I want to get into studio lighting, but...

[Stefan A]

There are just some things I am not getting. I am slowly working my way through Scott Smith's lighting book. Since the only thing I own is a 430ex, an umbrella, stand, and reflector, I am just trying to conceptualize his instruction. Once I can get this through my head, I may start buying the type of equipment he recommends.

Here is what I don't get and I am sorry that this is real basic newbie stuff. What is a studio strobe and how is it different from a mono light? How do I meter? Do the lights stay on so I can get a reading? Or do they just flash? I know these lights have modeling lights but aren't modeling lights less bright than the actual flash? So how would I get a reliable reading from modeling lights?

Maybe if I owned this equipment these answers would be obvious. But I am just trying to wrap my brain around it for now.

Stefan

[lmulderi]

Here is what I don't get and I am sorry that this is real basic newbie stuff. What is a studio strobe and how is it different from a mono light? How do I meter? Do the lights stay on so I can get a reading? Or do they just flash? I know these lights have modeling lights but aren't modeling lights less bright than the actual flash? So how would I get a reliable reading from modeling lights?

I don't know the difference between strobes and monolights.

But I know that you meter differently according to what you are trying to achieve as your end result. Sometimes you might want to meter for light from the flash only or you might want to let some ambient light creep in too.

Your lights would flash for you to get a reading if you're using a light meter. You can hook a light meter to a flash via a pc cord and fire them with your meter where your subject would be to get the settings you should start from.

Modeling lights are less powerful than the flash itself and are designed to give you a quick glimpse as to where your light is going to hit and shadows are going to fall.

You should not meter off of the modeling light.

Hope this helps...

[DigiGrin]

How do I meter?
Stefan
You'd buy a flash meter .. not the same as a "light meter"

[DC Fan]

Monolights are studio strobes, generally. Monolights have all of the circuitry built into one box, while other strobes have separate heads connected to power packs. It's just a matter of design: some people find it easier to set up monolights than spend the extra time connecting packs and heads.

Modeling lights typically are ordinary incandescent lamps that are located near the same point as the strobes' flash tubes. They let you preview your lighting setup without wearing out your flash tubes.

[Stefan A]

OK - so the typical way to meter is to use a flash meter which is somehow connected to ALL of the lights (whether they are monolights or studio strobes) and trigger a flash? According to the book, it is recommended to take a reading from all the lights at the same time. But I know that is debatable. So, how exactly do I set off the stobes? Is there a button on the flash meter itself which will set off 1 or all of the lights?

Stefan

[elysium]

Not that this is any direct help but I found www.strobist.com very useful on learning about strobes and how to use the effectively.

[Jim M]

There are two types of strobes. One is a monolight where each individual light plugs into a wall outlet and has everything self contained. The other is usually called a pack and head system in which there are several individual light heads that plug into a central power pack that plugs into the wall. The power pack converts the wall outlet power into the high voltage charge that the heads use. Monolights tend to have infinitely variable light output while pack and head models tend to have output variable in whole f/stop amounts, but not necessarily. The pack itself may have infinite variation and the heads whole f/stop switches. There are a number of configurations.

A common and inexpensive way to trigger the strobes is through a long PC cord that connects the camera to the strobe. If the camera does not have a PC socket, then an adapter that mounts on the hot shoe of the camera can be used. The easiest way to use studio strobes is to set them off with one of the various radio triggers in which a transmitter attaches to the camera and a receiver attaches to the strobe. Monolights tend to have optical triggers in which the flash of one strobe will set off the others. This is not an issue with pack and head designs.

Regardless of how the flash is triggered, the way to measure the light is to fire the strobes and measure the output with a hand held flash meter. Some of these meters will trigger certain brands of radio triggers to fire the flash. Others will attach to a PC cord. I use extremely cheap radio triggers, so I simply remove the transmitter from the camera or take the camera with me to the metering position and push a button on the transmitter to fire the flash. The meter detects the flash and meters the light. Clever, eh?

Which system is better is an unending discussion. Monolights are very popular right now, so some good deals can be had on internet auctions sites for pack and head units. However, it helps to have a clue about what you are doing if you purchase used equipment that may or may not have any instructions with it.

[sdipirro]

The modelling lights are useful when you have multiple lights and want to get an idea of where shadows will fall. The modelling light intensity is usually proportional to the flash setting on the strobe. It helps you set up the shot, but then you have to meter each light separately or you can just experiment with test shots and look at the histograms (the pros like to be very precise with this, but it's initially possible to just experiment with different settings).

[Stefan A]

Thanks a lot.

Stefan

[Walczak Photo]

Hey Stefan,
As a person who's just learning all of this stuff about studio lighting as well, let me offer you my two cents worth...

Don't over think it.

I know there are folks that will tell you "you have to do this, you have to do that" and you'll get even more of that in books and such. It's been my experience that when you try and digest all this stuff at once, such as learning the correct f/stop per a given light/flash meter reading, etc., you're probably not going to get it. I hate to put it this way, but for someone just starting out, I would really suggest a little trial and error first...fire the flash at something and if your exposure is too bright, either close down your aperture/speed up the shutter or simply move the flash back (or both). If the shot is under exposed, vise-versa. I really think you'll get more out of it by playing with it a little than you will by trying to comprehend something without a common reference point. Later once you've messed around for a while, then go back to the book and learn all those little nuances...it'll make more sense to you that way.

My suggestion to you is to pretty much start with what you already have...a flash. Second to that, find a way to get that flash off the camera. If you look around on Ebay you can find these cheapy little wireless transceivers for less than $50 that work really well. This way you can put that one flash pretty much where ever you want within a 30 meter radius of the camera. After that? Go take a picture of something or someone! Beyond books and internet forums, etc., it's been my experience that the single best way to learn is simply by doing. For now don't worry too much about things like monolights...hell...you may even discover that you don't really even need them. There's a lot of folks out there who can do really amazing things with only a couple of speedlights and an umbrella or two.

If you're willing to shoot outside, since you already have a flash remember that now you actually have -2- light sources! You can use the sun as your primary light and your flash as your "fill" or vice-versa even. The nice thing about doing it this way as apposed to using studio lights is that your little 430ex flash is -VERY- portable. No electrical outlets or heavy, expensive battery packs needed. You can do -A LOT- with two light sources, especially when one of them is so portable :D.

Seriously...you said you have a flash, an umbrella, a stand and a reflector...that's all you really need to get started. Get the flash off the camera and you should be good to go and you can worry about the other stuff once you've figured out the basics.

Just to give you an idea of "uncomplicated", here's a shot that I actually lit with only a MAGlite (one of those big 6 cell metal flashlights like cops use)...

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/2181/img2116vg6.jpg

The background is actually a black t-shirt duct taped to the wall! LOL!!! Very, very simple. It took me about 20 shots or so to get this, but that was half the fun. Most of it was just moving the flash light around during the various shots to find the angle that I liked. If you're shooting digital, there's no reason not to experiment.

To answer a couple of your specific questions, all a monolight (studio strobe...same thing) is is a big "flash"...for all intensive purposes, they do the same thing as your little 430ex, only more so. They are (usually) much brighter than a hot shoe flash and in most cases they have a modeling light which is a lower wattage light to give you an idea of what the light is going to look like on the model/subject. Cheaper ones plug into a wall outlet while others plug into a battery pack of some kind. As already stated, they come in various styles, sizes, power, etc.. Beyond that you also have what's called continuous lighting...all that is is a very bright light (usually 500 watts or more) that's on all the time as your main source of light (much like stage lighting in a theater). There are other issues such as color temperature, watt seconds, yadda, yadda, yadda, but most of it really isn't going to click for you until you've really worked with it for a bit.

I know there are folks who disagree with me, but this doesn't have to be rocket science...like I said before, use the flash you have now and start taking pictures of something. If your flash is too bright, just close down your aperture/speed up the shutter or just move the dumb light back a little and try it again and if it's too dark, just do everything in the reverse order :D. You'll see what works and what doesn't pretty quickly.

Peace,
Jim

[Stefan A]

Thanks Jim. I should have mentioned that I already have a set of those cactus wireless triggers. Fairly unreliable, but since I am using digital, I can afford the misfires/no-fires. I have done a bit of experimenting with some success. But since I started reading Scott's book, he comes off as being so sure of his method and confident that you can't go wrong. So I wanted to try some of his ideas which would require some different equipment. I can handle a little bit of experimentation on my own. But I have to admit that at some point, I like to get taught exactly how to do something. And then work from there. I figure his book is a good starting point. For me, all experimentation and no formal instruction is a recipe for losing interest.

Stefan

[Jim M]

I don't use the Cactus units, but my guess is that even they will be more reliable on studio flash rather than dealing with the vagaries that hot shoe mount flash seems to provide with cheap remote triggers. This is just my guess from what I read about the experience of others since I have never even tried to use a radio remote with a hot shoe flash. My own experience with the one set I own triggering Novatron pack and head units is that it is quite reliable as long as the batteries are fresh. Other people's mileage may vary, so to speak.

[nadtz]

The reliability (or lack thereof) is the same with both strobes or shoe mount flashes assuming everything else works with the ebay poverty wizards (this is from experience with my 16 channel units which work pretty well for me and some other peoples units that i've used). Some flashes in particular have some issues, which is a different issue and is addressed by different versions of the cactus triggers.

[Walczak Photo]

But since I started reading Scott's book, he comes off as being so sure of his method and confident that you can't go wrong. So I wanted to try some of his ideas which would require some different equipmentNothing wrong with that at all...I'm a very avid reader myself. Do remember though that virtually any author is going to sound "sure of their methods"...that is of course how they got their book published in the first place! LOL!!! Most printing companies aren't going to publish an author who writes "well this might work for some people" etc...they want authors who are "definative". I'm sure that for the most part these people are sure of their methods if for no other reason than because those are the methods that work for them. There really is no one single "bible" of this stuff though...if there were, that's the way everyone would do it and there would be very little room for the creative process. The thing to remember is that there really is no "right" or "wrong" way of doing this as much as what ever works best for any given individual and or situation. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Now as far as the triggers go, I've really had no problems as far as reliability goes...but maybe I've just been lucky. The only time I've ran into "mis-fires" is simply due to not allowing my hot shoe flashes adequate time to recharge between shots. I've ran into this especially working with models...often I will have to have them "slow down their posing a little" so that my flashes can keep up! LOL!!! Aside from issues such as power, in my opinion, this is probably one of the greatest advantages of monolights...they recharge much faster than any hotshoe. As with so many things in regards to photography though, for me it comes down to compromise...I can't afford to dump a grand or so into decent light cans right now so I just have to make do with what I have. It does work, I just have to fudge with things a little more but as you said, since I'm also shooting digital it's not really that big a problem for now.

Anyways, as I said before, a lot of it really is just academic. Beyond issues such as power, recharge times, the ability to use light modifiers, etc., essentially "a flash is a flash". A monolight, regardless of it's power and price and other features does basically the same exact thing as a hot shoe flash does. The principle is the same. To me, understanding flash regardless of the source is simply a matter of understand light and shadow and once you get past that, the rest is pretty simple.

Either way, good luck with it and I hope you get what you want out of all of this!

Peace,
Jim