Number 1 is nice, subtle, targeted. Very good if you're only looking at the light and not the subject.
Number 1 is everything number 2 isn't.
Yeah, I agree about #2, cjogo. Unfortunately, it just wasn't quite possible. The balance between ambient and flash was the key in that one. I tried putting an SU-800 on the camera and moving the flash off to the left (no space to the right.) Didn't work. Had to use the flash head-on. Not a good idea. Fun playing with the stuff, though.
My modern camera will only sync at 250th -- just barely enough for outdoor work.
Are you sure you don't have a high-speed flash feature that you can turn on in the camera's setup? High-speed flash cuts down the output strength of the flash units significantly since they're in high-speed repeat mode, but there are plenty of situations where that doesn't matter. #1, for instance.
"the F10 doesn't affect the flash"
Trust me : Even with i-TTL if your flash doesn't produce the f stop you need :: there's just no substitute for real key light you need to be professional. Tried the E-TTL of the Canon -- seemed to over fill ?? Wish the Canon "camera would figure it out more accurately than " I can ...
The Nikon always had a better flash system .. :-) Glad you are getting good results -- without all the buttons I have to think about for tomorrows job ..( hope it's overcast)
Does the Canon have flash exposure compensation? On the D3 and D800 if for some reason I'm getting too much fill, all I have to do is go to flash exposure comp and dial it down a bit. It's then going to stay at that relative level as I move in or out. Works with a multiple off-camera light setup too. Two other beautiful features on the Nikon -- maybe on the current Canon but I don't know -- are (1) the ability to hold down a button to keep the flash(es) from firing when you want to test for ambient exposure, and (2) the ability to hold down another button and get the light(s) to do their pre-flash and the camera to hold the result. Then you can make the flash shot without a pre-flash. It's a big help when you're shooting a portrait, especially if the person you're shooting is a fast blinker who blinks so fast on the pre-flash that the blink is partially caught in the actual exposure.
Oops. What I meant to write is that your 1/250 doesn't affect the flash.
If it's over-flashing use flash exposure compensation and dial it down a third of a stop. I'm assuming Canon has flash exposure comp. Can't imagine it hasn't.
I also like that with my Canon 60d ~ I can flip the screen closed = so no one bugs me about chimping each shot. ;-}
Steve, it's pretty clear you don't know what Nikon's CLS can do. Yes, I'm talking about dials -- at least when using an SB-910 or SB-900 as the controller. Yes I'm talking about being able to control all my lights right from the camera, including turning a group off, including switching a group to full manual mode so it doesn't pay any attention to the ttl signals and can be dialed up and down independently, etc., etc. Yes, there are other systems, but I've never heard of a hot shoe system that's as good as what Nikon has.
Steve, it's pretty clear you don't know what Nikon's CLS can do. Yes, I'm talking about dials. Yes I'm talking about being able to control all my lights right from the camera, etc., etc. Yes, there are other systems, but I've never heard of a hot shoe system that's as good as what Nikon has.
Used many Quantums for years ( Norman was too difficult with manual everything & a heavy setup)You might want to give them a new look. They keep pace with OEM features, at least the useful ones..
Love the dome on the Quantums -- beautiful spread of light > especially bounced into a card ..
I have only used the Q flash as a shoe mount -- so no room for these controller boxes.
My favorite ( and easiest) flash is one with AUTO settings ( F 2 -11 ) --ie Nikon /Quantum ..
So fast :: You are in a lighting situation of 125 @ 8 overcast /even -- you want a fill of F4 light -- one click and your are there . That's why the shoe mount NIKON worked so well atop my Hassy and RZ > camera had no control -- you set the Fstop of the flash amount ~!
I only used the Broncolor in the studio > and some smaller Dynalites out on assignments..
http://photos.imageevent.com/estrump/extra/extra/icons/MASTER%20STUDIO%20PHOTO%20GEAR.jpg
The overexposure is understandable.. :)
You could stand in that softbox we had ;-)I've got the really large Photoflex.. I think it's 7 feet at its' largest part of the hex. It varies by less than 1/2 stop and is perfect for wedding dresses.. I haven't used it in a while.. think I'll pull it out.
Strobe with a softbox/umbrella setup ...not go over to well in this market...;-) But its also year round outdoor events here.
I shoot pretty quick & easy -- lots to be done in hi-speed gear , for a wedding. Shooting probably not even half what most photographers fire @ will. More like 5/7 frames in a minute : if that..
Coming from the film days of 12/24 frames with 120 cameras > every shot counted or it cost you...
Whoa STEVE ;;;;; I wish my clients had the budget these days -- that when goodbye > about 5 years ago. I show up for maybe 2-5 hours these days.. send them a DVD in a day or so. Straight hourly for shooting and a charge for CS editing. Manual focus /exposure a lot >>> so no flying around with insane per second shots.
Temperatures ultra mild --year round >> no air conditioning in this town.. These are destination weddings .. in for the weekend --
one camera > one zoom > one flash --never sweat....I don't even bring in a bag .....batteries and card's in my suit jacket...
. You can imagine the equipment we go through before the day is out.. It's usually me and one more shooter, 2 working as human light stands (their training is critical), water girl, and one more working the social side to go grab the people they want posed together and set them up to be shot.. It's a production, Western weddings are a breeze in comparison.
I went the famous route starting in the late 70's until about 2005 ... Yes, it was great pay ...traveled a lot ~ rubbed elbows and captured the rich & famous and yes = the budgets were great / but \ guess I got burned out ....and way too old to want to compete.. rather stay 10 minutes from home , these days. :=) Free time + ease of life == much more important then the $$$ ** 30 years later :-)
What a production !! I have colleagues who moved into that market about 4 years ago ...hope they don't have heart attacks > they are older than me...;-)
"As good" as measured in obscure functions only useful in even less obscure scenarios.. or "as good" as measured in how easily a pro can work without the flash getting in the way, missing a shot because the "thermal protection" kicked in, or the entire unit is in for warranty repair. (again). Or as good by ease of use and light quality?
Thanks for the info, Steve. I've only had to do two weddings since the sixties, thank heaven. I'm glad to hear you're satisfied with your flash setup. I'm happy with mine, and Joe McNally seems happy with the same setup I have. Guess I'll stick with what I have.I can certainly understand Mr. McNally's using Nikon speedlights.. anything else would be like the Gecko using State Farm to ensure his car, or the Stig endorsing a black helmet. ??? Some things just aren't done. Can you imagine Bill Cosby using the store brand of pudding? The horror.. :o So I can certainly understand your point.
I guess it's a difference between Nikon guys and Canon guys. With Nikon's lineup you don't need to go outside. It's already all there. ;D
I guess it's a difference between Nikon guys and Canon guys. With Nikon's lineup you don't need to go outside. It's already all there. ;D
Love the AUTO settings on the NIKON --fast and easy -- my first Canon digital I used a Nikon flash with a shoe to disable the Canon circuitry ... Until I got a handle on the 580 strobe..
I sold all three of my 580exII's after discovering they were even less helpful than my three SB800's when I shot Nikon.. Now that I've went to Quantum I can do it all.. without thermal lock outs or damaged gear.. love them. More, I love their light quality but I risk repeating myself.. :)
I've got one of those tiny 280's? Better than nothing and small enough to have with me when I don't want to use ISO 680,000 or whatever..
Still think the Quantum has a beautiful quality of light ... the Automode was very trusted >>> just got too lazy to carry a T5d > on the shoe of my Canon < & the Turbo battery around, at weddings .
Works perfect for golf work though -- quick recycle at full power for group shots/foursomes @ a hole = with full daylight in the background. ( And on a tripod )
I rarely shoot anything near ISO 500 .. 100 to 400 my usual setting. Why shoot anything of HI -ISO > if you have a flash :=)
" They also have a feature which limits the light for a specific before and after distance. "
Remember that with the Quantum --worked great. Use to use the L Bracket --too cumbersome these days...
Just really miss quickly changing the F Stop on the Quantum for my fill & my Metz /Nikon > just takes a different mind set > with the 580.
I use to shoot a lot at 1/15 in the film days --to get that ambient lite with a little fill strobe..Leaning in door ways to get my steadiness... SO :: Yes, I welcome the faster ISO --just don't like the noisy look .... I know there are post apps > but 600 & loose interest > and that "clean skin" on the portrait.
No dangers in this town after dark --everything closes down :-}
Still summer like weather in Carmel Valley -- shorts still the attire.
I never have my Canon camera on more than one shot ..just don't have to fire so fast >> its just the old school of 120 film for so many years. With the RB67 you hand to wind two levers for every exposure...no zooms and 10 exp backs !!
Most of my candid's are "setup" shots .. just old ways never change --I guess. When I work a crowd > totally different MO of the new shooters. No 2-3 frames a sec with bursting flash in your subjects faces. I need DOF for a bounce strobe into a card at 7/9ft = F5 = at least with a 28mm and a group of four. Would hate to come home from a 4-6 hour event and have to load over a 1,000 RAW files for a job and edit.
I agree with you cjogo. Nobody in his right mind flashes flashes in people's faces on the street. Only Bruce Gilden does that. And people who shoot in bursts rarely end up with anything really interesting. On the other hand, if you're doing a wedding, what people want is clichés, so it probably doesn't matter. What the bride's mother wants is "wedding pictures." That translates as pictures just like all the other "wedding pictures" she's seen. But I'll bet that if you're doing a large group you shoot a bunch of exposures. If you don't, you surely won't be able to find one where everybody's eyes are open.
I agree with you cjogo. Nobody in his right mind flashes flashes in people's faces on the street. Only Bruce Gilden does that. And people who shoot in bursts rarely end up with anything really interesting. On the other hand, if you're doing a wedding, what people want is clichés, so it probably doesn't matter. What the bride's mother wants is "wedding pictures." That translates as pictures just like all the other "wedding pictures" she's seen. But I'll bet that if you're doing a large group you shoot a bunch of exposures. If you don't, you surely won't be able to find one where everybody's eyes are open.
1. Yep, always listen carefully to the person writing your check.. not necessarily the bride. I like to do a good mix of traditional and contemporary and allow them to choose. And I like to do at least one meeting in the home of the person writing the check, good examples of what they expect will be on their best walls, piano, or mantel.
. . .I like to do at least one meeting in the home of the person writing the check, good examples of what they expect will be on their best walls, piano, or mantel.
We have destination weddings -- they are here >all of 3/4 days > back across the Country by Monday. No post sells or pre meetings. Very traditional shooting in my background ... and I charge for CS4 time. If I was shooting 600-1000+ images & then have to spend days editing > they probably could not afford my charges. Maybe many are more experienced in Light Room ( never used) & can fly through those extraneous images = not eating into their profits.
Still edit each one individually in the RAW editor and a few actions in CS4 > BUT with most images shot on manual focus/manual exposure --- not much "real" intricate editing.
Good point, Steve. And this kind of thing is exactly why I gave up commercial work back in the late sixties -- well, actually the early seventies. I couldn't stomach it any longer.You bring up a good point. Not everyone is cut out to run their own business. They never learn to accept this elevation in the food chain and feel good about it. But for some reason they're just fine with working for someone else who pockets the fruits of their hard earned labours..
I can't remember how long go it used to be when wedding clients bought prints .... If I shot 400 images > I deliver at least 365.... never hear from them again. I imagine most share on their email ....
If I shoot 400 images > I best be delivering at least 365. I imagine most share on their email/net?
When the business started going to digital from film -- there was a period ( to compete) we just handed our undeveloped film to the B&G. It was standard practice around here for a few years. The new shooters ( with no processing /film expenses ) came in way under our proposals in the wedding business. They were not really pros- who had worked for decades in the business >> just weekend fun with their digital cameras > cost them nothing but time.
So to save overhead = we handed the film over, right from the camera . Especially for a small wedding party, in this destination spot >> just made sense. We were all hand-meter trained -- years behind the camera --shooters -- we knew the results of the images on the rolls of film.
. My time, your time, nothing but meaningless grains of sand hewed from the rocks lining the river of time. It's yours, then mine, and then neither of us can glimpse the next. It's as if it never mattered.
Costco have really decent prints for the cost -- especially if you stay calibrated. They do all my fine art B&W enlargements.From a monetary standpoint I suppose it's a small line from Costco prints to nice ones you print yourself. But from a business viewpoint it's miles distant.
From a monetary standpoint I suppose it's a small line from Costco prints to nice ones you print yourself. But from a business viewpoint it's miles distant.
The only reason I ever ventured to COSTCO ~~ was the business viewpoint ... only for the profit/time.
You bring up a good point. Not everyone is cut out to run their own business. They never learn to accept this elevation in the food chain and feel good about it. But for some reason they're just fine with working for someone else who pockets the fruits of their hard earned labours..
Guess I should read up on "new styles" of shooting ... maybe turn on that < speed clicking for ever < thing ....never got the Auto or Program to work well enough on the Canon ..will experiment.
I know people like this, Steve, but that wasn't the problem. Later on I started and ran my own software engineering corporation for thirty years. The problem was disgust at the kind of work upon which these clients insisted.
New gear brings us new features and the possibility for new techniques. I like to give them a try. Heck, someone who shall remain nameless got me to try a Mac..
I still love the TTL on my Oly OM2n and later the OM3ti and OM4ti.. love those cameras and that new feature everyone argued about for a decade.
I have been manual so many years --just wouldn't know how to put full trust into Auto/TTL setup.That was one side! ;D
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Still hand meter -- bounce the strobe into card > to get the "natural" look I want to achieve for my clientsBeautiful! On the road at the moment, when I return home I'll share her clone, dressed the same way too!