Flashgun or video light

[ndancona]

I'm considering getting the Nissin Speedlite Di866 MKII as my first venture into flash photography. I want it mainly for off camera work for shooting models. I've done a few urban shoots with a young model that I do some regular work with and see my limitations with just shooting with natural light.

On the other hand, I have a friend whose a professional wedding photographer and he does not own a single flash gun. He uses a battery powered YONGNUO 300 LED Video Light, the kind with barn doors to control the beam output. He has an assistant carry the light and point it wherever he needs more light. He seems to get great results this way and without any complicated flash setups.

The video light is cheap and easy, the flash is more of an investment and is going take me time to learn to use it effectively. Before I part with my money I'm interested in some feedback from other experts.

Nick.

 

[Derrel]

I watched Doug Gordon's three-day seminar on Creativelive.com a couple years ago. He markets a continuous light that has blue and yellow filtration, to help match to tungsten and daylight lighting, or to reverse-match "against" the right white balance. STOP BY HIS FB PAGE and read his two September 29 posts on how to identify the main light, and how to create fill-in for it.

Doug Gordon Workshops - Lindenhurst, New York - Photographer, Photographic Services & Equipment | Facebook

YES, there ARE ways to shoot using continuous lighting, especially for FILL lighting, and thus avoiding flash all the way. There are some benefits of doing this. Until I watched Gordon doing this for several hours on end, I was unaware of how useful LED or tungsten, continuous lighting could actually be in location people work. This approach however is still a minority point of view in the larger photo world, so you might get a lot of conflicting advice about it.

Second, flash is not all that complicated, but many people fear it, and the cheapest flash options often do NOT allow higher shutter speeds to be used in brighter, daylight scenarios. Admittedly, flash has certain behaviors, and limitations/specifications that govern how the camera can be set up. SO, yes, it may appear complicated. I would wager that not even 5% of internet forum 'experts' have any idea on how to really use LED or tungsten lights with still cameras; there are very few people actively advocating this method, and the better lights are often sold at what I consider to be OUTRAGEOUS prices.

Kirk Tuck wrote a book on LED lighting. You might want to check it out. Quality Information on professional or high-level use of LED/tungsten lights is scarce compared to flash information. I will admit, until I saw how Doug Gordon uses his light, I was sceptical myself.

 

[CameraClicker]

I've seen the LED panels at shows. I've never tried to use them. I have the same problem with them as with the rest of the continuous lights. I can't stand to look toward them. Rather than subject models to that, I use flash, or just ambient, depending on circumstances. The LED panels were too bright to look at, even at 20 feet or so. They are really bright!
Some/many people are not bothered by bright lights. The LED panels and other continuous lights are probably fine for them. Strobes are super bright, but only for an instant.

 

[ndancona]

thanks for your comments. I appreciate the help!

I bought the speedlight, will take it from there.

 

[Derrel]

Oh, good deal, you've got a speedlight! You are on your way now! Sooooo many good uses for a speedlight. Look into some of the resources on the web.

 

[WayneF]

I bought the speedlight, will take it from there.

Very wise move.

The LED panel says 18 watts, 2280 lumens. The lumens compare to about one 120 watt incandescent light bulb. Try that with your camera. Yes, it probably can help a little with video with a f/1.8 lens and high ISO, but it is nothing for still photography.

If you used a one second shutter speed (which we simply cannot do for portraits), that is 18 watts x 1 second = 18 watt seconds.

If you used a 1/100 second shutter speed, it is 18 watts x 1/100 second = 0.18 watt seconds
(continuous light only contributes when the shutter is open).

Most speedlights are 60 to 75 watt seconds, and can use full sync speed, like 1/200 second shutter speed.

That is much more than day and night.

 

[ndancona]

Could be jumping the gun (pun intended) but I also ordered a soft box to go with my speedlight.

 

[davisphotos]

I use primarily speedlights, as well as a Photoflex TritonFlash for most of my wedding work, but I do have a small, cheap video light that is very helpful for night photos and when I want a different effect than the flashes. It's also great to add a little light to ring shots. Each tool has its place, but overall, my flashes are much more versatile and see considerably more use.