Wonders of light(ing:-)

Nikolai

Last night I got another opportunity to shoot middle school band concert.

Large modern gym hall provided enough light to see the players, but all my prior attempts to shoot similar events there (with Sony 828) never brought any spectacular results.

This time I decided not to take any chances. Not only I was using my 20D with 100-400L IS, but I also decided to use my "Big Lights": two Sunpak Auto 555EX potato-mashers with brollyboxes, sitting on the 10 ft poles and controlled by PocketWizard.

At first I was not sure if the band director would allow me to put those lights next to the band. And at first he did express some concerns about those lights possibly "blinding" the students, so they would not be able to read the scores. However the very first tests proved him wrong, and he gladly gave me permission to use the lights.

Another issue was where to put them. Naturally, the most beneficial position would be at the front corners of the band. But in this case my 3' diffusers would block the view of the large part of the audience, and I didn't want any trouble coming from that side:-).

So I put one light at the corner of the gym, along the wall, where it would not obstruct anybody's line of sight. And when I used both lights I put them on the sides of the band, facing each other, hoping that they provide proper lighting.

Once I set up the lights I checked the coverage with the light meter. I found out that I can use f/5.6 1/250s ISO 800 if the area is close enough to the light, and ISO 1600 if the area is 20-30 ft away. Both lights (guide number 150) were set at full power.

During the concert I also switched to "flash-less" mode from time to time and simply used ISO3200, which, depending on a particular spot, gave me a range of shutter speeds from 1/60s to 1/100s. Yes, this lens is not very fast, but at least it has an IS, which helped *a lot*.

As a result I ended up with 140 decent shots (I was trying to capture every person at least once), and only 2 or 3 on top of that were OOF or too soft.

After having this experience I can honestly say: the remotely triggered lights made a GARGANTUAN difference, as did IS, as did shooting RAW, as did Canon's noiseless high ISO capabilities.

Some of shots below were taken from a distance longer that 100 ft, from the last row of the gym bleachers, and they are still crisp.

The pictures that were taken without the flash were "a-OK", but nothing impressive.

So I guess I shoot with those lights next time, too:-)

Here are a few samples:

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8


#9


The rest is here: http://nik.smugmug.com/gallery/1281993

Enjoy middle school band shooting!

Shay Stephens

[SIZE=-1]"Sokath, his eyes uncovered!" [/SIZE]

Antonio Correia

Fantastic pictures...

JimM

Looks like you made some lemonade with what could have been a bunch of lemons.

You got some really great shots there!

Nikolai

Shay,

Shay Stephens wrote:

[SIZE=-1]"Sokath, his eyes uncovered!" [/SIZE]

lol
In fact, I should've mentioned (time and time again) that this whole wireless setup configuration was the result of Shay's very detailed advises when I startet to choose my ligting about a year ago. I got one light first, and last fall added a second one. It's definitely not the cheapest one you can get (in fact, it probably costs more than my camera:-), but I never had a single moment of regret.

My only wish now is that I could control the angle, elevation and the power output remotely. Shay, are you aware of such cunning devices?

Thanks, man!

Nikolai

Antonio,

Antonio Correia wrote:

Fantastic pictures...

Thank you, apreciate the comment!
Cheers!

Nikolai

Jim,

JimM wrote:

Looks like you made some lemonade with what could have been a bunch of lemons.

You got some really great shots there!

You can definitely say so!
Take #9, for example: the guy was pretty much right under one light (set to full power, mind you), with his face towards the light located about 30ft away on the other side of the group. At first I was hesitant to take his picture at all, thinking that there will be too buch light on the back that would make his face too dark. But then I thought that since he's so close, this light may actually work as the hair light. So I took the shot - and now I think it's one of the best in the whole crop..:):

Thank you for watching and commenting!

kdog

Wow, excellent job on those. It sounded like you're relatively new to lighting, and if that's true, you've certainly mastered it in short order. Very, very nice.

That 100-400 actually makes a pretty good portrait lens under the right conditions, doesn't it?

-joel

Nikolai

Joe,

kdog wrote:

Wow, excellent job on those. It sounded like you're relatively new to lighting, and if that's true, you've certainly mastered it in short order. Very, very nice.

Thank you!
I started to use one-light setup about a year ago, and added the second identical one last fall. As Shay mentioned it to me once "lighting is expensive and complicated". I can concur with this sentence 100%. I think I learned something during that year, but I definitely need (and open) to learn more..:-)

kdog wrote:

That 100-400 actually makes a pretty good portrait lens under the right conditions, doesn't it?
-joel

Totally! It's not fast, and and it's hard to get a shallow DOF from it, but if shooting from 100 ft or more it can play the part pretty darn well:-)
All it needs is a little help with the light:-)

Cheers!

erich6

Nice job Nik. The lights really worked out for you. Good show.

Erich

pathfinder

It really is nice when you have the light you need, and control, and can then just shoot in manual and concentrate on seeing through your viewfinder, isn't it, Nick?

Nikolai

Erich,

erich6 wrote:

Nice job Nik. The lights really worked out for you. Good show.

Erich

Thanks, man, apreciate the feedback!
Cheers!

Nikolai

Pf,

pathfinder wrote:

It really is nice when you have the light you need, and control, and can then just shoot in manual and concentrate on seeing through your viewfinder, isn't it, Nick?

I agree totally! As I mentioned, I wish I could also remotely control power, elevation and direction, but that, I guess, is too much to hope for..:-) World domination first.:-)
Cheers!

wxwax

Super job, Nik!

Nikolai

Thanks, Sid!

wxwax wrote:

Super job, Nik!

Life is good when you have enough light:-)

Cheers!

devbobo

i love their quasi-futuristic uniforms.

Nice photos Nik

aero-nut

Nik,

Very impressive! I guess someday I'll have to drop some money on some lighting... Thanks for sharing these.

Nikolai

Hey David

devbobo wrote:

i love their quasi-futuristic uniforms.

Nice photos Nik

They are a tad startrekish, aren't they;-)?

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers, mate!

Nikolai

Kendall

aero-nut wrote:

Nik,

Very impressive! I guess someday I'll have to drop some money on some lighting... Thanks for sharing these.

Thanks!
I listened to Shay when I was on a fence what to do: get some decent lighting or upgrade the camera. I got the lighting first, then upgraded the camera, then upgraded the lighting, etc. It's a neverending story:):
But a nice lighting does make a huge difference, switching the resulting quality from "yet-another-middle-school-event-snapshot" to "did-you-get-this-in-your-studio?" :-)
Cheers!

robert mccane

great photo's very good

Art Scott

Great photos...I really like the shadow in pic 3...that bassist shadow could have been a great abstract also.....

Remotely powered lights....check out Paul C Buff's White lightening line up....I am not sure if he has wireless remotes...I think he does on the upper end lights....he started out with wired remotes and think went into wireless also......


EDIT.....did a search and yup has remotes....here is linky

http://www.white-lightning.com/remotes.html

Nikolai

Thanks, Robert!

robert mccane wrote:

great photo's very good

Appreciate the comment!
Cheers!

Nikolai

Art,

Art Scott wrote:

Great photos...I really like the shadow in pic 3...that bassist shadow could have been a great abstract also.....

Remotely powered lights....check out Paul C Buff's White lightening line up....I am not sure if he has wireless remotes...I think he does on the upper end lights....he started out with wired remotes and think went inot wireless also......


EDIT.....did a search and yup has remotes....here is linky

http://www.white-lightning.com/remotes.html

Thank you for your kind words, and for the link!
Good stuff!
Cheers!

Art Scott

Wireless Remote Slave Trigers
Here is what the folks at White-Lighting had to say about multi-flash and one controler:

Your envisions are mere reality! Yes, with the RadioRemote One Wireless System provides full wireless remote control for your flash units, combining the convenience of remote adjustment and a fully functional radio slave. With the RadioRemote One, you can adjust the flashpower settings and modeling mode of up to 16 lights on 16 different banks (256 lights total!) with a range from 80 to 400 feet, depending on conditions.

It took 4 days to get an answer ...

Hope this helps.

Nikolai

Art,

Art Scott wrote:

Here is what the folks at White-Lighting had to say about multi-flash and one controler:

Your envisions are mere reality! Yes, with the RadioRemote One Wireless System provides fullwireless remote control for your flash units, combining the convenience of remote adjustment and a fully functional radio slave. With the RadioRemote One, you can adjust the flashpower settings and modeling mode of up to 16 lights on 16 different banks (256 lights total!) with a range from 80 to 400 feet, depending on conditions.

It took 4 days to get an answer ...

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info!

For some reason, they do not mention what type of lights those remotes are compatible with in addition to their own "X" brand, and I have a strong suspicion that there are none, which basically locks you in their own stuff for good..

BTW: the biggest part of their answer is essentially a quote from their own website:

The RadioRemote One Wireless System
[SIZE=-1] The RadioRemote One Wireless System provides full wireless remote control for your flash units, combining the convenience of remote adjustment and a fully functional radio slave. With the RadioRemote One, you can adjust the flashpower settings and modeling mode of up to 16 lights on 16 different banks (256 lights total!) with a range from 80 to 400 feet, depending on conditions. The transmitter controls flashpower from -0 to -6.2 f-stops in 1/10 or full f-stops, with modeling settings of Full, Off, or Tracking. With convenient glow-in-the-dark keys and back-lit display, the bar graph is easily read, to adjust individual lights. The 900Mhz remote system will reliably fire at long distances, around obstructions, and will remember your last settings with its non-volatile memory.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1] [/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Exposure meter reading is made easy with the ability to test fire all or individual lights. Exposure bracketing can be adjusted from the remote transmitter, instead of adjusting at the camera position, to maintain depth-of-field. By not allowing over-range or under-range bracketing of a light, proper ratios between the lights are maintained by the system. [/SIZE]

It's also kinda strange that they operate on one frequency only. Even the simplest PW has four channels. In all honesty, they say that their 900MHz band may have some problem so they are now developing 300MHz version, but - guess what: they will be totally incompatible with the 900MHz ones..:uhoh

System

well, as they say in band, "if the reds of the embauchures show, thy've got us dead to rights"

they do say that, don't they?-

very nice photos indeed-

george

Nikolai

Thanks, George!

gefillmore wrote:

well, as they say in band, "if the reds of the embauchures show, thy've got us dead to rights"

they do say that, don't they?-

very nice photos indeed-

george

Appreciate the comment!