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 p.1 #16 · Need Input on portable lighting setup | |
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.
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.
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) but I am not sure which way to go.