Jan 1 2006, 09:26 PM
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![]() I'm an idiot ![]() Group: Photo Mods Posts: 2,603 Joined: 14-September 04 From: Los Angeles. Member No.: 868 |
I’m going to assume that everyone reading this knows how to use a flash, because if you don’t, you shouldn’t be worrying about how to use 2 off camera flashes. The reason for using off camera flashes is to get better, or less “flat” lighting. It’ll make your photo more interesting, and it will look much nicer, with all the shadows and highlights, than on camera flash looks. For starters, the simplest way to trigger 2 off camera flashes is by radio slaves. The most common ones are LPA Design’s Pocketwizard system. Quantum also makes radio slaves, but if you want to learn more about that, there are reviews in this section. Another, more complicated way to trigger 2 flashes is by using sync cords. I don’t know much about this, so I’m not going to try and explain it.
Flash placement is the most difficult thing to learn, because for every situation it’s different. I’m going to draw some very awesome illustrations for examples of placements (this is basically the same as skateboardphotography.com’s tutorial, but hell, I learned a shit load from that.) Placement One: I used this for my photos on the bank at LA High. Some people seemed to like the photos so I guess I’ll explain what I did. ![]() ![]() Gear details: Sunpak 383, Nikon SB-25, Nikon D2H, Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Pocketwizards The rimlight was 8 feet away, so I used the equation Aperture = Guide Number of the flash / Distance. The guide number on that flash is 118, so I did Aperture = 118/8, which is 14.75, and the closest fstop on the flash to that is 16, so I chose 16. My second flash sucks, so I cannot choose the aperture, so I just had to guess the distance, and I got lucky. But, you would use the same equation to get the fstop of that flash. My best advice would be to write that equation down and keep it in your bag. For the camera part, I exposed the shot correctly, and then underexposed the shot by 2 stops. For this one, the ambient was at f4 at 1/250, so I went to f8 at 1/250. Placement Two: This was my placement for my photo at Fairfax high, it’s fairly similar to the one I used at LA High, but I’ll draw a picture anyways. ![]() ![]() Gear details: Sunpak 383, Nikon SB-25, Nikon D2H, Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Pocketwizards The rimlight was 6 feet away, so, again, 118/6 = 20…closest fstop is f22, so I chose f22. My other flash, as previously stated, sucks, so I just had to guess the distance. As for my camera, I only underexposed the ambient light by 1 stop, so the ambient was f4 at 1/250, so I set my camera to f5.6 at 1/250. Side Note: every flash has a guide number, that describes the power of the flash. The sunpak 555 has a guide number of 150 at iso 100, the 544 is 140 at iso 100, the vivitar 285 has a guide number of 120 at iso 100. I hope this has helped, and if you guys have any questions, just ask me, and I’ll answer them as best I can. Also, feel free to make additions. -------------------- http://www.sammuller.com
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Coalition Films The Off Camera Flash Tutorial Jan 1 2006, 09:26 PM
baby b THANK YOU !!! Jan 1 2006, 09:30 PM
PatrickD hallelujah thank you much Jan 1 2006, 09:34 PM
baby b theres pne thing i dont understand. im a total idi... Jan 1 2006, 09:37 PM
Coalition Films sure thing, dudes. Jan 1 2006, 09:37 PM
Coalition Films
Whoa, i completely meant to go into more detail ... Jan 1 2006, 09:41 PM
skatefactor THANKS.
I realllyy just learned a lot, answered A... Jan 1 2006, 09:54 PM
Sepehr Im pretty sure your flashes will have a chart or a... Jan 1 2006, 10:01 PM
Coalition Films
Yeah, the 383 "sucks" because there ar... Jan 1 2006, 10:07 PM
XeosX badass thread dude.... cudos.
i haven't ever... Jan 1 2006, 10:43 PM
Sepehr Yeah, I was wondering about that flash....but you ... Jan 1 2006, 10:50 PM
Brent7 yeah 285's have a manuel settings and are get ... Jan 1 2006, 11:23 PM
Coalition Films
honestly, i've been wondering that myself. Jan 1 2006, 11:29 PM
Exhumed Nice. Very useful information, and you cleared up ... Jan 1 2006, 11:50 PM
sheeep For flashes, I love my minolta's. They both ha... Jan 2 2006, 12:09 AM
wolfknight Yes the minolta dial is quite nice, I messed aroun... Jan 2 2006, 01:08 AM
mcb very nice of you to add this as a guide.
i think ... Jan 2 2006, 01:17 AM
Coalition Films
i can do that right now.
I roll up to the spot,... Jan 2 2006, 01:23 AM
DayOne thanks for this, simple walkthroughts like this wi... Jan 2 2006, 02:13 AM
rhys
how do i know te guide number of the flash i und... Jan 2 2006, 05:22 AM
baby b
then is that the same aperture you use on your c... Jan 2 2006, 01:54 PM
Coalition Films
no, thats not what i do. I meter for my flashes... Jan 2 2006, 02:02 PM
Enfeebler or u can buy a flash meter :P nah this is good s... Jan 2 2006, 06:03 PM
justinbway
Alright i thought i had this down already but mab... Jan 2 2006, 06:18 PM
Sepehr No,if you underexpose the flash and the ambient th... Jan 2 2006, 06:29 PM
sheeep
I've been trying to understand how its suppo... Jan 2 2006, 06:31 PM
justinbway Thanks Sepehr, i got it now. Jan 2 2006, 06:34 PM
toldey is this for is youre not using a flash meter, corr... Jan 5 2006, 02:00 AM
Sepehr This idea of underexposing the ambient and having ... Jan 5 2006, 02:17 AM
rhys what does a light meter do egsactly does it just t... Jan 5 2006, 03:59 AM
123 so if you just meter the ambient and then underexp... Jan 5 2006, 01:06 PM
justinbway
To tell you if your flashes are putting out enou... Jan 5 2006, 01:13 PM
wolfknight
no, if the ambient is f8 at 1/250, than u adjust ... Jan 5 2006, 03:08 PM
alec this is silly Jan 5 2006, 07:49 PM
StylingMaTT The biggest misunderstanding (is that a word) is t... Jan 5 2006, 07:51 PM
EOJ I have a question so if all of this is based on IS... Jan 5 2006, 08:22 PM
gordo I've never done any of this, but couldn't ... Jan 5 2006, 09:53 PM
Coalition Films
what happens if how you're flashes set up, a... Jan 5 2006, 10:49 PM
gordo So could someone explain the metering process in a... Jan 5 2006, 11:40 PM
StylingMaTT 1. Meter ambient
2. Under-expose ambient, if you w... Jan 6 2006, 12:16 AM
freebird27
1. Meter ambient
2. Under-expose ambient, if you ... Apr 5 2006, 02:04 PM
MrPurple
ok the flash powers you put down are confusing me... Apr 9 2006, 04:07 PM
jordan How much would you estimate all this cost? Jan 6 2006, 12:21 AM
Coalition Films
A good flash setup?
Pocketwizard Kit (1 transmi... Jan 6 2006, 12:37 AM
mcb k may sound dumb but i'm kinda unclear still.
... Jan 6 2006, 01:02 AM
alec flashes dont have apertures...
weirdos Jan 6 2006, 05:20 PM
XeosX well- shitty flashes don't have apertures.
... Jan 6 2006, 06:23 PM
alec no flash has an aperture Jan 6 2006, 07:42 PM
StylingMaTT
I beg to differ. Jan 6 2006, 07:49 PM
alec Aperture
Lens opening. The hole or opening formed... Jan 6 2006, 08:58 PM
StylingMaTT Alec's right. Jan 6 2006, 09:02 PM
wolfknight
I dont see why 2 544's wouldnt be sufficient... Jan 6 2006, 09:29 PM
Coalition Films
2 544s would be just fine...i was just telling h... Jan 7 2006, 02:30 AM
DayOne how do i find out the flahs power, output or whate... Jan 7 2006, 05:00 PM
graphospasmic Just a visual for what Alec said. . . here's t... Jan 7 2006, 05:08 PM
wolfknight Does the 544 have the same thing going on the calc... Jan 8 2006, 12:33 AM
Jeff713
Yeh same things just different layout i believe ... Jan 8 2006, 12:51 AM
Coalition Films
naw, i bought a new one off fredmiranda.com for ... Jan 8 2006, 08:43 PM
wolfknight
fredmiranda pisses me off haha, i think i've... Jan 8 2006, 10:58 PM
gerbil i dont know if im just dumb... but iv got 1 flash ... Jan 9 2006, 06:26 PM
Coalition Films
no, because, if i'm correct, it exposes perf... Jan 10 2006, 01:21 AM
VX1_Skate well i dont really know much about guid numbers bu... Jan 10 2006, 02:44 AM
graphospasmic I think if the ratio between distance and power is... Jan 10 2006, 02:49 AM
Sepehr
This is merely a technical equipment definition. ... Jan 11 2006, 08:59 PM
Nick Aus ok, so i think i have my flash shit pretty dialed,... Jan 13 2006, 11:22 PM
Jeff713
Seems like metering ambient in very dark conditi... Jan 14 2006, 02:40 AM
justinbway
Seems like metering ambient in very dark conditio... Mar 13 2006, 09:31 PM
Sepehr well the whole point of underexposing the ambient ... Jan 14 2006, 04:28 AM
DayOne so a viv285hv has a guide number of 120 at iso 100... Jan 24 2006, 12:54 AM
rhys ive tried on google but i cant find the guide numb... Jan 24 2006, 06:19 AM
rhys also shooting at night do you over expose or under... Jan 24 2006, 06:36 AM
Virtual life bump for all the idiots who want to see the total ... Mar 8 2006, 04:21 PM
zooyork43
your a good man Mar 8 2006, 04:32 PM
DayOne Im not sure if i uderstand your question so il jus... Mar 14 2006, 01:00 AM
justinbway Aight ill try to re-word what i was saying. I was ... Mar 14 2006, 02:30 PM
mikejl29 That sounds right... if you metered all of your fl... Mar 14 2006, 04:55 PM
justinbway
That sounds right... if you metered all of your f... Mar 15 2006, 01:26 PM
mflove wait, wait, wait......ok so the formula that was g... Mar 14 2006, 06:37 PM
mikejl29 http://www.loserlabeled.com/hosted/Jeff-Diagram.jp... Mar 17 2006, 10:38 PM
hayden123 i don't like the pic but i understand what you... Mar 17 2006, 11:07 PM
Againstyourwill I don't understand what you mean when you say ... Mar 19 2006, 12:56 PM
mikejl29 Increase the shutter speed over the ambiant measur... Mar 19 2006, 05:34 PM
Mike YAYO how do u set the aperatures on 285hv buy just sele... Apr 4 2006, 03:51 PM
31
how do u set the aperatures on 285hv buy just sel... May 19 2006, 01:16 AM
wolfknight
I'd like to know this aswell.
gahhhhh, you d... May 20 2006, 11:42 PM
31
gahhhhh, you dont set the aperature on any flash.... May 22 2006, 08:55 AM
SteveLaClair Yeah matt just got the rim part backwards.
I like... May 1 2006, 11:03 AM
Coalition Films
Yeah matt just got the rim part backwards.
I lik... May 1 2006, 06:05 PM
vegetables why isnt this pinned May 2 2006, 07:06 AM
Enfeebler
why isnt this pinned
it schould be, it answers ... May 7 2006, 07:01 PM
mgavris im confused
when metering hte ambient light you s... May 7 2006, 07:44 PM
justinbway
im confused
when metering hte ambient light you ... May 20 2006, 05:59 PM
vegetables stylinmatts slackin' May 8 2006, 08:05 AM
EvenEvan so can you tell me if this is right and if not tel... May 30 2006, 06:35 PM
Dunk do you even no why your under exposing the ambient... May 30 2006, 07:08 PM
EvenEvan thanks for the help May 30 2006, 07:09 PM
phoTekz ok i think i understand tell me if this is right :... Jun 6 2006, 03:49 PM
SUSPECT 54
ok i think i understand tell me if this is right ... Jun 14 2006, 12:33 AM
20ShotSequence anybody know if a Sigma Flash EF-500 DG will work... Jun 7 2006, 05:11 AM
Dunk any (96%-100%) will work as long as it has a hotsh... Jun 13 2006, 03:03 AM![]() ![]() |
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