Light Sphere, sample photos

[todd frederick]

I just received a Light Sphere flash diffuser and took some photos

of my new puppy this morning. Nice soft light and no shadows.

 

I'm trying to get away from the cumbersomeness of a flash bracket,

and, thanks to Marc Williams' suggestion, this may be an answer.

 

I will be meeting with a bride for a schedule consultation tomorrow,

and will take a few quick portraits of her in her livingroom, and

will share those this weekend.

 

If anyone has sample photos using this diffuser, Id like to see them.

 

Until now, my puppy is the best I can do.<div></div>

[colleendonovan]

Here's one.<div></div>

[wedding-photography-denver]

A recent wedding...<div></div>

[derek_c.]

Oh my God, that's the cuttest pubby...<br>

Sorry about side-tracking..

[derek_c.]

Of course I meant to say PUPPY.

[jml]

One good pubby....uh puppy deserves another. Took this a couple weeks ago on the fly at my daughter's in Fla. I actually was there for our first granddaughter and here is one of her as well, using the LightSpere indoors.<div></div>

[todd frederick]

Derek,

 

Thanks for kudos on my puppy. I found him on my porch about a month ago and searched for the owner, but I wanted to keep it. I finally found the owner who put up no signs, but he decided to give him to me a few days ago. (^O^) The puppy is a total joy and really makes me happy...Pekinese mix. His name is Dude!

 

Everyone...Thanks also for the photo samples. Please attach more. I do think this diffuser is a winner and will help resolve some of my lighting problems!

[jml]

oops...hope one more is okay.<div></div>

[todd frederick]

Those are great. I'm looking at the soft light and the absence of shadows, and the beautiful people (and puppys, of course).

[cliff_henry]

Todd,

 

Are you sure the puppy's name is Duke? He looks more like a "Killer" to me! ;>)

 

I have been watching post on the LS diffuser. I am still using Sto-fen and Lumiquest on a bracket which seems to get heavier each wedding.

 

Are you going to use the LS without a bracket? What is Marc doing? Would like to see some additional pixs of bride using LS without a bracket.

 

Cliff

[neal_thatcher]

I got mine about a week ago...plan on using it for a couple weddings next month. My current best model seems to like it!<div></div>

[conraderb]

Jan - are you sure that the image of the baby was using a LS? Is it direct? It looks like a side bounce or an open window...

 

Conrad

[colleendonovan]

Hold on till tomorrow, Cliff!! I have a wedding and I'm taking my lightsphere! :)

[jml]

Conrad, you aren't wrong. It was a bit of both. I'm still in the experimentation stage of using my LightSphere and thus used it in several different light combinations. Both pics were taken in the exact same spot, yet look at how different the results! The dog was taken in the morning and the baby in afternoon light from a window several feet away, but again in the same spot. Now here is a shot I took at night in the same room, with only one table lamp about 5 feet away. I was testing it's limits but it worked. It probably would have been fine with bouncing or my Stofen, but the LS was what I was playing with.<div></div>

[todd frederick]

Tomorrow I am taking a few shots of a future bride in digital when I meet with her for a consult, using the Light Sphere in her living room next to a white wall, where I took the photos of her two sisters' weddings with film. I'll post some samples. I plan to use this at weddings *without* a bracket...that's a change I need to make. I hope it works.

[todd frederick]

PS: I could use my Stofen or my Lumiquest mini-box, but I would still need a bracket to drop shadows. This unit is like a small milk bottle, and sprays the light all over the place, making a bracket unnecessary...so I'm told. We'll see.

[picturesque]

You know, I don't even have a Lightsphere so I really shouldn't be making any pronouncements about it, but I have to say that the samples on Gary Fong's web site clearly show that a diffuse shadow is still produced by the unit if the subject is near a wall or some other surface, and if the unit is used without a bracket near a background surface, you still see the shadow, and it is still a side shadow--less of one, but still there. I don't think the Lightsphere is a miracle worker--maybe a little nicer than an OmniBounce when it comes to even, diffuse light on the subject with less of a hotspot (see Gary's example of the girl outdoors at night) in most situations where you can use some ambient light, but in your ideal smallish, light colored room, they probably produce very similar results. Both would also not be so effective in larger rooms with darker walls where both would have to rely mainly upon just the light coming out of the front. Look at David's example--the room there is obviously larger, and the results look about like an OmniBounce example. The other examples shown, except for the outdoor shot were probably taken in the above mentioned smallish, light colored room or had help from ambient/window light. Also, the subjects themselves are smaller (pubbies, babies and kid), which helps the product produce a softer quality of light (the bigger the source of light in relation to the subject, the softer). The quality of the fill on the outdoor shot could have been produced with a small lightbox or Lumiquest. I'm not knocking the product--I might buy one, but a miracle product it's not. Plus, for longer distances and smaller f-stops, it will eat up a lot of battery power, and if you do use a bracket, the whole thing gets very tall, possibly causing problems with the "aim" of the light. You notice that samples of group shots taken with the Lightsphere rely heavily upon ambient light help. If you look at the Fuji S3 ad in magazines, taken by Gary Fong with a Lightsphere, you can see what it actually does without help from ambient light (couple in front of a sunset), and the effect is very similar to any on-camera diffused flash except maybe mushier and since the light is very close to the lens instead of higher up (no bracket), you start to get that flat quality. In that situation, I would much prefer to use multiple flash for a crisper, more dimensional look. Just my opinion.

[todd frederick]

Shadow control is one of the most important and most difficult aspects of portrait photography. Even using an over-the-lens flash bracket with a person very close to a background, you will still get shadows, and, in that case, they have a butterfly effect behind and down from the head. Perhaps the first consideration is to keep the subject as far from a wall as possible regardless of what kind of single flash system you use. I agree that this device is not a miracle diffuser, but it seems to soften the shadows to a more acceptable level for a photographer who wants the mobility of a single flash without the hassle of a bracket given a reasonable distance from a wall. Multiple flash is ideal but most event venues don't allow the time for such a luxury unless you have a team. I've only had this unit a couple of days, so I'll find out how well it works. I also would not use it for everything, especially when I need to throw the flash lighting a good distance.

 

Some samples of how the unit works can be seen here:

 

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=3354218&showprevnext=1

 

And here:

 

http://www.digitalphotographers.net/LSG/

 

It also has a dome (not shown).

 

I would not use it along with a bracket since that defeats the whole idea of the unit.

[beauh44]

I use a Lightsphere quite a bit. This one was shot outdoors with a 1Ds Mark II, 550EX, and an EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS lens at or around f/2.8. I liked it better in B&W. ;-)<div></div>

[beauh44]

Here's one in color, same equipment<div></div>

[twmeyer]

The issue here is a matter of personal taste/style. Todd is impressed by the "soft light and the absence of shadows", which I will do <i>anything</i> to avoid :^). Nadine dislikes the "mushier" qualities of this modifier and that is just a different way to say it provides "soft light and the absence of shadows".<p>If you like the type of light you see in these examples, go get your self a lightsphere. If not, keep searching for the perfect tool for you... t<div></div>

[daydreamsart]

Here's a sample using the LS as fill. I had it pointing straight forward which works best for outdoors.<div></div>

[todd frederick]

I truly like the two samples above. I hope I can do as well.

[peter_silvia1]

In this photo the Lightsphere was used to light a dark hallway where the bride was getting ready. Pointed straight up w/dome on NPH 400 converted to grayscale.<div></div>

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

I thought for a while about getting one having tried and chucked both the omnibounce and lumiquest PB. Both gave unnatural shadows and the omnibounce really wasn't worth it. The problem is that I'm looking for a diffuser for fill, with auto flash and the LS pointed forwards is going to shoot light back at the sensor making it useless outdoors.

 

I came to the conclusion that as the LS still produces a slight shadow, I might as well carry on using my Metz in bounce with it's little kicker fill light that I've filtered down using ND gels. It also produces a slight shadow, gives very clean and nice lighting from the bounce, costs nothing extra and doesn't have the bulk.

 

The 'look' from the LS would be good for outdoor fill but I still think that it is too flat, not really dynamic enough, people don't look like that in real life so it looks a bit strange to see the photos. Maybe it's just me...