Quick flash gun and brolly question

Heya,

When you guys set up your umbrellas, what's usually your zoom value for the flash gun? Is it more efficient to zoom out (even with the wide angle diffuser) or to zoom in?

Two things to consider here. Firstly, with the flash zoom at a fixed position, you need to think about the distance the head is from the umbrella surface.
http://www.flickr.com …in/set-72157630310760782/
Then, with the head in a fixed position on the umbrella shaft, you need to consider zoom setting.
http://www.flickr.com …in/set-72157630310760782/
It's all down to individual experimenting but the imporant thing is to only change one item at once. If you're changing the position on the shaft then keep the zoom setting fixed - conversely, if you're changing the zoom setting then keep the flash head in one place. Otherwise, you'll just add further confusion.

These sketches were prepared for another purpose altogether, but I hope they'll suffice to at least steer you in the right direction.

BTW, don't change the umbrella to subject distance - adding a third variable will make things impossible to tie down to a working solution. And leave the brave horseman out of the equation too

Thanks for the reply. Cool diagrams.

Looking at this one you have there, I'm suddenly reminded of what triggered this question in the first place: my flash head is not dead centre.

Referring back to http://www.flickr.com …in/set-72157630310760782/ and relating this to your images, it appears that you have the flash positioned at point C. Try backing the umbrella surface further away from the flash head and you will find that the spread of light can actually be controlled with the zoom reflector to more or less fill the umbrella surface. Basically, try the umbrella shaft only just inserted into the flash holder so that it's as far away as possible.

The problem with using a diffuser cap (Stofen or similar) is, as you say, the loss of intensity. You would also find that you lose control of the beam from the umbrella because the diffuser just spews light uncontrollably in all directions. You'll get completely different quality of lighting because a lot of the output would be reflected from areas outside the umbrella canopy. If you were to use this arrangement outdoors, you'd rapidly run out of power because of the wasted light

The offset can be cured by a simple bracket like this. Doesn't need to be pretty and you may like to put a strap of some sort round flash head and bracket (a hair band or 'scrunchy' works fine) to make it even steadier. Flash fits on like this (please ignore the DIY honeycomb, again this image was taken for a totally different topic) and places the flash tube as close to the axis as you can get. This easily gets round the triangle formation you have at present. Just a bent piece of aluminium bolted to a cheap 'E'-type umbrella flash mount in place of the cold shoe - a couple of 4mm stainless bolts in place of the original countersunk ones did the job. The other bent bit is simply somewhere to bolt a Pixel TD-381 power pack on those occasions when my Godox PB960 is in use elsewhere.

You could also consider that some softboxes are supplied with a bracket to lower the flash to a central position. The box can also be turned in positions to allow a lower downturn, like the Micansu Ezy-Up Softbox

Well, it definitely wasn't pretty, LOL. I'll see if I can get a better piece of aluminium.