Confused about custom white balance

[table1349]

PRE can only blink and allow you to take a shot, IF THE CAMERA AGREES TO LET YOU....I have done it a thousand times with continuous lighting...with strobes, it's pitch black before they fire...maybe the camera does not allow you to measure WB if it's too dark before the shot?

Are you in manual mode???

 

[Quovadis]

Do i need to be in manual mode? All i know Is i have an AF 50 mm prime no AFS.
What mode should i be in?

 

[Quovadis]

All of a sudden, with no logical explanation it allowed me to set the white balance. WOW, i was getting really anxious.
I managed to set it, and I do not know why or how come. (I still have to take pictures now to see if the set WB is good or still bad)

Now here is another question for you guys. Imagine before the strobes go off, ITS DARK ...how do you guys focus on the subject? I cant see my feet.

 

[table1349]

Do i need to be in manual mode? All i know Is i have an AF 50 mm prime no AFS.
What mode should i be in?

In manual mode you control the camera. In one of the preset modes the camera in part controls you. In Auto mode you are the button pusher.

 

[table1349]

All of a sudden, with no logical explanation it allowed me to set the white balance. WOW, i was getting really anxious.
I managed to set it, and I do not know why or how come. (I still have to take pictures now to see if the set WB is good or still bad)

Now here is another question for you guys. Imagine before the strobes go off, ITS DARK ...how do you guys focus on the subject? I cant see my feet.

Modeling lights.

 

[Quovadis]

All of a sudden, with no logical explanation it allowed me to set the white balance. WOW, i was getting really anxious.
I managed to set it, and I do not know why or how come. (I still have to take pictures now to see if the set WB is good or still bad)

Now here is another question for you guys. Imagine before the strobes go off, ITS DARK ...how do you guys focus on the subject? I cant see my feet.

Modeling lights.

Mine are too weak. The modeling lights on these strobes are way too weak. Am I allowed to turn on a group of cfl's focus and turn them back off? What a pain in the posterior though.
If a group of cf'l's are on, just to enable focus (gives me light), is it bad if they are left on when the strobes fire?
In other words is it bad to have ambient light in the room when the strobes fire?
Will it not eff up the white balance again?

 

[Quovadis]

Other points :
With cfl's I can see reflections and move my camera or move the lights out of the family. Impossible to do with strobes?

2. With strobes most of the ambient light in the room is low, so subjects look dark and horrible in the viewfinder. Do you guys not mind this?

 

[Dave442]

If the ambient light is a different color temp than the strobes then you probably want them off. You can have light in the room, just take a picture and if it is not too close to the subject then the picture will come out black and therefore will have only a slight impact on the image. You don't want to be tripping over your tripod and such.

I usually just use a flashlight to focus in the field, but inside I have a switch near the camera to turn on lights for setting things up and that is the best time to frame and focus the shot.

You could also tether the camera to the computer to see things as you shoot. Or have someone else import photos from one memory card while you keep shooting on another memory card.

 

[Quovadis]

let me see if i can tether the camera to an apple mini...you mean to see the shots after they are taken? WOW, this is all new science for me. The thing that scares me the most is not being able to see DIRECT REFLECTIONS in real time, so i cant move OUT OF THE FAMILY, in real time...

ARE ALL MODELING LIGHT BEAMS WEAK? OR IS IT BECAUSE I BOUGHT CHEAP STROBES? DO YOU NORMALLY SEE DIRECT REFLECTIONS WITH MODELING LIGHTS? IF SO, I WILL HAVE TO RETURN THESE CHEAP STROBES AND BUY EXPENSIVE ONES. HOW DO YOU GUYS DEAL WITH DIRECT REFLECTIONS? HOW DO YOU GUYS AVOID THEM OR MOVE OUT OF THE FAMILY OF ANGLES? I know how to do this with continuous light...but not with strobes.

 

[table1349]

You have asked dozens of questions over the last 9 pages. Now I want to ask one. Why are you doing this. Is making purses your living or what?

 

[Quovadis]

yes
it unfortunately is.
Not the most glamorous of livings selling pre-owned bags, but for now I have to try my very best. I'm sure it's temporary.

 

[Quovadis]

Ok. I have figure part 1 of my question. Why was the camera refusing to take white balance. EXCUSE MY TERMINOLOGY!!
Nikons will not allow you to measure white balance if you have the viewfinder looking at the subject. In other words the subject is a white a white background. If you see the background in the view finder its no good. You have to press the live view button off, once you see the Nikon blue screen with all the other goodies, then you can proceed to measure WB

 

[Quovadis]

With CFL'S you could see direct reflections. You could walk around the purse and analyze them. You could go up a ladder to see how they changed. You could lie on the floor and look up to the purse to see how they looked and to see if shooting from below was acceptable or not. With continuous lights, I could go half way down to my knees, and determine if that was a viable shot or not, or stand fully. Depending on what I saw, i could lower or lift my tripod to take the shot.

The modeling lights on the strobes are too weak, very hard to see any reflections. In fact the modeling lights are not even strong enough for me to look at the purse through the viewfinder and focus.

This is a real problem...i need to find a solution. Going back to cfl's is like relapsing, so that's not a solution.

 

[Quovadis]

WHITE Balance is now perfect.
Now please give me your input as to how you guys would see direct reflections or not with your modeling lights?

 

[tirediron]

WHITE Balance is now perfect.
Now please give me your input as to how you guys would see direct reflections or not with your modeling lights?

This is where experience comes in. Remember that light moves like water, and angle of incidence = angle of reflection, so: when you position your light, first know in your mind what you want to illuminate, then imagine that the bulb is the open end of a garden hose, and visualize a spray of water coming out of the hose and hitting the purse and bouncing off at an angle equal to that where it hit. If that bounce doesn't hit the camera lens (allowing for beam spread) then you won't have a reflection. Remember also to bring your lights in nice and close; 2-3' is where I'd be, at most.

FWIW, that bag shot is pretty damn good. The only issue I see is that the face of the bag is about 2/3 - 1 stop under-exposed with respect to your background, so either reduce your background lights by 2/3 - 1 stop and open your aperture, or increase your foreground lights.

And before you ask, to figure out what 2/3 or 1 stop is, just increase or decrease exposure slowly and do test shots. Should take all of about 1 minute to figure out.