I have a need to photograph Kitchen range hoods in a studio and Kitchen range hoods in a kitchen. I currently have a Canon 580 EXII flash as a master and a Canon 420 (?) as a slave. I use an ST-E2 on the camera to fire the flashes. I shoot off and through umbrellas with varying success. I feel like I can not get enough even light on the subject. I shoot in a warehouse so I have room for the individual hood shots. Kitchens are difficult with space restrictions. Usually in a kitchen I try and go with ambient light but I'd like the options of flash.
I have never shopped for strobes. I have stands already so I don't think I need stands.
The budget is what it needs to be for something that will be used a few times a year.
Great photos drive my business so I want something that I can get great results with.
Hm.. just a few times a year? Honestly, I'd look for a commercial photographer, at best with some experience in this field. It needs too much of equipment, experience and of course talent to get "better than snap-shots" (or: on par with what your competition shows) of your subjects. I doubt that it can successfully be done with some Canon system flashes.
Bill Wood wrote:
...I shoot off and through umbrellas with varying success. I feel like I can not get enough even light on the subject...
Before throwing money at a problem you may not have (not enough lights), I'd suggest getting a book that takes lighting skill to a higher level. Your current gear, used differently, may be all you need.
The book is Light -- Science and Magic -- the de facto bible of the subject.
PeterBerressem wrote:
Hm.. just a few times a year? Honestly, I'd look for a commercial photographer, at best with some experience in this field. It needs too much of equipment, experience and of course talent to get "better than snap-shots" (or: on par with what your competition shows) of your subjects. I doubt that it can successfully be done with some Canon system flashes.
Thanks for your reply. I have been taking photos with hot lights for years. I have been taking photos in other varied situations for years. I recently tried using my Canon flashes and liked the flexibility over the hot lights.
I take these types of photos a few times a year because that is when we do product launches. This year the individual items to be photographed number 15. A good professional photo shoot would cost more then the strobes the first year. I have had pros take photos for me in the past and the results were lackluster.
I shoot with a IDII and a Canon 45mm TS lens. This is not my first rodeo, I just have never considered larger strobes so my knowledge is lacking.
BrianO wrote:
Before throwing money at a problem you may not have (not enough lights), I'd suggest getting a book that takes lighting skill to a higher level. Your current gear, used differently, may be all you need.
The book is Light -- Science and Magic -- the de facto bible of the subject.
Bill Wood wrote:
Thanks for your reply. I have been taking photos with hot lights for years. I have been taking photos in other varied situations for years. I recently tried using my Canon flashes and liked the flexibility over the hot lights.
I take these types of photos a few times a year because that is when we do product launches. This year the individual items to be photographed number 15. A good professional photo shoot would cost more then the strobes the first year. I have had pros take photos for me in the past and the results were lackluster.
I shoot with a IDII and a Canon 45mm TS lens. This is not my first rodeo, I just have never considered larger strobes so my knowledge is lacking. ...Show more →
You don't need "larger strobes" you need to use a few tricks. I am assuming the hoods to be similar to kind we are all familiar with. Go back to your hot lights and bounce some light off a large fome core board, using the board, not the light as the light source. Reflect the board in the surface of the hood. That would be a better solution than umbrellas for what I again assume to be large squarish metal things. If you have experience in PS you can shoot with one or two lights using the magic of layers. Try to find the posts by focusinc showing how he lights interiors of motor home with multiple exposures.
+1 on the hot light advice! If there are no people involved in the shots it's the most promising option. "You see what you get" in regard to reflections, shadow fall and contrast as good as you'd bought more expensive studio flashes (with model light).
At best shoot tethered to a PC/laptop etc. for instant control of the lighting.
Micky Bill wrote:
...If you have experience in PS you can shoot with one or two lights using the magic of layers.
Excellent advice; this was going to be the next step I suggested as well.
By putting the camera on a STURDY tripod, you can take two or more exposures using different light placements and/or different exposures (varying the ISO setting for flash/strobes, or the shutter speed for hot lights/ambient, or a combination of the two), and combine the best parts of each by stacking the images and using layer masks to remove unwanted glare and/or shadows.
