Ringlight in a Pinch

Reader Andrew Smith has posted a self portrait and a lighting diagram that show you how to set up an umbrella so that it acts like a ring light.I have used this technique before to varying success. But then I probably block a little more of an umbrella than does Andrew. Still worth a try if you have nice background to work with, as in his example....

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Speedlinks, 9/29/2007

• Fish has advice on getting your photo gear past the highly trained TSA professionals.• Jason shows you where to score some cheap black straws.• Okay, after reading the T-O-P review, I am definitely getting a G-9 now. • Here's how to tie-dye your own muslin background if you are gonna, like, shoot some hippies, man.• If you are shooting for this outdoor...

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Watch Chase Jarvis' NYC Photoshelter Talk

Web 2.0 types that they are, the folks at PhotoShelter have uploaded Chase's entire, 55-minute presentation to the web. Usually, you only get about 3.5 minutes of Chase on the YouTube vids. But he is really worth watching long-form. Don't get so caught up in all of the trappings (dude travels with a DJ) that you miss all of the valuable experience he is throwing at you. Good stuff.Better yet: Grover and Allen put the entire panel discussion and the presentation of photo buyer Catherine Talese up on their blog, too. You're gonna need a large popcorn...

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Paris Seminar Registration Opens

UPDATE: The October 27 Paris seminar is sold out. Full details for the event are after the jump.Venue and ScheduleWe will be meeting at the Hotel Sofitel Baltimore - Paris (hotel info | map). We'll check in at 0900, and get started at 0930. The morning will be for lighting theory, then we'll break for lunch. During the afternoon we'll be in demonstration...

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Ubercharger Lacks Only Diamond-Encrustedness

Full disclosure: We are practically battery fetishists here at Strobist. And the La Crosse Technology BC-900 Alpha Battery Charger makes our Wally-Mart Ni-MH chargers look like pieces of crap. This thing will charge your flash batts at user-selectable rates, condition them, measure their voltages and capacity. You want to be nice to your batts and...

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JWLPhoto Strikes Again

Man, I am digging Jason Lee's photos of his kids so much I should be paying his Flickr stream rent.What a great idea: Using a flash set on stroboscopic mode to give your angel wings. This is absolute genius.-...

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Lighting 102: 3.3 - Balancing Flash/Ambient Indoors

UPDATE: [ Completed exercises | Discussion ]When last we met, we talked about moving from the idea of balancing a nice, even, back-curtain of sunset light to dealing with a highly directional light source (and learning to use it rather than just fill it.) This week, we are taking it indoors to apply the same principles to light that is less directional,...

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L102 Coming Later Today; Paris Signup Opens Thursday

Today has been a continuous series of curveballs thrown at my already-packed schedule. (Latest one: Roots encroach on neighbors' sewer line, making a lovely situation in their basement, so everyone is pitching in.) And as the L102 section on balancing strobe indoors is pretty involved (with a series of demo pix) it will go up later this evening.View Larger MapI did want to take ten minutes to pop up a notice that we now have our venue for the October 27th Paris seminar. We'll be at the Hotel Sofitel Baltimore - Paris, an ironically named and atypically...

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You Love Flickr, But Does Flickr Love You?

Flickr has a very interesting stream called "Explore," in which they give a shout out to what they think are really cool photos. Needless to say that you guys rock some seriously and consistently cool photos. Which means that some of you get Explored more often than Paris Hilton. But how do you know when you have been featured in Explore? Simple: You...

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Small-Flash Tip for Landscape Shooters

So, you have a jones for those sweeping, wide-angle vistas but can't use small flashes in close because of how much real estate the photo shows? No problem, as long as you are not bound by the ethics of editorial photojounalism. Maybe, say, shooting an illustration, or landscape photography as art. Just take a cue from Strobist reader "footcandle,"...

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Open Source Wireless Trigger Moves to Dedicated Forum

For those of you interested in contributing to (or following the progress of) the open-source wireless trigger design project, they have moved off of the Flickr thread to a more suitable venue. We'll update you with major milestones as they occur. Good luck and Godspeed, guys. The wallets of photographers everywhere are pulling for you.:: Background Info :::: Original Flickr Thread Discussion ::-...

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Speedlinks, 9/22/2007

Ah, I love fall. The time of year when fourteen* teams line up to knock heads with the University of Florida Gators on the football field. And something or other about leaves and pretty colors.While I am trying to find video (or audio) of this week's game on the 'net, hit the jump for a fresh batch of speedlinks on which to waste your precious time:________________________•...

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Updates: DVDs; Paris

Been getting lots of questions on the status of the DVDs and of the upcoming Paris seminar.Details after the jump for those who are interested. We just did our last shoot for the DVDs, getting a little help from long-time reader Patrick Smith, with whom we did a series of bike-related shots. We still have lots of editing/etc work to do, but the target...

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Yet Another Ring Light Hack

Jason Lee (AKA jwlphotography on Flickr) just ball-bungeed two flashes to his lens (top and bottom) and got about 85% of the way to "ring light."Kind of a neat idea, actually. Helps to have an adorable daughter, of course.Wonder what the "two-flash bungee" would look like with a circular diffuser positioned in front of the flashes...-...

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Easy, One-Flash Glamour Light

Bert Stephani, a long-time Strobist reader based in Belgium, has made a quick video on adding a single flash to noonish ambient to get a high-glam look.Reader's Digest version: Just find some shade, and use your flash as a separation light. (This actually works well on cloudy days with dark backgrounds, too.)You can see the photos created in the video...

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Calling All Geeks:

There is early -- early, mind you -- discussion in the Strobist Flickr threads about an open source wireless remote project. They are looking at the possibility of a group design, with printed circuit boards and component kits for solder monkeys.Would that just be the coolest thing, or what?If Strobist were a movie, this would be the moment when it...

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Nifty Lighting Trick: Invisible Light Stand

Strobist reader Patrick Smith, a college student who shoots for The Towerlight at Towson University, had a devil of a time hiding all of his light stand in the background while shooting a football feature for the paper.His solution was just the kind of trick we like: Cheap, something you could not do with big strobes, and cheap. And no, it wasn't Photoshop,...

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New Duracell Ni-MH's Have Longer Shelf Life Than Hostess Twinkies

Things are looking up for us rechargeable AA-powered flashers. First the high-capacity Ni-MH's, which totally rock but lose a charge when stored for too long. Then the slow-discharge Eneloops, which rock a little softer but keep their charge longer on the shelf. And now this:Duracell has announced a new, ultra-slow-drain, Ni-MH AA battery that holds its charge for an entire year. Which, coincidentally, is the average length of time between paying freelance gigs for Patrick Smith.At least his flashes will be ready.Downside: $12.99 a four-pack. For...

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Fear Not, Earthlings: The 'radiopopper' Comes to Your Primitive Planet In Peace

Arizona wedding shooter Kevin King just may have invented the Strobist equivalent of the flux capacitor. The radiopopper wireless synch is said to bridge your Nikon CLS or Canon E-TTL and extends the range to up to 500 feet.(More after the jump.)Specs say it works in dumb mode, too, just like a Pocket Wizard or Poverty Wizard, even using the same,...

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Lighting 102 - 3.2: More On the Crosslight Thing

Judging from the questions a few of you are having trouble with the cross-lit sun technique we discussed last Thursday. I want to revisit a few key things that you have to know to pull the technique off, and then Andrew is going to come to the front of the class to demonstrate. And besides, given that this went up on Thursday instead of Tuesday I am...

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Reader Hot Shots

Dude. Sitting down at the computer at the end of the week and tagging faves in the Strobist Flickr pool is like getting a free photo magazine. Click on the pic to see the latest upstream inspiration. (Or here for a slideshow.)Interesting fact: Ninety percent of this site's readers do not participate in the Flickr group. Can you imagine what that stream...

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Free Lighting Mods in the Produce Aisle

What a great idea. How many times have I walked right past these squishy fruit protectors on my way to the Doritos aisle and not given them a second thought?I am resolving right here and now to eat just a little healthier this week. Maybe three or four, I dunno, squishy fruits of some sort.Let's list the bennies:1. Free.2. Lightweight.3. Free.4. Collapsible.5....

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New in NYC: Free Lighting Critiques

Whoa -- tough crowd.If you are shooting an ad that will appear in the NYC subway system, you'd better nail the light. Because the techniques of the pros are quickly spreading to the Average Joes. Last Wednesday Justin Ouellette, who publishes the very neat Chromogenic.net, shot this "annotated" ad in an NYC subway with a cell phone cam. He then put...

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Speedlinks, 9-15-07

Whew. Long day.Those one-day NYC round trips always wipe me out, but it was definitely worth the ride up to go to the PhotoShelter shindig and meet so many readers. If you are considering going to one in your area, check in on the NYC Town Hall thread on Flickr for more info or to ask questions.Now, the only thing standing between me (at 2:18 a.m.)...

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Inside David X. Tejada's Lighting Bags

It's double-feature Friday here on Strobist, where hotshot corporate shooter David X. Tejada has posted two new videos of his go-to lighting gear for shooting on location. Dave's kickin' some good light, as we've seen before, and I always appreciate a peek inside the cases of a talented location photographer.In the second video, he gets into some of the less common gear he uses, including ready-made, store-bought(!) grid spots for his tricked-out Vivitar 283's. He also uses an an old favorite of mine, the Morris Mini flash.(Hit the fridge for a...

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Blogging the NYC PhotoShelter Town Meeting

First off, if you are anywhere near Atlanta, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco or Los Angeles, you might want to grab a seat while they are still available. If the program in NYC is any indication of what to expect, it's worth playing hookie for a day to attend one near you. Everything is free, too.Also, PhotoShelter chose today to announce a new stock photography business model that flies in the face of all of the recent, photographer-predatory stock photography trends (cough *Getty* cough): Real selling prices, set by photographers, and photogs...

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Small-Town, But Not Small-Time

You may remember this strobed, low-angle photo of two golfers from when it ran on this site last year. It was shot by Strobist reader Gary Cosby, Jr., who is a photojournalist for the Decatur (Georgia Alabama) Daily. Gary is now blogging about his daily life as a small-market newspaper shooter. It's less about lighting and more about finding a good...

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Lighting 102: 3.2 - Balance | Flash/Sun Crosslighting

UPDATE: Some of you guys are already all over this one. There's a good discussion thread forming already, so there should be plenty of help for the newbs. Please ask technique questions in the Flickr threads rather than the comments.Last week we talked about creating great light with just one flash and a sunset. (Results here.) But what about those...

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Heading to NYC for PhotoShelter Meet on Friday

View Larger MapIf you want to attend the New York City PhotoShelter Town Hall Meeting on Friday, better hurry up and register. There are only 50 39 seats left.I'll be there. Look for someone who looks like a cross between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, only shorter, heavier and far less attractive. I'll be wearing a What The Duck T-shirt and nothing else. Please say 'hi' if you run into me. I would say 'hi' first, but I do not know what you look like. Remember, Chase Jarvis will be speaking there, so we can make faces from the back of the room. Lookin'...

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Joe McNally Needs Just One SB-800 to Own You

The Photoshop TV guys (who have a wonderful archive of online tutorial videos) featured Joe McNally back on episode 70. The whole sequence is on stuff he did with just one speedlight. Cool beans.If, like moi, your photos are absolutely perfect right out of the camera and you do not need PS, you can catch Joe's segment beginning at the 12:30 mark.__________________Related::: Joe's Site :::: Simply Well Lit with Joe McNally ::-...

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Lustworthy Gear: The Brewer Bracket

Strobist reader Todd Brewer sent me one of his double flash umbrella brackets to test drive a while back, and I have only recently gotten a chance to play around with it. The "El Doble" dual flash bracket is designed to allow you to easily use two flashes in one umbrella, and it works great. It's built like a tank and reasonably priced, currently at...

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Free, Online Version of Photoshop?

Finally, something that is actually worth something being given away for free. This would be great news to the cardboard-and-duct-tape readers.-...

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'One-Light Workshop' Site Relaunches with Forum, Pithy Slogan, Longer Beard

Like myself, Atlanta-based photographer Zack Arias (hipster, left) teaches minimalist lighting techniques to others, further increasing the talent pool and ruining the futures of professional photographers everywhere.So naturally we are cutthroat competitors, locked in a bitter struggle for a finite pool of readers. And needless to say, Zack will never...

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Lighting 102 Will Publish on Thursday This Week

We normally do Lighting 102 on Tuesdays. But I am schedule-crunched, running blog camps at The Sun Monday and Tuesday.So, rather than just crank out a rush-job post for today I will be running this week's L102 on Thursday. We'll be on the second installment of Light Balancing, which deals with mixing flash and full daylight.Thanks,D-...

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Flash Your Friends

Tired of those 2 a.m. self-portraits? Does the cat hide under the bed when it sees your camera?You may be in need of some new subject material. And there is no better place to find it than a Strobist meetup. After the success of the Florida meetup last month, (nearly 50,000 views) lots of people are planning local events in cities and countries all...

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Cool Idea for Lighting Car Interiors

From reader mini/eng, here is a cheapo, tight-space lighting technique so clever that it would make Strobist car-lighting guru Moosehd2 proud.Mini/eng stuck a Canon 430ex speedlight (on manual at full power) on the roof of the car, and aimed it at a large, white card just outside the far window. Presto: clean, soft even light to throw nice smooth speculars...

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Speedlinks, 9/8/07

Woo-hoo! I'll be out shooting today. (I kinda miss that.) I am doing an eleven-person group portrait for an annual report. I think I am going to take a page from the playbook of Kirk Tuck and use speedlights all around. Double umbrella in the front, with ceiling-bounced fill strobes in the back and on the other side. But enough about the sad fact that...

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Buy One, Get Two Free

Apropos to Tuesday's light balancing discussion is Imationx2006's portrait shot in the water at sunset, which popped up in the Strobist Flickr pool this week. But there's a little more going on here than just light balancing.On her face it's easy to reverse engineer the light size, and position, thanks to the shadow under the chin. But what's with...

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By the Numbers

• Over 700 articles on off-camera lighting: Free.• Getting your ad shown 1,000 times on this site: As low as $1.50.• My having time to volunteer at my kids' school again: Priceless._______________________Thanks to the following sponsors for supporting our community in August: MPEX, PhotoShelter, (I'll be at the town hall meeting in NYC on 9/14) Zenfolio and Connected Flow. Without them, it doesn't happen.And thanks, as always, for reading the site.-...

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Pocket Wizard Guts

Ever wonder what a Pocket Wizard looks like without it's clothes? Me, too.Thanks to reader Rabbit.Marshall for posting this nekkid shot of a PW Plus II transceiver. Lotta neat stuff in there, but I still can't find $187.50. Nonetheless, they do work with absolute reliability. So I guess I can't really be a fanboy and gripe about the price at the same...

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New Canon Powershot G9 Makes My G7 Feel Like Unloved Stepchild

Lost in last month's hoopla over the Nikon D300 and D3 was the introduction of the Canon Powershot G9. I don't write about specific cameras very often on this site, but this one bears a closer look. The G9 is of particular interest because of it's flash-friendly features, among other things.More after the jump.G9: Making a Good Thing BetterI am a big...

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