OMG, So tired, awesome shoot.
Doing two parts, indoor light/photos now. Outdoor lighting/photos later...
Pictures AWESOME, click NOW!
#1

Melisha
1/125, f11, ISO100
#2

(Main) AB800 at 1/4 power with white umbrella, (back left and right) 2 flashguns at 1/4 power
So yah, at f11 even though there was ambient all over, we were still able to black out the background and light only with the AB800. Later photos with the two back lights provided hair highlights not seen in #1.
#3

1/160, f4, ISO100
#4

Melody
1/160, f4, ISO100
#5

"Classic Beauty Light"
1 flashgun w/ satin umbrella set to 1/8th power.
Reflectors to the side and bottom to get light the side of the face and hair and remove chin shadows.
#6

Melisha
1/100, f5.6, ISO100
#7

1/100, f5.6, ISO100
#8

(Main) AB800 at 1/4 power with white umbrella, 1 flashgun behind the backdrop to light up the background (seen on the bottom of #6)
One large gold reflector to add warming color and provide side light.
#9

Kristen
1/125, f5.6, ISO100
#10

1/125, f5.6, ISO100
#11

AB800 set to 1/4th power with white umbrella
Downside of this shot was that the backdrop was too small. I love #10, and the full photo is from head to toe. But Kristen "falls" out of the background, so I had to crop it really tight.
#12

Melisha
1/125, f4, ISO100
#13

#14

(Main) AB800, (background light) flashgun at 1/8th power
Large gold reflector to light the side of the face and lower reflector to light up the chin. Also the flashgun behind Melisha is aimed at the background to light that up.
Observe the use of VAT (Voice Activated Tripods) ie, people holding shit. ;-)
#15

Melody
1/125, f8, ISO100
#16

1/125, f8, ISO100
#17

AB800 at 1/4th power with white umbrella
Purposely using shadows for effect, same with Kristen's shots.
#18

Kristen
1/125, f22, ISO100
#19

1/125, f22, ISO100
#20

Melody
1/125, f22, ISO100
#21

1/125, f22, ISO100
#22

Ok I lied, this last set was the start of our outdoor shoot. BUT IT'S SO COOL! It totally looks like we shot inside. Also we shot in direct sunlight. The sunlight lit the models, but the flashguns allowed us to control some of the lighting, such as making sure the face is lit up.
F22 FTW!
For Kristen, there were two different flashguns. One aimed at her face and another at her legs. On my shots, the leg flash may not have fired, since we were having issues with that light. Melody was lit with sunlight and one flashgun.
1 flashgun at 1/8th power or 2 flashguns both set at 1/4th power. Having two flash guns at a lower power allows them to recharge faster and still provide the same amount of light as 1 gun set at 1/8th power.
Additional notes (just for me):
- Set strobes to 1/8th power to start, so you can adjust up or down as needed
- Unless you're providing 2x the light, it won't affect your main light (ie, hair lights)
- Grid spot light/ring lights aimed straight on can get rid of wrinkles and dark circles under the eyes. (ie lights with pantyhose/silk over them)
- Outside lighting with strobes, may not go over 1/250 and still sync with flash. (Unless using Nikon or Canon specific high speed sync)
- Put hand close to face/body and see if there's a shadow. If there is a shadow, there's direct light. If not, it's all diffused/ambient light
- 1/16th flash bounced off a reflector can light up the face and eyes, but doesn't affect the shutter speed or f-stop.

May 5 2008, 12:58:01 UTC 4 years ago
May 5 2008, 13:24:47 UTC 4 years ago
these pics are great and i'm loving the last set.
May 5 2008, 13:57:27 UTC 4 years ago
May 6 2008, 09:20:04 UTC 4 years ago
May 5 2008, 14:35:10 UTC 4 years ago
May 6 2008, 09:20:14 UTC 4 years ago
May 5 2008, 15:06:52 UTC 4 years ago
May 5 2008, 15:57:04 UTC 4 years ago
I really love the outdoor shoots. Amazing that flashgun can make the pictures look like they were done indoors!
May 5 2008, 16:12:20 UTC 4 years ago
May 5 2008, 16:33:36 UTC 4 years ago
May 5 2008, 16:42:59 UTC 4 years ago
I'm so glad it was worth it!
I love the last set most too. And I like how you took pics of all the lighting setups... with photographers rolling around on the floor ;D
May 5 2008, 20:36:50 UTC 4 years ago
May 6 2008, 00:20:09 UTC 4 years ago
May 6 2008, 19:10:07 UTC 4 years ago
May 6 2008, 19:16:47 UTC 4 years ago
Bought another flash, another wireless trigger and watching a light meter on eBay...
May 7 2008, 05:20:47 UTC 4 years ago
I saw mention in the Strobist discussions that Wizwow was coming to CA, and got excited, then saw it was in Santa Clara. Too far from LA.
My own experiments with reflecting strobe light hasn't worked so well. I thought maybe in part because my reflector is too small. But also it looks like there it is being used in conjunction with umbrellas. My tests were direct flash. (I was hoping to use direct flash as a rim light, and reflect it back to illuminate the face.) As I recall last weekend (LA Strobist meet), when one of the guys was using his reflector with a strobe, it was also with a shoot-through. So maybe that's the key...
I like voice activated light stands. I use them whenever I can.
The light from between the partitions in #6 is nice subtle touch.