David J Brooks wrote:
Now, the question(s) are this. If i'm doing this inside their homes, (and i don't have any backdrops), i was thinking of having both flashes set up on tripods at 45 degree angles and use the pop up as commander. Do you think this is a good way to start or would it be better to have one light on the angle and use an on camera speed light as the master.
IMHO, you should be *really* careful with on-camera flash; I generally avoid it. It yields harsh shadows, flat lighting and "deer in the headlights" looks. OTOH, flat lighting can be flattering for older females' faces and I'm experimenting with using ring-flash for reducing lines and wrinkles for that. Without a dark backdrop, your camera-mounted flash will generate rather hard shadows behind your subjects that are kinda ugly but can be reduced by sending some fill light back there (with the risk that your background will become too light or obvious). Or reduce the flash power and drag the shutter so your background comes up with natural light and hides the shadows.
I'd recommend concentrating on the two flashes on stands (tripods) at various angles, and trigger both with the popup.
BTW, a trick I discovered for the pop-up: cut a rectangle in a white 35mm film canister so it can be snugly fitted over the popup when it's flipped-up. This will diffuse and scatter the flash and will greatly increase the "reach" of the wireless control. The popup's flash will scatter off of ceilings, walls and furniture and will almost certainly be seen by the remote flashes.
If you don't have a shoot-through umbrella, get one: it's the least expensive but a most valuable light modifier. I picked up a 45" Westcott shoot-through for $25 Can from The DV-Shop, a nice place in Toronto's Junction area. I'd recommend blowing $40 on the 60" umbrella for full length portraits. The 45" doesn't quite have the reach for that, but it's perfect for waist-up and headshots.
I also recommend getting a reflector of some sort so you can add fill light to faces. I'm getting a lot of mileage from a roll-up silver car windshield sunscreen (cost: $2) that I get an assistant to hold. I'm planning on getting the Westcott 5-in-1 kit with a diffuser and silver and gold reflectors.
I;ll try some inside and out side of their home, just looking for suggestions from the portrait crowd and those that use off camera flash.
You may have more problems with remote flash control outdoors. Your flash remote sensors have to be line-of-sight with your popup as there's less for the light to reflect from. You might have to use one flash on-camera just to get enough reach to the other flash.
Have fun, David! -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
