DaveEP
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 p.1 #13 · Should I continue using CLS or move on to strobes? | |
Justin Huffman wrote:
Hi Dave, the laughing smiley icon in my post represents a sort of tongue in cheek folly here in the states. We all understand its not the norm to use a dozen lights.
I agree whole heartedly there is much to learn from McNallys' DVD's.
If you've watched Joe McNally in non Nikon sponsored videos he uses elinchromes mixed with sb800's but does not use CLS. Check out kelbytraining.com for examples.
Hi Justin,
Clearly when mixing Elinchrom and Nikon lights together, you can't use CLS/TTL, but (and yes I have the Nikon sponsored videos) he doesn't do that very often. In fact, he didn't do it at all in the last one. It was all CLS.
And if you respond, how about helpin the original post with his problem, as thats all I was trying to offer.
I was about to do that but went back and read all the previous posts first. Having responded to your post, I was called out, and only just got back. Not sure how long ago you posted.
So, to the OP I would add this:
Studio lighting and battery powered studio strobes absolutely have their place in the photography skill set. If you are in situations that need them, there are simply no substitutes (and I generally agree that using a dozen speedlights is no substitute for a couple of 1200 watt strobes). However, I have gone the other way. I recently sold all my Elincrom studio lights, large softboxes, octobox (this is the one I will miss the most), snoots, grids et al, because I was not enjoying dragging them around to locations (especially locations without power - which required battery packs), having to manually adjust each and every strobe by walking up to it, modifying it, then either shooting to see the results or checking the output with a light meter. In fact they were getting left behind much more than I took them with me.
Instead, I am now working exclusively with speedlights, controlling everything from the camera (either on the camera or via an SU-800), or where distances are too great (not very often) I use the Pocket Wizards I used to trigger the Elinchroms with to trigger the speedlights instead. I have found speedlights very liberating.
Now, if I were in LA or somewhere with constant sunshine, and always shooting outdoors, I may not have done this, but in the north of England it's really not that hard to over power daylight, and I suspect the same is true in Norway. Last time I was in Norway the sky was about as cloudy as it is at home. Sure, there are days of extreme bright sunshine, but not very often.
You already have some great shots, and I very much doubt that buying studio strobes is going to make 'the' difference to the shots you have. Another speedlight or two (even SB-600s) may be all you need.
You only have two speedlights? For many shots that's enough (especially with a well positioned reflector), because as you already know, many shots require only 1 speedlight, others need 2, and then some will need 3 for either better coverage or better separation of the subject and background. Often the 3rd light is what makes the difference between 'flat' and 'pop'.
Rarely do I need a fourth for people shots - but it does happen. Generally the fourth light you could get away with a really cheap optically triggered slave, and you can pick these up for less than £20. I have 4 of these that I use from time to time for hidden lights with gels for that extra added color dimension.
It's all a trade off between power, portability and controllability. It's not an absolute science, and different solutions are required for different locations, different subjects and different operating environments.
Just my opinion... and since it was free, it may be worth very little 
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And I can almost GUARANTEE Mr McNally is not using the CLS in any kind of iTTL situation. He may be using the CLS to control output remotely but he is not letting the camera figure out his exposure. In other words he's using CLS to fire the strobes wirelessly and dumbing down the intelligence of the CLS. (by firing them in manual mode)
Now I work out to delay the aging process so I have time to learn CLS