I want to do mostly onsite T & I (and possible strobing..maybe ) but I am not sure which way to go.
Should I go with umbrellas and speedlights for a quick onsite setup or do something different like the Alien Bees DigiBee package. I currently have one SB-900 and could pick up another three SB-600's and lightstands w/ umbrellas. I like the setup used in Nikon's " A Hands-on Guide to Creative Lighting " dvd.
Also what portable backgrounds and stands do you recommend?
Does anyone use a setup kinda like this one? If so, could you post what gear you bought and/ or a pictures of the setup.
You might want to pick up a copy of the "Hot Shoe Diaries" by Joe Mcnally. He pushes hot shoe flashes about as far as anyone. If TTL is important to you then you will only get that with the hot shoe flashes. If you need lots of power then you will only get that with studio strobes.
Unless of course you go like him and use 50 of them at once!
I second that. McNally's work will help you push the Sbs to the max in terms of use. However, yeah, "portable" become less and less if you have to carry many many flashes and reflectors to do what he does with a full crew to assist.
Lumedyne....... Very powerful, very portable.... They are all 12 volt systems which make DIY battery systems easy with a visit to your local batteries plus for wheelchair batteries..... Give Andy at Group photo supply a call he's a great source of knowlege
As for the units, I've found some great deals on Ebay in the past. Lumedyne will service any unit no matter how old....
If your camera can do high speed sync, this might be pretty cool
Idea is good but 8 flashes ? how much is that going to cost ? I just dont see using a bunch of flashes as power economical inconjunction with the slow recycle time. Better off with a Elinchrom Quadra/Ranger.
I started off by pick up an Alien Bee 800 with a 60" umbrella for my main light and used my sb800 as a hair light it worked out great. Once you get a strobe you will never go back to flash. Strobes are so fast to recycle, almost double the power of the sb900 and the light is so consistent (no batteries) it made my life a lot easier. I recently step up to a 4 strobe light pack and loving it.
We use a mixture of both speedlights and strobes. IMO, the ONLY drawbacks to strobes are weight and size of carrying bags... those are it. In today's portable power options, all you really need is a decent rolling cart (with no stairs or steep hills!) because most places are wheelchair accessible. TTL or anything auto has no place in T&I so you don't have to worry about getting fancy.
HappyCamp wrote:
I think it is "Team and Individual" Kenneth Farver wrote:
Team and Individuals (for sports groups)
Got it; thanks to you both.
KrautFed wrote:
...Dave Black is an absolute idiot for not remoting Image #9
Oh, I don't think so. He's on the inside of the curve and past the apex, and it's not a real race, it's a pre-planned photo session. Minimal risk. (I've been riding almost as long as I've been taking pictures; more than 30 years. I ride scooters, not superbikes, but I've done track sessions, so I understand what's involved.)
KrautFed wrote:
We use a mixture of both speedlights and strobes. IMO, the ONLY drawbacks to strobes are weight and size of carrying bags... those are it. In today's portable power options, all you really need is a decent rolling cart (with no stairs or steep hills!) because most places are wheelchair accessible. TTL or anything auto has no place in T&I so you don't have to worry about getting fancy.
This is going to get a bit OT for the OP's stated intent of simple group and individual portraits, I am responding more generally to the quoted post and to using portable lighting in general.
For the OP's purpose I might actually recommend an Einstein Light and a Vagabond II battery ...
Now to the OT part...
I think weight and size of the full power lights could be considered a fairly big drawback, depending on what you do. Also, shooting with speedlights, gives you the option of using higher shutter speeds than 1/250, so you can bring down the ambient and still shoot with a shallow DOF. Of course you will need a few of the speedlights, hence my previous link.
As someone mentioned, this method is not cheap, and I actually haven't committed to it yet, I'm still building my kit. I used to shoot weddings on film with Hasselblad and 3 White Lightning Ultra 1800's. The appeal of working lighter and faster appeals to me now.
At the moment I only have 1 SB-900, but I found a great deal on some used Radiopoppers, so I am debating on getting more SB-900's, or getting the PCB Einstein I am on the wait list for.
BrianO wrote:
Oh, I don't think so. He's on the inside of the curve and past the apex, and it's not a real race, it's a pre-planned photo session. Minimal risk. (I've been riding almost as long as I've been taking pictures; more than 30 years. I ride scooters, not superbikes, but I've done track sessions, so I understand what's involved.)
I do ride superbikes, and race/track... he's still an idiot. I'm not saying I haven't done idiotic things either ( ), but I certainly wouldn't post the setup of that shot when it could be easily reproduced via remote camera. All it takes is the lead bike to wiggle (pre-apex) and the path of the other bikes becomes unpredictable. There are sooo many things that could go wrong in that setup!
ExtendedPuppet wrote:
This is going to get a bit OT for the OP's stated intent of simple group and individual portraits, I am responding more generally to the quoted post and to using portable lighting in general.
For the OP's purpose I might actually recommend an Einstein Light and a Vagabond II battery ...
Now to the OT part...
I think weight and size of the full power lights could be considered a fairly big drawback, depending on what you do. Also, shooting with speedlights, gives you the option of using higher shutter speeds than 1/250, so you can bring down the ambient and still shoot with a shallow DOF. Of course you will need a few of the speedlights, hence my previous link.
As someone mentioned, this method is not cheap, and I actually haven't committed to it yet, I'm still building my kit. I used to shoot weddings on film with Hasselblad and 3 White Lightning Ultra 1800's. The appeal of working lighter and faster appeals to me now.
At the moment I only have 1 SB-900, but I found a great deal on some used Radiopoppers, so I am debating on getting more SB-900's, or getting the PCB Einstein I am on the wait list for....Show more →
You do raise a good point about the extreme sunlight and trying to get shallow DOF or seperation from background. We are going to experiment with ND filters (on lens) this spring to see what results we can get by forcing larger aperture and slower shutter speed. Also we are going to try to 100% eliminate the subject BEING in direct sunlight because there are far too many kids sensitive to the light and "squint". That was the #1 complaint from parents last year. As soon as it warms up, I'm going to experiment with using a popup tent/canopy in my back yard, but obviously this eliminates the ability to shoot full body shots as there would be a shadow line... but there must be a better way. I was going to post a thread on this.
) but I am not sure which way to go.
...
), but I certainly wouldn't post the setup of that shot when it could be easily reproduced via remote camera. All it takes is the lead bike to wiggle (pre-apex) and the path of the other bikes becomes unpredictable. There are sooo many things that could go wrong in that setup!