Portrait Lighting
Swiftis
getting some kind of small portrait lighting set up.I was interested in the new
550EX speedlights with the transmitter which lets you use E-TTL for more than
one flash.You are also able to adjust each flash according to what you need.The
flash is supposed to be like the 540EZ with more features and E-TTL.
I thought I could get 2 of these flashes with extra battery packs and
transmitter for wireless control.I would like to get a mini soft box from
Lumiquest ,an umbrella or pocket bouncer.Any suggestions on how I should work
this out or any equipment you feel would be more appropriate please advise.
I also was wondering if I should have a lamp or a 3rd 550EX for background
lighting.I don't know anything about what kind of lamp would be right and what
the cost would be also how many amps do one of these lamps require.
Any advise on equipment to use with these flashes and lamps as I have described
would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
James G Roetzel
portraits. It might not be the best way to go and you might want to think about
this differently. As I understand it the price of the 550EX is over $400- that's a
lot of money and you will need to power the 3 flashes- that's a lot of batteries or
quantum's, then you'll have to get special (AKA less than ideal) adapters for use
the flashes in soft boxes.
You might want to consider simple monolights like White Lightning 600 or 1200's
[www.white-lightning.com] and a flash meter. You will have more power, modeling
lights, more convenient control of the light, more accessories, runs off of AC
current and probably will out live the 550EX set up by at least 5 years.
for what its worth
Jim Roetzel
Kirbyko3
subject. it's part of a "Pro-Lighting" series that you can find at Barnes &
Noble or B&H, and they have them on different subjects -- portraits, nudes,
product shots, glamour, etc. They're $35 apiece and worth every penny.
I have the "Portraits" book and it looks like most people use a softbox and
reflectors to get the best portrait lighting. Check it out -- it's worth the
$$!
Kerry
Eosman
In article <19981223000549...@ng43.aol.com>, swi...@aol.com
(Swiftis) writes:
>I have an Elan IIe with 380EX speedlight and 28-105mm USM lens.I am thinking
>of
>getting some kind of small portrait lighting set up.I was interested in the
>new
>550EX speedlights with the transmitter which lets you use E-TTL for more than
>one flash.You are also able to adjust each flash according to what you
>need.The
>flash is supposed to be like the 540EZ with more features and E-TTL.
>
>I thought I could get 2 of these flashes with extra battery packs and
>transmitter for wireless control.I would like to get a mini soft box from
>Lumiquest ,an umbrella or pocket bouncer.Any suggestions on how I should work
>this out or any equipment you feel would be more appropriate please advise.
>
>I also was wondering if I should have a lamp or a 3rd 550EX for background
>lighting.I don't know anything about what kind of lamp would be right and
>what
>the cost would be also how many amps do one of these lamps require.
>
>Any advise on equipment to use with these flashes and lamps as I have
>described
>would greatly be appreciated.
>
>Thanks in advance.
If portability is the primary objective, multiple 550s may be the way to go.
If portability is not a major concern, for the same amount of money (3 550s +
stands and all the goodies = $1200-1500) you could get into a good AC studio
kit. No batteries to fuss with, many more accessories, and probably 25-30%
more light.
LWilder508
...... have used them for years and found them to be far superior to anything
else on the market
Karl Juul
LWilder508 wrote in message
<19981224191903...@ng-cd1.aol.com>...
I, too, use White Lightnings, but your comment that they are better than
anything else is absurd. They represent an excellent value, but if money
was not a concern, there are plenty of other brands I would own first.
But then again, money is always a concern...
Karl.
CNTRSPOT
You could probably get some good results with this setup, but I would recomend
that you
get yourself two inexpensive mono-light and get some real control......
check out www.photo-one.com, they have a really nice set of portrait lighting
setup ideas...
Good Luck
DH
Christopher J. Christian
>
> who is the author of the Pro-lighting series book on portrati lighting. I just
Sorry, I'm unsure of the author, but I do know where you can find out.
Barnes and Noble should be able to get it for you as I've seen others in
this series at my local store. The book you question is one of a series
published by AMPHOTO, and costs $ 34.95. B&H carries it as does
Amazon.com. Go there and do a search on lighting, and it should come
up.
Hope this helps!
Christopher J. Christian
>
> What is a "good AC studio kit" - what would it consist of? I am thinking about
> setting up a studio in my basement and need a basic lighting set up. Please
Hard to answer this without more info like "What do you want to spend?"
or "Do you want something you can build on?" I suggest you read the
book you inquired about and/or a few others on lighting and then
decide. Don't be in too much of a hurry to spend your money. Unless
you're playing, don't be tempted to buy CRAP! If you want more info
and/or ideas e-mail!
AATORRIONI
you could help. Please respond to my email: AATOr...@aol.com. My question is
how the do white lightning units work? can my Nikon N70's internal meter be
used or do I have to get a flash meter? Should I also use my camera mounted
Sunpak flash? How do the various units know how to "divide up" the light so
that the exposure is correct? any info is appreicated as I would like to set
up a photo studio in my basement.
AATORRIONI
appreciated. Send the info to AATor...@aol.com. Thanks in advance.
AATORRIONI
setting up a studio in my basement and need a basic lighting set up. Please
carrie salazar
: AATORRIONI wrote:
: >
: > who is the author of the Pro-lighting series book on portrati lighting. I just
: Sorry, I'm unsure of the author, but I do know where you can find out.
: Barnes and Noble should be able to get it for you as I've seen others in
: this series at my local store. The book you question is one of a series
: published by AMPHOTO, and costs $ 34.95. B&H carries it as does
: Amazon.com. Go there and do a search on lighting, and it should come
: up.
: Hope this helps!
i found it on Amazon:
Portraits (Pro-Lighting Series); By Roger Hicks, Frances Schultz;
it sells there for $28.00.
do others recommend this book?
--
carrie
CNTRSPOT
I agree that Paul Buff is great, but you can also look at
Photogenic, they have the new travel kits. Or you can get the same lights
that are in the Photogenic travel kits from Photographers
Warehouse......like I sugested, start out with one light, a flash meter, a
softbox, umbrella, or light panel and a reflector.......
Also look for
STUDIO PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
A Guide To Classic Portrait Photography
By Jonathan Hilton
Its a Pro Photo Book
Available at B&H and Adorama
DH
DWA652
>it sells there for $28.00.
>
>do others recommend this book?
>
This book consists of a collection of portraits, each submitted from a
different photographer, with details on the lighting and equipment used to make
the photograph. I found it an excellent book for learning how various
portraits are performed.
You can look under Links on my web page to order the book directly from Amazon.
It is under my list of recommended books.
God Bless,
Don Allen
http://members.xoom.com/donallenfoto
remove no spam from email address when responding!
Kirbyko3
the info:
PORTRAITS
by Schultz/Hicks
It's a kick-ass book! Check it out at Barnes & Noble or B&H!
Kerry
Kirbyko3
the exact lighting setup, along with film type, camera used, etc. and includes
a glossary (with pictures) of all the different types of lighting. Check it
out!
Chuck Hoffman
>
> (snip) My question is
> how the do white lightning units work? can my Nikon N70's internal meter be
> used or do I have to get a flash meter? Should I also use my camera mounted
> Sunpak flash? How do the various units know how to "divide up" the light so
> that the exposure is correct?
None of the other respondents answered your questions so let's take them
in order:
1) White Lightning units are monolights, meaning they plug into the AC
source and are triggered by a PC cord connected to your camera or by a
light-sensitive "slave" trigger.
2) No, your Nikon's internal meter cannot be used. You will need to
acquire a flash meter -- available at the better mail order houses for
around $100.00.
3) You may use your camera-mounted Sunpak flash pointed straight up as
a triggering device if your studio lights are slave equipped. Caveat:
if you have a low, light-colored ceiling, be careful not to reflect
unwanted light onto your setup.
4) The units don't know how to divide up the flash. That will be up to
you. You will have to move the lights closer or farther away from the
subject depending on the effect you wish to create.
The intensity of the light will decrease as to the square of the
distance from the source. This means that if you move a light from its
previous placement to a distance 1.4 times greater from the light to the
subject, the intensity of the light will be cut in half, or decreased by
one f-stop. Similarly, of you move a light from its previous placement
to a distance seven-tenths of the distance from the light to the
subject, the intensity of the light will be doubled, or increased by one
f-stop. It's the law if inverse squares (in this case using a root of
2).
Now, having said all that, there are some lights that have controls --
either on the backs or on a remote control panel -- that will permit the
photographer to adjust the output of the lights without moving them.
One cautionary note: studio photography is not exactly easy. It takes
a consderable amount of practice and understanding of the relationships
of light to distance, aperture, etc...some of the things I described
above. Additionally, you will need to understand lighting ratios (the
ratio of the main or "key" light to the fill light), background
lighting, hair lighting, etc., and the types of lighting (hard or soft)
are the best for a given situation. Hard (specular) lighting consists
of many parallel rays of light that produce a narrow but very defined
shadow edge on the subject. Soft (diffused) lighting contains rays
emanating in virtually all directions and produces a much wider but less
pronounced shadow edge. There are many types of light modifiers that
you will need to understand. Some examples of these are reflectors,
umbrellas, softboxes, diffusion panels, snoots, grids, barndoors,
scrims, gobos, etc. Each has its particular application.
So get yourself some film and shoot lots of pictures in an experimental
mode. Good luck.
--
Chuck Hoffman
Michael DeKelver
>AATORRIONI wrote:
>>
>> (snip) My question is
>> how the do white lightning units work? can my Nikon N70's internal meter
be
>> used or do I have to get a flash meter? Should I also use my camera
mounted
>> Sunpak flash? How do the various units know how to "divide up" the light
so
>> that the exposure is correct?
>
I am discovering this with Nikon equipment, and have decided on the
following option that you may wish to consider(home/portable studio): how
about using speedlights, umbrellas and softboxes, using an sc-17 from your
camera to a master flash and slave others off of that one. This way, you
can use TTL metering for the whole outfit, compensations and bracketing on
the N70, and balance just by manipulating the positions and orientations of
the flashes. See a Nikon TTL multiflash diagram for setup info, hope this
helps your decision.
Michael DeKelver
mich...@NOSPAM.newforce.ca
DWA652
>>
>> (snip) My question is
>> how the do white lightning units work? can my Nikon N70's internal meter
>be
>> used or do I have to get a flash meter? Should I also use my camera
>mounted
>> Sunpak flash? How do the various units know how to "divide up" the light so
>> that the exposure is correct?
>
shooting some slide film at first so you can see how close your exposures are,
etc. Be sure and shoot print film too though, since the contrast will be
different from film to film.
Nikon Man
>following option that you may wish to consider(home/portable studio): how
>about using speedlights, umbrellas and softboxes, using an sc-17 from your
>camera to a master flash and slave others off of that one. This way, you
>can use TTL metering for the whole outfit, compensations and bracketing on
>the N70, and balance just by manipulating the positions and orientations of
>the flashes. See a Nikon TTL multiflash diagram for setup info, hope this
>helps your decision.
>
>Michael DeKelver
>mich...@NOSPAM.newforce.ca
This can get very expensive since every flash must be TTL dedicated
and each dedicated flash requires an SC-18 plus AS-10. So it costs
over $100/flash for cabling/shoe not to mention the cost of each
flash!!! The alternative is to use a TTL wireless slave sensor for
$100/flash or non-TTL slave sensors $20/flash. The last option,
however, requires a flash meter or some pretty darn good guesswork of
lighting ratios. Three dedicated flashes will cost a small fortune,
and still require a wide aperture (i.e. f/2.8) for ISO 160 film. OUCH!
Nikon Man
Lalezo
which many, like me, are appreciative.
Thanks again.
Lloyd