Fisrt time with new lights... lots to learn!

[duckiller01]

I purchased a Calumet Genesis 400 Kit (two strobes), Muslin Stand, and a Black Muslin so I can start shooting portraits. I was asked to shoot some family pictures last night and these are the fruits of my labor.

Please critique.

My family
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2700/4129726089_d2693644ed_b.jpg

My sisters family
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/4129722897_37a2d53af2_b.jpg

My mother and I
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2713/4130490518_9537e87cd1_b.jpg

Beyond the critique... I had two questions. First being the wrinkles in the muslin and how to get them out so they dont show in the pic? The second is in regards to the delay in strobe number two?

Robert~

[ShutteringFocus]

Hey Robert.

nice photos. i like that you have very tight grouping of the folks in the photos - no space in between them. It makes a nice tight photo. I always find space in between subjects in a multi subject portrait to be distracting.

You can get rid of those wrinkles in your background by moving the subject's further away from the background. It looks like they were right up against the muslin in these photos. Try placing them 5 (or even more) feet away from the background. This will A, decrease the sharpness of the focus on the background, and B (and most importantly), decrease the light falling on the background and illuminating those wrinkles. Think of it like this - if you basically underexpose the background, ta-da, a perfectly black background. A black piece of muslin is just easier to underexpose than a white one ;-)

As far as the delay, I'm not sure what you mean. You will have to explain more. I don't have a studio kit so I'm not as familiar with how they work. I use flash gun strobes. Someone else might be able to help you more there.

Also, you might experiment with lowering the output on whichever light you are using as the fill light to increase the shadow on one side or the other. Right now it looks like you pretty much have each light giving out the same power which makes for somewhat flat lighting.

Using the two lights as a main and a fill will help give 3 dimensional shape to the faces etc. The fill light should bring up the shadows a bit - but not eliminate them totally.

Keep shooting!
zach

[duckiller01]

Thanks Zach!

I kinda figured that I was to close to the background... but I'm glad you confirmed. It makes sense.

The delay I'm talking about is more then likely the result of the one strobe triggering the other. I have yet to buy a wireless trigger set up so right now I have a pc sync going to one head and that one trips the other head via the photo-cell. I would have run into this regardless of how I tripped the first one... I never thought I needed to buy to receivers? Some please confirm.

I'll continue to play with these and read how others do it. I really enjoy this type of photography, thanks for the insight.

Rob~

[ShutteringFocus]

You shouldn't have any trouble triggering one optically as long as you are using a slow enough shutter speed. It's my understanding that anything under the sync speed of the camera should work. On my 20D that is 1/250.

It doesn't look like the lag you are talking about is affecting the pictures. They look evenly lit to me. What is bothering you about it?

You could do a forum search on cheap triggers. They seem to be a really hot topic of discussion these days. I just read something on the strobist blog about some new ones that are coming out by Christmas that are supposed to even support Canon and Nikon TTL (if you use canon/nikon flash heads). They are supposed to sell for less than $200 per set. http://strobist.blogspot.com/

[hairy_moth]

Speaking as an amateur.. The lighting looks pretty good to me, but you really need the 3rd background light to keep the hair from melting into the background.

[duckiller01]

You shouldn't have any trouble triggering one optically as long as you are using a slow enough shutter speed. It's my understanding that anything under the sync speed of the camera should work. On my 20D that is 1/250.

It doesn't look like the lag you are talking about is affecting the pictures. They look evenly lit to me. What is bothering you about it?

You could do a forum search on cheap triggers. They seem to be a really hot topic of discussion these days. I just read something on the strobist blog about some new ones that are coming out by Christmas that are supposed to even support Canon and Nikon TTL (if you use canon/nikon flash heads). They are supposed to sell for less than $200 per set. http://strobist.blogspot.com/

When the two heads were at the same power, same distance, same basic angle the one triggered by photocell was very dim. In these pictures it was almost double the head that was connected via pc sync. I realize now that I wanted dimmer on one side but it should not be at the same power, right? It should be working half as hard.

I'll spring for a good trigger set up once I get over the money I spent so far. I still dont think I should have to buy one transmitter and two receivers or three if I add a third light.

[kortag]

When the two heads were at the same power, same distance, same basic angle the one triggered by photocell was very dim. In these pictures it was almost double the head that was connected via pc sync. I realize now that I wanted dimmer on one side but it should not be at the same power, right? It should be working half as hard.

I'll spring for a good trigger set up once I get over the money I spent so far. I still dont think I should have to buy one transmitter and two receivers or three if I add a third light.

If you're shooting indoors all the time optical triggering works ok. I have a calumet genesis 200 2 light kit and triggered how you are describing for quite some time with good results. I didn't notice any difference in output from the strobes, did you try switching the cable and see if it made a difference? One thing to keep in mind is distance plays a huge part in the intensity of your light source. I don't have time to dig through my bookmarks, but there is a formula for calculating how distance affects light intensity in terms of stops.

[PicSniper]

I purchased a Calumet Genesis 400 Kit (two strobes)

Robert, I've been eyeballing this 2-strobe kit, now that it's on sale. How do you like them so far?

[Macrosill]

The photos are "currently unavailable". Did you remove them?

[ShutteringFocus]

When the two heads were at the same power, same distance, same basic angle the one triggered by photocell was very dim. In these pictures it was almost double the head that was connected via pc sync. I realize now that I wanted dimmer on one side but it should not be at the same power, right? It should be working half as hard.


Yeah, you are right that doesn't sound right. Try switching the lights. Put the cord in the other one and the optical in the one that used to have the cord and see if the same thing happens. maybe you have a faulty flash or bulb or something?

[duckiller01]

Robert, I've been eyeballing this 2-strobe kit, now that it's on sale. How do you like them so far?

So far I've only used it once... I dont know that I would be a good reference. I can tell you that the build quality seems to be pretty solid. I like that they are fan cooled and pretty quite. I like the price most of all.

I wanted to get into portraits but I did not want to make a huge investment and be stuck with really pricey gear if I decided it was not for me. So far I think it is for me and I like that I can still grow into these. I'd get the 400 over the 200... actually I did, hahahaha!!

The photos are "currently unavailable". Did you remove them?

I deleted them once I uploaded versions that had the back ground edited. They are up again.

Yeah, you are right that doesn't sound right. Try switching the lights. Put the cord in the other one and the optical in the one that used to have the cord and see if the same thing happens. maybe you have a faulty flash or bulb or something?

I switched them that night and the problem was still there... just switched to the other side. It makes sense that there would be a delay if one is triggered optically (by flash). One has to produce light for the other to fire. I dont know, I guess it will always be behind unless I trigger them individually.