Blog for off-camera, small strobe lighting

[strobist]

Did you click on the ball bungee link I posted in the answer? It will clearly show you two photos of ball bungees, one product shot and one in use:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-ball-bungees.html

If you re-read the portion where I briefly mention the flash meter, you will see that I say that I do not use one. I use the screen on the back of the digital camera to fine tune my exposures.

I use my experience to get my first try pretty close, so I can fine tune it with the screen on the back.

I cannot stress this enough: You need to take the time to experiment with your equipment and see what kind of light, and what quantity, your flash gives you at various distances.

I cannot construct any paragraph that will give you the knowledge that experimenting will give you.

I have been shooting photos for 30 years, 20 if which as a professional. And - even though I shoot about 500-750 assignments a year, I still experiment every single day. There is no substitute for just playing around and seeing what you get.

You just have to do it.

 

[pcwe68]

Yes, I understand, I hope I don't come across as nickpicking what you put on your site and your photos are indeed inspiring - To think that you are just using simple flash. But the experimenting can be a hair pulling experience to many, I guess. I hope that somehow you can share some of those experiences on your website, afterall its a blog. Maybe you could put up a few failed attempts and show how you go about correcting it. Sometimes as a new photographer, you just do not know what to do next.

When you said you use the LCD to fine tune, I assume you are using the histogram. So maybe a histogram next to your photo may help people to understand what is good, especially some of your difficult shot.

 

[strobist]

PC-

Funny you should mention that. I am on the road for a couple of days doing a story on the Miss USA pageant (sigh, SOMEONE has to do it, right?) so I am time and bandwidth (using cellphone) crunched.

But I am planning a looong post on exactly what you are talking about, experimentation-wise.

It will be a bit if an embarrassing post for me to write - it is frought with failure - but it is important.

There is even a placemarker in the unfinished section of Lighting 101 for it: Know Thy Flash.

I will let you know when it is up. Promise.

-David

 

[unseen]

Yes, I understand, I hope I don't come across as nickpicking what you put on your site and your photos are indeed inspiring - To think that you are just using simple flash. But the experimenting can be a hair pulling experience to many, I guess. I hope that somehow you can share some of those experiences on your website, afterall its a blog. Maybe you could put up a few failed attempts and show how you go about correcting it. Sometimes as a new photographer, you just do not know what to do next.

When you said you use the LCD to fine tune, I assume you are using the histogram. So maybe a histogram next to your photo may help people to understand what is good, especially some of your difficult shot.

Dude... you're basically asking for him to spoonfeed you so that you will have a set formula to follow and not go wrong. I think you need to get up and do some work. Personally I feel that if you don't experiment, you'll never know what's good or not.

IMHO there's no 1 setting for photography.

And don't be lazy. if you need a histogram, you just need to open the photo in photoshop and you'll get a histogram. If you've used a histogram before and actually know what it is about, given that his photos are finished products that we're viewing on monitors, you can more or less know the histogram of a photo by just looking at it. If you can't, it's time for you to do a bit of studying. Otherwise, putting a histogram there wouldn't help at all because you wouldn't know how to shift it to get what you want in times of need.

It's a sad situation in Singapore, where many "pros" go out and take a single shot and be happy, try to follow with the "1 shot 1 kill" thing without even knowing the basics. Once for a difficult shot I took more than 5 shots (by changing settings) to get it right, while another guy came over and snapped a shot and went off. In the end while reviewing the photos, that photo of his was badly taken (the lighting fooled the camera), and mine was ok. He just brushed off the incident by saying "Oh that's why I'm a newbie, you're my shifu/teacher". To the best of my knowledge, he's still doing that. To me, he's not really out to improve his skills, but rather enjoy the process of taking photos.
At least now in a similar difficult situation, I can more or less guess accurately the settings i need and possibly get it right at a go.

Are you in this newbie category too?

strobist => Many thanks for your blog. The lighting ideas are excellent. For me, it has shown me more light (pun unintended) to balancing flash with ambient light. Not to mention the many other nifty ideas I picked up. Wonderful!

 

[pcwe68]

PC-

Funny you should mention that. I am on the road for a couple of days doing a story on the Miss USA pageant (sigh, SOMEONE has to do it, right?) so I am time and bandwidth (using cellphone) crunched.

But I am planning a looong post on exactly what you are talking about, experimentation-wise.

It will be a bit if an embarrassing post for me to write - it is frought with failure - but it is important.

There is even a placemarker in the unfinished section of Lighting 101 for it: Know Thy Flash.

I will let you know when it is up. Promise.

-David

thanks for your understanding, i tot those will be helpful and encouraging for newbie to see that even the Pro gets it wrong, and if you can describe how you get it right again then it will be marvelous. really make your blog stand out from the rest.

I hope my feedback is worth at least 2 cents.

Miss USA - yep someone has to do it:devil:

And actually my first few posts above, its reaally gut feel.....first impression.......well, I read a survey about surfers who basically uses the first few seconds to determine if a site is worth the read, so first impression counts (so the survey said).........that's how surfers surf many sites.....its internet age.

 

[pcwe68]

Hey

I just tot of a corny title for your blog about your Miss USA assignment (if you are doing one)

"A day in the life of a flasher at Miss USA"

:bsmilie: :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

 

[strobist]

Uh, I don't think so....


But, just for you, the first of three articles on the philosophy of practice and experimentation. The next two will be more in line with your needs, (far too long for one post) but chew on this for a bit.

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/04/lighting-101-know-flash.html

 

[kahheng]

You're definitely more interesting than John Faulkner

 

[strobist]

Hey, man! I wore out my yellow copy of "Adventures in Location Lighting" as a green horn.

BTW, the second of three "practicing with flash" articles is now up, just for PC.

http://www.strobist.blogspot.com

It's "Lighting 101: See the Flash" in case other posts have pushed it down by the time you get there.

 

[pcwe68]

I am indeed honoured by your gesture, shooting the tv program sounds easier than having to bear with my smelly old tennis shoe.

lookin forward to your new postings.

 

[yanyewkay]

maybe this might help.

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-ball-bungees.html

cool stuff. anyone know where to get?

aren't these the stuff that girls use to tie their hair with? :sweatsm: I think i can easily improvise one!