Dave Learns How to Take Photos

[joecoulson]

AB's are nice, but are like getting the 18-200 lens vs. your 17-55 which is what the Hensel's are. I have two of the one's in the link below along with softbox, multiple umbrella's and stands. This gives me all I need (combined with the Nikon speedlights) for any lighting situation. Looks like you have your next prey?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/368128-REG/Hensel_8815E_Integra_Pro_500_W_S.html

 

[jcardona1]

AB's are nice, but are like getting the 18-200 lens vs. your 17-55 which is what the Hensel's are. I have two of the one's in the link below along with softbox, multiple umbrella's and stands. This gives me all I need (combined with the Nikon speedlights) for any lighting situation. Looks like you have your next prey?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/368128-REG/Hensel_8815E_Integra_Pro_500_W_S.html

18-200 vs 17-55, that's all I need to know haha (I had that lens and wasn't happy with it at all)! Yeah those seem to be about 2x the cost of the ABs. Maybe I could start out with one to get my feet wet.

Question though, how do you trigger these? Looks like they have a built-in slave trigger, which will be triggered by any other flash source? Or do they need a sync cable?

And the question that is most mind-boggling to me, how the heck do you expose when using studio lights? I'm assuming they don't work with TTL, so do you pretty much need a light meter?

 

[DaveB]

A good tripod is definitely a good investment. In general, I try not to shoot below 1/30th handheld. Even then, sometimes you get a tiny bit of blur. I have a generic infrared remote I got on amazon for $5 shipped, works great! I use it all the time, comes in handy for group pics so I don't have to set the timer and run back each time.

I'm going to have to add that to the list of stuff to get.

I feel you about the moderation. My non-fish pics get moved to the lounge everytime. To put photography in the same section where kids talk about pokemon and cartoons make no sense to me

A mod PMed me. He gave me a bit of attitude but I guess that's deserved since I had a bit of it myself... I understand the desire to keep fish stuff separate, but I'd argue in that case that there should then be a non fish subforum (whee, more forums!) for the reasons you point out. Cartoon and pokemon fans and the type of discussion I see over in that NFL MVP thread aren't exactly the target audience or the type of replies/opinions we're after here...

I'd say start off with one good Canon speedlight, and go from there.http://alienbees.com/b800.html

That's the plan. Is there a minimum amount of light/specs you'd recommend for the first one? Obviously I can go bigger/better/stronger later. But if I can get away with the 2nd cheapest instead of the 3rd or 4th (of 6 I think) as the first one, that's a significant savings. The specs on them all are pretty much meaningless to me right now.

 

[joecoulson]

18-200 vs 17-55, that's all I need to know haha (I had that lens and wasn't happy with it at all)! Yeah those seem to be about 2x the cost of the ABs. Maybe I could start out with one to get my feet wet.

Absolutely, they are more expensive alone, you may be able to fit a kit at BH and save a cpl bills but you will drop $1200-1500 but also have all the accessories you need (light stands, umbrellas, etc

Question though, how do you trigger these? Looks like they have a built-in slave trigger, which will be triggered by any other flash source? Or do they need a sync cable?

The ones I have (non-plus) have both sync cable and slave triggers. I usually use the slave and use a speedlight pointing straight up at 1/16th or thereabouts, unless I need single source light then I use the cable. Didn't se the need to spend all that dough to get radio slave when I probably wouldn't need it.

And the question that is most mind-boggling to me, how the heck do you expose when using studio lights? I'm assuming they don't work with TTL, so do you pretty much need a light meter?

That is one I do not have a clear cut and dry answer for you. You had mentioned earlier in the thread about shooting in manual which gives you more control and consistency, it's kinda like that but with light, not exposure. At some point you picked up the in's and out's of shutter speed vs. aperture and mixed a little DOF and composition. Well with time you will learn the light output and direction of these. It will be simular to the speedlights, just a heck of a lot more light. You can get a light meter to get the math right, but I promise you will learn faster and get better results just tinkering around and practicing on the family/friends. One purchase you will never regret. I mainly use mine for commercial shoots and only when I am lighting up 20,000 sq ft of interior do I need to crank these all the way up.

 

[jcardona1]

That's the plan. Is there a minimum amount of light/specs you'd recommend for the first one? Obviously I can go bigger/better/stronger later. But if I can get away with the 2nd cheapest instead of the 3rd or 4th (of 6 I think) as the first one, that's a significant savings. The specs on them all are pretty much meaningless to me right now.

Canon, like Nikon, has two main speedlights out right now. The 480EX and the 580EX. In a nutshell, the 580 is more expensive, but it does provide more light output (141' vs 190'), and can act as a master flash for triggering other speedlights (the 480 cannot trigger other flashes, it can only act as a slave).

Here's a good article I found with more info: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/reviews/canon-430ex-speedlite-flash-review.aspx

 

[jcardona1]

That is one I do not have a clear cut and dry answer for you. You had mentioned earlier in the thread about shooting in manual which gives you more control and consistency, it's kinda like that but with light, not exposure. At some point you picked up the in's and out's of shutter speed vs. aperture and mixed a little DOF and composition. Well with time you will learn the light output and direction of these. It will be simular to the speedlights, just a heck of a lot more light. You can get a light meter to get the math right, but I promise you will learn faster and get better results just tinkering around and practicing on the family/friends. One purchase you will never regret. I mainly use mine for commercial shoots and only when I am lighting up 20,000 sq ft of interior do I need to crank these all the way up.

That's kind of what I figured. So the modeling light, is that strictly for seeing the effect of the light/shadows? And can't be used for exposure right? It pretty much sounds like how I set up my speedlights when using softboxes. Sometimes I'll use TTL with Nikon commander mode, but I don't like how the flash output varies so much as soon as composition changes. So I find myself using manual flash more often. I can usually be at the right exposure in a few test shots. But even then, without the aid of TTL lighting, I'll be a little lost for a bit.

So another question if I may...how would you use these lights if you were to take into account the ambient light levels? What I normally do while shooting in manual mode is meter for the overall scene at -1 to -2 stops, then add TTL flash. TTL will usually get it close, then I'll adjust with the flash exposure comp dial. But with these lights, how would you even know where to begin?

 

[Chaitika]

Tinker with the settings and hit the shutter, Jose, just like you do with shooting fish.

 

[Red Devil]

It's not really a profession for me, still just a hobby. I don't think I'll ever make it a profession. Maybe do a few portraits on the side and that's it. I just add that watermark on all my photos to avoid stuff having stolen A lot of these photos are fairly recent, as I've been slowly getting more and more serious with the photography hobby. Maybe one day I can make some money to help fund the purchase of more equipment!

As for the aperture, yeah, big, fast, wide, it's all the same really. The reason it's called "faster" is because is a bid/wide aperture lets in more light, which in turn lets you choose a faster shutter speed. Whereas a kit lens would have a smaller aperture, giving you less light, and therefore requiring a slower shutter speed.

Here's a nice chart those shows common aperture sizes, and how they translate into the light that comes through the lens:

And this chart shows hows aperture affects the depth of field (how much of the scene is in focus)

i will definitly be asking you a few questions in the near future..as soon as i figure out what i need to ask..

 

[DaveB]

Canon, like Nikon, has two main speedlights out right now. The 480EX and the 580EX. In a nutshell, the 580 is more expensive, but it does provide more light output (141' vs 190'), and can act as a master flash for triggering other speedlights (the 480 cannot trigger other flashes, it can only act as a slave).

Here's a good article I found with more info: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/reviews/canon-430ex-speedlite-flash-review.aspx

Veering back towards the main topic here, what amount of light output is appropriate for a 2 foot deep aquarium?

And is this something to get immediately, or more like a bit down the road once I am more confident in my abilities to understand and use the camera?

Interesting about master v slave. I was under the impression that they were all slaves and that the camera would be the master. The stuff I had read made it sound like any new Canon Speedlite would listen to anything the T2i sent out.

 

[jcardona1]

Veering back towards the main topic here, what amount of light output is appropriate for a 2 foot deep aquarium?

And is this something to get immediately, or more like a bit down the road once I am more confident in my abilities to understand and use the camera?

Interesting about master v slave. I was under the impression that they were all slaves and that the camera would be the master. The stuff I had read made it sound like any new Canon Speedlite would listen to anything the T2i sent out.

This is kind of like what Gerry said above, tinker with the settings, and shoot away. It's hard to say how much flash power you will need, since it depends on your chosen settings and ambient light (which depends on the fixture you have).

As a general rule when using speedlight, most folks will have the ISO as low as possible (100-200), fast shutter speeds (1/160 - 1/250th) and a small aperture for to have the entire fish in focus (f/8 - f/16).

For aquarium photography, I always have the flash in manual power mode. You can adjust the flash output in increments on the back of the flash unit. I usually start at 1/4 power and work from there. 1/1 power is a seriously intense blast of light, you can actually feel the heat coming out of the flash. Usually I'm at 1/4 to 1/8 power on my flash.

These settings should give you a good starting point. If it's too dark, increase the flash output, or open up your aperture, or slow down your shutter speed just a bit. Once you figure out what the right settings are, you can use these every other time. On my planted tank, I already know what the settings are so I just dial them in, shoot a few test shots to confirm, then I'm up and running.