So i got invited as a second shooter at a sweet 16 party(volunteer of course). This is my first "real" thing that I will be doing and i need some advice.
My gear consists of
Now I need help on the flash. I was at a wedding and saw the photographer had a bracket and a chord connecting his 5d to the flash. He could move the bracket any way he wanted to.
What would be the best thing to purchase as far as this bracket or diffuser or what not to use with my setup.
Why not make your own for very little $'s. Zero redeye, great diffused lighting minus harsh shadows. Just 10 minutes work and lets you keep the flash on camera while retaining the ability to shoot landscape or portrait format.
Personally if the event is inside, i personally suggest using no diffuser at all, and just bounce the flash all day long...i gave up on using diffusers...you end up with too much of a direct flash look....because think about it, the subject matter is USUALLY closer to the camera than the distance it would take the light to travel up to the ceiling, and then back down....so what happens is the light leaving the flash straight ahead reaches your subject first, and the proper exposure is achieved, before the light from the ceiling or other bounced surface has a chance to affect the exposure......however, YMMV, but this has always been my experience...
if the event is outside, then direct flash wont be as big a problem, and for Pete's sake don't use a diffuser outside, you might as well use direct flash, as you're just wasting flash power....i saw someone at an outdoor beach wedding doing this the other day...had a gary fong outside, and i know he was prob iso 100, 1/250s at f/11 or higher....his flash was workin HARD, if even having an effect at all.....
So if the party is inside, i vote just straight bounce, no diffuser....
I use a bracketed rig at weddings only so the flash is consistent and to minimize side shadows. I wouldn't suspect you'd need one for a sweet 16 party.
I'd also agree with the bounce crowd. The SB800 includes a decent diffuser. Use it if you feel it helps.
I typically shoot events with my camera on Manual (400ISO, 1/60, f4) and let the flash address the subjects. I switched to Nikon from Canon in large part for their flash algorithms. I am well pleased with the flash's intelligence and exposure.
I'd not recommend a flash bracket for anyone that's not a masochist. I find them unwiedly and already hit myself in the face enough with just my camera. Fong products are over priced Tupperware that serve as a crutch until you learn to use directional flash well.
I guess my point is there are no products that will suddenly make things 'awesome'
If you really want to be a rock star learn to shoot with your SB-800 ofF camera and controll it with your pop up commander.
Jammy Straub wrote:
I'd not recommend a flash bracket for anyone that's not a masochist. I find them unwiedly and already hit myself in the face enough with just my camera. Fong products are over priced Tupperware that serve as a crutch until you learn to use directional flash well.
I guess my point is there are no products that will suddenly make things 'awesome'
If you really want to be a rock star learn to shoot with your SB-800 ofF camera and controll it with your pop up commander.
Can you elaborate what you meant with "sb800 off camera" and the "pop up commander" do i have to buy it? Would i hold the sb800 in 1 hand and the camera in the other?
I used to use a Demb Flip-it which is pretty good. But I've gotten lazy over the years and now I just bounce off of whatever I can. Now I prefer without the light modifier... to me it makes the photo slightly more dramatic (if you bounce it right). If you are sticking to primes you can use the gorilla technique... flip your sb800 into slave, use the pop up flash on the D700 on commander mode, hold/aim the sb800 with your left hand and shoot with your right.
Also, it looks like you have pretty fast lenses, your 85 and 50 should do very well for low light/portraits.
I would personally discuss this with the lead photographer rather than on an open forum full of people who would probably do things differently than the man/woman who is paying you.
For example, I would tell you to leave most of that gear at home. I would tell you to just take the D700, 24-70/2.8 and a flash. Done and done. That combination should get you 98% of all the images you will need. Now, this may be bad advise as the lead photographer might want you to take portraits, or crazy fisheye shots.
When it comes to a diffuser, I have the stofen and the GF lightsphere collapsible. I have had success, and failure, with both. There is no one perfect solution, and a flash bracket is becoming a thing of the past. I rarely see or hear of people using brackets anymore. Many people are moving to off camera portable lighting with triggers. As a second shooter, I would say to leave that stuff at home as well. A well bounced hot shoe mounted flash can produce fantastic results.
Again, I recommend talking with the lead photographer on this one as they will be the one paying you.
Tommy_D wrote:
a flash bracket is becoming a thing of the past.
I guess I'm a dinosaur, then, because I still occasionally use a bracket - mostly for grip-n-grin shoots (awards ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, table shots) and the occasional wedding. It depends on the size of the room, color of the walls, etc.
Jammy Straub wrote:
learn to shoot with your SB-800 ofF camera and controll it with your pop up commander.
Yup, absolutely! Here's how I'd begin:
Let's say you're in a medium sized, fairly well-lit room with light colored walls and tungsten lighting, and want to shoot the general action of the party (not portraits, etc).
1. Set your D700 for manual exposure and mount your 24-70/2.8. Set shutter speed around 1/125 and aperture around f/5.6. Now raise your ISO until you have a good exposure for the ambient light.
2. Set your white balance for the room light (tungsten in this case).
3. Set your built-in flash to commander mode (custom function e3); the mode for built-in flash should be "--", mode for Group A should be TTL and Comp set to zero. Set it for Channel 1.
4. Put your SB-800 on the little stand that came with it. Put on the appropriate gel (tungsten in this case) that came with it and pull out the wide-angle adapter to hold the gel in place. Point the SB-800 straight up and put on the diffusion dome that came with it.
5. Go into the settings for the SB-800 and set it up as a remote flash. (Hint: RTFM.) Exit the settings menu and set the flash to operate on Channel 1 Group A.
6. Put the SB-800 in an unobstructed corner of the room, about head-high or higher - make sure it lights the entire room, is not obstructed by anything (ie - casts no shadows into the room from plants or ??) and its light is bounced off the walls and ceilings. Also be careful not to block the remote communication port (the little round window by the battery door).
7. Pop up your built-in flash. Shoot away.
This setup should give you shots predominantly lit by the ambient room light with just a kiss of fill from the SB-800. You might want to practice a bit before your live shoot.
If you want more than a cookbook approach, read the D700 manual on using commander mode, and the SB-800 manual on Advanced Wireless Flash and using the SB-800 as remote flash. Your SB-800 should have also come with a "suggested techniques" booklet - but if you don't have it, here's a link to the pdf.
I use a RRS Flash bracket together with a RRS L-plate. The flash is connected with a cord to the camera.
Not the cheapest option but it serves me very well.
Most time I use Manual 1/125 and F5.6 with ISO800
MikeLandry wrote: I guess I'm a dinosaur, then, because I still occasionally use a bracket - mostly for grip-n-grin shoots (awards ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, table shots) and the occasional wedding. It depends on the size of the room, color of the walls, etc.
Mike
I think because it is becoming cheaper and cheaper to get your flash off the camera, a quality flash bracket is far too much money ($300+) to spend when it still only gives you on-axis flash shots.
Tommy_D wrote:
I think because it is becoming cheaper and cheaper to get your flash off the camera, a quality flash bracket is far too much money ($300+) to spend when it still only gives you on-axis flash shots.
Agree, but you can't always do that.
Not to sidetrack the thread, but ... This shot (EXIF intact) was done standing in the center aisle in an auditorium with teal walls (yes, teal - school colors are teal and black), under tungsten stage lighting almost directly overhead. Without some on-axis fill the nose, chin and eye socket shadows would have been horrible.
I shot it with this rig (minus the tripod, of course). Gripped D700, 28-70/2.8, gel'd SB-900 on an old-style Newton Di100-FR bracket, shortened SC-17 TTL cord. Big & clumsy - as Jammy suggested, you could put somebody's eye out with that thing!
is that really any difference in using this rig or using the flash in the hot shoe? It seems to me that it is about the same position, only 4 inches ahead of the hot shoe.
fabiano wrote:
is that really any difference in using this rig or using the flash in the hot shoe? It seems to me that it is about the same position, only 4 inches ahead of the hot shoe.
Well he can flip it for vertical shots while keeping the flash above the axis. Other than that, it'd be almost the same as hotshoeing it.
