Studio Portrait Photography

[Hertz van Rental]

If anyone here can tell me what that's a picture of, I'll believe you know what your talking about. Haha, how are we suppose to derive anything from a 575x300 low res scan?

Yes, it is a bit 'low quality' but it's the best I can find. And it was a 48 sheet billboard poster so it's hard to find a scanner to fit.

I'll see if I can find better.

 

[mr_baseball_08]

Yes, it is a bit 'low quality' but it's the best I can find. And it was a 48 sheet billboard poster so it's hard to find a scanner to fit.

LOL!! :lmao:

 

[Alpha]

What did I get it right or something? I figure if I'd answered incorrectly Hertz would have already begun a long diatribe about how I don't know anything about my own equipment because I couldn't identify the light source.

 

[Bifurcator]

@ Mr. Baseball

So you realize and accept now that "strobism" is 30 to 40 years old?

 

[DeadEye]

Gee Golly Willikers ~ Were did the OP go? Did we scare him off ? In truth I consider myself to be a strobist and all that means is that I have learned to use those little battery powered speed lights off camera to get certain jobs done. Hertz is correct with the tool analogy . I got a shot recently with a speed light off camera that would have been rather impractical and VERY dangerous to do with the pack system. It was on the stern of a tug boat with waves washing over the deck . I don’t think I would have liked shorting a cable with salt water then discharging a big capacitor in it. BIG BANG or and 900 volt shock. The speed light in close and protected by a ziplock freezer bag did the trick nicely and paid my electric bill for the month. For studio work the pack is the best tool for the job as the client expects to get what they paid for and that is often requires a big soft box.

 

[usayit]

What did I get it right or something? I figure if I'd answered incorrectly Hertz would have already begun a long diatribe about how I don't know anything about my own equipment because I couldn't identify the light source.

Allow me to quote myself....

I think what put Jerry on the defensive was that "defensive and self-righteous" could easily describe your (Alpha's) responses.

I think Hertz's analogy fits along the same lines as what I feel and what Jerry was posting. I just recently starting using flashes as a learning tool and enjoying myself very much.. didn't realize I made a such a wrong choice. ...



Deadeye, unfortunately you are probably right about the OP. The only reason why I stick around is that I'm been participating on the TPF long enough to know it has its ups and downs.

 

[K_Pugh]

I'm feeling a little light headed now.. (bad pun intended)

I don't know much about either, i mean, i've just started using a couple of speedlights off camera but it's just common sense to know that both small flash units and professional studio lights have their own time and place. It's like everything else in photography, it's a compromise. Unless you've got all the time, money & space you need something has to take a back seat.. whether it's light quality, speed, practicality, power etc.

Just the wat i see it..

I'm just sayin'.

 

[mr_baseball_08]

@ Mr. Baseball

So you realize and accept now that "strobism" is 30 to 40 years old?

No. Sure strobes have been around for a long time, but only recently have they began a push towards off camera lighting which is essentially what "strobism" means.

 

[Alpha]

Allow me to quote myself....





I think Hertz's analogy fits along the same lines as what I feel and what Jerry was posting. I just recently starting using flashes as a learning tool and enjoying myself very much.. didn't realize I made a such a wrong choice. ...



Deadeye, unfortunately you are probably right about the OP. The only reason why I stick around is that I'm been participating on the TPF long enough to know it has its ups and downs.

You're really misunderstanding me. My gripe is not with off-camera flashes or their use. It's with people recommending them as catch-alls. Most times someone brings up studio strobes, they qualify the suggestion with talk of weight, size, and portability. But rarely, if ever, do "strobists" suggest small off-camera flashes and include their many caveats. I don't thinks it's fair to people who are looking for a relatively un-biased suggestion. Yes, this is the internet. And yes, everyone has an opinion. My point here is not to knock off-camera flashes outright, but to discuss their shortcomings. I have a problem with people who pretend that they have none.

 

[JerryPH]

You know... I tried to be polite. I tried to be open, and went over and above to learn, but when one person is in lala-land and thinks they know what is good for everyone in every situation, thats my line, my limit. Alpha may be an excellent photographer. He may know a lot about lighting.

As a human being, though, he kinda sucks. *I* have a problem with *that*.

Fortunately, the solution for me is very simple... it is something that he enjoyed brandishing himself in another post... the ignore button. I've officially exercised my right to put Alpha on my list.

Now, sir... you may proceed to talk out of YOUR ass to your heart's content, because I no longer need to see it.

Have a nice one.

 

[K_Pugh]

.. and i thought snoots were fun.

 

[Alpha]

Oh boy.

Jerry I've got no problem with you. Sorry if I offended you.

And I'm doubly sorry that you can't read this.

 

[Bifurcator]

I'm feeling a little light headed now.. (bad pun intended)

I don't know much about either, i mean, i've just started using a couple of speedlights off camera but it's just common sense to know that both small flash units and professional studio lights have their own time and place. It's like everything else in photography, it's a compromise. Unless you've got all the time, money & space you need something has to take a back seat.. whether it's light quality, speed, practicality, power etc.

Just the wat i see it..

I'm just sayin'.

Mainly the difference between the two is just power. Higher power allows you to be very dynamic with just one or two strobes (usually just one for the experienced gurus). With power and size comes the ability to fill large translucent panels, bounce off reflective panels, and etc. that the little pop-flashes are going to have a very hard time doing. When they have a hard time at it you end up with hot and cold spots and to get rid of them you have to twiddle around in the adjust<->test-shot cycle allot. Size and power also afford you a much larger set so if you want to frame something larger than 10 or 15 feet it's no problem and you can still get soft even lighting that a pack system will allow. There probably isn't all that much difference in cost if you buy used or hunt around. I wouldn't recommend buying battery operated flash units used though.

No. Sure strobes have been around for a long time, but only recently have they began a push towards off camera lighting which is essentially what "strobism" means.

Poppycock! Balderdash! You must be very young and are just discovering it for yourself or something. The actual reality is quite different however! Just pick up a photography book written in the early to mid 70's. And all these same techniques are discussed right in there. The recommended setup from any dealer was alway a two flash system and always both were for off camera use. Either a large long bracket system (more rare) or tripods and reflectors and diffusers. No one serious about flash photography used on camera flashes much - and it all started just months after electronic flashes were introduced! It was happening with bulbs too tho not as much. Bulbs were kinda fun though Spent bulbs look kewl!! Anyone remember "Flash Cubes"? Weeee...

You're basically saying something as absurd as "The rubber tire is a new invention only a year or two old." :stun: :lmao:

 

[JerryPH]

Anyone remember "Flash Cubes"? Weeee...

Just like it was yesterday... lol
I remember them being a pain too... 4 shots and you had to change the cube if you wanted more light.

How about that row of 6 bulbs in 1 clip for the old Polariod cameras? That was the next step just before "real" flashes came around. Thank goodness strobes were made shortly after that, it was an interesting time to be in photography for sure!

Funny, as far as photography has come in my lifetime, very little has REALLY changed.

 

[Bifurcator]

Just like it was yesterday... lol
I remember them being a pain too... 4 shots and you had to change the cube if you wanted more light.

How about that row of 6 bulbs in 1 clip for the old Polariod cameras? That was the next step just before "real" flashes came around. Thank goodness strobes were made shortly after that, it was an interesting time to be in photography for sure!

Funny, as far as photography has come in my lifetime, very little has REALLY changed.

Yup, I remember those strips! And yup, very little has changed in the past 40 years. In the past 20 or so the (industry) format change-over pains to digital have been interesting though. From 40 or 50 years ago and back there were some pretty rapid and major changes happening. Color film! Format standardization. 35mm in a cartridge that didn't have to be loaded in a black bag, cameras you could carry down the street and not look like you were moving out of town, Cameras you could put in a pocket, shutter technology, etc.