The Flip-it!


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ParkertR

Senior Member
Well, I thought I'd do a little writeup on the Flip-it! Okay, before you continue to read, I'm not advertising the Flip-it! and giving it good ratings only because PPCP is selling it. It really is a good tool - I'm just laying out the cards so that anyone out there who's looking to buy something knows that there are other options out there other than the regular soft-boxes, dome diffusers, the Gary Fong Light Sphere, the stofen boxes and stuff. Okay, on to the story.

Some of you guys might be wondering what the big deal is about a flash tool that's supposed to be 'oh so good' - here's why... A long while ago, I was using the GFLS (no need to mention what it is right? hehehe) - the big bulb on top of my flashgun. It was actually pretty good - I swore by it until the Flip-it! arrived and burst my little "GFLS is the best" bubble. Even with the newer models of the GFLS, the LS could never do anything else than diffuse the light from the flash and even it out on the subjects that I was taking. At first I loved the effect of the LS, until someone close mentioned that the pictures, though very nicely lit, looked rather flat... I was rather annoyed that someone looked down on the LS and even said that my pictures looked "Flat".

I was introduced to the Flip-it! and it really did change my perspective of what flash photography could be! Here's a few examples...

flip2.jpg


Notice that there seems to be a light source coming from the top left? It's as if you had some strobe there that's directing light from that direction down on the little kittens. In fact, there is none! It's all the work of the Flip-it! If you used any other flash tool, what you'll get is a diffused light that basically lights up left and right of the frame without any nice shadow effects. Note that I just said 'nice shadow effects'. Shadows help bring pictures to life - be it paintings of Vermeer (who was excellent in using shadow and light in his paintings) or photographs from top photographers - they know how to use light from different angles, and the Flip-it! gives you the power to do that! I wouldnt really like this picture with light coming straight on, or from the top. Notice that it gives a very 3D like effect... when you look at the picture, you can almost 'feel' like they're there... wowza! Taken outside, at night.... in the open.

flip1.jpg


Okay, this was taken INDOORS in dim light and it is another picture with the light coming from the right... (yes I kinda like the right... it can be from the left as well, or the top... basically any angle that you fancy... except from the bottom... Hmm... maybe can also!) Notice how it looks as if there's a strobe again on the right side? It casts wonderful shadows on the subjects and makes it so realistic! Whee!! Also, no ugly shadows at the back! Oh yeah!

flip3.jpg


This time, I've got the light source coming from the left and it was taken in a building, but open-air... something like a void-deck. Notice that there are no harsh shadows and that the Flip-it!, while controlling the source of the light, helps to bring out the shape and depth in the photograph!

That's the Flip-it! for you! I know there are many other users out there who've purchased their Flip-it! already! If you haven't, you should really look into this product. Been using this for 2 years now and recently upgraded to the "Pro" version.

Cheers!
 

a few more samples taken by the flip-it .. these were taken by me .. so apologies if some are a little sub-par ... =/

373.jpg


452.jpg


547.jpg


296.jpg


1149.jpg
 

WOW!

How exactly do you use the flip-it on the first pic with the cats?

It's amazing to see the flip-it can achieve the effect.
 

i was shooting from a 45 degree angle to the subject. my flash was tilted 45 degrees to the right with the flipit around 95 degrees... slightly pulled back so it wouldnt be too harsh. :)
 

Maybe its helpful if there are pictures of the flipit in action (ie flipit on flash/cam) and the end result. Then can correlate how the flip it and the photos turn out
 

3 Basic Positions

Learn these first, then do your own fine tuning for in-between results.
Position 1: Tipped toward you for the most subtle lighting and softest shadows:
back_home_port.jpg

  • For areas with a normal-height white ceiling.
  • For informal portraits and candids in the home or smaller function halls.
  • Flash skims the reflector, a filling the main light bounce off the ceiling.
  • With Nikon SB 800 try ISO 200 F5.6 up to 10 feet, ISO 400 F5.6 up to 16 feet.
Position 2: Vertical:
vert_party.jpg

  • Splits light between the reflector and the ceiling.
  • For rooms with normal white ceiling ISO 400 F5.6 up to 18 feet.
  • In large function hall, up to 8 feet.
  • More power & denser shadows than Position 1.
Position 3: Tipped 45 degrees forward, hooding the strobe:
forward_18_feet.jpg

  • Most powerful position with light directed forward off the reflector.
  • For high ceiling or no ceiling places up to 20 feet, ISO 400 F5.6.
Note 1: Big Flip-it! adds approximately 10% more depth coverage.
Note 2: Using higher ISO or fast lenses will add considerably to the range of use.
 

Creating a Portrait with Flip-it!

Can basic portrait lighting be achieved with just the flash on your camera? This is quite a challenge as on-camera flash units are not really made to do this. Let's test some different ways of using your flash to see how close we can come to this ideal.
First let's define what we mean by basic portrait lighting.
  1. Soft light that produces flattering skin tones.
  2. Main light that is at approximately 45 degrees to the subject, both horizontally and vertically.
  3. Shadows on the face that are "filled" by a second light source.
  4. An absence of distracting shadows on the background.
Test conditions:
  1. Room with 12' white ceiling.
  2. Subject distance from white background: 2 feet.
  3. Lighting, one flash on camera.
Direst-flash.jpg

As a beginning point here is Lucille lit by direct flash. As you can see, this lighting does not fulfill any of the 4 conditions of basic portrait lighting.
Stofen_cube.jpg

Let's add a diffusion cube, the most popular flash modifier today. The light is softer but the shadow pattern is the same as direct flash. She looks much better, but it doesn't really look like the basic portrait lighting we are after.

nikon_reflector.jpg

Let's try the white pull-out reflector that is found on the Nikon SB-800.
 

busines_card_back.jpg

Above is the business card and rubber band trick.

toplite.jpg

One technique that photographers have used for years is to bounce the flash off the ceiling, like this. Now we are getting somewhere. If we could only get some life in the eyes, and fill in those shadows a little.

portraitlite.jpg

Let's add some front fill from the Flip-it reflector.
Voila! A portrait lighting that looks like it was produced in a studio. But it was produced with one camera, one flash, and one Flip-it.

jd-45-deg-back.jpg

This is the position of the Flip-it used to create this portrait lighting. The main light is created by the full force of the strobe bouncing off the white ceiling. The shadows are filled by the light skimming off the Flip-it! reflector.
final_baby.jpg

Here is an actual portrait done in a typical home situation using
 

busines_card_back.jpg

Above is the business card and rubber band trick.

toplite.jpg

One technique that photographers have used for years is to bounce the flash off the ceiling, like this. Now we are getting somewhere. If we could only get some life in the eyes, and fill in those shadows a little.

portraitlite.jpg

Let's add some front fill from the Flip-it reflector.
Voila! A portrait lighting that looks like it was produced in a studio. But it was produced with one camera, one flash, and one Flip-it.

jd-45-deg-back.jpg

This is the position of the Flip-it used to create this portrait lighting. The main light is created by the full force of the strobe bouncing off the white ceiling. The shadows are filled by the light skimming off the Flip-it! reflector.
final_baby.jpg

Here is an actual portrait done in a typical home situation using

The second pic finally shows me how it works. A lot of times, I hope that the deflector can be tilted more backwards. Hah. This is the one
 

This is the Flip-it! Pro model... similar to the Flip-it! but with an added diffuser. The one shown below is the "Jumbo" model.

flippro.jpg


Here is the Flip-it! Pro Standard
flippro2.jpg


Notice that you don't have to move anything around when you change from landscape to portrait type shots. You can twist the flash the other way and attach the reflector/diffuser the other way to have the light source on the other side (if you prefer to shoot your portrait shots with the shutter release under (the "non-chicken-wing" method)

flippro3.jpg

http://perfectpixelcameraparts.com/flippro.jpg
 

cheers :) will post more pix of those who have submitted their pictures to PPCP later this afternoon!

A quote from a user "Good product and easy to use no need to worry like the GFLS top to topple ;)"
 

Looks impressive. I will be glad to ditch the GFLS which seems to have an uncanny knack of falling off during important speeches!
 

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