Well, to start with I would get a peanut slave for the Vivitar, a couple of umbrellas, and light stands. I would set the 200 T in an umbrella up next to the camera and fire it with a sync cord. The Vivitar I would put in the other umbrella and set up about 45 degrees to the side. Considering the relative power I would set both umbrellas about the same distance, say 5 feet from the subject(s).
Now you could rush out and buy a flash meter, but what I would do is waste a roll of cheap 100 speed slide film. Take one shot at each f-stop on the lens, keeping notes of which frame was which f-stop. Use the strobes on manual. Get the film processed and examine the slides for the best exposure. Note the f-stop. Multiply it by 5. That is your guide number for this setup. Next check if the lighting ratio is about what you want. Adjust the distance of the key light, the Vivitar, to adjust if necessary. If the lighting is too flat move the key closer, if it is to contrasty move it farther out. I suggest 3.5 feet, or 7 feet as that is a one f-stop adjustment. Now waste another roll of slide film. Pick the best exposure. Multiply by 3.5 or 7 which ever distance you moved your key to. That is your guide number for this setup. Actually since you already know your f-stop within a stop or so I would do both distances on this roll and have the guide numbers for three setups. This will probably have you ready to shoot the family. As you can see what you are doing is experimenting in a controlled manor to find out what the settings you need to use are. You will not only quickly learn them, you also will learn a lot about lighting in a very short time. Read a couple of books on portrait lighting. If your local library don't have any they probably can get them on interlibrary loan for you. Play around with the lights you have until you understand what you are doing. If you get good you might want to invest in a couple of studio strobes, you could continue to use your existing strobe as background and hair lights respectively. Happy shooting. Ciao, Graywolf http://pages.prodigy.net/graywolfphoto ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Pearson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Pentax Mail List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2002 8:36 PM Subject: Need help on Portable Lighting Setup > I'm looking to do some friends' (as well as possibly > some semi-pro) jobs/portraits in the near future. I > would like input from anyone who has a "portable" > lighting system. What type of equipment do you have, > how much will it cost me, etc. I'm leaning towards a > slave system. I'm not sure if that's the right way to > go. I'm just starting my research into this equipment. > My current equipment is Pentax Super Program manual > focus: > > 100 mm 2.8 lens > 135 mm 2.8 > AF200T > Vivitar 283 > > Can I get good results by simply using the Vivitar > 283, bounced into an umbrella? I've been thinking > about a newer, bigger, better Pentax flash (280, 400, > 550, etc.). Would this be a good combo to bounce from > the camera? And still use the 283 & the AF200T? > > What about a cheap & portable back drop-any > recommendations there? > > What about a flash meter-any > suggestions/recommendations for brand, model, price, > etc.? > > > Any ideas & suggestions would be greatly appreciated! > Yahoo! Movies - coverage of the 74th Academy Awards� > http://movies.yahoo.com/ > - > This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, > go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to > visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
