I might Steve... what's the difference between that and the built in diffuser on the SB-900?
stompyq
Well-known
You don't need a fong diffuser (also don't give your money to that duchebag). The bottom of the case the flash is in has a diffuser that you can clip on to the flash. Considering your only going to be able to do on camera iTTL flash either bounce or put on the diffuser and dial down the flash power like I told you.
MrFujicaman
Well-known
And now you understand my saying-"save the whales-shoot the stupid people!"
The need to keep your hands free is why my buddy Jeff and I always wore backpacks when we rode the PATCO train from NJ into Philadelphia. Somebody with their hands full is an easy mark for thugs.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
If I have a camera in hand it is secured to my hand and is ready to be driven into an eye socket of any attacker.
BTW there is yet another new slasher in the news. Over a year ago it was sucker punching old women. The last perp slashed a 71 year old women.
BTW I grew up in the 70's and I believe in street justice. The Asian part of me says it is not an eye for and eye: I take two eyes.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Fashion Show Update: Early last week the show got sold out and then the size was increased from 200 atendees to 225. The extra 25 seats got filled within an hour.
It seems that this show has gotten a lot of buzz, and lately there has been a surge from others in the fashion world that expressed that they wish they had been able to participate.
Expect 19-20 models. I found out that only 20 tables will fit so it will be crowded. Eileen Fisher donated a bag with a scarf and $250.00 dollar gift card that will be raffled off to one of the attendees. Also the food is more like snacks: pistactio's; boutique popcorn (Pip-Corn from Brooklyn- Sharktank), Clementines...
Anyways the one thing I learned from trying to do fashion photography is the pace is unbelieveably fast and there are so many missed shots, but when you get a good one it is beyond great.
I'm getting the SB-910 delivery today. Anyways expect mucho crazy excitment that is kinda surreal and frenzied. No way to be totally ready... It seems that "Maggie" like the look of the 50 Lux "E60" although she did mention that the Noct-Nikkor was more romantic in rendering. I think I like the overall sharpness of the "E60" that does the sharp to soft very well. While not so modern also not a retro look like the Noct-Nikkor.
Cal
It seems that this show has gotten a lot of buzz, and lately there has been a surge from others in the fashion world that expressed that they wish they had been able to participate.
Expect 19-20 models. I found out that only 20 tables will fit so it will be crowded. Eileen Fisher donated a bag with a scarf and $250.00 dollar gift card that will be raffled off to one of the attendees. Also the food is more like snacks: pistactio's; boutique popcorn (Pip-Corn from Brooklyn- Sharktank), Clementines...
Anyways the one thing I learned from trying to do fashion photography is the pace is unbelieveably fast and there are so many missed shots, but when you get a good one it is beyond great.
I'm getting the SB-910 delivery today. Anyways expect mucho crazy excitment that is kinda surreal and frenzied. No way to be totally ready... It seems that "Maggie" like the look of the 50 Lux "E60" although she did mention that the Noct-Nikkor was more romantic in rendering. I think I like the overall sharpness of the "E60" that does the sharp to soft very well. While not so modern also not a retro look like the Noct-Nikkor.
Cal
dshfoto
Well-known
The Sto-Fen and the Gary Wong products provide a softer light, because they allow the light to reflect off of multiple surfaces in the environment. The last physics course I had was in 1962, so my explanation may lack a little technical precision. The built in diffuser is just trying to defocus the light, but the others provide like a sphere or larger diffuse light source, plus bounce from a lot of surfaces. So you kind of go from a point light source, with extreme highlights and shadows to a much larger light source, and not just from one single point, but from the surface reflections as well. Much softer.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Steve,
Jeff I think uses this diffuser. It makes sense to me that with a powerful flash the only thing you can loose by diffusing the light is added cycle time.
Anyways shooting a fashion event is kinda like going shooting during a natural disaster where you kinda have to be prepared. I have to say that I am both anxious, terrified and a bit scared. I never did something like this before except perhaps that shotgun wedding in Jersey City. Anyways I'm sure it will be an exciting and crazy day.
"Maggie" says, "I can't wait till it is over." LOL. How did a pop-up fashion show suddenly happen in Lincoln Center one week before NYC's Fashion Week? Anyways on my end it is all so surreal. Anyways I'm getting rather widely known as a photographer via Maggie's blog. This weeks posts feature the 50 Lux "E60." Check out the unique rendering.
Anyways now "Maggie" is getting serious invites to model some high end designers, and she already has invites to attend shows at NYC's Fashion Week. So far I'm not included.
Printing Update: I bought $150.00 worth of Muji acrylic sandwitch frames. I discovered that only the two largest sizes work for me; the largest size I will reserve for my landscape work; and the next smaller size seems to be perfect for 12.64 X 19.0 image size with nearly an inch of white border. On the larger landscape prints there is room for a 2 inch border, but the image size is an odd 17 X 25 1/2 (2x3 aspect ratio). Of course for the landscape prints I need the 7800 to print on larger papers.
I have serious "Pizzawheeling" going on the Canson papers. The only workaround is utilize the 7800 which has a vacuum platen for the paper transport. The Canson papers are mucho warm, and the Jon Cone Type 5 I have been using is much cooler in tone. I think I love the glossier look of the Canson papers.
Seeing these prints framed in yet another transformation. Like the luxury housing market in Madhattan my logic is if I print it someone will buy it. LOL.
Anyways I've been off the past few days running errands. I can't believe how large my 650 square foot apartment feels so huge. LOL.
Cal
Particular
a.k.a. CNNY, disassembler
Steve and John,
I think the physics says that the closer the light source is to the subject, and the larger the area of the light is, the softer the edges will be. I'm not sure bouncing will have much effect in a large hall. I think it works best for rooms with white ceilings. In the case of the fashion show, increasing the surface area is the only thing you can do to improve the look other than changing the location of the light.
I of course don't have any experience with any of this.
I think the physics says that the closer the light source is to the subject, and the larger the area of the light is, the softer the edges will be. I'm not sure bouncing will have much effect in a large hall. I think it works best for rooms with white ceilings. In the case of the fashion show, increasing the surface area is the only thing you can do to improve the look other than changing the location of the light.
I of course don't have any experience with any of this.
Yeah, me too. And flash scares me too...
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Light fall off is "inverse square law." Half the distance and you get four times the amount of light. My thinking is that diffusion is an asset the closer you get because light gets more diffuse as a function of distance.
In my first Masters I learned about three point lighting for video and movie film. The direct lighting offers definition and edges. If I were to shoot with a fill flash I likely would add a diffuser to soften and attenuate the light, but for my "key" light I would want those hard edges.
On Fashion Night out, when I went against all the advice shooting 220 Velvia 50 ISO slide film at night relying on TTL metering to save the day (night), the subject illumination made for daring contrast where my models emerged from darkness for a WeeGee like effect. A second offset fill flash just would of brought in some more background perhaps in more of a vignette, but it also would of softened some of the edges offered by my "key" light.
I forgot that I did a lot of lighting in a TV broadcast studio. The world of fashion also kinda reminds me of when I was a news reporter for a Long Island cable channel. There are moments of intensity because everything is so timely. The worse is when we were short handed and I basically had to do a "one man band" where I was dragging around an $80K Ikegami pro broadcast camera, a 1 inch U-Matic tape deck the size of an oscillascope, and a $30K Sackler tripod with a fluid head while wearing a suit. Anyways as the one man band I was the videographer and the reporter sent out to cover a news story by myself that would be broadcast later that night. Crazy stuff.
Many-many "Calzone" moments. One time I almost fell out of a rear machine gun port on a WWII B-17 bomber as the hot rod Texas pilot banked a surprise steeply banked turn by the Jone's Beach water tower. Came pretty close of dropping an $80K video camera from a moving plane to avoid getting killed as my pilot buzzed the beachgoers. Boarding the B-17 with the props turning and the engines smoking was like the ending from "Casa Blanca." My position for take off and landing was wedging myself behind the pilot's seat. Not exactly a safe place to be in a plane crash.
Another scary thing about being on this plane is that the skin of the plane is about as thin a flexi as a beer can. I was directed to only walk on this gangway that went fore and aft. Basically I one wrong step and my foot would punch through the fuse-lodge. Those men in WWII were both brave and crazy.
Been at a crime scene where I almost had to use the Ikegami as a weapon to protect myself.
Cal
In my first Masters I learned about three point lighting for video and movie film. The direct lighting offers definition and edges. If I were to shoot with a fill flash I likely would add a diffuser to soften and attenuate the light, but for my "key" light I would want those hard edges.
On Fashion Night out, when I went against all the advice shooting 220 Velvia 50 ISO slide film at night relying on TTL metering to save the day (night), the subject illumination made for daring contrast where my models emerged from darkness for a WeeGee like effect. A second offset fill flash just would of brought in some more background perhaps in more of a vignette, but it also would of softened some of the edges offered by my "key" light.
I forgot that I did a lot of lighting in a TV broadcast studio. The world of fashion also kinda reminds me of when I was a news reporter for a Long Island cable channel. There are moments of intensity because everything is so timely. The worse is when we were short handed and I basically had to do a "one man band" where I was dragging around an $80K Ikegami pro broadcast camera, a 1 inch U-Matic tape deck the size of an oscillascope, and a $30K Sackler tripod with a fluid head while wearing a suit. Anyways as the one man band I was the videographer and the reporter sent out to cover a news story by myself that would be broadcast later that night. Crazy stuff.
Many-many "Calzone" moments. One time I almost fell out of a rear machine gun port on a WWII B-17 bomber as the hot rod Texas pilot banked a surprise steeply banked turn by the Jone's Beach water tower. Came pretty close of dropping an $80K video camera from a moving plane to avoid getting killed as my pilot buzzed the beachgoers. Boarding the B-17 with the props turning and the engines smoking was like the ending from "Casa Blanca." My position for take off and landing was wedging myself behind the pilot's seat. Not exactly a safe place to be in a plane crash.
Another scary thing about being on this plane is that the skin of the plane is about as thin a flexi as a beer can. I was directed to only walk on this gangway that went fore and aft. Basically I one wrong step and my foot would punch through the fuse-lodge. Those men in WWII were both brave and crazy.
Been at a crime scene where I almost had to use the Ikegami as a weapon to protect myself.
Cal
Particular
a.k.a. CNNY, disassembler
I don't think there will be much opportunity to do a 'Hollywood' lighting arrangement at the fashion show. I think fashion in general has moved to the direct lighting look, with a soft light close to the camera. Hence the use of ring flashes for portraiture. For the true weegee look, we can ask our local bulb flash expert (Dan). I think the size of the bulb dish contributes to it looking different than a typical electronic flash.
Btw, how ugly will the room lighting be? It shouldn't be too ugly, because that is how the audience will see the clothes. I bet you guys with fancy high ISO cameras, and fast lenses should be able to get pretty decent results going commando.
Btw, how ugly will the room lighting be? It shouldn't be too ugly, because that is how the audience will see the clothes. I bet you guys with fancy high ISO cameras, and fast lenses should be able to get pretty decent results going commando.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Christian,
Hopefully it is not industrial Mercury Arc lighting. LOL.
BTW high ISO to me is around 800. LOL.
The problem is for the Art Director sometimes "Commando" is not good. LOL.
If it were up to me I'd shoot the show with my 28/1.4 wide open for those head-to-toe shots which I think is the best lens for the job being an indoor venue. The Art Director "Maggie" does not understand that the 10-12 feet required with a 50 or 58mm lens is hard to achieve in a crowded venue.
Meanwhile I take all these cell phone pictures that she loves that are basically a wide angle lens with about a 28mm FOV.
Cal
You have one of those too now sir. Yeah, I'm going to try it both ways depending on the light. I just don't want to go there and not get something.
stompyq
Well-known
This is what you need
http://super.nova.org/DPR/DIY01/
It's amazingly good for what it is and I've used mine on many occasions where bouncing the light is not an option.
http://super.nova.org/DPR/DIY01/
It's amazingly good for what it is and I've used mine on many occasions where bouncing the light is not an option.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
John,
It seems like designers and such are always looking for good photographers to exploit. Basically these are non paying gigs dealing with people when they are craziest and under pressure like last minute deadlines.
I would be surprised if you didn't get solicited. Kinda fun dealing with creatives, it is a cool way to meet a lot of creative people, and it is a compelling situation, but also know it can be disruptive and not so relaxed.
For me it broke me out of a rut and I'm doing things I might not have pursued like flash and color. It seems that some of my photography that I perform for "Maggie" somehow is looked upon as art photography by her followers.
Anyways this style of shooting is not easy. Definitely made me into a different kinda shooter.
Cal
Cal, no doubt it'll be fun and maybe somewhat annoying, but I just wish I knew more about what the place looked like and what equipment would be best. I guess I'll show up with a 28,50,58, 85mm and a flash.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
John,
One of the upgrades to the SB-910 are these filters instead of gel holders to match different lighting.
The aftermarket diffusers soften the light make the light less of a single point source. Pro-Mone's link really explains well the key/fill dual lighting. I might get a flash bracket to elevate mine. Also consider that for fashion about 95% of my shots are verticals for that head-to-toe shot. I very seldom use a landscape shot, but to cover the event I'm sure I will utilize more landscapes shots to cover the event.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
John,
No doubt I'll be in a panic mode kinda overwelmed by a lot of things I can't control. That's what makes things exciting. LOL.
I'll be bringing 28, 50 and 58.
So far at home Maggie has been contained. It is a bit of a whirlwind meeting and dealing with all these people. 19-20 models alone, a few make-up artists, possible a hair artist, 10 designers, panelists, and then 225 in the audience.
All this one week before NYC Fashion Week which could be even more crazy. Hope I'm not overwelming you, but that's where we are going. LOL. I can assure you that it will be kinda surreal and kinda blurry.
Also know that Maggie thinks we should be there around 3:00 PM.
Cal
Well, you know 75% of my photography is vertical.