Why Speedlight not studio Lights for Shooting? (by Dom Bower)

[Kacykaso]

Great analogy as to why you recommend using them and I appreciate you posting your thoughts! I love my 580EX II and am very new at experimenting with it but will continue to do so! They are just sooo easy to tote. Cheers!

[danielmurray04]

Excellent piece, great to here someone talk about other benefits beyond portability and cost, but to also add recycle time and functions.

[SuperBupi]

@dadvian1 sure .the sb 800/900 have a lot more power than sb 28

[dadvian1]

hi im dadvian im from mexico i have 2 nikon speedlights and i studio lights as well.my only problem with speedlights is that if its a brigt sunny day i can't over power the ambient light to under expose the backgrond.i've learn almost all that i nkow about speed lights from the one light portrait dvd of zack arias.so as he recomended i bought the sb 28 vintage speedlights...here is my question ...does the 800 and 900 have more power?.another thing can you make a video about high speed sink?

[Chris4Pris]

Thank youuuu

Great video !!

[artlinkzowey]

Nice roomy bag, what make and model is it please, just the kind I would like.

[CURT11S]

hmm so zooming intensifies the beam? i only have one at the minute trying to follow some of your videos and failing lol i have strobe but they are a lot of hassle to set up at home in small space

[CHAOSINRAIN]

Elinchrome Quadra RX are smaller, more powerful and have better quality of light. I still use speedlights but im saving up for some profoto strobes. That only thing that bothers me about speedlights is the amateur look of the quality of light.

[jumaigac]

do you shoot manual on your speedlights,?  or ettl?

[rooflz]

@dombower I love speed lights too! but shooting into direct sun @ F16-f22 would require about 8-10 sb900's for a correct exposure(on more then JUST the face) I'm talking REALISTIC shot with a light modifier and the model anywhere from 10-15ft away. Takes an ARMY of speed lights to fully overpower the sun, its well known! I Love them, but they are A LOT of money for a little power. They have their place, but out door locations require a lot more power then "a couple of speedlights"

[dombower]

@rooflz fair doos, i have 4 now and still not done a shot where i have needed more. just my experience so far.

[kaouthiavideo]

@rooflz Remember we're talking about the British sun. You can overpower that with only two SB-900s. Done it plenty of times. :)

I shoot pretty much exclusively on location, I own four SB-900s, and I've yet to encounter a situation where I wish I had more power.

[34TR3m]

hey dom, what do you think about that stobist idea of buying many cheap flashes that dont have any e-ttl and are controled manually? would you recommend that ore spend more money on less flashes and have e-ttl??

And do you use wirless triggers? I use canon myslef and have so far only got a 430exii which might be compared to a sb600 i think? but with my canon im not able to trigger the flash when its of camera..its only possible to trigger one speedlight via infrared when another on is mouted..

[sjohn53]

What's more, off camera Nikon Speed lights will sync with the shutter up to one 8000th of a second. I shoot lots of dance indoors and out. With three SB 900s. I shoot on a D3S at 1600 ASA, at around F4. This ensures the SB900s are only firing at a quarter power, or less, depending on the distance to the subject, Which means fast recycling for action sequences at 10 FPS.

[Zaneathankid]

Thanks Dom! Your videos are super informative and helpful!

[chetoflep]

So entertaining! I love your narration. Great information!

[davesmith20092009]

Thanks! Informative

[jonfletcher147]

Dom great vid.....what light stands do you attach your SB900's to?? make / price please....as I'm getting a 2nd SB900 to get a portable studio set up ;)) maybe a few softboxes / brollies also.... cheers Fletch.

[lukaszpiech1980]

fair enough, i like your videos anyhow :) one more against speedlites (and I say again I use then a lot as well) is you cannot put anything other than umbrella on it. If you need eg. an octa or beauty dish with grid for your shoot, with speedlites you are left with DIY inventions. But sometimes you need one and sometimes another. BTW your videos are really cool!

[lukaszpiech1980]

yeah, I did very simmilar in dubai, check this one out on my channel. Its Elinchrom full power. I have nothing against speedlites, check my channel to see i use them all the time. But I simply dont like you say you ONLY recomment them rather than studio lights. sometimes you need one sometimes you need another. on the desert Joey used 8 SB 900s or SB800s which is so expensive. For the simmilar purpose i used 1 elinchrom. cheaper, more powerfull and i less heavy

[dombower]

@lukaszpiech1980 if you listen the video i say @ 1.00 i explain why "I" use. then you will notice i give all my explanation and reasons. if any of the reason i covered are not important or dont cover what someone wants then that is their decision to educate themselves.

then at 7.15 i say again. I need.

I dont say i recommend.

[stewiek]

@lukaszpiech1980 i think it really depends on what kind of shoots you want. even in harsh lights, it is possible to get results with speedlites or flashguns..first, there's no right or wrong in using any kind of equipment, it is how u use it. secondly, if you travel alot, speedlites are more portable and use up less space. remember, airport luggage clearance plays a big big part. id rather have 8 speedlites than 3 studiolites that mite exceed check-in weight. lastly, if u have $ why not?

[lukaszpiech1980]

it is not yeah. but if you need to double your flash power you have to have 4 times more speedlites, so in full sun you will either need e.g 8 SB900s or 1 elinchron ranger. 8 times 340 pounds equals.....

[dombower]

@lukaszpiech1980

check out Desert Shoot w/Joe McNally

[lukaszpiech1980]

try to make a portrait in full sun, you will soon need power. once you need speedlite once you need a studio light, you cannot go on youtube and tell everyone all they need is speedlite. this is something someone who never shoot with studio lights can tell...

[dombower]

@lukaszpiech1980 i have made many portraits in full sun with my speed lights. i just bank them together and keep them close to the subject. its not that difficult.

[FinlandApollo]

Hey, are those RECyko+ batteries good? I'm going to buy those to my SB900 and my camera. Nice video btw, all of them :)

[zeeeeeezeeeeee]

Great Dombower, so freaking great ! i love this vid !! more of the lighting vids please

[JAbrahamCollins]

The SB900 does have a modeling light function, My d90 will fire it when I push the DoF preview button on the front of the camera when the "e3 Modeling flash" menu option is set to "on"

Great video, but a comment on the modeling light section would be good since all CLS speedlights and cameras support modeling light.

[timmyguy13]

Really dig on you helping out with these vids, but im shooting with alien bees, and the power is enough to make me not miss my speedlights.. Also about using studio lights on full power, that just depends on what kind of ambient you have to compete with and what kind of look you want, but when im on location in the daytime, im pretty much always shooting full power.

[funniq]

Great stuff you put on the web, Don ... Gonna watch them all ... now (1:40 am) I am going to bed ...

cheers and happy new year by the way

[Narkodas]

For product photography, studio lights do an amazing job though. But I only say that because they can work as a continued light source. This makes pictures with a shallow depth of field very easy.

But ofcourse, regular construction lights also can do this.

[Narkodas]

Oh PS.

I myself would invest in flashguns too. Just for the convience and ease.

[malalark]

Hahaha.. thanks so much for this video dom! now my insecurity issue with having to buy a studio light is gone! i'll stick to my speedlights... but I have nissin di622 though... can't zoom the flash manually.. It has to be on the camera to zoom the flash... Do you recomend an sb-600? I'm still 18 and run on a.... well.... student's budget... with a semi-pro earning as a part time fotographer...

[marqm69]

is very true :) i use my wireless spedlights for every shoot i do. just because im able to place speedlights where a normal studio light cant go.

[SuperUbob]

hello dom,

i have a question for you, i'm a noob in off flash ,and tight on a budget i have an old olympus speedlite from my evolt300 can i use the flash with radio trigger on manual mode with my nikon D90? tnx appreciate in advance more power to your show,,,,,,

[dombower]

@SuperUbob olympus? evolt300? radio trigger? dont have a clue about any of those things sorry matey.

[KokoroNoSama]

Hey dom, I just started watching your videos and Im instant suscriber :) I have a question though... Im getting a few speedlights for my canon 50d for a project... I want to use them externally but I dont know how to do that... Do I need a slave transmitter or a radio transmitter???

[Recon9143]

@SuperUbob That's a good question and I am not 100% sure but I'm going to have to go with No, because I don't think the d90 will read with the flash and e300. I could be wrong but anyways, ~Dom nice video. Like always.

[linezero3]

Thanks Dom, hey How do you know about all this stuff? I mean Where do you get the knowledge from?

Nice vids Dom

[dombower]

@linezero3 i sleep with photography books and catalogues on my head and the knowledge just seaps in. thats how i got a honors degree in psychology as well!

[devonly2]

Great Vid. Love my SB-900 and SB-800 aswell :) BUT i would looove a couple of AlienBees and a Vagabond power supply. Still very portable and the power. WOW. and the price is relatively low.

[pozg]

you also remind me of Joe mcnally as well

[dombower]

but come on! whayyy hotter yeah?

[Hieuy772]

i have the same exact bag thinks its called Computrek?? if im not mistaking Its an amzing bag,It holds Almost everything i need lol

[trancein305]

you remind me of Joe McNally

[dombower]

but far better looking i hope!

[venuraherath]

LoL

[jddbower]

"You're extension cable" Dom? :-)

[shockerpb03]

"wuhhh yeah yeah" lol

[xjoeb]

great videos dom!

im jsut angry cause i can't get the SB 800 anymore:(

[dombower]

@xjoeb me too, it is brilliant, and about £70 cheaper than the sb900.

[scarringlight]

i only use studio lights for high key lighting. and thats because in the school camera club we have our own

[dombower]

@scarringlight yes very handy for stuff like that, how cool is your school for havnig that though! my school never did anythng like photography

[11ten071]

Always explaining things so all can understand, I have learned extensively from your post! thanks pal keep up the great work.

[DuffmanzBeer]

but if i want to make a studio, shoud I use studio lights?

I have a sigma 530 DG ST do you think it is good enough for a simple studio setup?

[dombower]

if you have a studio yeah get studio lights. all my shoots are on location and power supply can be variable, if i had a studio i would get studio lights

[mixmaxdix]

nice i also have a lowepro computrekker aw

i cant fit my laptop in it... if i do so it will be very squashed and compressed to my back... so i just put a magazine or documents there kinda disappointing the pc compartment...

[altus2]

Nice video, very informative for beginners.

I cant agree with some of your thoughts:

First of all, the price of speedlites is their advantage - you dont need to buy the most expensive SB-900, you can get e.g. old SB-28 which can be trigger by cheap eBay triggers (all that for third of the price of SB-900).

Second, SB-900 does have a modelling light - kinda. Its like sequence of flashes in small period of time - it is not as good as modelling bulbs in the studio lights, but it works(!)

[altus2]

I personally use it quite often. This modelling light can be triggered both by Test Button on flash and by Depth of Field Preview Button on camera (you need to set it up first in flash and camera menu).

Third, the high power of studio flashes is used to overpower the sun - what can be difficult to achieve by speedlites (I thing that is important to mention)

But as said, nice video, plenty of information for people who starts playing with flashes.

[dombower]

studio lights... over power the sun... sounds llike a strange phrase. but i know what you mean.

The modeling light is a modelling flash and personally i never use it, it also sucks a lot of battery power. but i might give it ago next time, thanks for reminding me of that

[altus2]

*overpower the sun light.

English is my second language. Don't need to be captious.

[wwwabc123456de]

Hey,

again, a very helpful video, dom ;-)

I wanna get my first speedlight for Christmas but I'm not shure if I should get the SB-800, 600 doer 900... whcih do you recocmend mostly?

Btw I enjoy all of your videos! Great job! :-)

Greetings from Germany, Maxim (15)