portable setup advice and many questions!

[ricardo_buchner]

Hello,

 

I have a doubt that you expert guys can solve for sure.

 

I am a photographer on the beginning of my career. Since I am very obstinate on

finding new clients, sometimes I have the client, but don?t have the gear to

attend this client needs, so I just go buying my gear only when I need it.

 

My client wants a catalog of women?s clothing at the beach. I am quite

experienced on doing this type of work on studio, and on location but only using

natural resources (the sun). He handed me a picture as a reference, and

artificial light is needed.

 

On my planning, I?d like to take pictures all day long (including sunrise,

mid-day, afternoon and sunset ? lots of clothes and different styles).

 

So I would like to buy portable lights to take some backlit photos (without

blowing out the background), among other styles... and I am wondering what type

of equipment I really need.

 

Money, portability and quality are some of the concerns involved.

 

Since I?m in Brazil, some of the gear I would want is not easily available

(alien bees, vagabonds, as examples).

 

So, now (finally) here come my questions:

 

If I buy 1 or 2 sigmas 500 super ittl (for D70) ? put it on a single light stand

plus a modifier (like one umbrella) ? will I have enough power to light my

subjects at a distance of lets say, 5 to 6 meters away (full lenght body) and

still have background detail, without blown skyes etc?

 

Will those speedlights (sigmas) trigger wirelessly by my D70? Or should I need a

peanut slave for it? (I do have a radio trigger made in brazil? don?t know if it

works with those speedlights ? or even if it is necessary)

 

I am planning using those lights on manual mode, metering the background and

setting the right power for the subject? Do I need a sigma ittl, a SB600, SB800

? or another speedlite (more basic) product would do the work?

 

Or,

 

Should I forget about speedlights and consider buying a AB800 (or 400) +

Vagabond + umbrella?

 

My main concern is being able to buy and receive those above (alien bees) ?

there is not a local dealer for this brand here. Speedlights would be much easier.

 

Will they deliver the same light quality (strobes vs. speedlites)?

 

Sorry for my English, I hope everyone can understand me!

 

Thanks!

 

Ricardo

[frank_skomial]

Search photo.net about "Sigma NA-iTTL" system that is "Not Actually - iTTL".

[w.smith]

Hi Ricardo,

 

2 Sigmas 500 plus a modifier at 5 or 6 meters may or may not have enough power to

match ambient levels. The modifier worries me, because it cuts down on your effective

range. And I suspect there will be more than plenty ambient light on a beach in Brasil...

This is something you will have to test in practice. Whether or not you'll have background

detail, without blown skies, depends on the aperture setting you use. Not on the flashlight.

 

If I understand you correctly about those "backlit photos" you need 'simple' fill-in flash.

That shouldn't be too difficult with a D70 and any Nikon Speedlite flashgun on top. Maybe

with a Sigma too. 'Fill-flash' is probably a setting in the D70's menus.

 

I don't know wheter strobes or Speedlites would be best for THIS job, but generally,

Speedlites are much more flexible.

 

I have a similar system: my "portable studio" basically consists of 3x wireless 5600HS D

flashguns on their own tripods (2 battery sets per), a 3' and a 4' silver/white Lastolite

reflector. This provides plenty 'oomph', I can bounce and fake 'softboxes' and balance

shadows, and endlessly vary combinations. And the whole schpiel fits a medium- sized

suitcase, so it's perfect for locationwork.

 

In studio I shoot live subjects mostly with unsupported camera, because flash freezes

movement anyway, and it enables me to move around freely, direct the scene, try different

angles and viewpoints, or adjust the lighting. Outside, mixing ambient and flash light, I

use a tripod of course.

 

And another benefit: this set also provides TWO backup flashguns for my 'primary'

flashgun.

[w.smith]

However, on balance, it looks like using the sun and a couple of good reflectors (and

assistants to hold 'm!) should suffice for most of your main light needs on this

assignment. Augmented with one Speedlite on top for the occassional fill-flash.

[bill c.]

Ricardo-- There is useable info in the above postings, but I'm not sure we have enough info to give you really good advice. However, later I will give you a technique that may help you cut down your need for strobe.

 

Filling in with flash in bright sunlight can be a challenge. It might take a huge amount of light. Fortunately, you will be using a D70, which can sync at 1/500. As this will cut down your ambient, it will also cut down your need for fill.

 

If you are running off of batteries, limiting your power useage will be a much larger concern than you might think, especially if you are shooting for more than a half-hour. For big catalog shoots, professionals will take along an entire studio lighting kit and rent a diesel truck with a generator pack that runs off the main engine. It will cost several hundred bucks a day, but the power requirements usually dictate that. If you decide to rent a gas generator, make sure you get one that puts out a pure sine-wave, not a stepped sine-wave or anything less. It will destroy the strobe equipment.

 

Here's the best piece of advice I can give you-- make a scrim. Get some plastic plumbing tubing from a hardware/DIY store, and put together a frame that's about 4 feet by eight feet (I guess that's about 1.25 meters by 2.5 meters or so). Then you cover it with one or two layers of black mesh cloth (I can find that cheaply at any fabric store here in the U.S., I don't know what's available where you are). On a beach, especially if there is any wind, you will need one or two assistants to hold them up, although you can make stakes and tie-downs to help out with that and the assistants will just need to hold it steady.

 

You want to put that scrim in between the sun and your subject. This will accomplish a number of things. First, it will soften the sunlight. Second, it will cut down the sunlight, which will make your flash balance much, much easier. Also, using such a scrim you *might* be able to get away with just available light and a big reflector. Again, this set-up will require lots of assistants to hold it all.

 

Much of the time the big scrim will have to be held over the head of the models and still out of camera view. This can be a challenge. Bring along a couple of very sturdy step ladders and people with strong arms.

 

You can dilly-dally with all the flash equipment you want, but trust me, that scrim will help you a lot. It will cut down your flash power requirements by at least 50%, decrease your recycle time, and make your batteries last a lot longer.

 

Your background may get overexposed, but if you use a shallow depth-of-field this won't matter that much and in many cases can prove to be a very pleasant effect. But the key is to EXPERIMENT-- a lot!

 

Best of luck, and let us know how it goes. -BC-

[greg_reinacker]

Ricardo - just for a data point, I use an Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed battery system. Compared with speedlights, there are lots of advantages:

 

- much more power (1100 ws)

 

- fast recycle times (worst case is 3s at max power)

 

- easier to mount accessories (standard elinchrom mount)

 

- batteries will last longer

 

Only real downside, other than cost, is it weighs about 17 lbs - but that's quite a bit lighter than say the Profoto 7b pack.

 

Hope this helps...

 

Greg

 

http://www.gregrphoto.com

[ricardo_buchner]

Nobody?

[bill c.]

Ricardo-- Regarding the image you posted, the most important thing abou it is that it was taken with a wide-angle lens. This precludes selective-focus technique.

 

To get even coverage this close, I'd shoot through an umbrella instead of reflecting, but either might work. The skim light on camera right of the subject is from the sun. It looks like the photog was able to shoot about a stop down from ambient. Assuming ISO 200 (the lowest ISO that the D70 can go), that renders a bright daylight reading of f16 @ 1/200 sec. (for a normal correct exposure), and to get a stop down from that would be f16 @1/400 sec. (equivalent exposure). I wouldn't bother trying for a third of a stop down from that to get 1/500 sec. exactly.

 

So, basically in bright sunlight you're going to need something that can render f16 using ISO 200. Your question is, at what distance? For the runner, with an ultra-wide-angle lens, the light might only be about four feet from the subject. I have a couple of Alien Bee 800's, and while that may be possible depending on what umbrella you are using, I'd hate to have to anchor an important shoot on such a supposition. The AB 1600's *might* be relied on to deliver the power, but frankly I'd go for the highest-power White Lightning that can run off the vagabond battery pack.

 

And I said that the scrim should go between the subject and the *sun*, not the subject and the background. Obviously, if you are going to use a wide-angle lens, this for all practical matters precludes the use of a scrim in either situation.

 

Best of luck. -BC-

[bill c.]

Correction-- That should read "(or equivalent exposure)" in the above posting. -BC-