the random strobist thread

dirtyghettokid

just to spice up things a little, i wanted to start a couple of threads to get people talking and sharing.

so for this thread, it's all about off camera flash. if you want to post your pic & then talk a little about your setup & then people could C&C if they wish, and whatnot. what ya think?

me, i LOVE strobist stuff, but i have to learn more. would love to learn from others & get some tips etc.

i'll get the thread started with one of my pics.. i have lots of diff pics i'd like to post, but ill start with one i took a few years ago

uncle ray singin' by dgk905, on Flickr

nikdon D80 / sigma 10-20mm

SB-800 camera right shot bare full power
SB-600 camera left shot bare full power

fired via CLS

thoughts?

i should probably add that my setup is completely different now. i have a canon system with manual YN-560 guns, which ends up being way more difficult than the old nikon system that i used.

superflyninja

I dont take as many as I would like. But here are a few :

My set up is an m4/3 EMP1 with radio triggers for two Yong Nuo s560IIs

For this I had the two strobes front 45 degrees either side. Used white brollys for modifiers. I used an zuiko Om 50mm lens on manual focus. I placed the bottle on a glass from a photo frame and ran the white bg material under it. For PP to emphasise the highlights I used a new layer set to overlay mode filled with 50% grey and then used a soft brush at low opacity using black to darken and white to lighten and then painted to enhance the lighting.



Used just the one strobe this time to front right of the doll again at 45 degrees. I dont have the aperture because of using the old lens.

I used pretty much the same set up for the two below images just moved the strobe back a bit. Umm my descriptions are not very technical i know!

dirtyghettokid

very cool, would you like to share your setup for each of those shots?

superflyninja

Durrh.. sorry yup! Will edit in. Nice photo you posted up there btw.....

adox

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

just to spice up things a little, i wanted to start a couple of threads to get people talking and sharing.

so for this thread, it's all about off camera flash. if you want to post your pic & then talk a little about your setup & then people could C&C if they wish, and whatnot. what ya think?

me, i LOVE strobist stuff, but i have to learn more. would love to learn from others & get some tips etc.

i'll get the thread started with one of my pics.. i have lots of diff pics i'd like to post, but ill start with one i took a few years ago

uncle ray singin' by dgk905, on Flickr

nikdon D80 / sigma 10-20mm

SB-800 camera right shot bare full power
SB-600 camera left shot bare full power

fired via CLS

thoughts?

i should probably add that my setup is completely different now. i have a canon system with manual YN-560 guns, which ends up being way more difficult than the old nikon system that i used.

Cool shot. Love the low key background behind him. Almost looks like a stage curtain which is really appropriate to the shot.

What was the natural light like? Was the room fairly dark or did you underexpose?

dirtyghettokid

adox wrote: »

Cool shot. Love the low key background behind him. Almost looks like a stage curtain which is really appropriate to the shot.

What was the natural light like? Was the room fairly dark or did you underexpose?

believe it or not, it was taken outdoors on a deck. the backdrop is actually very tall trees, and the dark sky. aside from the guns, there was a porch light on, but not very strong.
with cls, everything was fairly automatic, so i shot aperture priority, and let the gear do the rest of the work i always shot with a -1EV though!

things are different now though, as i have to shoot everything manually with the yn-560 gear.

superflyninja

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

believe it or not, it was taken outdoors on a deck. the backdrop is actually very tall trees, and the dark sky.
with cls, everything was fairly automatic, so i shot aperture priority, and let the gear do the rest of the work i always shot with a -1EV though!

things are different now though, as i have to shoot everything manually with the yn-560 gear.

Im a strobist noob but the light looks very contained like there were barn doors maybe. Looking at it again it does look a lot like a stage.

dirtyghettokid

superflyninja wrote: »

Im a strobist noob but the light looks very contained like there were barn doors maybe. Looking at it again it does look a lot like a stage.

maybe because i shot bare, instead of through an umbrella or softbox? i am not sure. i can see what you mean though!

inkedpt

I like this idea Dirtyghettokid, this could be a new "niche" in this forum a few strobists around



This one is from my second strobist experience and to the day I'm still surprise how it came out...

Canon 6D
Canon 24-105mm @60mm
Shutter 1/125
Aperture f/5.6
Flash Nissin di866 MK2 camera right, +/-45 degrees after the model, shot through an umbrella @1/6 power in a dark environment

dirtyghettokid

awesome shot! i probably would have made it more contrasting myself, but i love the silhouette of her face!

superflyninja

Nah I like soft look to the shot. Very nice!

.Longshanks.

Great idea for a thread.
If i need to use flash - 90% of the time its off camera. Its all done with manual settings...it took me a long time to get my head around the inverse sq law think, but I get it now.

This one was taken this evening on an old Tamron adapted lens with manual focus.
430ex on 1/16 power camera left @50mm bare bounced off a white wall to soften the light.
Camera was 1/60 sec, ISO 800 and f4



^ click for full screen lightbox.

dirtyghettokid

last year i did a photoshoot of this lovely car here for an irish car blog. so here's a pic of the setup! took it on purpose like that to show where i was placing the guns. shooting a white car made it all the more easier

honda s2000 11/52 by dgk905, on Flickr

5D MKII / 24-105mm f/4
2 x YN-560, 1/2 power, bare, triggered wirelessly.


rick's honda s2000 by dgk905, on Flickr

mikka631

A Selfie taken recently.
Experimenting with Off Camera Flash. Any constructive C&C is most welcome.
Canon 7D, Canon 24-105mm f4L IS USM @ 55mm, 1/200", f16, iso 160, Canon 580EX II Flash on 1/8th power, fired through a Softbox.
I used the shutter speed and aperture so that there would be no ambient light, the photo taken without the flash was completely black. I wanted to keep as much of the frame dark with just the side closest to the softbox illuminated. The softbox is only a few inches away to try and give a much softer light. Has it worked? Any tips on how I could do better?

almorris

Cool idea, I see strobist has cashed in. If anyone wants to hook up around the Carrickmacross area, let me know.

inkedpt

It worked perfectly @ Mikka631, the transition between light and dark is really smooth. If anything, and nothing to do with the technical details, I would have just turn to the camera slightly more to give more distance between the tip of the nose and the edge of the face and at the same time increasing the shadow area on the dark side.

dirtyghettokid

does anybody here use alien bees or anything like that? not sure if continuous lighting setups would be considered strobist still?! but thought i'd ask anyway

kevc2

Audi TT by kamacan, on Flickr
Lens: 24-70mm
Exposure: 1/25 sec; f/4.5; ISO 400
Lit by a white umbrella, Yongnuo 560iii at 1/4 power.

Glendalough by kamacan, on Flickr
2 Yongnuo 560 iii, one in a softbox, other in a saberstrip. Both at 45 degrees. Softbox at full power.

paulusdu

This could easily become my favourite thread on boards !
I'll post something soon too

BlastedGlute

I'm into off camera flash stuff too. Shoot a lot of fitness stuff and so on so it works well.

jackjustjumped

Man, some incredible shots being posted. I bought a YN-468 II some time ago and have yet to really experiment with it. Most people seem to diffuse; would you recommend I grab a cheap umbrella or just get to grips with the flash itself first?

dirtyghettokid

jackjustjumped wrote: »

Man, some incredible shots being posted. I bought a YN-468 II some time ago and have yet to really experiment with it. Most people seem to diffuse; would you recommend I grab a cheap umbrella or just get to grips with the flash itself first?

i bought cheap umbrellas off ebay a few years ago. they are good to use sometimes. it all depends whether you want harsh light or diffused. i'd say go for it! it's fun to play around with light.

in the spare room where i keep most of my own personal stuff, it turns into a makeshift studio sometimes with my desk as a table haha.. it's very cramped, but i can get nice shots sometimes. it looks hilarious in there when it's all setup





lebron 9 miami nights by dgk905, on Flickr

lebron 9 miami nights 4/52 by dgk905, on Flickr

lebron 9 miami nights by dgk905, on Flickr

BlastedGlute

If I had to give one piece of advice to anyone starting out in photography, particularly if you're looking to apply complex lighting arrangements, I'd have to say that where you apply light is just as important as where you don't. If you want dramatic and eye grabbing commercial standard images, then you create your own dynamic range and never rely on a program or digital preset to do it for you. My raw is as strong as my finished images for that reason and I haven't used photoshop for anything more than file type conversion in years.

.Longshanks.

^ +1

A few more random shots of mine. I normally try and keep a setup shot or else describe the lighting setup on flickr for future reference.

superflyninja

Some lovely ones there LS. Couldnt see the macbook(image 4) one on flickr,(within the first few reams of images anyhoo). What kind of modifier did you use to limit the light on the rim of the lid?

.Longshanks.

superflyninja wrote: »

Some lovely ones there LS. Couldnt see the macbook(image 4) one on flickr,(within the first few reams of images anyhoo). What kind of modifier did you use to limit the light on the rim of the lid?

None!
Dunno why one or more of them images not showing up for you. But the pic immediately after shows the flash simply sitting on the keyboard on the opposite side of the lid.
I guess the light 'leaked' around to give the rim on the lid front

superflyninja

.Longshanks. wrote: »

None!
Dunno why one or more of them images not showing up for you. But the pic immediately after shows the flash simply sitting on the keyboard on the opposite side of the lid.
I guess the light 'leaked' around to give the rim on the lid front

ahhhhh i see. soz i didnt realise it was a set up shot after the actual shot

dirtyghettokid

macs always look cool when you throw a gun behind them, the apple lit in the dark just sets it off!
@LS love the last pic of the model.. the way you back lit her.. just looks so cool! :cool:

Daveysil15

Canon EOS 550D

EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

ƒ/6.3
1/60
ISO 100

One flashgun fired into umbrella.

kevc2

Technically this is more studio than strobist. I thought I'd put it up as I put in a flash behind the model at half power to give that effect. Maybe it will give people some ideas:

Pink Curtain by kamacan, on Flickr

mikka631

Another experiment with off camera flash. The setup for this was Softbox to subject left side with Canon 580EX II at 1/2 power, Softbox to subject right side with Canon 430EX at 1/8 power, Yongnuo RF02 Trigger and 2 x RF602 Receivers. Sekonic 478DR light meter used to get reading for main light source gave f9 @ iso 100. Canon 7D, Canon 24-104mm f4L @ 67mm. PP in Lightroom 5 and PSE 12.
I like the way it has turned out but any C&C, suggestions or recommendations on how it might be improved are most welcome.

dirtyghettokid

looks great! this is only my personal taste, others might disagree -- but i would put a little bit more light on his left side to balance out with the type of light on the right

mikka631

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

looks great! this is only my personal taste, others might disagree -- but i would put a little bit more light on his left side to balance out with the type of light on the right

Thanks for taking time to look and comment, much appreciated. This was an attempt at "Short Lighting" where the main light illuminates the side of the face that is turned away from the camera.

dirtyghettokid

mikka631 wrote: »

Thanks for taking time to look and comment, much appreciated. This was an attempt at "Short Lighting" where the main light illuminates the side of the face that is turned away from the camera.

in that case, then i would say the left side be a bit darker :P
again though, great shot!

OldGoat

mikka631 wrote: »

Another experiment with off camera flash...

The jawline and neck seem brighter/hotter that the subjects eye and cheek and that is drawing my eye down and away from the subjects eyes. I'd try a subtle burn/dodge edit just to see if it makes any difference.

Deadlie

One YN568 camera right in my DIY softbox at 1/64 power.

I always get the background lights in first (in this case the ambient from Dublin City) and then add in my flash. This was handy enough though, as the cars coming up the Quays really lit up the background.

Other info: F/1.6 50.0 mm 1/60 1000