Traditional Christmas Family Portrait with Natural Light

This weekend, I took a photo of our family for our Christmas card.  In this post, I'll describe the thought process behind the photo.

Strobist Sunday at Santa Monica with the Stylus 1

Last Sunday, we went to Santa Monica's Pacific Park, a small amusement park at the famous Santa Monica pier.  I took some shots Strobist-style (i.e. with off-camera flash).  In this post, I would like to share some samples comparing on-camera flash, off-camera flash, and no flash.

Nissin Air Di700a (radio wireless TTL) now available for Sony

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The Nissin Air Di700a, a radio-based wireless TTL system which I wrote about here, is apparently now available for Sony cameras. According to another ebay listing, it uses the new Multi-Interface Shoe.(used in the a6000, a7 series, etc.), not the Minolta hotshoe.

The seller describes it as a "pre-sale" (pre-order) although the seller's specified release date has already passed, so it appears to be readily available.  You should probably contact the seller to confirm.  Also please note the price of this combination is significantly higher than the price of a similar kit for Nikon or Canon, which is around $300.  Hopefully, it becomes available at a lower price for Sony as well.

True or False? "Aperture Controls Flash, Shutter Speed Controls Ambient"

One of the often-repeated rules of thumb for flash is that "aperture controls flash, while shutter speed controls ambient."  In this post, we'll see why this adage can be misleading.

Selens Triple Flash Bracket Review

I got a Selens triple flash bracket, a bracket with three hotshoes to allow you to use three speedlights at the same time.

DIY Passport Photos part 3

It was time again for us to renew passports for my daughter and myself (note that children's passports expire after only five years).  As before, I wanted to do it myself so that I could have photos I would at least be satisfied with for ten years (the passport duration for adults).

For the passport photos in this post, I used the following:

• Samsung NX500 (reviewed here)
• Samsung 50-150 2.8 OIS
• Godox e300 monolight (reviewed here)
• Yongnuo YN560III and YN560IV (reviewed here)
• Fotodiox Tri-Fold Reflector
• 4 x 6 feet popup background
• and...  Parrot Teleprompter

To process the photos and prepare them for printing, I used Lightroom 6.  Here's how I took the photos.

$100 Monolight: Godox e300 Preliminary Review

Chinese lighting products have been steadily improving while offering incredible prices, and studio strobes are no exception.  Godox's e300 is a monolight that has pretty good specifications on paper, including 300 watt seconds of power.  The kicker is that it's available at under $100 - comparable to the cost of an inexpensive speedlight, making it attractive to hobbyists and casual shooters, especially first-time strobe buyers.

I just got a Godox e300 and in this post, I provide my first impressions.

Unboxing the Godox e300 ($100 Monolight)

Is it possible to get a decent monolight for the price of a speedlight?  The Godox e300 is a monolight that seems to promise just that.  Check out the specs:

• 300 watt-seconds of power
• 150 watt modeling lamp
• compact size (20.3 cm long) and light weight (1.45 kg)
• radio-based wireless remote adjustment capability with separate FT16 accessory (~$30)
• available for less than $100 on eBay

For comparison, the Alien Bee B800, already one of the most affordable monolights, has 320ws of power and costs $280.

I ordered one last week and just got it yesterday.  Here is the unboxing:

I conducted preliminary tests last night and will post my first impressions soon.

Spectacular Strobe Sale: Flashpoint Rovelight (Profoto D1 clone)

The Flashpoint Rovelight is a clone of the well-regarded Profoto D1 monolight, a self-contained monolight that includes a built-in battery in its body.  While the Profoto D1 costs around $1000 for the 500ws model, the Flashpoint Rovelight RL-600 offers similar functionality at just $600.

Spectacular Strobe Sale: Godox Ving V850 and V860

The Godox Ving is a unique speedlight that uses rechargeable Lithium batteries instead of AA batteries.  As a result, you get a far greater battery life (650 full power flashes -- claimed to be the equivalent of 12 AA batteries), and you have faster recycling times.  It's almost like having an external battery pack, but built-in to the speedlight itself! Check out this demo video by Gadget Infinity:



The Ving currently has three variants: the V850 is a manual flash, while the V860N is for Nikon i-TTL and the V860C is for Canon E-TTL.  Godox has its own wireless radio system: the FT-16, which can adjust flashes remotely, and which is compatible with the Ving and several other Godox products, such as the Witstro and their extensive monolight lineup.

The Ving has received positive reviews from Fstoppers (reviewing the rebranded Neewer TT850), Flash Havoc, Lighting Rumors and others.

SALE
The good news is the Godox Ving is on sale: buy 1, get the 2nd at 50% off, through eBay seller "zeniko_online_store":

This sale applies only to Zeniko's U.S. eBay stores (they have items listed from their stores in China, which have a lower price per unit but aren't included in the sale).  To avail of the discount, just select "2" under quantity.  The price will be updated automatically.

Note: I'm not affiliated with Zeniko or eBay, and we receive no commissions on this.  I'm just passing along this tip!

One Flash Portrait with Linco Boom Arm

Over the weekend, I took a quick portrait of my son to commemorate his First Communion.  In this post, I will discuss my lighting setup.

 

Triggering a Camera and a Flash Simultaneously with the Yongnuo RF603

When Mohammad posted his review of the YN-560TX, there was a question from one of our readers about whether you can trigger a camera and a flash at the same time with the Yongnuo RF603.  The question has been asked on DPReview previously  .This capability can be useful for sports (to capture multiple angles of the same shot), or architecture / real estate, for example.  I have tried several combinations of Yongnuo triggers and flashes without success, until finally I got a combination that did work.  It was so simple that I was kicking myself for not having thought of it previously.

with one speedlight

Radio-based wireless TTL for Sony, Nikon and Canon

image by Nissin Group

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Nissin is producing an affordable radio-based wireless TTL flash and trigger for Canon, Nikon and, starting this summer, for Sony as well.  There are already several radio-based TTL systems for Canon and Nikon.  However, for Sony, this is a welcome addition because the only such system available thus far is the Phottix Odin, and Nissin's system appears to have a lower total cost.

Family Portrait Walkthrough

We recently did a family portrait.  In this post, I'll go through the process of how I took the shot.

A Quick, Simple 2/3 Lights Setup

The final result

 

I received a request from an anonymous commenter to show the lighting setup and the processing done to a picture of my daughter wearing a scarf. And since I didn't have any BTS pictures of the setup, I decided to shoot a similar picture, in the same place, with the same scarf, and show the lighting steps as I progressed. Click through to read the rest.

The Dead Gecko

Remember my recent Abstracts post? It was during the same day that me and my friend found a dead gecko on the bathroom floor. It was tiny, but it presented a good photographic opportunity and allowed us to occupy some of the long free boring time we had on hand, hit the jump for the full story.

Silver umbrellas made obsolete by new octagonal softboxes

I was looking for a silver umbrella, but found out they are pretty much obsolete. That's because of the Westcott Orb and similar octagonal softboxes on eBay, Amazon, and elsewhere.  In this post, I review the CowboyStudio version of this octagon softbox.  In a first for me, the review will be in video form.

The video will cover these topics:
- Why you might want one for your lighting gear.
- Comparison with other octagon softbox designs.
- Demonstration of how the octagon softbox is mounted with a regular umbrella adapter, a speedlight bracket, and an Alien Bee.
- Advantages of the octagon softbox.
- Disadvantage of the octagon softbox and how to remedy it.
- Demo of its usage.

Lighting Technique: Taking Photos of Dark Objects

With most subjects, the form and its texture is revealed by shadows.  With black or very dark subjects, the shadows blend into the subject, therefore the shadows don't show its form as easily.  Instead, we see the form through the specular highlights and reflections.

I took some photos of a pair of black leather shoes.  In this post, I discuss how I lit the shot.

Better Point-and-Shoot Shots with an External Flash

Last weekend, one of our friends celebrated their daughter's birthday party.  On this kind of occasion, I don't usually bring a DSLR anymore - I feel it is a little too much when we're not the celebrants.  Instead, I brought our trusty Lumix LX5 (reviewed here).  However, to get the best image quality out of the LX5, I paired it with an external flash, the Yongnuo YN-560EX (reviewed here).

Yes, the 560EX is a manual not TTL flash.  (I don't have a dedicated TTL flash for the Lumix LX5.)  However, using a manual flash while shooting run-and-gun is actually easier than it sounds.  (See: Therapy for TTL Addiction: How to Use Manual Flash).

In this post, I'll discuss my thought process in setting the flash and ambient exposures.

Then and Now

From time to time I look at photos I've taken in the past to analyze how I can continue to improve.  Here are some comparisons between some photos I've taken before and some that I took recently.

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Comparison 1: Post-processing

April 2011

September 2012

The shots here were taken in similar ambient conditions (sun above and behind the subjects, subjects facing open light).  In the top one I added flash bounced off a reflector.  The bottom one was all ambient.  These days I use my flash less and rely more on post-processing.

In terms of composition, both were taken with a wide angle lens (around 24mm equivalent) but the top one was taken much closer to the subject for a more casual, intimate feel, while the lower one is more formal and the foliage takes on a more prominent role as a natural frame.

For me the biggest difference is how the two shots were processed.  Both have deep blacks and bright highlights but the top one looks more contrasty, while the bottom one has much less contrast in the midtones.  The bottom one is also less saturated, and looks more natural to me.

BTW, the top was with a D300 and Tamron 17-50 VC while the bottom was with an LX5.  Until we got the LX5, I was bringing the D300 everywhere.  Now I make a conscious decision to bring a DSLR or the LX5 depending on the opportunities I'm likely to encounter, and the kinds of shots I want (taking into account the depth of field I would want, and whether I could use the 10-17 fisheye, 11-16 ultrawide, or Sigma 50-150 for telephoto).

RELATED POSTS:

Lumix LX5 for Lighting Lunatics

Alternatives to Bouncing from Ceilings and Walls

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Comparison 2: Backlit shots

October 2009

August 2012

In this pair of shots, the ambient conditions again appear similar by the look of the shadows (cloudless sky, sun at around the same angle).  The most significant differences in these two shots are the intent and the camera.  In the top one, I did not care about preserving highlights and as you can see the sky was blasted to white.  Now, I actively seek to preserve highlights as much as possible, which leads to the second difference -- the camera.  The shot on top was taken with a Nikon D80, while the bottom one was taken with a Fuji S5 which has exceptional highlight range.  With the Fuji S5 and my active intent to preserve highlights (by choosing an exposure that avoids blownout highlights), I was able to preserve all highlights in this contrasty scene.

RELATED POSTS:

My first crush - the Fuji S5 Pro

Choosing the Exposure for Dynamic Range

A Lighting Opportunity You Shouldn't Miss

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Comparison 3: Direct Sunlight

October 2009

August 2012

Both of these shots were taken in direct sunlight (although in the top one, the sun is at a lower angle) but the way the sun was used is very different.  In the top shot, the sun was acting as key light.  In the bottom shot, the sun was acting as an accent light.

RELATED POSTS:

Choosing the Exposure for Dynamic Range

Using Midday Sunlight

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Comparison 4:  Parades

August 2009

August 2009

December 2009

October 2011

August 2012

The three shots on top are representative of the kinds of photos I used to take when we watch parades.  At that time, I had been using the Tamron 28-75 on a Nikon D80, giving an equivalent focal length of 42mm at its widest, which is to say not wide at all.  I've since switched to the Tamron 17-50 VC and positioned myself further away from my kids so I can capture more of the event.  Recently I also acquired the Tokina 11-16 ultrawide and Tokina 10-17 fisheye which allow me to capture more of the scene and enable me to get shots of the parade even when my position is not ideal.

RELATED POSTS:

Tamron 17-50 VC

Tokina 11-16 2.8: Ultrawide for Low Light

How to Bend SpaceTime: Tokina 10-17 Fisheye Review

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Comparison 5: Night Portraits

September 2008

October 2011

December 2011

 

These were all shot in Disneyland, on Main Street.  In the top shot, I was able to get a sharp shot in low light by using flash, while also preserving some of the ambience by allowing a sufficient amount of ambient light from the background.  The problem (besides the dude on the right) is that the flash looks very unnatural.  Now, I use two solutions for this kind of situation. 

The first alternative is to use bounce flash.  Yes it can be done, even outdoors.  In the middle shot, I just bounced the flash off the shop windows.  To make this work, you need three tools: First, a fast (i.e. wide aperture) lens -- f/2.8 or wider.  Here I used the Tamron 17-50 VC.  Second, you also need a camera with decent noise at ISO 1600 or preferably ISO 3200 or above (here I was using the D300 at 1600 ISO, which is so-so).  Third, you need a powerful flash.  I was using the SB-800, zoomed to 105mm.  It was on TTL so I don't know how much power it used but I am almost sure it was close to full power.

The second alternative is to use a handheld umbrella.  In the bottom shot, I was using the Lumix LX5 with the Lastolite Brolly Grip.

RELATED POSTS:

TTL Flash Tutorial Part 2

Balancing Flash and Ambient Part 3: Dim Ambient

Step-By-Step Example of Balancing Ambient with Bounce Flash

Lastolite Trifold Umbrella - World's Most Compact

Lastolite Brolly Grip Review

Propet Umbrella Bracket