Strobist Photography: Part 7 - 1 light portrait - triggered by pop-up flash

[7617011]

Patent pending...LMAO!!!

[seagullface]

Great series Matt,would it be possible to use some of these techniques in macro photography

if so a workshop tutorial would be nice if you had the time.

PS I am a Sony shooter and have no flashguns not sure if the Sony guns would work in the same way as

your Nikon guns?

Thanks again 4 a interesting set of videos

[Hashbrown37]

Thanks, Matt. Some interesting ideas to start making use of my new flash.

[thatnikonguy]

@Hashbrown37 cheers, if you are in australia - you may want to check out one of our strobist courses.

[MrJleehuddleston]

thanks for all your work. i love following your videos..you've taught me a lot about some advanced photography (at least advanced for me)

[thatnikonguy]

@MrJleehuddleston great stuff. I am going to run some strobist workshops soon if you are interested to learn more in a fun group environment.

[russellniels]

3:08 adjusting the built in flash power- how do you do that and is there a general rule of thumb of how much power is needed for how far the subject is...thanks Matt

[StevenScholten]

Hi Matt

I have been struggling a bit. (mostly indoors with a softbox or an umbrella). I noticed in this video the shadow side of your face isn't very dark. Is that because the ambiant light fills it in a bit? I seem to get a bigger contrast at home. (tried it with a second flash which gave me better results.) Hard to get a black background a small space.

Also. In a standard situation, How do you judge your exposure? Do you set it as light as possble without getting flashing histograms?

teven

[thatnikonguy]

@StevenScholten to work on contrast, adjust the position of the light, and yes play with the balance of the main light, the ambient light, and any fill light.

[StevenScholten]

@thatnikonguy Ha Matt. Thanks for your reply. I do feel I'm getting the essentials down. I was confused and thought the ambient light had no effect on the subject, but clearly I misunderstood. It does have an effect on the shadow side.

I would appreciate it a lot to get more indepth info on how to judge "correct exposure" Maybe it's in your videos somewhere? Do you use your histogram?

[thatnikonguy]

@StevenScholten yes of course I use it a lot, but if you are talking about shadows on a models face - the histogram is little use - it measures the whole scene (unless it is a close up of just the face!)

[MrRgx521]

Hi Matt,

personally, I'd like to see some more of you working with a model (great chemistry with that mate of yours in the earlier video). Specifically, I'd like to see what you can do with 2 to 3 flashes shooting from different angles, using different kinds of diffusion/direction and so on. Thanks for your great videos!

[thatnikonguy]

@MrRgx521 Your wish is my command :) I actually have a couple of swimsuit models lined up for just this kind of series soon.

[Mrpoteks]

i like 4:19

hahaha

[andykbh]

youre not the most photogenic person ive seen lol

[ooharloo]

Love your videos! I am actually looking to get my first light modifier.. But I am not sure which route to take. I am looking at the Westcott Apollo 28 kit or the Westcott 43 umbrella kit. I see that you make the most with just one umbrella. What would you recommend for my first setup?

[zuantuba]

FUN to learn ...

[locopoco24]

wow thanks for the reply! love your videos,I've learned so much from them!

[thatnikonguy]

@locopoco24 no problem - I try to respond to as many as I can - and if you comment here - rather than private message, good chance I will respond. Glad that you like the videos!

[locopoco24]

Hey Matt,

Do you know up to how many strobes you can sync your flashes with your camera? Have you taken a photograph with more then three strobes at once?

[thatnikonguy]

@locopoco24 if you using optical, there is really no limit. Yes, I have used around 5 or 6 at once.

[maika0staretza]

your shots lack the glam :p

[riheljana]

Nice video with a simple and affordable set up, I have a suggestion though. The rim light is a bit distracting, I think the effect would be better if you put a warm color gel, say an amber one, on your rim flash with a diffuser, it would match more the beautiful golden sun light that's coming from behind.

Hope that helps

cheers

[locopoco24]

Hey,

What is the typical f-stop and shutter speed for strobe photography? In door vs outdoor? I know that it's overtly simplistic but i'm a beginner and am trying to do some research. Thanks

[thatnikonguy]

@locopoco24 Check the earlier ones in series - I explain how to get started - it will depend on the situation and lighting. Varies every time depending on conditions and what you are aiming for in the shot.

[TheEvilOfScientology]

Hi Matt. Great tutorials!

Question: Isn't the camera you're using a D700? You mentioned @ 2:00 moving the ISO up from 100 to 200. I thought the D700's lowest ISO was 200?

Other than that, great tips!

[thatnikonguy]

@TheEvilOfScientology Hi, yes is D700, native range starts at 200, but extended range goes to 100 (effectively itjust shuts out half the light electronically). This start of 200 is handy in lots of ways, but sometimes the start of 100 in canon and the D3x is handy too.

[TheEvilOfScientology]

@thatnikonguy Thanks for the reply, Matt. So is the "faux" 100 ISO on the D700 comparable to a "real" 100 ISO, if not, what's the point of it?

[thatnikonguy]

@TheEvilOfScientology it is effectively 'real'. The native range ISO of any camera is the range it works at under normal conditions and power. To boost ISO, it is essentaily running more charge, to boost the sensitivity even more. To drop it, it is halving the power to pick up only half the detail.

It is not 100% as perfect as 200 iso, but I have not had an issue, even printing large photographs fro the files. Can be handy to work around and get a slower shutter speed.

[vortek9]

Good tip that.

[Bemap30]

those dogs.....!!!!

[iamravenous]

Sorry if this has been answered before but do you have a Flickr?

[thatnikonguy]

@iamravenous hi again, I do have flickr account, needed it for some press gig before - but I don't really use it. check out the links in caption of the video. I have Matt Granger Photography and That Nikon Guy facebook pages, as well as websites mattgranger dt com and sydneyinfocus dt com. cheers.

[ratandeep007]

Make a series on bokeh

[thatnikonguy]

@ratandeep007 Sure, will look at it.