pretty complex light distribution system. Second thought, I would not be surprised to see a piece-of-crap knockoff. But this thing is actually more complicated that it looks from a distance. Q: I've noticed it's $50 cheaper if you're a Canon user yeah! Q: I'm sure the Gadget Infinity folks already have a prototype in the works. A: We actually gave them an engraved invitation to create one about six months ago, and they pretty much dropped the ball. Q: I would like to see some evidence that this attachment wouldn't overtstress the the plastic hot shoe, otherwise add a new 580 EX II to the price package. A: Can't speak for the plastic hot shoe flashes, but on my SB-800 (with a metal hot shoe) there did not seem to be much stress at all on the shoe or the foot. I would think that they would already know it if flashes snapping off were a problem. I think you'd need something a lot larger (maybe 12-14" across) to get the proper ring light "look". A: It is a little smaller than the ABR or other big-powered ring flashes.
Q: Looks exactly like my Flaghead ring flash that I got for exactly 292 dollars US from Bob Rigby in the UK. Needs a 1/4 CTO, just a tad bit cool straight out the cow. It'll handle close-in portraiture outside using the FP synch stuff.
Backlinks Monday, May 05, 2008 Just Another Boring Monday at the Office We wrapped ...
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