On stage

Trying to boost my creativity I gave my self the assignment to do a shoot with all the PG6s slave flashes I could get. I started out with 4 but ended up with 10 PG6s's.
If possible I only wanted to use the PG6s (all in frame) but if necessary I would use other flashes (out of the frame). (I believe that the result counts and not the equipment you use. Yes, it can be a challenge to use only some flashes, but keeping the PG6s in frame and get good result can be a in some cases impossible.)
The first idea I had was to lay Anne on some kind of stage, with some floodlights at her feet. Because I had 10 flashes I decided it would be nice to place a row of light behind/above her.

On stage, a photo by Ragoem on Flickr.

I knew I had a wooden beam with holes to fit the spigot on top of a light stand. But the beam was not painted.  So out came the paint to make it black so it would blend into the background.
Now I needed a "stage". I still had an old board with holes from a bed somewhere. And lent me some crates from the the local supermarket to put the board on. The background fabric would continue over the "stage".
To ad some theatrical atmosphere to the photo, we garbed our Mister cool smoke machine and some ice from our fridge to create the low smoke in front of Anne.


Another idea I had was to make a circle of lights around Anne.
So what do i need? I have 10 light so I need 10 light stands.
I arranged the light in such way that they were low in front of her and high above her behind her.

Ring of light, a photo by Ragoem on Flickr.

But now I had a problem, the light in her face was coming from below, so i decided to use an extra flash.
I grabbed my GN300AD with the snoot set it to 1/2 power and aimed it on Anne's face, left from the camera facing down.
At the end, I asked Anne if she would hold one on the flashes in her hand and look into it while I made the picture. We made only a few of these ones because the PG6s's have a lot of power that close, and that is not pleasant for the eyes.

Hold the light, a photo by Ragoem on Flickr.

There  is still room for improvement but after all I think I succeeded on my own assignment.

Shooting Lindsey at the Sint Jansberg

Lindsey at a creek, a photo by Ragoem on Flickr.

Last sunday we did a shoot with Lindsey, it was her first time posing for a photographer.
We had some idea on what we wanted and one thing was to use a location with lots of green/nature, so we dicided to scout the forest on the Sint Jansberg last thursday. Walking around we found some great locations for our shoot within walking distence from the parkinglot.
So Sunday we asked Lindsey to put on her gown, Monique did her hair and makeup and of we went to the Sint Jansberg.
I told my self to try to keep the light I would use to a minimum but if necessary use what I need. (the end result counts for me NOT the technic used to make the result, so if the photo dictates more lights I use more.) But looking back my "mission" was successful. The only time I used 2 strobes was when I needed more power/recycle time on my flash. I knew upfront that al the pictures would need at least one flash, we would be shooting in a forest in the shade and with any luck (which we had) the sun would shine. So sunshine in the background and model in the shade, I need flash to light my model.
We had lots of fun and great result.

For the photo above we went to a little creek and positioned Lindsey on the bank so I could get her in the frame with the creek and the forest on the backgound. For the lighting I used 2 LP160 on a bracket from DIY-photography at 1/4 power trough a white umbrella. Monique was holding the lights above the creek to light Lindsey.

For the photo below we used a tree branch for Lindsey to sit on, leaning her against the tree.
For the lighting of this photo I used the same 2 LP160 but now at 1/8 power and a siver umbrella to get a slighty harder light than the white umbrella. In post I desaturated it slighty and added some grain, why you ask? I think the photo needs it.

Lindsey sitting against a tree, a photo by Ragoem on Flickr.

Review: Double Flash Bracket

The Double Flash Bracket from DIY Lighting Kits came in the mail.

Double flash bracket, a photo by Ragoem on Flickr.

It looks very simple, which I like.

In the package are a metal plate (the bracket), 6 rubber band to hold your flash on the bracket and a wingnut to attach the plate to the lightstand.

To set it up, you put the bracket on the spigot of your lightstand and secure it with the wing nut.

Put the flashes on the bracket with the surplied rubberbands. And your ready to go.

What do I think of it? I think it's a great product, it's small, it's simple, it works. What more do you want from a DIY based product. The rubberband feel a bit stiff but I like that because they will keep my flashes on the bracket. Tried to shake my flash of by holding it on the bracket with the flash on the underside while shaking it, the flash did not move even when attached with only two of the three rubberbands, so with all three rubber bands attached it will not move on the bracket. The placement is low this is great for use with silver-umbrellas, now the flashes are in the middle of the umbrella and the light will get straight out the umbrella and not at an angle.

What's more to say? They will set you back 19.95 (USD).
Is it a fair price? Yes.
Can you make a cheaper one your self? Yes, did it myself, but had to weld some pieces, and not every one has a welder. And you need two extra spigots (which I have, but if you don't they will set you back about €7.00 a piece, making it with the bracket material more expensive)

Final Verdict: It's a good, simple product. It does it's job very well, and that's what counts.

You can get yours here: DIY Lighting Kits

Still to come:
Review of the DIY Lighting Kits - RingFlash