first real attempt at a photo shoot. C&C please.

dannylightning · Nov 6, 2014

looks like I can get a neewere 40 inch convertible umbrella for around 11 bucks.

Ill see about getting the lights higher but all I have are some old tripods to use as stands for right now. I had them set down but I think I think I lowered the lights when they set down. Ill try having the lights above them next time.

DGMPhotography · Nov 7, 2014

Yeah, definitely get some umbrellas. They've done wonders for me, and play with the distance between your light and your subjects. And you'll need the head to attach it if yours don't have the slot for them. As for the background, having them further from it, creating distance, will help prevent light from spilling over. And you can mess with a higher f stop for limiting the light, or halfway closing the umbrellas. There's all sorts of tricks. Just Google studio lighting and try some stuff out! Keep us posted!

dannylightning · Nov 7, 2014

I am already around f/16, 1/200, and ISO 100 to keep the background pitch black and even than its not totally pitch black till I lightly tweak it in lightroom so I probably would not want to go any smaller on the aperture, If I could get the subject farther from the backdrop but with all the stuff down there in the basement that might not be so easy but I can probably figure something out. I have watched a few lighting videos but again with all the stuff that is down in the basement its gonna be kind tough getting good light placement but Ill see what I can do.

Since my stands are just tripods and those heads look like they are not going to ft on a tripod I was thinking I could just clamp the umbrellas onto the tripod, I am sure I can figure something out to make it work until I eventually get some real stands for them.

JustJazzie · Nov 7, 2014

(I think, not an expert here!) You will probably need new stands/ brackets to hold the umbrellas anyways. I have quite a few cheep "ebay" light stands and I have some flash point series. Flashppoints air curtain stands were inexpensive, and really, really nice compared to my others! For "ebay stands," my favorite is ravelli. You can find those on amazon as well. They are quite sturdy enough, but not as air cushioned as the flashpoints.
Edit: I saw a video once where someone used these bungee loops with a ball on the end to secure the flash to posts. Do you happen to have any posts in your basement you could rig something up to?

http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-6345-C...F8&qid=1415369103&sr=1-1&keywords=bungee+loop

Braineack · Nov 7, 2014

dannylightning said:
View attachment 88865

Was this shot with your final camera settings? You're getting way too much ambient.

FWIW, that lighting pattern is really bad. look at the shadows that flash on the right frame is casting.

JoeW · Nov 7, 2014

Lot of lighting options if you're looking to diffuse the light and make it softer and/or spread it around. And I'm agreed with others--don't get the Fong (or similar knockoff) diffusers--those are only for times when you must use the speed light on-camera and are looking for something to reduce the harshness.

1. Bounce it off the ceiling. Or a white wall that's close by.

2. Get some honking big pieces of foam core (cheap at Home Depot or Staples) and reflect it off that. Now you also have two big reflectors you can use for other studio work.

3. You're using sheets. Hang a sheet and then shoot through that. Or a translucent curtain (white). In fact, if you're looking for a DIY lighting setup that is cheap, you can go to Home Depot, buy a kit that runs $30 USD for two halogen work lights with stands. They are HOT, they need plugs or an extension cord and the light will be harsh (so you'll need a white sheet to shoot through). But it will heat up a room, serve as a cheap light source, and also work for home repair stuff.

4. Buy a 5-in-1 reflector. It will have a diffuser in it that you can shoot through. And then you have a reflector.

5. While you're at Home Depot possibly buying the Halogen light set, go to the paint section and buy a translucent plastic tarp. They're cheap, they're big and they can also be effective scrims for softening light.

dannylightning · Nov 7, 2014

I have some halogen work lights but I am not a huge fan of those lights, I am not really trying to get a DIY thing going. I just want to get some umbrellas for my speed lights and try to work with those. don't really have much money to spend right now so I would prefer not to buy light stands. what about a 20 inch umbrella would those be ok.. 40 some inches would be huge.

I am not sure what the settings were on that photo but they were something like f/16 1/200 and iso 100 and yes I still get to much ambient light. with out the flashes firing I am not getting to much ambient light.

I went down and played with the lights again and took some selfless. I definitely need some umbrellas to help with the shadows. but over all I think I can get some pretty descent pics with this setup, its hard to set there and adjust lights when taking selflies so I got some shadows and what not.. I have been moving the lights around a bit and was able to get some really good looking lightning in some of the selfies but I did not like how I looked in most of those ones.

I cranked the clarity up a bit on these ones,

dannylightning · Nov 7, 2014

JustJazzie said:
(I think, not an expert here!) You will probably need new stands/ brackets to hold the umbrellas anyways. I have quite a few cheep "ebay" light stands and I have some flash point series. Flashppoints air curtain stands were inexpensive, and really, really nice compared to my others! For "ebay stands," my favorite is ravelli. You can find those on amazon as well. They are quite sturdy enough, but not as air cushioned as the flashpoints.
Edit: I saw a video once where someone used these bungee loops with a ball on the end to secure the flash to posts. Do you happen to have any posts in your basement you could rig something up to?

http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-6345-Canopy-Bungee-Pieces/dp/B000G76PLA/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1415369103&sr=1-1&keywords=bungee loop

I just looked up those flash point stands, those look pretty nice. I see they have a few different models of those starting at around 30 bucks a stand, do you know which ones you have exactly. I may have to pick up a set of those some time soon

Ill post one of those pics the way it came out of the camera..

JustJazzie · Nov 7, 2014

dannylightning said:
JustJazzie said:

(I think, not an expert here!) You will probably need new stands/ brackets to hold the umbrellas anyways. I have quite a few cheep "ebay" light stands and I have some flash point series. Flashppoints air curtain stands were inexpensive, and really, really nice compared to my others! For "ebay stands," my favorite is ravelli. You can find those on amazon as well. They are quite sturdy enough, but not as air cushioned as the flashpoints.
Edit: I saw a video once where someone used these bungee loops with a ball on the end to secure the flash to posts. Do you happen to have any posts in your basement you could rig something up to?

http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-6345-Canopy-Bungee-Pieces/dp/B000G76PLA/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1415369103&sr=1-1&keywords=bungee loop

Click to expand...

I just looked up those flash point stands, those look pretty nice. I see they have a few different models of those starting at around 30 bucks a stand, do you know which ones you have exactly. I may have to pick up a set of those some time soon

Ill post one of those pics the way it came out of the camera..

I dont. They were a christmas present 3 or 4 years ago. They just say "Ravelli ABS" It came with a backdrop set. (3 muslins, and the stands and cross bar) One of my photo lights came with a TERRIBLE stand so I ended up using it as a background stand and using my Ravelli as a light stand and it worked out pretty good! Especially for something as light as a speed light. I DO prefer my flashpoint stands though. Which are ALSO $30 a piece, free shipping. Though, I can't recommend ordering from Adorama due to a TERRIBLE customer service experience, I have had very good luck with their strobes and light stands, and I am sure the "ebay" light stands would have equally terrible customer service if something goes wrong. ;-)

dannylightning · Nov 7, 2014

well I was asking about the flash point stands that you have, maybe I did not make that clear, sorry.

I am not sure I really have room for 40 inch umbrellas with the pool table in the spot its in, well I guess ill post a pic of the room, where the punching dummy setting is about where the person would be standing, and than you can see where I have the tripods set up that I mount my speed lights on, if i had big umbrellas on them i think that would be a issue as far as the umbrellas would probably get in the way of the photo

what do you guys think of a 12 inch version of these, would that help spread the light at least a little bit. if not I may need to look for some 20 inch umbrellas

.

JohnnyWrench · Nov 7, 2014

Also not an expert, but I wonder how much of that flash is being picked up at f/16. Have you tried wider apertures?

dannylightning · Nov 7, 2014

without the flashes amd those settings I get nothing but a pure black photo so its letting in plenty of light from the flashes.

when the flashes are on and I go wider than f/16 I no longer have a nice solid black background and I can see all the wrinkles in the back drop.

KmH · Nov 7, 2014

Get 2 of these:
Impact Convertible Umbrella - White Satin with Removable Black Backing - 45"

And 2 of these:
Impact Umbrella Bracket

Tripods can't go high enough, so get 2 of these too:
Impact Air-cushioned Light Stand (Black, 8')

dannylightning · Nov 7, 2014

all of those items say they are unavailable. I have found some stands and mounts that seem good but my main concern is will 40 + inch umbrellas be to large for the amount of space that I have on one side of the room.