Lighting 101: It's Not (All) About Flash

Guess what? You made it all the way through Lighting 101. This is the last lesson. And you are probably a little stoked about your new-found skills. You might even already be playing with your starter kit. (If not, you are totally ready to.)So I am going to suggest something to you that may sound a little strange:It's not about flash. Photo-graphy...

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Hook a Pocket Wizard to Any Hot-shoe Flash

Two readers, Alan and Nick, have sent in this useful tip for anyone wanting to hook up a Pocket Wizard to a hot-shoe flash. Any hot-shoe flash. Even a Canon hot-shoe flash.The PW-MHSF1 Miniphone to Hot Shoe Female cord connects the receiver directly to a hot-shoe on those PC-deprived Canon strobes. (You listening, Canon Honcho Chuck Westfall???)They...

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On Assignment: Simple Wall/Snoot Portrait

The longer I play with my small strobes, the more I graduate away from soft light.There is a time and a place for the umbrellas. But, increasingly, I find myself using hard light. More specifically, I find myself using restricted beam light.Hard light has a bad rap, as we talked about in Lighting 101. The trick is controlling the ratio of the strobe's...

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On Assignment: Dealing with TV's and CRT's

A little while back I was assigned to photograph the CEO of a television network which shall remain nameless. We'll just refer to them cryptically as The "D" Channel.I shot the CEO near a bank of TV's, and I want to take this opportunity to talk about some of the problems and solutions for dealing with the little buggars. (TV's, not CEO's.)There are...

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Found: Vintage Nikon Flash Heaven

Ain't the web great? I spent a little time Googling "Nikon SB-24" and some other models, looking for a site that might have a little chart comparing them, and came across a wonderful Nikon fan site run by a guy in Malaysia. It has a full page dedicated to each of the flashes in the Nikon family tree.It has detailed descriptions of all of the older Nikon flashes that you can use when you are cruising eBay for some bargain off-camera lumens and photons.Below are several direct links to many of the most appropriate Nikon flashes. These all have PC...

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Word Verification in Comments Set to "Off"

Believe it or not, even I have to try to read those sloppy drunken verification letters to post a comment. It is a pain, and I am turning it off to see how it goes.(Apparently there are issues with "comment spammer bots," which raises the question of what anyone would possibly have to gain from such an activity.)We'll see if the bots descend onto Strobist and trash the place. Or, maybe they'll raise the level of discussion. Who knows. But as for now, enjoy your commenting in a "squint-free" environment.(And don't say I never did nuthin for you...)EDIT:...

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Steal This Flash - The Nikon SB-24

The SB-24, a late-1980's model Nikon speedlight, can be had for as little as $35 on eBay. This is an insane deal, relatively speaking. UPDATE: The days of the $35 Sb-24 are gone forever, thanks to you guys. You can expect to spend $75-$100 now. Sorry.UPDATE #2: (And this one is better news) You can get a manual for the flash here.__________Look at...

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Bits and Pieces - 4/24/06

I have been trying for about a day to get a couple of articles posted. But Blogger.com, through whom I publish Strobist, is acting weird. Fortunately for me, it is not just me and my remedial-level coding skills. (I always suspect that first.) Turns out many other bloggers spent last night cursing at their computers, too.It seems to be doing better...

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Money Choices: Light or More Glass

Starting out as a photographer has never been an inexpensive proposition. But things have gotten downright crazy in recent years, with pro digital cameras going for $3,000.00, flash prices that look like car payments and long glass that can cost as much as you could possibly want to spend.It's enough to make you want to cross over to the dark side and be a reporter. What do they need, a pencil? Maybe a $500 laptop?But then, we have way more fun than reporters, don't we? So we pay.When I think back at how I spent my hard-earned photo-gear resources...

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Don't Miss: Bill Pierce's "Nuts and Bolts" Columns

Every paper's photo department has some guy who has been around since glass plate negatives were in vogue and can talk for twenty minutes on any piece of equipment ever made. Not to make him sound older than he actually is, but Bill Pierce at the Digital Journalist is one of those guys.If you are looking for a few hours to kill reading a collection of been-there-done-that perspectives on just about anything that has to do with the equipment end of photojournalism, he's your g...

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On Assignment: A Guy on a Boat

Every now and then at The Sun, someone from features will come up to a photog and say, "We're looking for something... conceptual."Translation: We have thought and thought about this story, and we cannot come up with a single idea we can box you into.What I hear: Try anything you want. We're washing our hands of it.Which, of course, I like. On the...

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Found: Strobist's Counterpart!

OK, all of you wedding guys who have been e-mailing me with a bazillion questions:Here is your site - Planet Neil. He is all about learning how to better use on-camera flash. So, between the two of us, we gotcha covered, dude.This site is built around wedding photography techniques. But the info is applicable to anyone wanting to better understand what you can do with your expensive little TTL Wonder Strobes without unhooking them from their mamas.And besides, all of you wedding shooters can ask HIM about stuff now. :) Because I do not know Jack...

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Bits and Pieces

• I will be working wall-to-wall on Friday, morning to late night. So if things look decidedly unchanged around here, you'll know why. Don't feel too bad for me. I am covering the Miss USA pageant. (Hey, somebody has gotta do it...)• I have added the 2001 documentary, War Photographer, to the bookshelf. Check it out.• While I am slaving away shooting Miss USA, please take a moment to add your John Hancock as a comment on the guest book/reader links page. You can find it here, and it will be a permanent link on the links page.• Turns out, I am...

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New Source for 5-Section Mini Light Stand Found

Several people saw and noted yesterday (thanks) that Amazon's photo affiliate had stopped carrying the a href="http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/10/where-to-get-your-gear-and-why.html" target="_new">Bogen 6' Retractable 5-Section Light Stand, which is the Best Little Stand in the World, IMHO.The above link points now you to a new source, Midwest Photo Exchange, who has th...

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On Assignment: Add Light to Reveal Detail

Yeah, I know it's just a rock.This is a quick little On Assignment example that I am going to throw in because it illustrates a good reason to throw that little light stand over your shoulder whenever you grab your gear out of your trunk.One of our enterprising reporters at The Sun was doing a little research and found out that, due to a surveying...

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Comments, Tips and Questions

I kept up the one-to-one email thing as long as I could, but it just got too crazy. At this point, I could not possibly ever have enough time to write everyone back. Therefore, I am no longer able to respond to gear, lighting, career, portfolio review, business propositions, etc. questions via email.I wish I could, but I can't. There is just not enough time, and I work very long days as it is. So please, please, please do not send them directly to me. I will just have to spend time reading them -- and then feel like a jerk for not replying.If you...

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On Assignment: Designing a Backdrop

The Baltimore Sun's Christopher T. Assaf leads a bit of a double life, working both as a photojournalist for the paper and an art photographer during his free time.His ethic as an art photographer frequently shows up in his newspaper work. He is known for producing photos which combine elegant composition with nuanced light.This photograph of a local...

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New Links Added: Some Great Shooters' Sites

I noticed a lot of traffic coming my way from Sports Shooter yesterday, and stopped by to check out why. Turns out someone had included Strobist in a collection of favorite photo links. (Thanks, Paul!)I cruised through many of the other links that had been suggested by others there and put some of the best photog's sites up on the links page. Some of these are stunning examples of both quality of work and how to showcase it. Warning: DO NOT visit the link page now if it is getting near your bedtime. You could have a couple hours of compulsive clicking...

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The DIY Flash Synch Cord Tutorial is Up.

Finally got around to buying the stuff to make a zip-cord PC synch cord just to show how to do it. It is really easy, and should hold you until you hit the lottery and can buy Pocket Wizards.It is in two parts, and sequenced in the Lighting 101 section, so click here to go there in a new wind...

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A Note to Strobist Readers

I launched Strobist on April 5th with what I thought would be a "soft start." And I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the feedback I have gotten from you guys so far.I have been so busy cranking out pages for the site - it's up to 53 articles and growing - that I haven't had time to send out a blanket "thank you" for all of the very kind e-mails, comments and suggestions you have sent thus far. I feel like we are all at the start of something that could grow into a pretty cool journey.I keep a very busy schedule shooting (not to mention being...

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On Assignment: Thinking Outside the Box

Sometimes there seems to be no place to stick your light where it won't create more problems than it will solve.A good example is this martial arts-themed exercise class at a senior center.It was a typical dance rehearsal style room, with one of the long walls covered in mirrors. Sure, you can do cool things with the reflections, but you have to hide...

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On Assignment: Light the Little Stuff

The other morning I had an assignment to photograph 8-year-old Peter Schultz, who won the "best handwriting" contest (second grade division) for the state of Maryland.The kid is a living font. And he is left-handed, no less. Which doesn't make things any easier, I'm told.The story, slated to run in one of the zoned editions of The Sun, is a good example...

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Link Page Expanded

Just added quite a few new sites on the Page-a-Links. Added more blogs, more PJ sites and the beginnings of list of college PJ programs. I am collecting URLs of other professional and student photojournalist's blogs, too. Those are coming so...

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On Assignment: Big Gym, Little Lights

Building a little on the basketball lighting technique we talked about earlier (open "Lighting Prep Basketball" in a new window) I wanted to explore another example of using one small light to illuminate a large, long-throw area - and adding a second to improve it.All of the heavy lifting in the top photo is being done with one Nikon SB-28. It is on...

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On Assignment: Taming Harsh Sunlight

Whenever I am setting up an assignment to go photograph someone, I like to give myself as many advantages as possible. I am always aware of when sunset (and, less enthusiastically, sunrise) will occur, and plan shoots around that time if there is some flexibility.Sadly, we can't always plan our shoots to start a few minutes before "golden light" and...

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I know you're out there...

... unless it is my mom who is clicking on the site nearly 5,000 times a day.So, like, ya know, if you guys would start to use the comment section and stuff, we could, like, well, you know, actually benefit from having an ongoing discussion about some of this lighting stuff, too. Howzabout a little diversity of thought around here?Or you could just continue to sit back and just read everything I post as if it were The Gospel or something. Which is a really scary thought.In fact, if there is a subject in particular that you would like to see explored...

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Lighting 101: Build a Pro PC Cord, Pt. 2

Repeating the important note from part one: There are those who believe that using household-style sync cords poses an inherent risk in that they could be mistakenly plugged into an AC outlet. That said, building a sync cord based on HH plugs is inexpensive, reliable and convenient. Which is why many pro's use them as primary (or backup) synching systems.The...

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Lighting 101: Build a Pro Synch Cord, Pt. 1

Important note: There are those who believe that using household-style sync cords poses an inherent risk in that they could be mistakenly plugged into an AC outlet. That said, building a sync cord based on HH plugs is inexpensive, reliable and convenient. Which is why many pro's use them as primary (or backup) synching systems.The cord I have designed uses two very short, male-PC-to-male-household, store-bought cords and a main cord composed of a FEMALE HOUSEHOLD TO FEMALE HOUSEHOLD main body. As such, the extension cord itself is quite impossible...

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On Assignment: Prep Basketball

There are lots of ways to use strobe to improve high school sports. And typically, nothing needs improving more than dimly lit high school hoops.The gyms are often black holes, with ambient levels as bad as 1/125 at f/2 at 1600 ASA. Not even a speed lens and a hard ASA push is gonna help much there. On top of that, there are hot spots and cold spots....

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New Area: The Strobist Bookshelf

I have more "On Assignments" coming soon, but I wanted to complete the education and resources section first. To that end, you'll notice that the sidebar now has a "bookshelf" link. It is a tight-but-good list, and there are additions coming. You will always be able to reach it there, or you can click here now. I will post notes whenever it is updated.The bookshelf link will also be folded into the Lighting 101 linked seri...

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Lighting 101: Pre-Visualizing Your Light

The big problem with flash is that for many photographers it is a leap of faith. It happens so fast you can't really see it — or what it's doing. Continuous light is so much more comfortable, because we can observe it real-time.One workaround for this is to use a big, heavy expensive flash with a "modeling" light built in. The modeling light mimics...

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Humble Beginnings: Links Page

Strobist's Link page is now up. In it's beginning form, anyway. Now that I have the template up, adding to it should be pretty quick and easy. There are more links I would like to post this morning, but I am still behind on moving some of last week's photos to the paper, so work-work comes before play-work.The link on the sidebar at right will get you there whenever you want. Or you can click here right n...

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Strobist Index Update

The Strobist Index has been greatly expanded and has moved. It is now he...

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Lighting 101: See the Flash

As we said earlier, the incredibly brief burst of light from a strobe can be very difficult to visualize. Sure, you can see it. But what I mean is that it is hard to understand the way it is going to look when you are first learning to light.At least it was for me.I had this instructor in the photojournalism program at the University of Florida, (former Miami Herald photographer John Walther) who would tell me to just pop the flash and look at the effect on the subject/wall/whatever.I can still hear him."Did you see that, Dave?" He would say. "That...

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Reader Tip: Foiled Again

Thanks to James Dyrek, who sent in one of his favorite lighting ideas:Aluminum foil.He puts it on computer monitors to make an efficient bounce surface for a low power flash, like a Vivitar 285 on (partial) manual power.Foil is cheap, light and takes up almost no space in the bag. Triple aces on the Strobist scale.You can use the stuff for mold-able GoBo material in a pinch, too. Or if you are using optical slaves that are being finicky about firing, you can make a little "scrunchy light reflector" just to catch and kick a little light into them.For...

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Strobist Guest Book and Reader Links

If you would, please take a moment to add a comment with your name and personal info to our book. I have been getting e-mails from many different parts of the globe, and I thought it might be interesting to see just how diverse a group we are becoming.Nothing fancy - just your name, location, what kind of photography you do and a link for your website or blog if you have one.I will try to migrate the links up to the actual post (the part you are reading now), unless we get so many that it becomes impossible to keep up.Thanks, y'all!Readers' Links:Shane...

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