Veteran Member Registered: July, 2010 Location: Bham Posts: 949
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| | Review Date: April 14, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $499.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | • An easy method to obtain high key photos. • You can put your subject quite close to this unit and still get a shadowless background. • Portable. | | Cons: | • Expensive. • Easy to set-up but quite difficult to fold back into bag. [Till you get the hang of it]. • Once set up, it’s quite big. [But available in different sizes] • To get full length shots, need to buy a white train for the floor. | |
The example pictures shown above are my first attempts at this. Click images to see larger size.
What is it?
An easy method to get a correctly lit, shadowless, white background or ‘high-key’ shots.
Materials that you get:
1. A white collapsible reflector- like thing inside a round blue carrying case. Once you open it up, you get a large rectangular white box thing that pops open. Each side is zippered and can be opened to place a flash as needed.
2. 4 rods to keep it taut, so that the sides stay open well enough to place the flash head inside.
-Once set, it stands freely on the floor.
You supply:
One flash to light the subject
One or two flashes to light the background [depends on the size of the Hilite that you buy]
My experience:
Since this was my first time experience doing this kind of photography, I found the product quite amazing apart from the cons listed. I had to go online to look at the Lastolite website to be sure that I was able to light this correctly.
I purchased 2 cheap Youngnuo flashes as I decided to use 2 flashes to light the background. I already had an AlienBees strobe flash to light the subject. One thing I learned from the website is that you need to make sure that there was a 2 stop difference between the main light and the background lighting. A light meter to get the best results. I ended up ‘chimping’ to get my shots. One of these days I will use a light meter and see how it goes.
How to fold the Hilite:
This was the easiest method I could find to fold the Hilite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkCne9l3vjY | |
