studio flash, test shots ??

[paul linton]

Had my first try with a 2 head studio flash kit.(Big thanks to Martin fishwick for the free hire of his gear)

Managed to get every thing set up and running correctly though could do with more room, suprised how a large garage now feels so limited in space.
These shots were just testers as time was getting on and as usual nobody will pose for me, even the dog thought i was having a laugh if i thought he was going to sit there having his photo done,never seen him leave the garage so quickly.


Oscar



Two boys



Have you done yet look at the state of the garage(wife's quote)





Now i think these images are fine and actually very pleased with.

The problem i found is i couldn't get the majority of the black background to be black,Does any one know the technique to get your black backgrounds black/or your white backgrounds white.
The next image highlights my problem with the Black background (not been black enough)

Oscar



Thanks for looking and hope you can help in any way possible.

Paul

[Muscat]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

Sorry I can't help but did like the pictures.

[briansquibb]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

Moving the subject away from the background helps.

[paul linton]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

Thanks Muscat/Brian,
Think you could be right Brian, about moving the subject away from the background a bit more,Though I'm limited on space.
One thing i did learn today was only adjusting the aperture affects the exposure not changing the shutter speed, best results came from 1/125sec at f8-f11(f5.6 made it lighter f16 made it darker)all done in manual mode.

Paul

[codachrome]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

I saw this video it might intrest you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDGn4VzEOlU

Coda

[EOS_Jim]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

What you seem to have is two lights at pretty equal power coming from the left and right. the subjects are fairly close to the background and the lights are placed facing the background (as the subjects are there).

In order to turn the background dark you have a couple of options.
As Brian says moving the subject further from the background will mean less of the light will fall on the background.

better is to move the light closer to the subject. Remember that light falls off very quickly so the closer your light is to the subjectr the quier the fall off will be. There are issues moving the light closer depending on what you are shootting but for a head and shoulders your softboxes should be fine.

The other thing to do (which may be the most effective) is to feather the light. This may sound odd at first but turn the light so that the edges of the softbox are just in front of the subject and not pointing towards the background. the soft light fropm the edge of the softbox will light the subject nicely and you wont get the light falling onto the background..... so it will be black.

Regards your light placement.

The light to the camera left looks ok. Nice catchlight at 10pm. The light to camera right could be used more as a fill light and be brought more towards the camera axis at a stop or so below the exposure of your main light and slightly higher up. (A flash meter would help to measure exposures).

Currently that right hand light looks a little low in some as per the catchlights). Power is also pretty even looking. Bringing the light closer will give a nice oft shadow and the fill will just lighten that slightly.

So to get black

1. Don't point the light towards the background - Feather the light (google can help here). This works well with softboxes (a modifier that controls the direction of the light). Works less well (if at all) with a brolly which throws light all around.
2. Get the light closer to the subject. At the correct exposure less light will fall on the background.
3. Move the subject away from the background - 4-6 feet away should be good and I'd do this in conjunction with No2.

Good start though and looking forward to seeing more :)

[paul linton]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

I saw this video it might intrest you.

Many thanks Coda,had a look at the video,some good tips to follow

Paul

[paul linton]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

Hi Jim,
A lot of good advice from you, which is much appreciated. I have a friends dog coming this afternoon for a few shots and I'll try a few of your ideas if at all possible.Unfortunately the flash units will have to go back on Friday as i just wanted to try them out,and see if i could make full use of them. Rather than jumping in feet first. (these flash units belong another EOS forum member Martin fishwick )

Many thanks once again Paul

[martin fishwick]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

would of replyed earlyer but for some reason it wouldn't let me sign in.
some good advice here which I will take on board myself.
the man in the vid makes it look easy makes me won't to get out and shoot.


if you need the lights for longer thats fine I haven't got any thing on next week. I know what its like to be unsure

you never know oscar may forget

[martin fishwick]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

on the subject would I be able to use my speedlite 430 with studio lights as a back light if so what would I need ?

[EOS_Jim]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

First of all the 430 needs to be set to manual and I think it may also need to be set to slave (which I think should be fine for the 430). When you fire the strobe the 430 should fire too.

That's basically it. If you have a meter, you can set the power to suit your needs. If you don't have a meter you may need to play around to get the look you want.

The big problem with flashguns is the recycle time. Fire a strobe it will be ready within about 0.5-1.5 seconds. Firing a 430 onto a background may require a bit of power and it can take 5 seconds for that to recycle.

I've resisted using my flash guns but sometimes it could be useful to have an extra light at times and the flash guns will do a decent job. I've seen some crwacking shots form people just using a flash and a brolly!

[briansquibb]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

I have tested the recycle time on my 580EX - about 2 seconds on a full charge from scratch

Multiple 580EX - less than 1 second on average use.

[EOS_Jim]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

The 430 at full power is a bit slower than the 580 especially at full power. Yes i appreciate you can improve recycle times though but as a single unit it does get even slower farily quickly as the batteries drain.

Battery packs help a fair bit too as does as you say additional units firing as one. but we're just talking about a single 430EX here to mix with studio lights.

[briansquibb]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

I find that with rechargables the recycle times dont vary until they are nearly flat. Have been caught out as they just stop working without warning.

You cant improve recycle time but just reduce the drain by using multiple flashes. Also using the most of each flash helps through snoots and reflectors means that less charge is used

[EOS_Jim]

Re: studio flash, test shots ??

Yes I suppose all you are doing is not firing at full power all the time. The zoom on the flash itself can be useful too in that regard to concentrate the light where you want it.