Outdoor shoot, need help (strobe question)

Hi all

I have a shoot outside tomorrow in bright sunlight, I was thinking of taking out my new strobe for the day (first time outside with a strobe :confused

my question for you guys is, do I place the model in the shade when using a strobe? I could imagine that it would be very hard to control the light hitting the model, if theres allready harsh sunlight hitting her, not to say the skin tones would be all messed up.

how do you experienced folk do it?

- Nick

Putting the model in the shade, with properly applied fill flash, will generally yield more pleasing images than shooting under mid-day sun.

A little practice beforehand is highly recommended.

Curtis N wrote in post #2922756
Putting the model in the shade, with properly applied fill flash, will generally yield more pleasing images than shooting under mid-day sun.

A little practice beforehand is highly recommended.

Thank you for your quick response

The shoot is strictly practice, one of my friends agreed to come and be my test subject
I really want to learn to use outside lighting with strobes, the results ive seen from people on this forum is amazing

- Nick

If this is a practice/experiment session, then try a variety of locations. Some in the shade, some in the sun, at various angles to the sun.

You can also investigate the high speed sync function of your flash. I gave some suggested starting points in this post. Pay attention to the distance scale on your flash when you use HSS, since your range will be limited.

Curtis N wrote in post #2924026
If this is a practice/experiment session, then try a variety of locations. Some in the shade, some in the sun, at various angles to the sun.

You can also investigate the high speed sync function of your flash. I gave some suggested starting points in this post. Pay attention to the distance scale on your flash when you use HSS, since your range will be limited.

HSS on a normal strobe? never heard of that before.

I will try all the angles that comes to mind

- Nick

DayHawk wrote in post #2922579
Hi all

I have a shoot outside tomorrow in bright sunlight, I was thinking of taking out my new strobe for the day (first time outside with a strobe :confused

my question for you guys is, do I place the model in the shade when using a strobe? I could imagine that it would be very hard to control the light hitting the model, if theres allready harsh sunlight hitting her, not to say the skin tones would be all messed up.

how do you experienced folk do it?

- Nick

If there's any possible way I want my subjects to be in the shade and facing away from the sun. I don't care how much power your flash has it will be next to impossible to fill in shadows if bright daylight is hitting parts of her face.

I should also be obvious that you don't want the subject looking into the direction of the sun either or they'll just squint. For wedding groups I know of a few parks that will give me a shady treeline and the sun will be behind and over the subject's head, assuming that I do the groups at this location between 4-6 o'clock.

The potential problem with this is flare, and I use a bellows lens shade to avoid it. The shades that come with a lens are better than nothing but aren't nearly as long as they should be. Obviously if it's a zoom the shade cannot be allowed to vignette at the lenses' shortest focal length. Then you have to wonder about the effectiveness of that kind of shade at longer focal lengths.

In any case I use the bellow lens shade and extend it until it's just this side of vignetting for a specific focal length. I don't have the flexibility to zoom back and forth, at least without readjusting the bellows, but flare prevention is critically important I don't see how I could do otherwise.

I am using the Lee bellows lens shade now. I have a Lindahl that I used with my Mamiya 645 film camera but it's far too heavy for the more delicate Canon lenses. The Lee is self supporting and very light, and although it's less expensive than the Lindahl the build quality is far superior. You will need specific mounting rings for your different lenses, but they are available.

Now assuming that you aren't going to rush out and buy one right away, my suggestion for your shot tomorrow having a friend hold a big card to shade the lens. The main thing is to keep direct sunlight off of the front element of your lens.

If the model is in the sun, you'll need an exposure of about 1/200; f/11 at ISO 100. Faster then sync speed isn't possible with a strobe, so the only way to get a blurred background would be shooting in the shade, or using an ND filter on the lens. Which would require quite a bit of flash power...

René Damkot wrote in post #2931460
Faster then sync speed isn't possible with a strobe, so the only way to get a blurred background would be shooting in the shade, or using an ND filter on the lens. Which would require quite a bit of flash power...

If you use an ND filter or polarizer and compensate for the light loss with a wider aperture, the effective distance of the flash would remain unchanged.

DaveG wrote in post #2930594
I should also be obvious that you don't want the subject looking into the direction of the sun either or they'll just squint.

It all depends on the ability of your model to keep a straight face with the sun in their eyes. My eight year old can do it, but she loves to pose.

I have her close her eyes while I pose her face and then set up. When I give the word she opens her eyes and I get one shot. If I miss it I need to wait a while due to watery eyes.

I like to have the sun light move sideways across the eyes when possible. It really lights them up nicely. Here are two examples

In regards to the technical side of the flash, stick with Curtis. He knows his stuff. I just keep pressing the + and - until I think I have it.

Curtis N wrote in post #2931560
If you use an ND filter or polarizer and compensate for the light loss with a wider aperture, the effective distance of the flash would remain unchanged.

Off course, I meant shooting in the shade would need less flash power...
To the OP: You might also want to consider a reflector or diffuser. Works very well. Have a look here.

Thank you all for the replies and help guys, it came out ok (would post some samples but the model has asked me not to)

the main problem I found was measuring, how do you do it? I kinda guessed my way too it

it was alot of fun, and I will defenetly use my strobe alot more, come this summer

- Nick

solinger wrote in post #2931587
In regards to the technical side of the flash, stick with Curtis. He knows his stuff. I just keep pressing the + and - until I think I have it.

That's what I do too!

solinger wrote in post #2931579
It all depends on the ability of your model to keep a straight face with the sun in their eyes. My eight year old can do it, but she loves to pose.

I have her close her eyes while I pose her face and then set up. When I give the word she opens her eyes and I get one shot. If I miss it I need to wait a while due to watery eyes.

I like to have the sun light move sideways across the eyes when possible. It really lights them up nicely. Here are two examples

Same method for these. Just closed her eyes until I was set up and then opened them at the last minute.

You don't really think you can convince us that this is 'your eight year old' do you? You aren't going to reply "A lot of people remark that she looks mature for her age", are you?

Wilt,

No, that's not Sam's 8-year-old, but Lexi is just as beautiful.
Take a look here.