Photography question of the day...
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- bigtrick0
softboxes have custom speedrings to match the lights that they fit up against, so you should prob. decide what lights you are going to use before buying modifiers. and yeah, you don't need to soften your light source if you're going to be lighting a bg or backlighting your subject, like sequoia says...
- OSFA0
Cool, thanks! But wait, pardon if these questions sound dumb but I'm starting to play with photography really want to experiment and start doing some good sheeeet. The softboxes my Buddha has -they must be cheap- don't have any controls, just plug turn on and shoot. Are there 2 diff kinds of softboxes? Flash and continuous? I'm doing as much research and reading as I can on my free time but nothing better than asking real peeps with experience. Thanks y'all! And if you have any links or sites for good sets, please share.
- softboxes for continous lights are more heat resistant, DO NOT use ordinary softboxes on hot hot lights! Burn!vaxorcist
- imnotadesigner0
How do you get giels to pose naked for yo without sounding like a perverted fag?
- learn to spell
be soberversion3 - lol... shitimnotadesigner
- hahahaOSFA
- haha modelmayhem.com pay $$ or be amazingtodaysnew
- learn to spell
- OSFA0
Yeah, that I got covered and have been practicing indoors/outdoors, etc. even playing with fill flash and I think soon I'll get the hang of it. here's a sample, 'tis my son being exploited haha, actually no, he got a reward for helping me out that day... *looks around for social services...
What I'm trying to find is a good set that I could use indoors or outdoors (when I have no sunlight).
- OSFA0
What's a good site where I can find a decent kit? I'm trying to avoid ebay... Thanks!
- depends what you are after. Cheap battery flashes like the Vivitar 285HV could be a good way to start. I use a pair of 580exii's for location stuff, they are great.slappy
- 580exii's with shoot through umbrellas and pocket wizards on location, works a treat!slappy
- i second the 580ex2s... once u know how to use them, they rock... and so powerful too!sherm
- slappy0
Remember, always shoot manual (strobes and camera) and use aperture to balance flash exposure and shutter to balance ambient light. Easy eh?
This will give you consistency.
- slappy0
I would recommend Zack Arias one light workshop dvd too, the dude is great. Really got you me on my way, I started with trying to get the most out of a single light setup, now I'm on two lights yeehaa!
- bigtrick0
alienbees.com <-- i recommend
bhphotovideo.com for other brandsbig dedicated strobes like alien bees will outpower hotshoe flashes by a lot for the same money (:
- OSFA0
Ok, so let me get this straight. If I'm shooting in studio (white bg) I can make it all white and gradient-ish gray just by the way I adjust lights directed towards it? I'm guessing for full white, stronger (eye-level or so?) and for gradients, lower, softer light?
- slight changes in aim and position make big changes in picture.... practice a lot and you will seevaxorcist
- bigtrick0
yes, you can make gray gradients with a white bg - the main variable here will be how high you've pumped the power on your strobe. you want a flat edge (for a linear gradient) on whatever modifier you have on the strobe, and this edge aimed at the background where you want the center of the gradient to be, more or less. dono what you mean by "eye-level...?"
- height of light. I've seen the typical soft glow gradient come from low-placed strobes... hope it makes sense...
OSFA
- height of light. I've seen the typical soft glow gradient come from low-placed strobes... hope it makes sense...
- OSFA0
I've been browsing ebay for lighting and keep finding these...
http://cgi.ebay.com/STUDIO-STROB…
As a beginner, would you buy something like this to have at home for practice? Why? Why not?
- version30
i find using my 580ex on the my canon aimed up with the diffuser down and the white reflector out helps color correct amazingly without signs of a harsh flash or shadows
- OSFA0
But, what are the cons of these kits? I've seen photography blogs and forums where people don't recommend them and even hat e them. Why? What would be the minimum Wtts required for let's say portrait photos?
- bigtrick0
well, the weakness of the strobe kits aside... they may not have good color consistency (i.e. one flash may come out at 4900K, and one right after it might come out at 5300K), and (by the experience of a friend who bought such a thing) are limited by how much you can adjust their power - a light that only goes "off" "half power" and "full power" won't give you many options when lighting. if you want that level of super-basic lighting, a couple of 200 watt regular household bulbs on $10 home depot light sockets will do you fine.
i recommend starting with one decent light - a single alien bees ab400 and a stand will not set you back that much, and will last you a while.
i would recommend not buying a bunch of 580exII's - they are good shoemounts, and are very intelligent when attached to a camera via the hotshoe, but when you start using more than one for studio work, i feel that the money would be better spent on moer powerful and flexible dedicated monolights or pack/head lights, since 580exiis are hardly cheap.
- johndiggity0
i am going to shoot some of my work and i am a total noob when it comes to lighting. i'd like to achieve this effect on the shots
i have white seamless, lots of clamps, 2 worklights with reflectors, an abundance of tissue paper and whiteboards, a tripod and a g9 that can shoot in raw.
where would be the best place to shoot? next to a window? any advice on how to position my lighting or where to ad fills? anyone else done something with such a ghetto set up? can i macgyver this thing or should i ask a pro?
- bigtrick0
the one on the right at least has been 'shopped to shit, so whatever you do, be prepared to spend a lot of time in ps to get those nice gradients on your flat surfaces...
(worklights are a different color temperature than window light so it's best to avoid the window, unless you can get some nice gels to convert your tungsten worklights to a cooler kind of light).
anyway. the key for duplicating those shots is avoiding shadows. try setting up your lights like this - one above your stage, highly diffused, to light everything including the background. diffuse with a couple of huge sheets of yr tissue paper stretched out under the light maybe a foot or two underneath the light and a foot above your stage so you get a nice big soft light source. set up another worklight above and to the side of your camera, also highly diffused with a big stretched out sheet of tissue paper (you may need several layers). set your camera on a tripod in front, set for f8 or f11 or something in aperture priority so that you get a good depth of field, and try it out... you will prob. get a big diffuse shadow on the opposite side of your subject from your front light, but that's ok.
you can also experiment with picking up a worklight and moving it around during the exposure to minimize shadows. to get the photo on the left in your linked picture though, i think you need three lights.
- johndiggity0
thanks! the worklights can be swapped out with different bulbs. i actually think cfls are in there now. would incandescent be better?
and don't worry about being a threadhog. share your knowledge! that's what this place is for. that and lolcats.
- don't forget chick of the day!OSFA
- incandescent > cfl - incandescents have a better cri:
http://www.topbulb.c…bigtrick