HS Wrestling Strobed

Oh, quick question for Elinchrom owners. I used the skyports for the first time and they worked great. I was concerned that they might not and so was prepared with my pocket wizards which have small cords with mini type plugs on the end. There was no inlet on the Elinchrom that would accept the plug. There is a synch socket, but it wouldn't go in. Is it a special cord I need?

Something like this Mark? Is this the plug on your lights?

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …inchrom_to_Mini​phone.html

I have Norman Monolights and fire them with PW's.

MDJAK wrote in post #9347991
Oh, quick question for Elinchrom owners. I used the skyports for the first time and they worked great. I was concerned that they might not and so was prepared with my pocket wizards which have small cords with mini type plugs on the end. There was no inlet on the Elinchrom that would accept the plug. There is a synch socket, but it wouldn't go in. Is it a special cord I need?

This, or something similar is the cable you need to hook up a PW to the 600RX. I like the one's with the 90 degree plug but straight on both ends works just fine. (Assuming they have not changed the configuration of the plug on the new versions of the 600's)

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …niphone_to_Mini​phone.html

Sledhed wrote in post #9348124
Something like this Mark? Is this the plug on your lights?

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …inchrom_to_Mini​phone.html

I have Norman Monolights and fire them with PW's.

That cable is the one you need for use with the Ranger packs. It won't work with the 600RX's.

MJPhotos24 wrote in post #9341994
Derek, gotta ask why use them at full power if they're too hot to begin with like I think these are? I'm not familiar with these but know if my AB's are too hot and I'm at a low ISO and the settings I want they're going down, not full (1600's though).

All of the reasons that Kevin stated. I can't stand motion blur in strobed shots, there's just no reason for it. He had plenty of room to change his setting to tame the lights a bit.

The biggest reason they look so hot is the relatively close distance and the fact that they were shot direct, not the power level. You just get bad reflections off of spandex leotards when you use direct flash. It would have helped if the lights were farther back, but there still would have been the issue. That's why I always bounce if I can. The light just looks so much better and you don't get those hot specks.

MDJAK wrote in post #9347951
I want to truly thank everyone here for your comments. What a great group of guys. I don't hang out in the sports section enough. I've learned more from this post than I could have hoped for. I will read your posts again and again. I think the next match is on the 12th. I'll definitely change settings and see what happens.

mark

Play around and take some notes. Try the lights one way for a while, then another way. Just be sure you know how you had them set up each time so you know what works best for you!

You're going to love the strobes. The 10-15 minutes it may take to set them up is nothing compared to all of the time it saves you in post. That and those beautiful colors!

mine are pc to mini, that's why they didn't work. Thank you.

Question: Is there motion blur in my photos? I'm a total noobie when it comes to this and so I really appreciate the harshest critique here.

Next time I'm going to try my best to attach the stands to the top of the grandstands. That will place them at least 20-30 feet back from the edge of the mat. I will be shooting toward the scorer's table if I can do that. And I will aim them up toward the ceiling (which has horizontal beams across it) and see if it adequately lights the mat at full power.

In this gym, they turn the lights completely off and the mat is lit by a big ring light.

mark

Derek, I just read the Wikipedia article on Captain Speicher, a true American hero. Thanks for having that link in your signature.

mark

MDJAK wrote in post #9348338
mine are pc to mini, that's why they didn't work. Thank you.

Question: Is there motion blur in my photos? I'm a total noobie when it comes to this and so I really appreciate the harshest critique here.

Next time I'm going to try my best to attach the stands to the top of the grandstands. That will place them at least 20-30 feet back from the edge of the mat. I will be shooting toward the scorer's table if I can do that. And I will aim them up toward the ceiling (which has horizontal beams across it) and see if it adequately lights the mat at full power.

In this gym, they turn the lights completely off and the mat is lit by a big ring light.

mark

Just a bit of noticeable blur in the outer limbs. The blur can cause shots to look a little soft, but not really be all that noticeable. I prefer to reduce the chance of it happening altogether. Luckily, wrestling isn't all that much of motion-heavy sports. Lots of lying around.

Sounds like a very cool set-up for the gym lights. I always try avoid shooting the strobes at the scorer's table as much as possible. They are literally the only ones that I've had mention that the strobes distracted them.

MDJAK wrote in post #9348369
Derek, I just read the Wikipedia article on Captain Speicher, a true American hero. Thanks for having that link in your signature.

mark

Glad to spread the word. Not enough people have heard the story.

This may be of interest to some. I posted on my blog last week, how I shoot wrestling with strobes.
http://blog.davehoffma​nnphoto.com …2/wrestling-with-strobes/

Gatorboy wrote in post #9350328
This may be of interest to some. I posted on my blog last week, how I shoot wrestling with strobes.
http://blog.davehoffma​nnphoto.com …2/wrestling-with-strobes/

Nice writeup Dave. What strobes are you using that have a 1/3300 flash duration?

DDCSD wrote in post #9348286
All of the reasons that Kevin stated. I can't stand motion blur in strobed shots, there's just no reason for it. He had plenty of room to change his setting to tame the lights a bit.

The biggest reason they look so hot is the relatively close distance and the fact that they were shot direct, not the power level. You just get bad reflections off of spandex leotards when you use direct flash. It would have helped if the lights were farther back, but there still would have been the issue. That's why I always bounce if I can. The light just looks so much better and you don't get those hot specks.

Wrestlers wear singlets - not leotards!

True, same reason I bounce - only would use direct if they could get in the rafters and farther away.

Big K wrote in post #9351680
Nice writeup Dave. What strobes are you using that have a 1/3300 flash duration?

I'm quoting the t.5 time of the Alien Bee B800 -- I quickly went to the alien bee site to find the duration. Perhaps I should use the t.1 time of 1/1100 instead.

Gatorboy wrote in post #9353100
I'm quoting the t.5 time of the Alien Bee B800 -- I quickly went to the alien bee site to find the duration. Perhaps I should use the t.1 time of 1/1100 instead.

Thanks for the info. I was not familiar with the durations of the AB's so that is good to know. As far as listing t.5 or t.1, I am guessing 90% of the people would not know the difference without you having to post another story explaining it.

Again, nice write up and excellent results.

Gatorboy wrote in post #9350328
This may be of interest to some. I posted on my blog last week, how I shoot wrestling with strobes.
http://blog.davehoffma​nnphoto.com …2/wrestling-with-strobes/

That was very, very good. Thank you.

Big K wrote in post #9353202
Thanks for the info. I was not familiar with the durations of the AB's so that is good to know. As far as listing t.5 or t.1, I am guessing 90% of the people would not know the difference without you having to post another story explaining it.

Again, nice write up and excellent results.

Yep, and PCB is the only one that lists the t.1.


Great write-up Dave!