A day full of experiments.....

So I've seen those shots with the black background and it made me want to try. But it seemed a little out of range with a single 430EX II....and a white card!
But then I remembered that I actually DO have another strobe...... but it's normally used underwater......an Inon D-180. Well, after checking around a bit I found guide numbers quoted for both underwater, and on land, so I decided that I might just be able to use it without breaking it topside. If nothing else it was fun. A cheap black sheet for a backdrop and see what happens.

So...... my daughter....

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No comments one way or the other huh?

Oh well. Good job the wife *says* she likes them!

Watch your white balance. Way too much red IMO on 1 & 3.

angryhampster wrote in post #6532737
Watch your white balance. Way too much red IMO on 1 & 3.

Now you come to mention it, I left it on auto..... Probably pretty dumb.

Also I shot these as Jpegs. It would probably make more sense to shoot in RAW like this.

Thanks for pointing it out!

I like the way to use the Inon as the kicker light to create separation from the background, though on 1and 3, it's a bit too hot. To make it easier to figure out what power to use with the strobe without a light meter, keep the aperture on the camera constant as you play with the setting and position on the strobe.

The main light is also a bit flat. Once you get the 430 off camera too, it will be better and more fun.

Keep up the good work.

I agree with the above. One thing you can do until you manage to get the 430 off camera is you can bounce it off a wall or get a piece of foam core (cheap) and bounce it off of that. Position it off to one side (opposite side from the kicker) and point the 430 at it with it angled enough to bounce light onto the subjects. You may need to monkey with the zoom angle on the flash head to optimize how it hits the foam core/wall but this will get you better modeling light.

Dermit wrote in post #6533786
I agree with the above. One thing you can do until you manage to get the 430 off camera is you can bounce it off a wall or get a piece of foam core (cheap) and bounce it off of that. Position it off to one side (opposite side from the kicker) and point the 430 at it with it angled enough to bounce light onto the subjects. You may need to monkey with the zoom angle on the flash head to optimize how it hits the foam core/wall but this will get you better modeling light.

Yes...yesterday I only had a piece of white card on the flash. I'm hoping the softbox thing will help, but yes....using a more pronounced reflector off to the side for bounce might work better than the card!
I'll give it another go at the weekend using the advice so far, and post the results back. What's best to use for reflection....white card, or silver/metal...like oven foil?

White will be less harsh/more soft. Keep in mind that I mention an off-axis bounce to try and get rid of the flat light. If you leave the flash on camera and just bounce off a white card strapped to the flash it will soften the light but it will still be somewhat flat.. depending on the direction you are aiming the flash. The idea here would be to hold a big white panel to one side of the subject, aim the flash at it in such a way that the bounced light reflects back onto the subject at a different angle as the view from the camera. Keep in mind that this requires your flash to work harder so you may need to open the aperture, or kick up the ISO to compentsate. If you don't have a big white panel, position the subject near a white/neutral wall and bounce off that.