Flash - Behind the scenes

[Don Hoey]

Thanks for that Harry as it does show what you can do with care and practice.

Just sat here with a tape measure to visualise the set up. Amongst the huge range of kit around I am not sure if I am right about this ' Omni-Bounce '. Is this a 45 degree job mounted on the flash head. A pic of it may help.

Don

[wolfie]

Originally Posted by Don Hoey

Thanks for that Harry as it does show what you can do with care and practice.

Just sat here with a tape measure to visualise the set up. Amongst the huge range of kit around I am not sure if I am right about this ' Omni-Bounce '. Is this a 45 degree job mounted on the flash head. A pic of it may help.

Don

Don, This site will give you a very good idea of the Omni Bounce.

http://azone.clubsnap.org/insectguide/page01.html

Harry

[Don Hoey]

Originally Posted by wolfie

Don, This site will give you a very good idea of the Omni Bounce.

http://azone.clubsnap.org/insectguide/page01.html

Harry

Thanks for that. It was the Omni Bounce bit that confused me, I refer to them as Stofen as this was when it came out their only product, and a killer one at that. I use one all the time. The best addition to your flash you can get, and only £15:95 from Warehouse Express.
Pic from post #4. http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...0&d=1134942009.

That is one terrific link. A must see for anyone having a go at macro with flash.

Thanks

Don

[wolfie]

Originally Posted by Don Hoey

Thanks for that. It was the Omni Bounce bit that confused me, I refer to them as Stofen as this was when it came out their only product, and a killer one at that. I use one all the time. The best addition to your flash you can get, and only £15:95 from Warehouse Express.
Pic from post #4. http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...0&d=1134942009.

That is one terrific link. A must see for anyone having a go at macro with flash.

Thanks

Don

Agree with "Killer" part when I bought mine I had to purchase from the USA along with one of my flash guns, as at that time, they where unavailable in the UK.


Harry

[Don Hoey]

I did this today as the weather forecast suggests going indoors for a few days. It was promted by the Down memory lane thread, and I know Duncan still uses his Rollie TLR.

You have to excuse the set up photo as this had to rely on the pop up flash of my wifes D100. Light outside was non existant.

The lack of outside light meant this had to be an all flash shot. So for the first time in this thread I am using 2 flashguns to provide all the light. As this would have required an assistant I used the studio unit to over come the problem.

The more flash units you use the harder it is to balance the light between them. Despite its phsical size the studio unit provided the secondary light. This was as much to prove that the shot could be done with 2 portable guns as anything else. The ' Test Shot ' was taken to assess the impact of the 2 flashguns. This shows clearly that the smaller unit is the ' key ' light.

I have commented on the ' Test Shot '.

As the flash units were fairly close to the subject a movement of a few inches either way would have an impact on exposure. I find it easier than altering the output power on individual flash units.

I had to do a few exposures to get the best reflection on the lens. As you can see with no daylight and the Lastolite in use I had to settle for a relection from the softbox. The one thing that lets this image down is the reflection shows the Multibliz unit inside. As it was getting dark and I needed to take a pic of the set up I left it at that. Later I will redo the shot to exclude it.

Attached pictures are of the setup. The side reflector is not shown in position in order not to block the view. The test shot and comments, and the end result.

Don

[Canis Vulpes]

Not a satisfactory day.....

I now have a background for the still life flash photography I am enjoying so much and I have lots of subjects to photograph namely toys and ornaments that my Grandfather made prior to his retirement. These objects have huge sentimental value and I think its very important to photograph correctly to do justice to them and the person who made them.

Todays quest was the bi-plane made as a toy for me when I was three or four years of age. Considering it has survived nearly 30 years it is in good condition.

I am attempting to light the bi-plane as good as possible using a fluorescent strip above and two reading lights diffused through kitchen roll (see wide shot). Using bounce flash on-camera and a diffused slave I seem to have good lighting but a nasty shadow is present from the slave, noticeable on the port wing strut to the fuselage and from the port wheel. Whatever I do I could not reduce the shadow. Apart from this I am really happy with the shot.

Depth of field was tricky as space was tight and the subject therefore was close. Aperture priority was used at f13! to get near good depth requiring lots of flash output. Some light was available from a window so when the light failed I stopped for the day.

I took nearly forty exposures trying different things but none as good as below - Tomorrow I shall resume the quest for the perfect bi-plane shot and will post technique if better than todays effort.

[wolfie]

Stephen, the result is pretty good as it is, but for more control how about constructing a makeshift light-tent. Especially if you have a lot of small items to photograph.

Making a decent tent is something I intended to do, but never quite got around it.

So what I do is remove the wooden frame from my wifes dirty linen basket and throw a white sheet over it.

I place both my flash guns (in Slave mode) inside the tent and arrange them so that the light bounces of the white sheet, as an addition I use 2 halogen table lamps.

Example of result attached.

Harry

[Canis Vulpes]

Harry,

Thanks for the information - excellent pic BTW. I like the white sheet background it looks interesting while not taking attention.

I have the components for a makeshift light tent but need time to construct it. I have 10 x 1m (3ft) indoor plant sticks and 100 x plant ties. I intent to form a frame then line four sides with white bin-liner plastic leaving the floor (graduated background) and camera entry, which will just be white cardboard with a hold cut for the camera lens. I intended to use the light tend for the stainless steel and brass items.

What wattage are the halogen table lamps that you use?

[wolfie]

The halogen lamps are 50w, I've never tried white plastic, so will be interested in the result.
I do get the feeling however that the light will be a little harsh. Look forward to seeing the effect.
By using a white linen sheet draped loosely the light is diffused and scattered in all directions.

The ideal materials for creating a frame can be purchased here http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...01311&ts=66376 this being 21.5mm overflow pipe approx cost £36
8 x 90 deg bends, 4 tees and 3 lengths of pipe. Then nick a white bed sheet when the boss is not looking.

Harry

[Canis Vulpes]

A much better day.....

After doing a few jobs around the house I find time to look at the photographic subject again. I have a fresh open mind for tackling those shadows. I set out the background and placed the bi-plane and noticed a strong shadow from outside, weather was bright and sunny (for one hour!). I decided to use flash to soften this shadow (see wide shot for placement), the exact opposite of yesterdays fun where I realised that without much daylight flash will create shadow unless equipped with reflectors and possibly a light tent.

On-camera flash provided bounce light to generally illuminate the whilst slave flash pointed away toward an angled wall which acted a large reflector.

I am now satisfied with the result

A full size version can be viewed from the 'still life' gallery - Enjoy!