Studio Photography On Location: Part ONE: Settings

[iamistaken]

Hi Dom, can u do a video of how to use speed lights? Settigs and all.. I'm a beginner and I just got a SB 700 as a gift.. And I own a d90.. Pretty please?

[lazarus554]

Catchlights are not in the center of the eyes. Does this matter?

[CAJUNNSC]

This is a really great example Dom. And man do I agree on the " just mess around with the settings ". There isn't a video, book or class that is going to teach you as much as you learn when you , Just take some photos and play with every details, That's how one finds their place. Don't try to copy anyone, just relax and shoot. If you aren't shooting your not learning anything. Thanks Dom, nice shoots as well. Kudos to your lovely model as well.

[Bemap30]

hey dom, should i spent less money for 2 speedlights or more money for only one speedlight6

[MrMAAKK]

F8 ? for a head tight shot ....Y not F4 or F5.6 ? adds more SDoF and lower power on flash , I don't know this lens but if you are using it then maybe it's sharpness starts at F8 :) ,I prefer F8 and F11 for waist level shots and F2.8 to F5.6 for tight head shots, matter of choice and preference I think :) but the exposures turned out nice :) ,good one !

[Dombowerphoto]

@MrMAAKK one of the flashes was already at its lowest power, so had to stop down the aperture.

[MrMAAKK]

@Dombowerphoto Yeah ,I noticed you said it's at it's lowest but that one was for the back lit , I was talking about the main one and a 1/400 , F5.6 or 1/500 F4 ( roughly )shot with lesser power on main flash would also be interesting to see ,but nevertheless you did a good job on explaining out of studio photography :) ..cheers ! and have a lovely Happy new year mate :)

[123CREATIONS]

@Dombowerphoto Peace and Blessings. I see that you have 3 flashes..do u suggest that we have at least 2 or 3 flashes in general? I currently only have 1 SB 900 flash

[123CREATIONS]

@Dombowerphoto I only have a 1 SB 900 flash, It looks like you have 3 one for the back of her hair one for the front of her face and then one on top of the camera...do u suggest that I have 3 flashes,for this job or just in general? Thanks so much

[Dombowerphoto]

@123CREATIONS a 3 light setup is a basic for a lot of portraits, I would advise if you can afford it, having 3 flashes is good.

[godsakes]

Was the beauty dish set to Rembrandt lighting? i.e. 45 degree to her

Could you explain what angle the 2nd flash was?

Thanks for the tips

[thure1982]

Hello Mr. Bom!

Were did you get your beauty dish?

Best regards

[Dombowerphoto]

@thure1982 all the details are getting put up on the blog, link in the description

[skiers4life]

"We're doing it in her bedroom." HA! Don't know if it's possible, but at some point there should REALLY be a video of your best one-liners!

[Snakekilla12]

why use a tripod? Are you able to get portrait angle with the tripod?

[Dombowerphoto]

@Snakekilla12 surely you understand the benefits of a tripod!!!

[krc7878]

i really enjoy your off camera flash stuff... i would appreciate it if you would continue them! thanks Mr Dom! You're the best there is on YouTube...

[Dombowerphoto]

@krc7878 oh thanks very much. greatly appreciated

[projectx58]

Great Tip!!! Quick, Easy and Simple! :)

[8libra8]

there is a four-stop difference between the flashes, is't it too much? I can see the "hair-light" flash is closer to the subject, but I can't see the light on the hair in the photograph...

Happy New Year btw :)

[Dombowerphoto]

@8libra8 too much? depends on what you want, also there is a big difference when you put the flash into beauty dish it sucks out a lot of power from the flash also the one in the background is zoomed in which gives it the look of more power. here i was really using it to control the level of contrast from the light and shadow areas and to give some more seperation from the background.

[8libra8]

@Dombowerphoto true about the beautydish, my dumb mistake...

as for the hair light, where did you actually aim the flash?

anyway, the glow on the hair may be so subtle that I just can't notice it on my monitor...

great work anyway

[Dombowerphoto]

@Latino1993jalisco the flash on the top of the camera was working as a commander so it is not affecting the image only triggering off the other flashes

[leo140485]

How is f/8 a shallow depth of field?

[scoe4]

@leo140485 aperture is just one factor in determining depth of field. There are three factors to determine depth of field; 1) Aperture, 2) Focal length and 3) distance from lens to subject.

[Dombowerphoto]

@leo140485 when shooting at 85mm on full frame with the subject as close to the camera as the lens will let you, you still get a nice shallow depth of field. Its like how with a macro lens at 1/1 shooting at f/32 you still only get a centimeter of sharp DOF. but i am sure you knew that already :)

[leo140485]

@Dombowerphoto Yeah I knew about the DOF when it comes to Macro shooting, and that even at f/32 it's still very shallow... Although never having shot Full Frame at that focal length, I have never seen what f/8 looks like, so thanks for clearing that up ;)

[Darw1n1st]

woah heavy shadow under the neck! 

[martenfisher1]

Well done Mr. Dom. Well done.

[mwsi7128]

Happy new yr to you Dom. May the light be with u in the yr 2012:) cheers

[theone2225]

She's so beautiful

[098751thg]

Your videos are always awesome! I keep learning from you, those trolls will always be there so don't pay attention... you actually give importance to them by mentioning'em, so don't do it

[bratvlad]

hey Dom good job! You inspired me to do flash photography in the beginning of this year. Thanks and keep it up!

[AcXr50]

Crazy. Same name as my ex girlfriend who was Latvian. If you could please explain to me a tad bit about the beauty dish I would appreciate :)

[Dombowerphoto]

@AcXr50 i have done a bunch of videos on the beauty dish, its only really good for close up portraits, head shots really, i use it in clubs and head shots but not great for full body shots. youtube dom bower beauty dish and you will find a bunch of videos i have done on it already

[34Muflon]

Hey Dom and happy new year btw! Where did you get the beauty dish for the flash.. Can't seem to find it in Denmark!

[for2for2me]

Good job Dom thanks for info. Photo keep going and i love you katia ;) but katia not long :(

[TekDump]

this is just what i was looking for thanks

[leeaman88]

Gosh cant wait for Part 2, when will it be up?

[MiserableSpice]

Its videos like this that made me subscribe to your stream. Thanks Dom.

[Dombowerphoto]

@MiserableSpice cool. thanks, glad you liked it. remember to check the videos linked in the annotated clips at the end.

[marcusboos78]

@MiserableSpice Yes thats exactly what i thought!

[handsomelok]

Hey dom, Can I use them in TTL setting ?

[Dombowerphoto]

@handsomelok you sure can but if you are in a studio like environment why not have manual control over the lighting. It makes it much easier to replicate over and over. ttl could have minute changes from shot to shot depending on model positioning and metering selection.

[subjectwork]

Super amazing shots!

[Dombowerphoto]

whoo hoo, i got up to 17 likes before a troll viewed and gave a thumbs down! Screw you trolls!

[llleolllolll]

wow she is smaaall :O

[Dombowerphoto]

@llleolllolll thats just an optical illusion, she is standing further away from the camera, she is actually about 6foot 4 and makes me look tiny!

[llleolllolll]

@Dombowerphoto ok because in 1:10 she is looking really tiny...

[SheridanAlex]

the light from that little beauty dish is so nice, where did you get it?

[Dombowerphoto]

@SheridanAlex the light came from the flash. but if you mean where did i get the little beauty dish, just search dom bower beauty dish and there are a bunch of videos up on that already

[SheridanAlex]

@Dombowerphoto i meant the way it spreads the light, thanks!

[JaseSheehan]

great video! helped my out alot!

[Jack9488]

dude i love these vids keep them coming :)