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Light Modifiers

In one of the forums that I frequently visit, there have been quite a few threads popping out asking about diffusers or light modifiers for on-cam flash guns, and you’ll read about some posters highly recommending one over another and pretty much all are denouncing the use of the flashgun without a modifier of some sort. Sadly, many after-market diffuser users are fed with marketing hype that feed on some buyers’ inadequate knowledge in flash usage, and mainly, how light works, in general.

Truth to be told, many flash modifiers work well when you have no surface to bounce the light off or you’re forced to fire it straight-on. However, almost none of them are worth their cost as you can make your own for just a few bucks or tinker with your flash’s power output and built-in diffusing panels to get the same result. Continue Reading

For those of us who shoot with off-camera flash while using a light modifier such as an umbrella or softbox, we’re bound to encounter the issue of having the flash not on axis with the modifier. Oftentimes, the bracket that holds the flash and modifier together are separated by at least 4-6″ of vertical space with the flash firing downwards at an angle towards the umbrella.

If we’re using a large modifier, such as a 60″ umbrella, the problem is less pronounced, or if the flash is far enough from the area where the light will be reflecting on. However, with smaller (<40″) umbrellas, the discrepancy of light hitting the top and the bottom of the umbrella will be quite visible. Continue Reading

Technorati Tags: off-camera flash, umbrella

Together with the LumoPro LP604 5-Section Lightstand I reviewed a little earlier, the Westcott 43″ collapsible soft-silver umbrella was also a purchase made with portability in mind. This umbrella can be purchased from the good folks in Midwest Photo Exchange.

Unlike standard umbrellas that has a solid center pole, the Westcott has a two-section center column and the umbrella itself has collapsible stems that allows the umbrella to fold down to a measly 15″ compared to a normal umbrella’s 30+ inches.

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Just received my LumoPro LP604 5-section lightstand (part#LUM5000) from the folks at Midwest Photo Exchange.

I needed another lightstand and I wanted one I can lug around in a “normal” bag in a fairly regular basis and my generic, China lightstand is just too long and bulky to carry around. I tried to find a good bag to fit the generic light stand and the only ones that can fit the generic lightstand are mountaineering backpacks that cost quite a bit. I found one bag that I really liked but it costs over $200 USD, which is quite a silly route to take as the bag is quite big, let alone, expensive. Continue Reading

In this article, we are going to attempt to mimic the traditional 3-light (key, fill, and hair light) setup for portraits with just a single light source. By “one light”, I don’t mean a single light positioned at the usual 45-degree or 90-degree to the subject kind of light. Continue Reading

Just a quick post for this one, supplementing our original Controlling the Direction of Light article, as we attempt to replicate moody, window light with a camera-mounted flash.

One of our many goals of controlling the direction of our light is to be able to replicate natural light without sacrificing shutter speed and/or noise. For artificial lighting, it’s best to use an external light source that’s not mounted on the camera, but in many event coverage or casual home shooting, we don’t have the luxury of whipping out our lighting equipment to simulate the mood and direction of natural window light, especially in small, tight quarters. Continue Reading

I’m just adding some practical, daytime and indoor examples with the same (human) subject for this topic. If you haven’t done so, please read Part 1 and Part 2 of this article before continuing.

First of all, I’d like to thank Nick for replacing my stuffed horse as a subject during our lunch break.

Here is a set of photos shot indoors. The camera was set to program mode and the pop-up flash was left at 0-flash compensation. Let’s play around with the camera’s exposure first – remember that this affects the ambient light. Continue Reading