Advise re outdoor lighting

Hi I am looking for something powerful enough to light horses in daylight so i can underexpose the background, like this http://www.horse-photographer.co.uk/ I had a go today using my 600 rx and realise I need a lot more power.

a friend has some elinchrom d-lights 400's for sale. Would these be powerful enough and if not what would you recommend. budget of £600.

Thanks

Adrian

Those are cool shots. If your 600RX couldnt do this then a pair of 400s isnt going to either. I think an elinchrom ranger would be able to pull it off though. Or, you could do it in a barn, with a speedlight.

Shane thanks, my wallet was hoping you would not say that. Unfortunately the stables does not have a barn.

Looks like much of the work has been done for you

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1201626

adrian5127 wrote in post #15834224
Shane thanks, my wallet was hoping you would not say that. Unfortunately the stables does not have a barn.

Shoot at dusk?

Yeah you are looking at a minimum of 1200 watt seconds of portable studio strobes to get those kind of results if you want to use any sort of modifier. This sort of work is not a budget friendly endeavor.

adrian5127 wrote in post #15834224
Shane thanks, my wallet was hoping you would not say that. Unfortunately the stables does not have a barn.

The stables have a stable right? Shoot in there with your 600. Should be fine.

Foodguy wrote in post #15834325
Looks like much of the work has been done for you

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1201626

thanks i will have a look

JakAHearts wrote in post #15834381
The stables have a stable right? Shoot in there with your 600. Should be fine.

okay for headshots but a bit limited for whole body ones

There are trade offs - to really underexpose ambient you need to do one of the following - without going into budgetary concerns:

High speed sync - using HSS capable triggers with about 5-8 speedlites to illuminate for full body. This will help you push your shutter speed higher to kill some of the ambient light, and bring the speedlites more into becoming the main light. Be aware, however, this is going to cost money - so probably renting a few speedlites might work best for this.

More power - You'll need probably around 800-1,200 watts of power (depending on distance to your subject that your light is and your modifier of choice) to be able to overpower the ambient the way you want.

ND/8 stop gradual ND filters - can screw them on to the front of your lens element to help kill some ambient, but your light STILL has to overcome the ND filter, and a 600 RT probably won't be able to swing it. You still need power in this regard.

Shoot at later time of the day when light isn't so hard/harsh or shoot on a heavy overcast day.

Zansho wrote in post #15834585
There are trade offs - to really underexpose ambient you need to do one of the following - without going into budgetary concerns:

High speed sync - using HSS capable triggers with about 5-8 speedlites to illuminate for full body. This will help you push your shutter speed higher to kill some of the ambient light, and bring the speedlites more into becoming the main light. Be aware, however, this is going to cost money - so probably renting a few speedlites might work best for this.

More power - You'll need probably around 800-1,200 watts of power (depending on distance to your subject that your light is and your modifier of choice) to be able to overpower the ambient the way you want.

ND/8 stop gradual ND filters - can screw them on to the front of your lens element to help kill some ambient, but your light STILL has to overcome the ND filter, and a 600 RT probably won't be able to swing it. You still need power in this regard.

Shoot at later time of the day when light isn't so hard/harsh or shoot on a heavy overcast day.

ND filter part is only for using wider apertures and still be within max sync speed when using strobes. It can't lower ambient without lowering so should not be listed as an option.

Gents thanks

I think it is a combination of either shooting first or last thing. Today I was shooting around 1100 albeit it was cloudy and a stronger light source.

@Zansho I think in principal that would work but I don't want to many light sources, the more likely it is for the horse to knock something over.

@Foodguy thanks that link is very informative.

Practically speaking you want to get the ambient about two stops below proper exposure. Then figure out what kind of light you need on the subject to bring it up to proper exposure.

ISO, shutter speed and F stop work together for ambient. Since only F stop and ISO impact flash (presuming you can sync the camera shutter) keeping those as low and open as possible helps with flash power requirements. Being able to get the light close to the subject also helps.

You appear to be in UK. Lenscarta, is just bring to market some strobes that have IGBT control. If they have an H mode option that will be helpful. The H mode the manufacturer has implemented in other products work much the same way High Speed Sync does. There is a power compromise, but it may still prove useful.

bobbyz wrote in post #15834684
ND filter part is only for using wider apertures and still be within max sync speed when using strobes. It can't lower ambient without lowering so should not be listed as an option.

Unless you turn the strobe power up, Bobby. Who wants to shoot at F22?

That's why you need power for outdoor shots.

JakAHearts wrote in post #15835693
Unless you turn the strobe power up, Bobby. Who wants to shoot at F22?

That's precisely my point. You can STILL kill ambient with a ND filter, and push the power of your strobe higher to compensate, but you still gotta open up to help that strobe illuminate.

So yes, it's a viable option.