Studio Flash - A First Timer's Guide Please?

So the time is coming where I need to make my first visit to a studio and get my hands on all the kit for a play about.

Actually I will be taking photos of a friend's child, but I have booked an extra hour upfront to play.

I went to see the studio today and the chap was extremely happy and very patient at explaining things to a newb like me. He's got all the stuff, four Bowens heads, four rolls of Colourama, light meter, radio flash trigger and a safe sync if I want a cable instead.

All well and good, but he said one thing that he couldn't offer up any help on as he uses Nikons. He said I would need to figure out how to manually set the camera to trigger external flash.

I figured I would just plug-in the hot shoe, set the camera to manual and punch in the numbers on light meter. Or is there something else I need to know (I'll be using the 300d)?

Also, any advice on posing your subjects, backgrounds, angles and lenses (as well as controlling a two year old child) all gratefully received!

The session is in a couple of weeks, so I'll post some results (as long as they are not THAT bad) once I'm done!

Cheers!

Right. If you're going to be using his equipment, have him help you set it up, put your cam on "M" @ less than 1/200 sec, & shoot a test at the meters suggested f-stop & work from there. Custom WB!
"controlling a two year old child" Be ready before he gets there as his attention span will probably be about 3 sec. Enough time for 600 shots at 1/200! Let the parent control him/her. You distract in between.
Parent probably has pics they like. Ask to see them, & work from there 1st. If you have a good rapport with the child & got some CYA shots, then you can experiment.
Good luck.

I suspect you could spend months learning this stuff Andy! If you find any good resources i'd love to see them too.

Best way to learn is to dive in and try it out. You can read stuff till your brain is spinning but it wont make sense until you do it. My tip would be to use a fairly simple lighting setup and with a two year old, have lots of toys and things around. The Bowens re-cycle very fast so you can let the child be natural and snap away. If he starts to be un co-operative, take 5 and come back. Dont expect him/her to pose.

Use the meter as a starting point. 1/200th at f8 is a good one to aim for as it gives you a bit of latitude on focus. shoot some test shots of a teddy or something to try different exposure and lighting setups. I would go wireless as with kids, one less cable is one less accident waiting to happen.

All good advice...thanks fellas!

Does anyone know about firing the studio flash? Will just connecting the kit to my 300d and putting in manual mode trigger it, or do I need to do something else?

One way to connect is using an adapter that slides into your hotshoe and provides a PC cord connection. Then connect a PC cord from the adapter to the first flash unit. The possible problem here is the trigger voltage of the flash unit that you connect the cord to. If it's above 6 volts, use a Wein Safe-Sync instead of a plain hotshoe/PC adapter. It will keep the camera safe.

The other way to connect, since the studio has a radio trigger system, is to use that. I suspect that goes into the hotshoe. If it has to plug in to the camera, you have the same connection and trigger voltage situation as above. The radio trigger will eliminate cords between the camera and the lights, though.

I would use the camera in manual mode, use a meter to check the level of the flash unit(s), and set the camera's aperture accordingly. The shutter speed needs to be set at or slower than the maximum sync speed (1/200 or slower, I think). You will likely want to modify the output of the flash unit(s) so that you can choose the aperture setting you want for the effect you're looking for, such as controlling the depth of field.

Learning to control the light for total effect - how soft or sharp the lighting effect is, how much fill, what to light and what to leave dark, etc., etc., is what's going to take a lot of time.

If you get at all serious about doing studio type work, you probably would do well to invest in a system of your own rather than spending money for renting. Your setup doesn't need to be fancy at first. I would suggest you look to AlienBees for your first lights. Stands, modifiers such as umbrellas or softboxes, and other items, could come from other sources. The AB lights, though, are a real good value and are very flexible to use in different ways.

Is the trigger voltage the voltage that the camera puts out to trigger the flash, or is it the other way around? I can't really work out why the flash would generate a voltage that might damage a camera.

Tim

Almost all camera's dont put out a voltage on the pc socket or hotshoe ( just ones that you could plug in a flash bulb> very old now) The pc socket/hotshoe is just a switch contact.. on older camera's it was a pair of contacts that the lens closed at sync these could get burned over time with the high voltages that older flash units used...On modern cameras its a electronic switch either a thryristor or a triac that does the switching these are the ones that you have to be carefull of with regards to overvoltage/over current on unsuitable flash units

Ian

Thanks Ian for that info. I will have to remember that. You learn something new all the time on this forum.

If the Bowens units you are hiring are like mine, they have a sync voltage of 20 Volts so wither use a Wein Safesync or use the wireless trigger (most have very low voltage syncs). With kids in the studio I would always go wireless!

I'd keep them in a box or bag & only take one out when you need it. It's like training a dog (same intelligence/curiosity level).

Thanks Skip, they have both a SafeSync and the Bowens radio trigger - although he did say that the radio didn't always fire the flash heads.

Thanks Chris, wireless does sound like the best way to go...it's quite a small studio and there's enough for young legs to trip over without more cables!

So literally I just slap the radio trigger on, set to M and the flash will work right? I don't need to find some hidden setting in the camera or anything? As I said, the tog who owns it said he has to manually set for external flash (but then he does use a Nikon, so what do you expect )

PhotosGuy wrote:
I'd keep them in a box or bag & only take one out when you need it. It's like training a dog (same intelligence/curiosity level).

You, sir, are a genuis! And if not a father already will make a damn fine one

Thanks, but not true! But I've shot a LOT of kids through the years! Dogs, too.

Unless you use the wein safe sync you don't have a PC plug on you 300D but the safe sync does. I would use the radio trigger, no worry about voltage if you are not hard wired to the flashes. I've have a 300D put the safe sync or radio on your hot shoe and start shooting.

If you have never used a light meter before have someone go over that with you in detail.

Have fun, you'll enjoy the shoot and the quality you'll get with off camera flashes.

Thanks Ian, that's very useful information