I got my bees!

[DVC Jen]

One word....



WHOA!


These are amazing! I set them up and took a few shots of a kiddo - totally blew her out. LOL It was great.

I had my ISO set at 100 - my aperture at 5.6 and my shutter speed at 200 and it was still too bright. So I had to start turning off lights. Still too bright. So I had 1 800bee and 1 400 bee at 1/4 power and that was just about right.

Unbelievable!

With my old hot lights - I had to have my ISO at 400. My aperture at 5.6 if I was lucky and my shutter speed at 1/25.

These are awesome. If anyone is on the fence about investing in a good set of lights and you are really interested in portraits - go for the bees!

And - to make matters even better - my new Dell arrived today as well.

My old PC was dog slow and very frustrating. I got a Dell XPS and it is lightening fast.

I am loving life right now!


Hopefully I will have some time to use my lights and take some shots I can share here. I am really interested to see how they turn out with them really set up right and not just randomly placed around my living room.

 

[mabas9395]

Lets see some sample shots.

 

[DVC Jen]

Lets see some sample shots.

LOL I will post some as soon as I can. I am taking some shots of a lady I know. Her sister is flying in for the holidays today. They haven't had a photo taken together since they were 3 and 4 years old and both are in their early to mid 50's right now.

They want this photo to give to their parents for Christmas.

Then I have to get busy cleaning - Mother in law arriving on Friday.

I am hoping to have time to play again on Sunday (Saturday is youngest DDs dance recital)

Hopefully I can get the lighting close to right before Sonya and her sister show up. Hey anything has to be better than those icky hot lights.

 

[Miss Kelly]

Jen, just curious if you bought a light meter? Although I'm sure you can figure it out without one, it sure does make everything a heck of a lot easier. Have fun!

 

[DVC Jen]

Jen, just curious if you bought a light meter? Although I'm sure you can figure it out without one, it sure does make everything a heck of a lot easier. Have fun!

It is on my christmas list. I gotta tell you - it was strange last night to point my camera at Emily and not be able to rely on my in camera meter to get the correct exposure. Just going to take some playing around until I get the light meter - and then even more playing around to get that all figured out.

Fun playing however.

 

[geetey]

Wooo hooo! Gotta love new gadgets AND a new computer! We just upgraded to a new computer as well. Are you running Vista on your Dell? If so, I am curious about which photo program you are using. My PSE4 won't work on the new computer and things don't look good for PSE6.

Can't wait to see some samples from your new setup!

 

[DVC Jen]

Wooo hooo! Gotta love new gadgets AND a new computer! We just upgraded to a new computer as well. Are you running Vista on your Dell? If so, I am curious about which photo program you are using. My PSE4 won't work on the new computer and things don't look good for PSE6.

Can't wait to see some samples from your new setup!

I insisted on getting XP on the new PC. I have heard so many horror stories about Vista. I have lot of software that won't run on it and I still use that software quite a bit - so XP was really the only choice for me. I was ready to have DH install XP on a new machine if I was forced to go with Vista. When we called Dell they tried to talk us into Vista - had to get a bit snippy with them and make it very clear we knew what we wanted and if she wouldn't listen we would and could take our business elsewhere (knowing we would still get a dell - just do it all online - DH got a good student discount on it). Well she continued on - we hung up and just went through the process online.

Right now I am using Elements 5 - and hoping to get Lightroom for Christmas.

I am sure at some point we will be forced to upgrade to Vista - I just really don't want to do it until the bugs are taken care of and or we can start to replace the aging software we have.

 

[geetey]

Hi Jen
We were on the fence with the Vista versus XP stuff and since dh's work applications worked on Vista, we decided to go through the pain of the change now, versus later.

I can't say that I have noticed anything buggy about Vista but there are some cool features with it. Of course, some of those may seem so cool because our old computer was SO old! The only "glitch" I have noted is that the system wants to use our external hard-drive as part of the cpu (boosting performance whenever possible) so I had to go into device manager and reclaim the hard drive as storage only.

Most programs have patches to allow them to work on Vista - just not PSE.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

One stupid reminder about shooting with lights - your shutter speed behaves differently.

First, you are limited to your maximum flash sync speed (typically around 1/250). Anything faster and the flash won't cover the whole picture.

Second, and this is the one I keep forgetting, adjust the shutter speed has almost no effect on the exposure. Your flashes are usually your dominant light source. They put out the same amount of light regardless of how long your shutter speed is. A longer shutter speed doesn't make them put out any more light. Your adjustments to exposure are now just ISO, aperture, and light levels. I recommend that you set your shutter speed at 200 and forget it. Obviously, you need to do your shooting in Manual as well.

 

[DVC Jen]

One stupid reminder about shooting with lights - your shutter speed behaves differently.

First, you are limited to your maximum flash sync speed (typically around 1/250). Anything faster and the flash won't cover the whole picture.

Second, and this is the one I keep forgetting, adjust the shutter speed has almost no effect on the exposure. Your flashes are usually your dominant light source. They put out the same amount of light regardless of how long your shutter speed is. A longer shutter speed doesn't make them put out any more light. Your adjustments to exposure are now just ISO, aperture, and light levels. I recommend that you set your shutter speed at 200 and forget it. Obviously, you need to do your shooting in Manual as well.

I have a high key white set up right now - waiting for my friend and her sister. I tested it out with one of my DDs and I had my shutter set to 200 at first - but it was still a bit brighter than I wanted - and I have only the large soft box going right now - other than 2 400's blowing out the backdrop.

So I had to up the shutter to 250 and it was good there.

I was playing around with the shutter speed last night set it to 640 and only half the frame was showing a photo - the other half was black. I was in panic mode until I remembered about sync speed and went back to 250 or less and everything was fine then.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

So I had to up the shutter to 250 and it was good there.

That's interesting. Unless you have a lot of ambient light (light from someplace other than your strobes), the shutter speed change should have had no impact. If you do have a lot of other lights, be careful. They can through off your white balance and make it harder to control the lighting.

 

[mabas9395]

Second, and this is the one I keep forgetting, adjust the shutter speed has almost no effect on the exposure. Your flashes are usually your dominant light source. They put out the same amount of light regardless of how long your shutter speed is. A longer shutter speed doesn't make them put out any more light.

I am really curious about this statement. I don't use any flashes besides my 430ex but why would these strobes behave any different from a 430ex (on manual, not ETTL for this example) or a regular light bulb or the sun or anything with a constant light output for that matter? The flash puts out the same amount of light regardless of your shutter speed, got that part. But if your shutter speed is 1/200 vs 1/100, you are only allowing half as much light hit your sensor so how can it have almost no effect on the exposure? I realize you said "almost". But if I use my 430ex or a light bulb or the sun as my light source, changing my shutter speed should have much more than "almost no effect on the exposure", shouldn't it? Why not an AlienBee?

What am I missing here?

btw, still waiting for some sample shots.

 

[SharonLowe]

I am really curious about this statement. I don't use any flashes besides my 430ex but why would these strobes behave any different from a 430ex (on manual, not ETTL for this example) or a regular light bulb or the sun or anything with a constant light output for that matter? The flash puts out the same amount of light regardless of your shutter speed, got that part. But if your shutter speed is 1/200 vs 1/100, you are only allowing half as much light hit your sensor so how can it have almost no effect on the exposure? I realize you said "almost". But if I use my 430ex or a light bulb or the sun as my light source, changing my shutter speed should have much more than "almost no effect on the exposure", shouldn't it? Why not an AlienBee?

What am I missing here?

btw, still waiting for some sample shots.

I'm going to wade in and say that what Mark probably meant was that the lights don't stay on any longer if you have a slow shutter speed so if you set your shutter speed to say 1/10 of a second, the lights are on the same amount of time as if you had set the speed to 1/250 of a second. The exposure, however, will be vastly different. Using flash with a slow shutter speed can allow for some very interesting photos if there is movement involved (either the subject or zooming the lens).

As for ambient light, Mark is very correct that having light sources other than your flash or strobes can mess up the white balance and if it happens to change while you are shooting, it can mess up your exposure. My little studio has black-out shades on the windows so that I can totally block out any ambient light.

 

[SharonLowe]

That's interesting. Unless you have a lot of ambient light (light from someplace other than your strobes), the shutter speed change should have had no impact. If you do have a lot of other lights, be careful. They can through off your white balance and make it harder to control the lighting.

I think Mark must be writing in his sleep. The 1/640 shutter speed was too fast so that is why she had only 1/2 a shot

 

[DVC Jen]

While it wasn't pitch black in the house all the blinds were closed and I was not close to any windows - and no other lights were on.

I also used a custom white balance set with a grey card.

I just finished taking the photos of my friend and her sister. I love these lights. I had to make a few adjustments - dimming some - making some brighter and although I did have wires around with the wired remote - having the remote was AWESOME!

I was sitting on the back of the couch which was pushed way against the wall and with the remote I didn't have to hop down to make small changes.

All in all I am very happy and I have only used them once.

I would post these shots - but I really don't feel comfortable doing so. Gonna have to wait for one of my kids or the hubby to pose for me. (sorry)

 

[Geoff_M]

I am really curious about this statement. I don't use any flashes besides my 430ex but why would these strobes behave any different from a 430ex (on manual, not ETTL for this example) or a regular light bulb or the sun or anything with a constant light output for that matter? The flash puts out the same amount of light regardless of your shutter speed, got that part. But if your shutter speed is 1/200 vs 1/100, you are only allowing half as much light hit your sensor so how can it have almost no effect on the exposure? I realize you said "almost". But if I use my 430ex or a light bulb or the sun as my light source, changing my shutter speed should have much more than "almost no effect on the exposure", shouldn't it? Why not an AlienBee?

What am I missing here?

The reason is that most strobes have a flash duration of around 1/10,000 sec (+/-). As long as the ambient light in the room isn't anywhere close to the brightness of the flash, changing the shutter speed a stop or two on either side of the proper settings for the strobes isn't going to greatly impact the amount of total light hitting the sensor. The strobe's light has already come and gone.

 

[MICKEY88]

I think Mark must be writing in his sleep. The 1/640 shutter speed was too fast so that is why she had only 1/2 a shot

no, I think you are reading in your sleep. MArk's post was in reference toi the change of shutter speed from 1/200 to 1/250

 

[MIDisFan]

I've been reading up on strobes and came across a photo lesson that explains about the sync speed. It is about half way into the lesson if you want to skip right to that part.

Basic Strobe Setup.

These are part of the series of free photo lessons from Adorama through the webphotoschool.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Wow, that got confusing fast. Let me do some more rambling and see if I can make myself more clear.

Let's look at three scenarios - taking a picture at 1/200 second, 1/600 second, and 1/20 second all with the same flash power. These examples hold true regardless of whether it is an on-camera flash in manual mode or an Alien Bee.

Scenario 1 - 1/200 second exposure.
When we take this shot, the first of the camera's two shutter curtains swings open and exposes the sensor to the world. The flash then fires, probably shining for anywhere for 1/1000 of a second or less. The second shutter curtain then swings closed and the exposure is over. Everything is beautiful. During the exposure, each pixel was exposed for about 1/200 of a second and all of the pixels were uncovered together for an even shorter time. Still, they were all uncovered long enough for the quick hit of light from the flash.

Scenario 2 - 1/600 second exposure.
When we take this shot, it starts off the same with the first shutter curtain starting to swing open and expose the sensor. Unfortunately, before that shutter curtain gets all the way open, the second curtain starts to close. Every pixel is exposed for 1/600 of a second, but there is no moment in time when the sensor is entirely uncovered. In essence, the shutters pass across it like a moving slit. When the flash goes off, it only illuminates the part of the sensor between the two curtains. The result is that we get one or two nasty shadows on the edge of the sensor.

Scenario 3 - 1/20 second exposure.
This works almost exactly like the 1/200 of a second shot. The shutter swings open, the flash goes off, and the shutter swings closed. The flash is still only about 1/1000 of a second or faster. It puts out the same amount of light and the sensor gathers no more light from the flash than it did in the 1/200 second exposure. In both cases, the shutter was open for the entire flash duration. The only exposure difference is that the sensor gather more ambient (non-flash) light because it was open longer.

My main point is that once your exposure is long enough to capture the entire flash, making your exposure longer will not help. It won't get any more light from the flash because it already got everything the flash put out. The first several times I tried shooting with strobes I forgot that. I kept adjusting my shutter speed and scratching my head wondering why my exposure level wasn't changing.

 

[AndrewWG]

I kept adjusting my shutter speed and scratching my head wondering why my exposure level wasn't changing.

Ok, I've already been confused about IS tonight, so I may as well chime in here too. What do you mean by "exposure level" here? You would get 3 different shots, wouldn't you? The 1/600 would be useless (due to the shutter curtains), the 1/200 and 1/20 would have good flash output, but the 1/200 should be a less exposed photo overall due to the 1/20 gathering more ambient light, correct? I think that is right anyways. So what is "exposure level"? Maybe I just need some sleep...