aretha_powe Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 you don't have a ceiling or wall to bounce off of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedding-photography-denver Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 point if forward with the dome on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedding-photography-denver Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 one other thing you can do to assist light traveling forward with normal circumstances assumed, is to put a white paper sticker inside the back of the sphere as a sort of bounce card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_schilling___chicago_ Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 If you don't have a ceiling or a wall to bounce off then I'm guessing that you're outdoors. In daylight, your best bet is to use direct flash most of the time unless you're very close to your subject..... since the diffuser will cut the effective range of your flash significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph_wisniewski Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 What happens? Typically, the light source is so small, in relation to your subject, that the diffuser has absolutely no effect (give it a try with a mannequin, or a really, really steady human subject). But you pay for the lack of effect in a couple of stops of flash power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 What happens is--you don't get soft light. You also can't benefit from reflectivity off surfaces. If you leave the flash pointed upward, you lose most of the light out the top, with some being 'caught' by the sides of the LS. If you put the dome on, the dome soaks up the light that would have escaped out the top, 'forcing' some of the light back down and out the sides. Your flash also won't have much reach, with or without the dome. If you use the LS pointed forward with the dome on, you get a slightly diffused light that is a bit better than direct flash, but nowhere near what you'd get with good bouncing surfaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_baker Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 What I get is a big reflector to bounce off of. I don't have an assistant so I usually find someone (usually an usher) to hold it, or I use a tripod and cable release, and hold if myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgk1966 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I'm not a seasoned photographer, but a bit of a scientist so here's my explanation. Your bare flash concentrates all the light straight forward at your subject like a flashlight. When you put the LS on with the dome, it shoots all that light in a millions different directions. The idea is that some of the light will bounce off other surfaces and come back to your subject from those million different directions, thus giving you a nice, soft, even light. But when there is nothing to bounce off (high, dark ceiling, far walls), that light is never coming back. It's gone. So the only thing lighting your subject is the portion of the light that happens to come straight out the front of your diffuser. But it's just a fraction of the light that was sent out originally. So all things being equal, you don't have enough to expose the picture. But if you are using TTL (or know how to compensate in manual) the flash will recognize that only a portion of the light is getting to your subject, so it will automatically "leave the light on" for just a fraction longer. The result: more battery energy used but essentially the same picture as if you had no diffuser at all. Maybe a little softer because it's a slightly bigger light source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 That's a pretty good explanation, Matthew. In addition, when the dome is on, some of the light is absorbed by the dome and some gets 'pushed back' down, by TTL's 'instruction' after measuring the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgk1966 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Hmmm. So does that affect the exposure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 If you mean the dome part, no, unless, as you said, there just isn't enough light, period, to illuminate your subject. TTL takes care of flash metering, and any compensations you set apply, up to the maximum flash power available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_c.5 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I've shot with the LS and white dome outdoors at night, and have had great results. However, if you want more light output in those conditions, the Chromedome with the center hole blocked (with tinfoil or similar) would direct more light forward, with it's inner kicker panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_hovland Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 I shoot with a piece of Rosco Light Tough Frost forming a bubble over the flash head. If I have a reflective surface I set the flash angle at 60 degrees and the LTF throws just enough light forward to prevent racoon eyes. With no surface I just point it forward- very high ceilings or dark ceilings. I recently shot in a resturant with a black ceiling and found that flash forward + Program gave me the best pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerund Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 You might look into the Lumiquest Promax system. I have found it to be very versatile in bounce deprived situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hassy501 Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Dump the LS and get a Flip It for true professional looking results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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