need help with lighting

MissB

Not sure if i've posted this in the right place... .but here it goes. I am an amature when it comes to flash, strobes, soft boxes... any form of artificial lighting... I work best with what i've got at hand. However Im not willing to risk someones wedding on my inexpierence in that department... so... I need some suggestions on handheld lighting alternatives. Something indirect.. i've heard of "bouncing the flash" .. what equiptment would I need for that... thinking inexpensive if possible. All I have right now is the in camera flash... and I don't even use that right now. HELP!!! thanks in advance.

miss b

angevin1

Hi MissB,

Considering how wonderful your natural light work is, it is a shame to to have to think about adding flash to that. I would suggest not adding flash, but I know with the camera you're using you only have so much ISO available. And churches can be dark or poorly lit. For me at least, I like this website: http://www.planetneil.com/tangents/ I have found his use and explanations easy to follow.

Cheers,

Art Scott

MissB wrote:

Not sure if i've posted this in the right place... .but here it goes. I am an amature when it comes to flash, strobes, soft boxes... any form of artificial lighting... I work best with what i've got at hand. However Im not willing to risk someones wedding on my inexpierence in that department... so... I need some suggestions on handheld lighting alternatives. Something indirect.. i've heard of "bouncing the flash" .. what equiptment would I need for that... thinking inexpensive if possible. All I have right now is the in camera flash... and I don't even use that right now. HELP!!! thanks in advance.

miss b

pretty simple...cheapest and very good flash on the market right now is the VIVATAR 285HV (~$90@ B/H) this is a workhorse flash and has been around for over 30+ years...maybe closer to 50 yrs.....now you need a light stand,hotshoe flash bracket and one of Ziggy's DIY scoops to bounce the flash off of, an incident flash meter.......and one last thing a remote slave trigger.....like this Ebay Radio Slave Falsh Trigger......I use these and love them.....

using this configurtion you shoot in all manual mode....the flash is stricly manual no ttl and it is an older model that could harm your digital camera if slide inot the hot shoe.......that is why I said to place on a stand and fire with the remote....no direct connection to camera no way to harm camera......I use Sunpak 622 handle mount flashes and they have to be fired the same way....

MissB

angevin1 wrote:

Hi MissB,

Considering how wonderful your natural light work is, it is a shame to to have to think about adding flash to that. I would suggest not adding flash, but I know with the camera you're using you only have so much ISO available. And churches can be dark or poorly lit. For me at least, I like this website: http://www.planetneil.com/tangents/ I have found his use and explanations easy to follow.

Cheers,

Thank you for the compliment... I would rather avoid creating artificial light... but you're right... I can only crank my iso upto 1600.. I have a friend who uses a D series canon and his ISO goes upto 3600 or more... I was asounded... ooooohhh (rubbing hands together) the possibilities. Can you recommend a canon camera body that not a million dollars that has high iso capabilties?

MissB

Art Scott wrote:

pretty simple...cheapest and very good flash on the market right now is the VIVATAR 285HV (~$90@ B/H) this is a workhorse flash and has been around for over 30+ years...maybe closer to 50 yrs.....now you need a light stand,hotshoe flash bracket and one of Ziggy's DIY scoops to bounce the flash off of, an incident flash meter.......and one last thing a remote slave trigger.....like this Ebay Radio Slave Falsh Trigger......I use these and love them.....

using this configurtion you shoot in all manual mode....the flash is stricly manual no ttl and it is an older model that could harm your digital camera if slide inot the hot shoe.......that is why I said to place on a stand and fire with the remote....no direct connection to camera no way to harm camera......I use Sunpak 622 handle mount flashes and they have to be fired the same way....

thank you im going to do some research on your suggestions.

ziggy53

MissB wrote:

... Can you recommend a canon camera body that not a million dollars that has high iso capabilties?

The current Canon full-frame bodies do a very good job at ISO 3200, and the 5D MKII is not too bad at ISO 6400. The 5D MKII is around $2700 and is a remarkable value, but if it's too expensive there are quite a few used 5D (original) bodies around.

KEH is a very good source of used equipment.

The 1D MKII and 1D MKIIN are older 1.3x crop cameras that do a commendable job at ISO 3200.

The Canon 40D and 50D are the current mid-level crop 1.6x cameras and they do have an ISO 3200, but it is not too different from Nikon's current 1.5x crop mid-level cameras. (Primarily the D90 and D300 bodies.)

Nikon's D700 is excellent at ISO 3200, and not bad at all at ISO 6400. The truth is that up to 8" x 10" prints from either the Canon or Nikon cameras of similar technology will produce similar results. Above that size there may be some visible differences, but both will still be quite nice to larger sizes (more dependent upon subject matter than camera used.)

Miguel Delinquento

Art's advice is very fine, but I would suggest you consider a flash that would provide TTL capability with your camera. Like any automated process in photography TTL can work quite well. I don't believe the Vivitar flash works in any kind of a TTL mode, but it is a good flash.

The decisions you will need to make is how far to use the automated TTL function vs. automatic vs. a fully manual approach. Each of these has their right contexts.

I would secure the flash equipment and then just practice a lot. Conduct some training tests. The learning curve for basic lighting competence is not very steep and I'm sure you will do fine.

Your current DSLR will serve you well. I love natural light as much as any mortal, but nicely diffused artificial lighting can look very pleasing. Plus learning these skills will make you a more complete photographer.

M

MissB

Miguel Delinquento wrote:

Art's advice is very fine, but I would suggest you consider a flash that would provide TTL capability with your camera. Like any automated process in photography TTL can work quite well. I don't believe the Vivitar flash works in any kind of a TTL mode, but it is a good flash.

The decisions you will need to make is how far to use the automated TTL function vs. automatic vs. a fully manual approach. Each of these has their right contexts.

I would secure the flash equipment and then just practice a lot. Conduct some training tests. The learning curve for basic lighting competence is not very steep and I'm sure you will do fine.

Your current DSLR will serve you well. I love natural light as much as any mortal, but nicely diffused artificial lighting can look very pleasing. Plus learning these skills will make you a more complete photographer.

M

some fantastic advice!! thank you!