Strobist Technique: Cross-lighting with Wireless Strobes

Photographer: Chris Burns

Short tutorial/demonstration of how I light many of my photos.

I keep getting the same questions over and over, so I'm just going to answer them here. If you don't read this and ask one of these questions in the comments I'm just going to refer you back to this description.

1. Can you tell me about so-and-so item, process, modification, ect.

I don't have the time to rewrite a long tutorial everytime I get this question. However, there is a wonderful thing called a search engine (Google) that can easily answer your question, usually faster than I can respond to a comment.

2. How do you process your images?

I have no problem giving out my lighting setups, but I do not give out my editing techniques. They are just too complex to explain, and do not work the same for every photo. By the way, it's not the editing that's important, it's the lighting.

3. How do you use this camera with that piece of equipment?

I only use the equipment listed in this video at the moment, so I don't know how to set up your camera with some random flash and trigger. Go search the Stobist discussions on Flickr. Chances are that you will find someone who uses your setup.

4. What equipment do I need, how do I set it up, and what camera settings do I use?

Read the entire Strobist 101 set on www.strobist.com . It will answer these questions and many others.

For more of my photos go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/burnsphoto

Vivitar 285HV flashes can be ordered from any online camera store such as B and H, or Adorama. The triggers used in the video can be ordered from gadgetinfinity.com

The battery mod can be found at http://jeremykuster.blogspot.com/2007/10/gi-cactus-v2s-modification-tutorial.... .

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• pocketwizardstrobist
• strobist
• strobe
• flash
• photography
• tutorial
• vivitar
• 285hv
• wireless
• cross
• lighting

[whoppers1000]

great video. do you have anyother video that explain how to use the dials on the vivitar 285hv?

[euphi212]

@whoppers1000 I'm assuming you mean the dial on the side, and not the manual control on the front. I do not have a video on that topic, but the Strobist blog has a well written article about it. Basicly, it helps you determine proper exposure. You put in 3 of 4 varibles, ISO, distance to target, F-stop, or power, and it gives you the 4th. This link explains it more in depth. It's about halfway down the page.

strobist.blogspot.com/2007/12/­guide-number-your-free-flash-m­eter.html

[fizzi2008]

very impressive,, just have one question ,,did u do post editing on these photographs?

[euphi212]

@fizzi2008 Yes, but only on the second photo of each set. The first shots are straight out of the camera. The second image in each set is an example of how you can use the lighting setup and editing to create a very dramatic portrait.

[fizzi2008]

@euphi212

Nice,what you call that effect? did u use lightroom2?

thanks

[euphi212]

@fizzi2008 I don't have a name for the effect, but it's really just combining different contrast methods with kind of a bleach bypass effect.

I use Photoshop for most of my work. I only use Lightroom when I do bulk processing; when I have to turn out a large amount of photos in a very short time. I just like the amount of control PS gives me over LR.

[KeithMr5000]

bro keep it up! great job

[andremp03]

Very useful video, thanks!

[euphi212]

@jdalamo I shot the video late in the afternoon under a couple of trees. The light in the background, closest to the building, was pointed at the subject. Note, that I used a CTO on the flash to the right, and a bare flash on the left. You can see a slight blue light glancing off the left side of the subject. If the building had been lit by the back light in this setup, either the building would be blue, or the subject would be orange, depending on the white balance.

[jdalamo]

Great effect! Curious-on the shots in front of the house, what was the ambient light like? From the video, it looked like it could have either been a gray day, or kind of flat light at dusk...also, on the diagram, the strobe closest to the house looked like it was pointed at the subject, but on the video, it looked like it was set to wash the building, almost parallel to it-can you clarify that? Thanks so much for the video.