[sebas77]

Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here.

---

Hello,

long time I don't write here, it's because I moved house, it took a while to settle down, but finally I can work on my studio. So I started the first experiments and I already know it will take a while to master everything. I am not sure if the difficulties I currently have are related to some of the cheap stuff I use or it's just because I have to work out how everything work together.

I have several questions and quite random, I hope you can help. First a look at the studio:





I am using a 2m wide gray vinyl. I am pretty pleased by how the backdrop works, I will write an article about how to setup a studio once I finish.

I don't make money out of photography, therefore I have no intention to pay big money, just the bare minimum essential to have good results without swearing. I have give lights. 2 old godox slaves that I use to lit up the backdrop, 2 manual flashes and 1 metz. (actually the metz are 2, but 1 is broken and can be used only in manual, therefore it's manual).

I use also the cactus trigger together with aputure triggers if I need to use more than one light. I will start keeping everything simple of course.

Random questions:

- I have some troubles in making the backdrop white, because of the falloff of the light, it's never pure white on the border, even when I use both the slaves. I am not sure if it's normal or I can make it better. I tried with the slaves behind the subject or on the sides. Behind the subject is obviously better, but I have seen some setups with the light on the sides, not sure how it works for large backdrops. Advices?

- I would like to use the metz with TTL. Just because it's inside a softbox every time is a pain to open the panel to adjust the settings manually. However if I use the metz with TTL the slaves do not fire!!!! Super annoying because I can't figure out why, any suggestion?

- do you suggest something for me in general to buy that is not too expensive? Light modifiers, different lighting system (I Would like to buy a beauty dish but they are quite expensive). I use also reflectors, I will need to buy a grid for the softbox. I will experiment with a bit of everything, but I wonder if there is something I should not absolutely miss.

- working with the speed lights may be a bit of a pain. I am used of shooting outdoor without flashes and waiting for the recharging time will modify my shooting styles, thoughts?

- I need more batteries, I always bought eneloops and powerex, but I see now there are more brands around...are they any good? Specifically I am talking about the EBL, but I am not sure if there are other brands

- I need a charger like this: EBL 12 Slots LCD Battery Charger for 9V Li-ion Ni-MH: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics is it a good investment?

- this sounds silly, but a cheap wind machine? I know there are fans, but I am not sure if they are powerful enough

[davidreilly3207]

Very inexpensive beauty dish:amazon.com: Run Shuangyu Collapsible Round Softbox for Canon Nikon Sony Yongnuo Speedlite Light Flash: Beauty?tag=pentaxforums-20&
Maybe some inexpensive florescent lights for the backdrop.amazon.com : Cowboystudio Full Spectrum Light Bulb- Four 45W Photography Photo CFL 5500K - Daylight balanced pure white light, (Pack Of 4) : Compact Fluorescent Bulbs : Electronics?tag=pentaxforums-20&https://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-Continuous-2000W-HEAD-ONLY/dp/B00U5TI2HE...+studio+socket
I'd go with the Maha charger from Powerex as it has a recondition cycle. https://www.amazon.com/Powerex-MH-C800S-8-Cell-Smart-Charger/dp/B000LQMKDS/r...s=maha+charger

[seventhdr]

Answers

Making the background white - First off change out the grey vinyl backdrop for a white one. This will make it easier to make the whole backdrop go white. Second get a flash meter that you can use with your studio lights. Ideally you want your subject to be more than 5 feet away from your backdrop. You should be shooting in Manual with a shutter speed just under your flash sync speed and an aperture chosen for the depth of field that you want. Then set the power of the front lights using the flash meter to measure the output power of the front lights to match your shutter speed and chosen aperture. Then set your back lights to power levels that also match these same shutter speed and aperture values. If you can get your subject more than 5 feet away from the background then you can possibly increase the power of your back lights by up to 1.5 stops so the back lights are 1.5 stops brighter than your front lights. This will help the background go pure white. You will need to check that as you increase the power level you are not getting too much light spilling off the background on to your subject. If you are, you will need to lower the power of the rear lights to get rid off this spill light. If your subject is closer to the background than 5 feet you are likely to need to lower the power of the rear lights to prevent increases spill because your subject is now closer to the background. Remember the inverse square law of light also applies to reflections from the background. I shoot with four lights like you do. Softbox and umbrella on the frond lights but I have reflectors on the rear lights to direct their light towards the background and prevent spill over the subject. Look for Background reflectors at BandH or Adorama. Some people also shoot into reversed silver lined umbrellas to put the light on the background. Third you may need to touch up the white background in post processing. In Lightroom you can use the Graduated Filter tool to add 1 to 2 stops of light to the background. Alternatively you can go to Photoshop and use the Dodge tool at 10% to whiten the background.

Using TTL - Forget about using TTL. In the studio environment you, as the photographer, have and should want total control of the amount of light you are putting on your subject. ALWAYS shoot in manual with your flashes on manual in the studio. This way you will have no pre-flashes from your TTL lights upsetting triggering of the other flashes. I trigger all my flashes with radio triggers on all of them. Alternatively you could use inbuilt or add on triggers that respond when the main light is fired and then fire themselves. At the worst you could connect your main light with a cord to your PC socket on your camera, or an add on PC socket on your hot shoe.

Add ons - Everything else is an extra that serves to further modify your light to give it the look you are after. I'd use you existing setup to explore hat you can do with it before getting anything else (apart from getting some background reflectors or some silver lined umbrellas to improve your light on your background.) Beauty dishes give a particular sort of light on your subject. You should be wanting that sort of light before you get a beauty dish. Check Adorama TV or the Adorama Learning Centre form many great videos and articles on studio lighting.

Speedlights - Speedlights are okay in a studio environment. If you are wanting shorter flash recharge times then you are probably looking at mains powered studio lights or their newer battery pack powered equivalents. These cost dollars $$$$ but you may be able to find some second hand. I'd be looking for a minimal power of 400 Watt seconds for mains powered studio lights.

Batteries - I'm in favour of eneloops. They have worked well for me. Some flashes have the ability to use external power packs as well as internal batteries. Some also can be hooked up to a mains supply like the Pentax AF-400T flash unit.

Charger - I've heard good words about these Powerex MH-C800S 8-Cell Smart Charger for AA / AAA NiMH / NiCD Batteries but I just use the standard eneloop chargers. Mains powered flashes will eliminate this battery charging problem, but you can live with AA batteries as your power source while you learn.

Wind machine - If you need a wind machine I'd look at the BLOWiT Personal Cooling System. It's designed to be mounted on stands next to musician, particularly drummers to keep them cool. It's available from Amazon. Otherwise if you have an assistant you could get them to wave a large lid to generate a stream of air to move your subjects hair.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Chris

[davidreilly3207]

Forgot, are you familiar with the Strobist Website? I quote, "Strobist is the world's most popular resource for photographers who want how to learn to use their flashes like a pro." They are a great resource learning how to use speedlights. Strobist

[sebas77]

Answers

Making the background white - First off change out the grey vinyl backdrop for a white one. This will make it easier to make the whole backdrop go white. Second get a flash meter that you can use with your studio lights. Ideally you want your subject to be more than 5 feet away from your backdrop. You should be shooting in Manual with a shutter speed just under your flash sync speed and an aperture chosen for the depth of field that you want. Then set the power of the front lights using the flash meter to measure the output power of the front lights to match your shutter speed and chosen aperture. Then set your back lights to power levels that also match these same shutter speed and aperture values. If you can get your subject more than 5 feet away from the background then you can possibly increase the power of your back lights by up to 1.5 stops so the back lights are 1.5 stops brighter than your front lights. This will help the background go pure white. You will need to check that as you increase the power level you are not getting too much light spilling off the background on to your subject. If you are, you will need to lower the power of the rear lights to get rid off this spill light. If your subject is closer to the background than 5 feet you are likely to need to lower the power of the rear lights to prevent increases spill because your subject is now closer to the background. Remember the inverse square law of light also applies to reflections from the background. I shoot with four lights like you do. Softbox and umbrella on the frond lights but I have reflectors on the rear lights to direct their light towards the background and prevent spill over the subject. Look for Background reflectors at BandH or Adorama. Some people also shoot into reversed silver lined umbrellas to put the light on the background. Third you may need to touch up the white background in post processing. In Lightroom you can use the Graduated Filter tool to add 1 to 2 stops of light to the background. Alternatively you can go to Photoshop and use the Dodge tool at 10% to whiten the background.

Using TTL - Forget about using TTL. In the studio environment you, as the photographer, have and should want total control of the amount of light you are putting on your subject. ALWAYS shoot in manual with your flashes on manual in the studio. This way you will have no pre-flashes from your TTL lights upsetting triggering of the other flashes. I trigger all my flashes with radio triggers on all of them. Alternatively you could use inbuilt or add on triggers that respond when the main light is fired and then fire themselves. At the worst you could connect your main light with a cord to your PC socket on your camera, or an add on PC socket on your hot shoe.

Add ons - Everything else is an extra that serves to further modify your light to give it the look you are after. I'd use you existing setup to explore hat you can do with it before getting anything else (apart from getting some background reflectors or some silver lined umbrellas to improve your light on your background.) Beauty dishes give a particular sort of light on your subject. You should be wanting that sort of light before you get a beauty dish. Check Adorama TV or the Adorama Learning Centre form many great videos and articles on studio lighting.

Speedlights - Speedlights are okay in a studio environment. If you are wanting shorter flash recharge times then you are probably looking at mains powered studio lights or their newer battery pack powered equivalents. These cost dollars $$$$ but you may be able to find some second hand. I'd be looking for a minimal power of 400 Watt seconds for mains powered studio lights.

Batteries - I'm in favour of eneloops. They have worked well for me. Some flashes have the ability to use external power packs as well as internal batteries. Some also can be hooked up to a mains supply like the Pentax AF-400T flash unit.

Charger - I've heard good words about these Powerex MH-C800S 8-Cell Smart Charger for AA / AAA NiMH / NiCD Batteries but I just use the standard eneloop chargers. Mains powered flashes will eliminate this battery charging problem, but you can live with AA batteries as your power source while you learn.

Wind machine - If you need a wind machine I'd look at the BLOWiT Personal Cooling System. It's designed to be mounted on stands next to musician, particularly drummers to keep them cool. It's available from Amazon. Otherwise if you have an assistant you could get them to wave a large lid to generate a stream of air to move your subjects hair.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Chris

Thanks for the reply! The backdrop is double faced, with a white face too, I just thought that making a grey white was easy, as it is stated by many youtubers. You are right, I still get confused with the concepts, but I didn't mean TTL, I meant to use manual with remote control. The godox slaves don't have a power control and they are not super powerful either, so the only thing I can do is too move them around, but of course the distribution of the light changes.

[davidreilly3207]

New inexpensive Beauty dish. http://www.phottixstore.com/store/phottix-luna-ii-60-folding-beauty-dish-60cm-24-white.html