Thanks Nik! Even before I saw your post I was (slowly) marching to this conclusion - in this space and this context it's not about quantity of light, or even (exclusively) quality of light, but just trying to keep it where I want it and ONLY where I want it. It's amazing how much I've mentally processed about this just by taking frames of each light in succession on its own, and then one of the total effect. I'm not sure why I've never done that before (another big "duh").
My home-made, soda-carton softbox is really coming into its own on this - it cuts output and is a little easier to set than the snoot or grid, but it keeps the light from going everywhere (it's about 11" on the long side, so not too big). Today I experimented with hanging that on the boom arm from directly above, and also setting it as a typical rim light from below/behind subject and it works a treat. This is finally starting to make sense to me. Of course, now that I AM getting the hang of this, I sure wish I had a couple more lights!
One thing I haven't tried yet (and should have today, but ran out of time) is to switch to using the 7d's transmitter and adding a tickle of fill from the internal flash; that means I can move the two speedlights further around to the sides/back for effects without losing all the light at the front. I'll save that for next time.
I will say this, though: even as I start to make more sense out of more sophisticated patterns, I still find myself coming back to variations on clamshell lighting. Sometimes from above and behind the camera, sometimes angled 45*, sometimes even directly to the side for more dramatic shadows, but it does seem to give me the ratio of key/fill that I like and is one of the most flattering setups I know in the way it evens out skin imperfections and adds a bit of a natural "glow". It also leaves my 2nd flash available to fire from various positions - now that I'm using the boom arm to move it around entirely above and/or behind the subject, it's opened up a world of possibilities...........
Next up: trying to recreate some directional effects for a 40's-style shoot I'm doing for a friend who has a real Rita Hayworth/Veronica Lake look going on. I suspect that I"ll really feel the lack of 4-5 lights to play with, but I'll do my best with what I have. Main thing I think I need at the moment are some magic clamps, and some more predictable (and variable) grids for speedlights ...........
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My home-made, soda-carton softbox is really coming into its own on this - it cuts output and is a little easier to set than the snoot or grid, but it keeps the light from going everywhere (it's about 11" on the long side, so not too big). Today I experimented with hanging that on the boom arm from directly above, and also setting it as a typical rim light from below/behind subject and it works a treat. This is finally starting to make sense to me. Of course, now that I AM getting the hang of this, I sure wish I had a couple more lights!
One thing I haven't tried yet (and should have today, but ran out of time) is to switch to using the 7d's transmitter and adding a tickle of fill from the internal flash; that means I can move the two speedlights further around to the sides/back for effects without losing all the light at the front. I'll save that for next time.
I will say this, though: even as I start to make more sense out of more sophisticated patterns, I still find myself coming back to variations on clamshell lighting. Sometimes from above and behind the camera, sometimes angled 45*, sometimes even directly to the side for more dramatic shadows, but it does seem to give me the ratio of key/fill that I like and is one of the most flattering setups I know in the way it evens out skin imperfections and adds a bit of a natural "glow". It also leaves my 2nd flash available to fire from various positions - now that I'm using the boom arm to move it around entirely above and/or behind the subject, it's opened up a world of possibilities...........
Next up: trying to recreate some directional effects for a 40's-style shoot I'm doing for a friend who has a real Rita Hayworth/Veronica Lake look going on. I suspect that I"ll really feel the lack of 4-5 lights to play with, but I'll do my best with what I have. Main thing I think I need at the moment are some magic clamps, and some more predictable (and variable) grids for speedlights ...........