Yesterday I lit it up!

[jamiewexler]

My 16yo brother, Michael, is visiting for the summer so I have conscripted him to be my assistant. Yesterday we put a light on a monopod and made him a human light stand! I used a Sunpak 120j attached to the monopod with a cheap ebay radio slave and an umbrella bracket.

Threw on an umbrelsoft with the flash on manual at 1/2 power for these two...
http://www.jamisonwexler.com/images/KatieChris20070714171814.jpg

http://www.jamisonwexler.com/images/KatieChris20070714172422.jpg

120j in Auto mode at f8 setting. No umbrella, just the diffused reflector. Far more accurate and consistant than I've ever experienced with my TTL flashes.
http://www.jamisonwexler.com/images/KatieChris20070714194254.jpg

http://www.jamisonwexler.com/images/KatieChris20070714194535.jpg

120j as backlight, setting sun as main light
http://www.jamisonwexler.com/images/KatieChris20070714195403.jpg

A couple more
http://www.jamisonwexler.com/images/KatieChris20070714195724.jpg

http://www.jamisonwexler.com/images/KatieChris20070714201347.jpg

I'm really psyched about the "look" that I've been wanting to work into a wedding for a long time! I'm totally going to have to find a full time assistant when Michael goes back to FL... Got a Sunpak 622 on the way (from Adorama, Kathy), to give me even more off camera lighting POWER!

[CyberPet]

*grumble* You evil tempter – shame on you!!!

Love the light and the look. Now I need more toys!

[wannasmaxx]

Nice ones... The colour temp on some of them looks a bit warm, but I suppose that was what you were going for.

[bcap]

Wow Jamie, these are unbelievable!

1. I really like the emotion in this shot. The lighting is fantastic! You may or may not get comments regarding her being centered, but I actually really enjoy the composition of this.

2. While I liked the center composition of the last one, I wish that you had her a little bit more to the left of the frame in this one. Other than that, the lighting is gorgeous, although she looks a tad bit underexposed. Maybe some masking/curves? I love the lens flare in this.

3. This shot is just stunning. I love it. Was that WB adjusted afterwards or is this the way it was shot? I like the warm tone!

4. Perfect shot - or at least close to it. I can't find anything about this shot I don't like. She'll love it, I know it!

5. Stellar shot - other than the fact that it seems a LITTLE soft. Is this due to downsizing maybe? Because Jamie, I KNOW you don't take soft shots! ;)

6. Ahhh the lighting is fantastic! I really enjoy this. They look great! They'll love it! I wish you didn't cut the flat off though @ the top.

7. Ok, you know how I said the others were near perfect? Well, this one IS perfect! Well done Jamie!

I love these - you need to hire an assistant and have them come w/ that light all the time Jamie. They look so nice! Well done!

[tlamb]

Most excellent.. I am at this moment researching portable lighting for my weddings.

[tony fanning]

I`ve gotta get an assistant!!!!!!!!!!!

[Grace]

very nice Jamie, VERY nice...your work just keeps getting better and better...seriously- every wedding it seems you've out done the last...congrats- thats awesome!


nice plug again! ;)

[JimAskew]

Jamie,

These are great! The fifth photo (the couple kissing) is just great...the B&G will love that one

[picturecrazy]

Hey, congrats on getting that light off camera! That's awesome! If you don't have an assistant around, just use a lightstand! I love the shadowing the light is creating on your subjects! Excellent work!

I had bought the 580II in the hopes of using auto mode for off camera usage. IT SUCKS! What a waste of money. I'm gonna hafta look into your sunpak units.

[bcap]

Hey, congrats on getting that light off camera! That's awesome! If you don't have an assistant around, just use a lightstand! I love the shadowing the light is creating on your subjects! Excellent work!

I had bought the 580II in the hopes of using auto mode for off camera usage. IT SUCKS! What a waste of money. I'm gonna hafta look into your sunpak units.

Hey Lloyd - not to go offtopic too much, but did ou say that you can use the 580II in E-TTL off-camera?

[picturecrazy]

Hey Lloyd - not to go offtopic too much, but did ou say that you can use the 580II in E-TTL off-camera?

Not ettl, but it has an auto thyristor sensor for external metering. Very old, but proven technology that Canon managed to royally SCREW UP in a C$560 flash, which is just plain stupid.

It's the same system that Jamie used on his lighting in the above pictures, only his flashes actually work properly while the 580II does not.

[bcap]

Oh interesting. Now I'm confuzzled LOL

Jamie - did you use a strobe for these? I was under the impression he was using studio-equivalent lights with a portable power?

[howzitboy]

off camera flash looks awesome (in your shots). gives the shots a kewl look!!

[Kathy H]

Great poses! I'm just don't care for the lighting, just kidding:) ! They are beautiful, very dramatic.

Kathy

[jamiewexler]

Thanks guys!

Lloyd, I've been using off camera flashes on lightstands at the reception for some time now, but have only had short, cheap stands. I just bought a couple of 12 foot Bgen/Manfrotto stands that seem much more stable, so maybe I'll use them more when I'm working alone. On the other hand, it was so much easier with an assistant to hold the light...all I had to worry about was shooting. Plus I didn't have to worry abut the wind coming up and blowing over my umbrella (in the shots where I used one).

Bryan - I've played around with the Canon wireless ETTL, and it seems to be so much more work to get the results I want. This all started we I bought one of these radio slaves: http://cgi.ebay.com/4-Channels-Wireless-Flash-Trigger-Digital-Radio-Slave_W0QQitemZ250142752477QQihZ015QQcategoryZ3008 6QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The difference between this slave and he other slaves I have, is that this one has a hot shoe built in. I have a small collection of flashes with no PC sockets, so I thought I'd try out the slaves with them. One of the flashes is an old "Underground" unit that is auto only at f5.6 and has a telescoping bounce head. I bought it for $10 years ago when I bought my old pentax SLR. When I got the new slave, I put on the old flash and used it at the 7/7 wedding I second shot. I was amazed at how accurate the old auto flash technology was. So this week I've been playing with a Sunpak 422D - a clone of the Sunpak 383 - and it is not only spot on accurate, but it has more auto apertures f2.8, f5.6, f11, for even more flexibility. So as I was preparing for yesterday's wedding I mounted the Sunpak 422D to the monopod with the radio slave. The only problem was where to mount the umbrelsoft. So I took one of the Sunpak 120j's that I use for room lighting and mounted it to the monopod on an umbrella bracket, hooking the radio slave to the PC port on the flash. That's the setup I used yesterday.

The auto function of the flash is very easy to use. Set the aperture of your camera to the aperture setting of the flash, set your SS to your max sync speed, and shoot. There's a sensor built into the flash that determines the duration of the flash. To balance the light of the flash with the ambient, just change your shutter speed. Since it doesn't effect the flash exposure you get a lot of flexibility. Really easy, very accurate, and with the Sunpak 383 (422) and 120j I have full manual control if I want to take over control of the light. The Sunpak 622 that's on its way is really powerful with a GN of 200, meaning that I should be able to overpower the sun at high noon with it!

[Grace]

that is great info Jamie, and it does sound really easy! Thanks for sharing! I appreciate it!

[jamiewexler]

Kathy - think of the letters we could create with a setup like that! :D

[Grace]

he he

[Kathy H]

The thread title had me wondering:confused: :)

[Grace]

Ha ha ha!! funny thought, Jamie on crack! lol.....

[Kathy H]

OMG!! Thats not exactly what came to my mind! :lol:

[Kathy H]

Kathy, I'm still laughing about that one, you totally caught me of guard:eek:

Kathy

[jamiewexler]

Not the first time it's been brought up - I am a mad man at weddings...and it's not just the 8 o'clock Red Bull!

[Kathy H]

Jamie, Looks like you definately get the job done. Your photos are fantastic and obviously so is your sense of humor!

Chatty Kathy, You are a riot! I haven't laughed so much in a long time.

Kathy II

[Tragerman]

Fantastic, Jamie. I never even thought to use the auto settings outdoors. I didn't expect they would be accurate with the high level of ambient light. I have (from my old Olympus OM-4 days) dedicated 383 and 422 flashes. I hard wired leads to go right to my radio slaves. All I have to do is mount them on a light stand with a standard adapter and fire away. I'll have to do some testing of the auto functions on them. I've bee using a flash meter and manual settings.
Thanks for the display and the discussion of your equipment techniques.

Cheers,
Mickey

[Kamra 1]

great shots! The lights are working and so are your talents. Great job!

[Scarlett Nic]

Jamie these are fabulously captured. Numbers 3 & 5 are outstanding, love the warmth in them.
I have no idea about flash units being used in this way but you really make me want to learn!
Keep up the wonderful work,
Nic

[tim]

Jamie, those are some nice pictures. If most people here posted them i'd tell them they're fantastic, because for most people they would be, but I hold you to a higher standard as you've proven you're a step above most of us here. The lighting's good, but in general I think you can do better. Maybe it's just beacuse you're posting lighting samples rather than showing your best photos from the day.

To me wedding photography's mostly about showing how a couple feel about each other, as well as some documentary work. I don't see a connection or the emotion in most of these photos.

#3 and #5 are fantastic, they show a connection, they're well lit, and they just look great. #1 I like, but i'm not sure I like her attitude/pose, or perhaps the shadow behind her. Nice colors though. #2's pretty cool, but again her attitude. 4's a nice photo but doesn't work for me, and I don't know why. 6 is a bit central, and shows no connection - try to big steps to the right and use the rule of thirds. Last one's ok.

[jamiewexler]

Thanks again everyone!

Tim, I appreciate you honest feedback, and I hear what you are saying. I definitely picked these to show for the new lighting techniques, and was very happy with how they turned out, but I can see where you are coming from. These are all staged. I posted some of my more "normal" shots of the day in another thread..take a peek in there and let me know what you think (I didn't want you guys to all think that I just followed them around with a huge light all day)!

[overclock]

Nice lens flare in the second one. But is that a piece of dust right over her face?