Overclock Your Speedlight for More Power

This last weekend I got an email from M.I.T. opto-electrical engineering grad student Justin Phun, who apparently likes to tinker with commercial electronics devices for a hobby. He said he had figured out how to get into the "diagnostic mode" of the processor that controls his speedlight."So what," I thought. Then he told me what he could do with...

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Full Review: Ray Flash Ring Flash Adapter

Ray Flash is the first commercially produced ring flash adapter designed to turn a speedlight into a ringflash. While ringlight is nothing new around here, up until now you have had to either go the DIY route, or lug around a much bigger piece of gear.Assuming you've got the wallet to handle it, I think a lot of people are gonna go for this thing....

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Rethinking the Umbrella

Umbrellas are a staple of small-flash photography. Back in March of 2006, when I wrote the original post on umbrellas for Lighting 101, my go-to choice on umbrellas was the classic, reflector variety. I have done a complete 180 in the last two years, and now use a shoot-through almost exclusively. I was going to just update the original L101 post,...

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Stick Your Flash Where the Sun Don't Shine

I'm down in Charlotte, NC, prepping to teach a pair of beginner's lighting sessions Thursday afternoon at the Southern Short Course. I prefer not to wait for the allergy season to get to Maryland -- I want an early start for my seasonal misery.So I am going through the Flickr pool at about midnite, faving pix. And I come across this one, by Evan Schoo....

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No Matter Which Swivel You Get, You're Screwed.

I got a note from Stu at MPEX that the LP632 "shorty" swivels (which have been updated to have screws in the shoes for securely mounting the newer, metal flashes) have been selling faster than they can get them in. They are on backorder for, well, awhile.But... when he wrote to tell me that they are subbing out the LUM5099's (pictured above) for those...

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Flash Flavor Test Drives the RadioPopper P1

For those of you following the RadioPopper Availability Slow-Motion Strip Tease: Matt Adcock has posted the most complete write-up (to date) over on Flash Flavor. Even though he shoots mostly manual, Matt's more comfy with the TTL stuff than I am. So he was able to put it through it's paces better than I ever could.(Thanks, Matt!)But wait, there's...

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Lose the Smile for More Versatile Headshots

If you are going to go to the trouble to shoot a head shot (or, "mug shot," as we called them at the newspaper) you may as well set up good light. This can elevate a head shot into a portrait and yield a photo suitable for many more uses. And if you are going to make a portrait, shooting a range of expression can further expand the ways in which the...

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Thanks For The Marching Orders

Our week in Arizona is done. Spent much of the week hiking near beautiful Sedona -- and eating enough to more than make up for the increased exercise. Off-camera flash took the week off in favor of ultra-minimal gear, family snapshots and trying my hand at some stitched wide-angle panoramas. Still working on getting the sky smoothed out. My efforts...

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Freeze Frame: Lighting Night Snowboarding

Winter weather has been total crap here in Maryland. I dunno if it is global warming or what, but I had to hop in the Hummer and drive 200 miles -- that's 17 gallons of gas at $3.25 per gallon -- just to find some good snow last week. Sheesh.No so in the northern UK, where the guys from the Edinburgh University Ski and Snowboard Club Shoot took their speedlights out to the slopes -- and the jumps -- for a little fun. What works:Nice cross lighting - including some good angle light courtesy what appears to be a very tall stand. Also, they have the...

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DIY: Light Beer

Anyone who has been reading this site should know by now that I am a sucker for cool lighting stuff that can be done with the aid of a cardboard box. And when it involves beer, well, so much the better.More, courtesy photographer Nick Wheeler, after the jump.For one-off shoots that need special supports of light modifiers, always look into the idea...

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RadioPoppers: Not Just For Wireless TTL

I had had lunch with Kevin King on Friday in Phoenix and got to play with a set of RadioPoppers. Given that I am not really much of a wireless TTL guy, I did not think that I would be that interested. (For myself, anyway.) But I am most definitely gonna be getting a set. And I'll bet a lot of other Pocket Wizard-toting pro shooters will be, too.More...

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Dan Medhurst's Snowboard Stopper

FYI, a "stopper" is a photo that does just that: Smacks you in the face and tells you to stop and look at it. Congrats to Strobist reader Dan Medhurst, of Leeds (UK) on his photo of a snowboarder carving a turn for the cover of Document Snowboard Magazine. Simple light -- two speedlights -- gorgeous result. Click the pic to see Dan's notes, plus a...

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Beers With: Dave Hill

(Photo by Dave Hill)Conceptual portrait photographer Dave Hill, of Nashville, has never won a photography award. Nor does he belong to any photographic organizations. So you have probably never heard of him.(That's not him above. Dave has better pecs.)I caught up with Dave via email for a little Q&A while he was in London recently. More from the...

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Westward Ho: Open Mic

I am in the air all day living on teeny tiny bags of Southwest Airlines peanuts, headed to the Phoenix seminars this weekend. (I do hope I get one of the jets without the cracks.)Anyway, this means that your pithy comments will languish unmoderated all day long, as the captain hates it when I screw up the plane's nav system with my cellphone internet...

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On Assignment: Nest Egg

For my shot at the most recent Lighting 102 assignment, I went with financial planning as my theme. Specifically, riffing on the idea of a nest egg having great value. (Click the pic to see it bigger.)I had my light all planned out in advance, and I thought it would be quick and easy. I was wrong. More after the jump.__________I chose financial planning...

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Lighting 102: Discussion - Double-Duty Light

UPDATE #1: Adds killer shot that did not show up in tag search.Report from Assignment 5.2 -- Double-Duty Light, in which you were asked to illustrate one of three concepts: Physical fitness, financial planning or going green. You were asked to stretch your lighting budget by reflecting and/or refracting one light source.Lots of really cool stuff this...

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Trash The Dress: Bat Cave Edition

Matt Adcock and Sol Tamargo have uncorked a new TTD video from their private grotto/studio/frolicking pool. I mean, don't get me wrong - they are good shooters and all. But I wouldn't mind having my own, private underground cave lake to shoot in. No worries about weather, the ambient is nice and low, and bats dive-bomb the bride. (Okay, so maybe it's not perfect.)Check out Flash Flavor for a high-res version of the video, with lots of photos. And if you are a wedding shooter and you do are not reading Flash Flavor regularly, you're nuts. Good ...

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Helpful Hints for the Little Guy

Thanks to the dozen or so people who wrote in to tell me about a photo used this week in Micron Technologies marketing campaign for a new CMOS imaging chip for their new "Aptina" division. If you are a startup CMOS imaging chip manufacturer and want to copy pay homage to Micron's spiffy press release, you can see exactly how to reproduce at least one...

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Pimp My Light: Camera Repair Guy

Reader Keith Taylor photographed the owner of a very large camera repair facility for the Business Outlook issue of Gwinnett Magazine. It's a clean, two-light setup that has a lot going for it. Take a moment to reverse engineer it (it's an easy one) to exercise your lighting muscles.Then, for a closer look at what works in the lighting -- and a couple...

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L102 Assignment Reminder; Golden Ticket Offer

Just a quick note to remind those of you who are participating in the latest Lighting 102 assignment: It is due at the close of the day today. Lots of neat stuff coming in, including some very slick light stretching on some of the financial planning pix.The original assignment info is here.__________Speaking of Financial Planning, unpack your adjectives:...

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Lighting For Effect(s)

Here's something a little different on a Monday morning:Strobist reader Simon Duhamel, of Montreal, served as Director of Photography for a music video made entirely from still photos for the Canadian rock group, "Aquaplane". The photo seen here is a composite, in which all of the subjects were lit and photographed separately.The lighting on a set...

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