Working with a lightscope?

[istephallard]

Hi everyone. I would LOVE feedback on this photos concerning lighting. Does it look washed out? Do you like the lighting or hate it? I realize the junk on my floor isn't appealing (or my basket of laundry) and I could have switched to a faster lense to use a smaller aperture but I am mostly concerned with lighting. I'm still experimenting with using this equipment and am not sure what I think of it yet. In this photo I ended up using the lightscope and then held a giant white reflector on my back. hahaha! I'm sure I looked ridiculous! I'm continually looking for ways to create good lighting with small amounts of gear partially b/c of $ but also so I can be mobile (I aim to specialize in children photography and I want to be very mobile in a photo shoot situation so I can capture moments even if lighting isn't stellar) So I recently decided I was going to try one of those lightscopes to attach to my pop up lense (they bounce the light up and out from your popup lens with a little mirror you attach) instead of a diffuser. Anyone work with this before and have any tips you could share? Thank you so much!

canon eos 40d 28-135mm lense at 30mm iso200 f/4 1/160
lightscope and reflector used in a darkish room with some/little window light

[graciousness]

Hi there,

The lighting looks ok, not stellar. His eyes are nice and clear so that's good. There are hot spots on his face, though.

If you want to be mobile, you need to get rid of using reflectors. Unless you have an assistant to help you, those things aren't very practical for mobility.

What you do need is an external flash.

If you are planning on going pro (which I know you are), it is necessary that you have one of those, otherwise, you will be hindered by lighting issues. For example, with this shot, having an external flash on your camera (or better, off camera) and bouncing the light would have given you a more flattering, even lighting. If you are to use direct lighting, you need to diffuse your light so that it's not so harsh.

I have a reflector and never used it on my shoot. It's the flash that I use all the time, mostly as fill-in light for outdoors. For indoors, I bounce the light if possible. Otherwise, the camera is on a stand with umbrella or softbox.

I have to admit I have never used one of those lightscope. I know you said you used it to bounce the light off your pop-up flash, but I do find the light a little strong and direct. I say direct, because there are hot spots on his face which made the light look too strong on his face. But then I think if you pull back on the light, he would be slightly underexposed. Others can chime in on this and probably say something opposite. I just prefer having softer lighting with children, unless going for a more studio effect with controlling contours using angled lighting.

If you are going into the business and you want your clients to invest in you, you need to invest back into the business by getting the gears that you need. This means flash and diffusers. Otherwise, you are stuck with doing outdoor shots with good, lighting conditions. We all know this is tough, especially with children who we tend to shoot during daytime. I shoot outside all the time, in bright conditions, and still use fill-flash to control lighting and brightness.

In regards to the clutter, I know you are doing lighting practice, but it doesn't hurt to be very aware of what within your frame. You need to train your mind and eyes to make quick decisions with clutters in the background, and to quickly remove them or shoot at different angle to get them out of your frame. This is something that I put into practice everytime I shoot now.

Something to think about.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Grace

[istephallard]

Your comments are always so helpful. Thank you so much I really really appreciate the feedback. I was thinking the lighting looked a little harsh as well but I think part of me really wanted this lightscope to work out. I just moved from Hawaii where I had beaches and parks and gardens at my disposal that I knew the lighting really well and could find beautiful spots that almost always had great lighting available.... now I realize this and am trying to master lighting issues instead of just working with what seemed perfection that was readily available, plentiful and close by. lol

So I"m going to sound just silly asking these questions considering I felt I was good enough to ask for money for my work... but how can you be mobile with a flash attached to a stand vs using a reflector on a stand? I totally agree with your statement that I need to invest in equipment if I want clients to invest in me. Do you have an off camera flash you recommend I could check out? And would you recommend trying a soft box or umbrella first or should I start with both? Most of the lighting set ups I've seen seem to require two ext flashes am I just looking at the wrong stuff?Thanks again! : )

[graciousness]

What I did was start with one flash. You do need to be comfortable with using manual mode first, though, if you are going to start using flash.

One flash, on-camera, practicing bounce techniques. Keep in mind that if you want to maximise use of on-camera bounce, you want a flash that can swivel around. Unfortunately, cheap cameras don't provide this, but there are semi-cheap ones that exist. For example, look at Lumopro, Yungnuo and Nissin. Get the ones with ETTL or TTL functions.

With umbrellas and light stands, thank goodness there are plenty of good ones that are also cheap! These don't have to be top-quality brands - plenty that come from china that are sturdy. I would recommend getting umbrella first - convertible - the kind that you can use as shoot-through (white) with removable black backing so you have options. With the stand, make sure that it is tall enough, anything higher than 2.3 or 2.4 meters. Don't forget that you will need a mount for the umbrella to use on the stand.

Softboxes are more pricey. Hold off on this until you have become familiar with using your flash off-camera and have had plays with the umbrella, especially if budget is an issue.

Two more more lighting set-ups are always ideal, however, nothing wrong with using just one at the moment. Your reflector will come to use if you have to use a one-light set up.

In regards to children, I know how difficult it is to shoot them. What you need to keep in mind when shooting them, esp at play, is your shutter speed. Make sure that it's fast enough and I recommend starting at 1/125. Once you start using faster shutter speeds, you do cut off ambient light so this is where your fill-in flash will come in. 80% of the time when I shoot children outdoors, I use fast shutter speed and fill flash.

The problem with using your flash on-camera is the shadow it creates if used portrait mode and red-eye issues. This becomes even more apparent the lower your flash is to your camera body. You want the flash as high as you can. There are ways to get them higher and some people use flash brackets for this. Good ones are costly, though. So what i suggest is to get a diffuser for the flash. Heck, they start at $10 or even less.

Lighting and stands + children just don't go so well together However, if you can have a few minutes where you have their attention (and usually, this is the beginning of the session), use it. If you have time for reflectors on stand or someone holding it, great. But keep your set up simple and quick. This requires lots of practice.

Have a read of Niel van Nieker's site and absorb all his advice on flash techniques. I love that guy - he explains everything with simplicity and ease. It actually doesn't take long at all to learn bounce techniques!

And dont' forget to go through youtube for visual tutorials on this. That helped me immensely as I'm the type that needs visual reference for anything to really sink in.

Remember, don't be afraid to ask 'silly' questions. It's better to ask than be left in the dark!

Cheers,

Grace

[graciousness]

Damn it, I knew I forgot something else.

Ok, just one more thing about on-camera flash - you don't get good catchlights. If the light is strong enough on the flash, you get white dot in the centre of the eyes which I do find annoying. But your clients don't readily see that at all as they don't know better. However, I do and I'm still trying to find ways to get my flash off camera without relying on light stand. Also, I am willing to compromise good catchlight for better exposure at this time.

I will get both once I play around with either finding the best on-camera diffuser for this or flash bracket. I'll let you know once I figure it out!

Or if someone else can help with this, please chime in!

[istephallard]

umm I think you are awesome, thank you so so much for your freely given council! I've been working with a diffusor on my flash and am not thrilled with the results and know I need to strive for better. Esp when I know it could be done better with just a little know how and practice. I will def check out everything you recommended. I'm excited to enter the world of learning flash. : ) I love interesting lighting and want to master it (I've a long long way to go) Thanks again.