Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

 

How to Shoot Red Wine with Studio Strobes

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-eNPdDMv-4&w=700&showinfo=0&rel=0]

Here’s another great lighting setup and walk-through from Karl Taylor as he shoots a bottle and glass of red wine.

He starts with setting up the scene to create warm tones and textures. Then he walks through the lighting setup from the background and accent lights up to the key light as he builds the scene.

Obviously, he’s using Broncolor strobes in the setup but the principles apply across the board with cheaper speedlights and strobes as well.

How to Capture Motion with Stroboscopic Lighting

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Check out this video from Karl Taylor as he walks through the setup of a stroboscopic sports shot using the Broncolor Scoro packs.

Aside from the lighting setup and programming the intervals into the power packs, the notion of moving the camera during the exposure in order to separate the exposures from the strobes is a very cool technique. As Karl notes, it prevents the strobe exposure from stacking up in areas of the subject that don’t move as much and it also does justice to the composition by separating the subject across the four exposures.

If you’ve never tried stroboscopic or multi-strobe flash photography before, you don’t necessarily need the $10k+ Broncolor Scoro packs. Many system speedlights (e.g., Canon & Nikon) offer a “Multi” mode that will allow you select multiple flash firings during one exposure, along with a frequency rate and power level. Obviously, they are going to be less powerful than the Scoros but can still produce solid stroboscopic results with proper planning.

Check out your flash manual to see if it is compatible.

Watch 2 Different Takes on an Outdoor Scene with Ambient and Flash Lighting

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGVky6UNeDE&w=700&showinfo=0&rel=0]

Yesterday, I shared a video from Profoto that discussed the benefits of high speed sync when shooting in high ambient light outdoors. In this video from Profoto, we get another look at the differences between shooting with ambient light only and adding layers of light using TTL lighting outdoors mixed with available ambient lighting.

Again, the video highlight’s Profoto’s high end AirTTL system using B2 and B1 lights but the same high speed sync can be achieved with smaller and more affordable speedlights from the likes of Canon and Nikon, or even cheaper third-party speedlights.

Manfrotto and Elinchrom Cut Ties for Reasons Unclear

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Elinchrom ELC PRO HD Compact Flash Head

Manfrotto will no longer distribute Switzerland-based Elinchrom lighting equipment in the US, effective May 5, 2015.

In a statement issued today, Manfrotto cited the continued evolution of the US photography and lighting market as the reason for the break and that the companies are “updating their respective strategies in the marketplace.”

My next question is:  “When is a Manfrotto studio strobe coming out?” [Read more…]