Umbrella question

I need a second umbrella. I have two speedlights that I can control with my 7D. I was going to try an umbrella softbox and feel a little lost. I read some unbrellas give off a cast if they're not treated. I also have hot shoe mounts for the speedlights and am not sure how well they will fit into an umbrella softbox. There are several types on ebay that are relatively inexpensive. Or should I just get another regular umbrella instead? Any recommendation would be appreciated. I have a small basement studio and like to shoot on site. I'm not a pro. Thanks.

45" or 60" Softlighter II.

Ive shot with 20 dollar umbrellas and 100 dollar umbrellas and honestly, I see no difference in the quality of light they put out given equal sizes. There should be no "cast" of any kind on a white umbrella, regardless of price. I do a lot of location shooting outdoors and favor umbrellas for their cost. I dont feel bad at all destroying a 30 dollar umbrella after a gust of wind caught it compared to seeing a 200 dollar softbox take flight...so in that respect, they are a disposable modifier in my opinion.

I always recommend Calumets convertible umbrellas to anyone who wants a basic, no frills umbrella. They are inexpensive, built out of quality materials and can be had for about 30 dollars.

I've noticed a slight color cast when using a Calumet white umbrella with the black backing attached. But when used as a shoot through there were no issues. Again, it's very slight and a grey/color balance card easily fixes it.

Are you using your current umbrella as a shoot through or reflective config? Also, what size is it?

I have one of these which works an absolute treat with Speedlites..

http://cgi.ebay.com.au …ories&hash=item​5d2882075c

Thanks for the advice. I currently have a 44 inch white I shoot through. First grandson was born last week and I want to do portraits in evening with little ambient light. Tried tungsten and flash with gel, but I couldn't get it right. Thus the need for two lights (in my mind). Needed another speedlight for my wife anyway. Don't see any Dzone2 umbrellas in the US.

glockamole wrote in post #11118271
Thanks for the advice. I currently have a 44 inch white I shoot through. First grandson was born last week and I want to do portraits in evening with little ambient light. Tried tungsten and flash with gel, but I couldn't get it right. Thus the need for two lights (in my mind). Needed another speedlight for my wife anyway. Don't see any Dzone2 umbrellas in the US.

This looks to be quite similar.
http://cgi.ebay.com …io-Umbrella-/120574392106

emitecaps wrote in post #11118789
This looks to be quite similar.
http://cgi.ebay.com …io-Umbrella-/120574392106

Thanks. I'll give it a shot.

glockamole wrote in post #11118271
Thanks for the advice. I currently have a 44 inch white I shoot through. First grandson was born last week and I want to do portraits in evening with little ambient light. Tried tungsten and flash with gel, but I couldn't get it right. Thus the need for two lights (in my mind). Needed another speedlight for my wife anyway. Don't see any Dzone2 umbrellas in the US.

You should have no problems doing simple portraits in the evening with a single light source...ive gone as far as lighting a group of 4-5 people in the evening with a single speedlight and a shoot through umbrella for 1/3-1/2 length portraits. You can do it if you get creative. Pulling the light farther away and cranking up the power will help with a more even fall off...remember the inverse square law.

Let me run you down a really quick and basic setup without using a light meter.

Set up your light slightly above and at a 45 degree angle(either side) to your subject with your flash set at 1/4 power with a shoot through umbrella. Try to position it close(5 feet or less from your subject).

Always remember, shutter speed controls ambient exposure, aperture controls flash exposure.

In manual mode, start with an F8-ish aperture, ISO 100 and a shutter speed of about 1/125th. With the flash off, take a picture and see what your ambient light looks like. If you want more ambient, dial in a slower shutter speed...if you want less ambient, dial in a faster shutter speed. Once you get your ambient dialed in, turn your light back on, take a picture and see what your subject looks like. If your subject is over exposed, either dial in a tighter aperture, or turn your flash power down. If your under exposed, use a more open aperture or a higher flash power.

If you know your going to be working with someone or something that is less than cooperative and in this case, I would say an infant would be...get your lights and everything setup before you start shooting them. A small stuffed animal, a prop or even another person will let you get your ambient and subject exposure dialed in, then substitute your real subject in, fire away and your done quickly and easily.

What is the difference between brolly box and umbrella functionally?

professorman wrote in post #11120018
What is the difference between brolly box and umbrella functionally?

Mainly spill control. The shoot through will throw light everywhere, whereas the brolly box will be more controlled.

Nice writeup. Not to be picky but for those who don't know otherwise:

Always remember, shutter speed controls ambient exposure, aperture controls flash exposure and ambient. In manual mode if you change aperture you need to change shutter speed to get the same exposure.

Like I said - just for those who don't know.

Frugal wrote in post #11120167
Nice writeup. Not to be picky but for those who don't know otherwise:

Always remember, shutter speed controls ambient exposure, aperture controls flash exposure and ambient. In manual mode if you change aperture you need to change shutter speed to get the same exposure.

Like I said - just for those who don't know.

This is true...I was merely trying to get him "close"...

Jeffro250 wrote in post #11119990
You should have no problems doing simple portraits in the evening with a single light source...ive gone as far as lighting a group of 4-5 people in the evening with a single speedlight and a shoot through umbrella for 1/3-1/2 length portraits. You can do it if you get creative. Pulling the light farther away and cranking up the power will help with a more even fall off...remember the inverse square law.

Let me run you down a really quick and basic setup without using a light meter.

Set up your light slightly above and at a 45 degree angle(either side) to your subject with your flash set at 1/4 power with a shoot through umbrella. Try to position it close(5 feet or less from your subject).

Always remember, shutter speed controls ambient exposure, aperture controls flash exposure.

In manual mode, start with an F8-ish aperture, ISO 100 and a shutter speed of about 1/125th. With the flash off, take a picture and see what your ambient light looks like. If you want more ambient, dial in a slower shutter speed...if you want less ambient, dial in a faster shutter speed. Once you get your ambient dialed in, turn your light back on, take a picture and see what your subject looks like. If your subject is over exposed, either dial in a tighter aperture, or turn your flash power down. If your under exposed, use a more open aperture or a higher flash power.

If you know your going to be working with someone or something that is less than cooperative and in this case, I would say an infant would be...get your lights and everything setup before you start shooting them. A small stuffed animal, a prop or even another person will let you get your ambient and subject exposure dialed in, then substitute your real subject in, fire away and your done quickly and easily.

Thanks for the advice. I don't shoot a lot with flash, so I appreciate you taking the time to educate me. I got some good pictures with one light during the daytime indoors. In the evening (no window light at all) I was actually taking a picture of my son for work and had someone hold a lamp on one side of him. I think I should have moved the flash more in front of him instead and used a reflector (which I had forgot).
Here's one I took with one flash during the daytime when my grandson was 4 days old. Is there anything I'm not doing properly in this shot or things I could do better?

Regardless of how you lit that, its a great shot of a 4 day baby.
There is nice rap of the light from the lit to the shadow side.
If this was with daylight you can immulate it with a single shoot through and a reflector. Which is probably why this light is so nice.

There is a page on my tutorial site describing how I use shoot through umbrella and speedlite to simulate window light.