Portable wedding lighting

[todd1664878707]

I am currently using an on camera SB800 and a remote SB600. For

formals, I'll have my assistant hold the SB600 of to the side and

I'll get two dimentional lighting which is a really nice effect, but

sometimes the shadows are a little harsh. I really like the idea of

two Alien bees with umbrellas, but setting them up in a church is far

from ideal. I was thinking about getting a Quantum T5D and umbrella.

B&H sells a kit. I believe the Quantum is rated at 200W/S. I would

use the Quantum as a remote flash and still use the SB800 on camera.

If I get a larger sized group, I would fire the Quantum without the

umbrella as a bare bulb. With smaller groups, and especially with the

bride and groom by themselves, I would use the umbrella with the

Quantum. At the reception, I would fire the Quantum remotely and

attach the gold bare bulb enhancer for a nice warm feel. Am I going

down the wrong path? Any thoughts/suggestions?

[discpad]

Watch for recycle time with battery operated strobes...

 

...From a Norman 200B owner

[bruce_rubenstein]

T series Quantum lights are 150W/S. X series lights can go up to 800W/S. I have several T series lights and use them on stands with and w/o umbrellas all the time. Very nice light. I use classic (lead acid) Turbo batteries. They have a switch to set it to normal and fast recycle. Even set to normal they will recycle faster than the SB800 using internal battereies.

 

The only reason to get a 5D is to use it in iTTL mode. I have a T2D and iTTL adapter, and it doesn't work so hot with a D200. It works much better in Auto mode. Auto mode even works well when using an umbrella. I would buy a used T2 flash that's 1/3 the price of a new T5D.

 

Bare bulb is really for a special effect. It is very inefficient for lighting, because it emmits the light in all directions. It also produces rather hard light because it is basically a point source. For a large group you use the standard reflector set to the wide angle position. To get a really broad spread of light use the accessory wide angle diffuser. I also sometimes set a light up on a stand at receptions. If you want it warmer get a sheet of fliter material (1/4 or 1/2 CTO) and tape it over the reflector.

[picturesque]

Have to agree with everything Bruce said, especially about bare bulb. Have you tried using this type of lighting before? I'd recommend renting the Quantum and testing before buying. Nothing like spending a lot of money only to find that the lighting schemes you had in mind won't work the way you want.

[paul_sokal___dallas__tx]

I'm just a second shooter so I avoid the formals like the plague, but the people I shoot for have done very well with strobes (sb800's in one case and the C**** equivalent in the other fired into twin umbrellas. I just ordered from B&H a twin umbrella kit with shoe mounts for $98 to play around with. The Nikon shooter used a pocket wizard and C**** shooter used their equivalent of the sb-r200. I plan to use my sb800 and 600 in the umbrellas and use the pop-up on my D200 as commander +/- fill flash.

[lex_jenkins]

Todd, one obvious advantage to staying with the Nikon flash gear is the CLS system compatibility. Besides being able to control everything from the on-camera flash (or SU-800 commander, if you spring for that doodad), I like the audible flash-ready alert.

 

How 'bout adding another SB-600 or SB-800? Mount both on a single bracket for your assistant to hold. Add some form of diffusion to even out the light. If you're in an area where you can rent an extra SB-800 or SB-600 flash this would be a cheap way to explore the potential.

 

I've been considering adding an extra flash for on-camera use since the Custom Brackets CB Junior is pre-drilled with holes for mounting another flash, Pocket Wizard or other equipment. It'll be heavy but would enhance the ability to fill the room with light via an upward oriented flash while finessing the forward directed flash for the primary subject.

 

This reminds me ... my local pro shop also rents Quantum gear. I need to try it some weekend to see how well it works in conjunction with my SB-800 and PW.

[todd1664878707]

Hi guys, thanks for your responses. I'm not sure what to do. I saw some pics taken with a Quantum bare bulb with gold enhancer and I loved the warm feel of the prints. Right now when I shoot formals, I just drag the shutter and fire both the SB800 (on camera) and the SB600 remotely. What does everyone else do? If I do various poses with the B&G by themselves, I find the light to be too harsh. I would have thought that an SB800 wouldn't have enough power to fire into an umbrella and light a small group. What do you think?

[bruce_rubenstein___nyc]

You can do some real creative lighting with the Nikon CLS system (check out Dave Black and Joe McNally). There are some things to keep in mind: group formals usually don't call for real creative lighting. The lighting needs to be even with a bit of modeling, but no funny shadows. One or two umbrellas to keep the light source large relative to the distance to the subjects works very well. Not only do you not need TTL, but it's probably better not to use it. Once you set the distance of your lights and get the exposure right (meter an/or chimp histogram) the exposure won't change as people shift around; particularly brides in white and men in black tuxes. Change your framing with TTL and the exposure will change (manual white balance should also be used for the same reason).

 

This isn't to say that you shouldn't use SB800's. A common setup is to make a bracket that holds two flashes firing into an umbrella. If you're shooting at ISO 400, you can cover a pretty fair sized group with one SB800 into an umbrella. If you use all SB's then you also have plenty of backups for your on camera flashes. I have radio slaves and I would use them rather than the Nikon wireless triggering for two reasons: radios are very reliable and you don't have to think about line of site and which way the sensors in the flashes are pointed. The second reason is that the Nikon iTTL system has a preflash delay and it gets much longer with remote flashes - manual and radios are instantaneous (for all intent and purposes). When you've got a group of people and everyone is looking right, you want to push the button and have everything happen right then. (My D200 with the Quantum in auto mode, and no pre flash, feels much more responsive than with a SB shoe mount flash in iTTL.)

 

There's no rights and wrongs here, just pros and cons to different setups. I already had the Quantums so I use them and like them.

[bruce_rubenstein___nyc]

Oh, this is a Quantum fired into an umbrella, with WB set to 5600�K, straight out of the camera.<div></div>

[twmeyer]

I use 400ws Lumedynes, and rarely get in trouble with recycle times, just don't try fast shooting if you're set over 200ws. They set up fast and are extremely dependable and consistent. <p>The Quantum X2 has a maximum capacity of 400ws: "Do not connect to a power pack rated higher than 400ws, otherwise you will damage the Qflash and void the warrenty" from page 5 of the Quantum manual... t (The T2 model is described as 200ws in the Specs on page 1 of the manual)<div></div>

[twmeyer]

That D200 skin tone looks good, and my S2's are getting old... t

[discpad]

Tom Mayer wrote, "That D200 skin tone looks good, and my S2's are getting old"

 

And the S2/N80 has a design life of 50,000 actuations (as does my N90s). Consider the S3 instead, as the Hi-range mode (R+S pixels) has a dynamic range designed to capture the details in a bridal gown while holding the shadow details in the groom's tux... Something not even a $30,000 PhaseOne P45 back can do, let alone anything from Nikon, Leica or Canon. I've seen the results in the lab when the photog shoots RAW, and they are absolutely stunning.

 

Basically, from a corporate standpoint, when Fuji has a technology breakthrough, such as the Pictrograph, SuperCCD, and the R+S pixel design, they wrap it up VERY tightly in worldwide patents. Now, if PhaseOne would only license the patent from Fuji... :)

[todd1664878707]

Thanks for your opinions. I'm going to try to fire an SB800 into an umbrella and see what I get for an output. I was afraid it wouldn't be enough, but all I really need it for is for portraits of the B&G on days where I can get any natural light.