Do you already own a Rogue Flash Bender made by ExpoImaging? If so, then you will definitely want to pick up one of the new Diffusion Screens. These handy screens improve the light from the flash bender by diffusing the light giving it a softer quality, especially when used in close to your subjects.
The Rogue Flash Benders are handy speedlight modifiers that simply velcro on to your flash, and can then be adjusted and formed to better control and shape the light. The new Diffusion Screens simply velcro on to your already existing Flash Bender and help to spread and soften that light. The new Diffusion Screens also come in two sizes, one for the large Flash Bender and another for the smaller one. The large screen creates a 9" by 8" source of light and the smaller one is 9" by 4.5".
To give a frame of reference of the differences between using a bare flash and the Flash Bender with the new Diffusion Screens, check out the images below.
You can see in the photo above and to the left, what a hard shadow a bare speedlight creates, while in the photo to the right you can see how softer the shadows are and how much more diffused the light is by using the Flash Bender and Diffusion Screen. The flash used to light both of these photos was the same distance from the subject and also at the same angle. This modifier also appears to use roughly 2 stops of light. The only post work done to these photos was cropping, and combining them on one frame.
For something a little more useful, check out this portrait of my beautiful model using just a bare speedlight. While this particular model looks good in just about any light source, notice how hard the shadow lines are and how there is a little more texture and detail in the face. Also notice the shadow on the back wall and how sharp it appears.
In this next portrait, I used the large Flash Bender with the Diffusion Screen and right off you notice the better quality of light. The shadow lines appear much softer and the fall off of light on the background is much more subtle and diffused. Its hard to notice in these photos, but also the Flash Bender creates a larger catch light in the eyes, especially when using them in closer to your subject.
Another nice benefit of using these modifiers, is that they are light weight, and fold down so that they can be stuffed in just about any sized gear bag.
To see how the Diffusion Screens attach to your speedlight, check out this short video clip below...
The Diffusion Screens are sold separately from the Flash Benders so if you already own a Rogue Flash Bender (or two), you definitely will want to pick yourself up one of these. Maybe in the future ExpoImaging will come out with a deal for those folks that don't have either, which will include a Flash Bender AND a Diffusion Screen in one package. (hint, hint) :)
A nice feature to our digital cameras is the ability to change the white balance and adjust the colors depending on the light source hitting the subject. A color will actually change under various types of lighting, and the camera will make color corrections according to light source. So if you’re shooting in sun light, then you use the sunny mode, and cloudy days, use the cloudy mode, and inside under florescent lighting, use that mode, and so on. I find that my camera’s auto mode works great, and I use it most of the time.
If you shot a subject using the different white balances that your camera offers, you will see a difference in the colors of the subjects. Sometimes I will play with these different modes to see what kind of unusual color I will come up with.
Here is a rose that I shot using three different white balances, and as you will see each one has a different color.
So try this next time and see what different colors you come up with!
Same exact flower, same lighting, three different white balances and three different colors.
Same exact flower, same lighting, three different white balances and three different colors.
You can visit Mike's blog and learn about his workshops here: Tiny Landscapes
Mike's eBooks are available in the OPG store here: Mike Moats
The Universal kit comes with 20 tabbed filters and a band to attach the gels to any sized speedlight. The kit includes various dramatic colors for effect, and a set of color correction gels to match your light with just about any available light from tungsten to florescent. A really cool feature of these gels is that each one comes printed with the actual color and the number of stops of light each gel uses. This can be really handy when determining how much light to use. These gels also attach very easily to any speedlight with the included band.
The Rogue Grid kit is designed to be used with the new Rogue Grid and these fit easily in to the Rogue Grid holder. This kit comes with the same tabbed 20 filters as the Universal kit and each gel is also marked with the color and number of stops of light each gel uses (I love this feature). If you already have the Rogue Grid then this is a must have addition, and if you don't have the grid, go out and pick one up, its priced right and easy to use!
Both kits come with their own carrying pouches which if you've used gels at all, you know how cumbersome it can be to keep these organized and stored for quick use. Also, both kits have tabbed dividers inside that tell you what gels it contains and information about each gel ...again this is an awesome feature! ...did I say that already?
I use gels all the time in my photography and you can never have too many. The new Rogue Gel Kits make it easy to have a broad selection of colored gels, organized and ready to use at a moment's notice. I included a short video below that shows you how to attach both sets of gels to your flashes.
After reading a thread in the Flickr Strobist group about a shot of two iPhones done by photographer Peter Belanger, I decided to see if I could recreate his photo, but instead of using studio equipment, I wanted to see if I could get similar results using just a single speedlight and reflectors.
I decided to light the phones from the back (as I often do with food photography) and use reflectors to the sides and to the front to throw subtle fill/highlights back on the phones. So for my keylight, I used an SB-800 in a 24" softbox almost directly behind the phones and at about a 45 degree angle. This might seem like nowhere near the size of the light source that the photographer used in the video, but a 24" softbox used in close to the phones appears to the phones as a HUGE light source which created a nice soft light. I triggered that flash with my D300's on camera pop-up flash.
Next I added my fill lights (or fill sources). Since my softbox was so close to the phones and I was shooting on a piece of white foam core, which is relatively reflective, all I needed to do was add a few more pieces of white foam core around the phone which would reflect the light from the softbox back on to the phone. I simply added these to both sides and held one in front below the camera lens.
To get the right amount of light I wanted from the reflectors, I simply took a shot, chimped a little, then moved the reflectors either closer or further away.
You can see in the setup photo (click on it for a larger view), my position of the reflectors except for the one in front. I was holding it, so I had to put down to shoot the setup folder. Also, I almost never shoot on a tripod but when doing product photography, I've that its really useful to use a tripod so you can keep the same framing, then adjust your subject(s) as necessary. If you do use a tripod, be sure to turn of the VR (vibration reduction) or IS (image stabilization) on your lens, otherwise it could create a little vibration and not give you the sharpest photo.
This is the image from the camera that I used for my final image. I knew going in, that this would be a more labor intensive photo in post production than I normally do but I still wanted the best image I could get to start my post work from. After watching Peter's video, I decide to use the same method he did, and shoot the phones while they were off, then add the desktop views afterwards in Photoshop. This is definitely not my strong suit, but I took a test photo with the phones on, and my key light reduced the contrast and color of the iPhones' desktop screens, so I thought adding them in post would be the best option for the best looking finished product.
If you look closely at this photo, also you will notice that we use protective screens on our iPhones which leave bubbles and scratches but actually does a pretty good job of protecting the face. I also had plenty of nicks and scratches to remove in post as well.
To get the screen capture, I simply did a "screen shot" of the home page on our iPhones and texted them to my main computer to use in this composition. This probably would not be the best way to do this for a client as the screen shot is not that good of quality, but for just posting a photo on the 'net, it worked out fine.
After adding the home pages to the phone, I boosted the overall contrast and brightness a bit with a curves adjustment layer, then added the blue, vignetted background in post. I had a pure white version but I think the blue background just works better and adds a little color to the shot.
So as you can see, this is actually a pretty easy setup to do, but did require a little more post work than I usually prefer to do. However the post work really made a difference with this particular image imho. Another reason I shot this the way I did was to illustrate the fact that you can create pretty nice product photography without having a studio full of expensive lights and modifiers.
Hope this was helpful and if anyone has any questions, please sound off in the comments!
Madison Mountain Range Lightening Storm BW Version
The one thing you can always be guaranteed when you’re living in the mountains is amazing thunderstorms. We’ve lost power for nearly half a day, my wireless router was fried by lightning, and at one point in time during a huge and very close lightning storm I was instructed we were going to downstairs to sleep. I guess there was a pretty rational fear of a tree dropping on the cabin (seeing as how one crunched my car last year). Yep, we’ve had some excitement in these here hills!
I did manage to take advantage of all this weather and get a fun shot of a lightning storm taking place on the Madison Mountain Range. The storm rolled in around 10 p.m. and created a light show that would have put Pink Floyd to shame. I don’t own a lightning trigger, but I decided to have some fun with some long exposures anyway. Using my tripod, cable release, and 24-70mm lens, I took several exposures but finally settled in f/6.3 at 93 secs.
This is the raw file from the camera:
Orginal RAW File
I decided to export the image into Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 (SEP2) to convert to B&W and do a little clean up on this image. I didn’t really need to tweak too much, but used several Control Points to increase Contrast, Amplify Whites, and a little Structure.
Finally, just to have a little fun, I took the SEP2 converted image and applied the Color Creative – Yesteryear 2 preset. Sure it looks a little cheesy, but it was fun to do and it does make that storm look angry!
Madison Mountain Range Lightening Storm Red Version
So tell me which one you like… Black and White or Color?
ExpoImaging has come out with a cool new modifier for speedlights called the Rogue 3-in-1 Grid. These are the same guys that brought us the Rogue Flash Benders for speedlights which are essentially snoots, gobos, bounce cards and flags all rolled in to one customizable shaped modifier. For photographers who like to pack light, you can't beat the small size and portability of this latest series of flash modifiers.
The Rogue Grid is a really nice system because it has three different grid sizes in one small package. These grids come in 45 degrees, 25 degrees and 16 degrees spreads that have a somewhat soft-ish fall off to the edges, unlike using a snoot. This system comes with the two grids (stacking them makes the third grid), the grid holder and a cool little bag to carry the system in.
These guys are made of a very hard composite plastic that seem very durable and can probably take a good beating ...or at least a lot wear and tear. These grids are attached to speedlights with the included grid holder. You simply take the grid holder and strap it around the head of your speedlight. It has a pretty unique system in that it will stretch and can be velcroed in to place which makes a pretty secure connection. You don't need anything like a speed strap or extra velcro to attach these to your speed lights and by design, the grid holder can be adjusted for different size speedlights.
Once you have the grid holder fastened to the flash, simply choose which degree grid you want to use, and fit it into the end of the grid holder. This is the only part of this system that I'm not exactly wild about because the grid takes a little work to slip in to the holder and then its only held by the tension of the holder itself. So far I haven't had any problems with this, but I do use an extra speed strap wrapped around it to make sure it stays secure. This is really just more of an annoyance than an actual ding on the system.
The internal grid pattern is slightly hexagonal but you can see in the photo below that it produces a circular style spread of light. Another cool feature about these grids is the really tight 16 degrees pattern you get. As far as I know, this is the smallest light spread by a grid for speedlights that you can get. To get the 16 degrees grid, you simply stack the 45 degrees and 25 degrees on top of each other and place in the grid holder. These go together quite easily as well because each of the grids are notched so that there is only one way you can stack these together. The 16 degrees grid makes a really small spread of light, especially when used in close.
The photo below shows the various light size spreads of the three different grids. The flash head is approximately three feet away from the wall, and I have an X and Y axis graph diagram in inches taped to the wall so that you can see the approximate sizes. Keep in mind these sizes will vary based on your flash to subject distance.
I have enjoyed using the Rogue Grids thoroughly and can without a doubt recommend them to anyone who uses speedlights. They do the job nicely and are compact. These are definitely worth the money in my book! You can pick up the Rogue Grid at Outdoor Photo Gear along with all the other cool products by ExpoImaging.
A quick word to the wise... when you first buy these and take them out of the box, it would appear that there is only one grid in the box. That is because they come stacked together. :) I figured this out only a few minutes after a little frustration.
Well, well, turns out there IS a sun, (we haven’t seen it much this spring) and it was out the other day. I got out early to beat the wind. Once that sun gets up and heats up the air, it starts the wind moving.
Depending on what I’m shooting, I may use the sun for some backlit images. Not a lot of plants up yet, but have enough Skunk Cabbage and May Apple plants to work with.
Here is the patch of Skunk Cabbage that I’m working. In another few weeks when these plants are full grown you won’t be able to see the ground. They grow in swampy and river bottom areas, and you can see a little bit of the swamps water in the background of this image. You can see the low angle sun touching some of the plants.
I usually walk towards the sun studying the leaves to find the best looking backlighting.
The sun needs to be at a low angle to get good backlighting on the leaves. Below, processing was done first with the Solarization filter in Nik Color Efex Pro, and then some fine tuning in Nik Viveza 2.
The more deeply furrowed the leaf is the more highlights and shadows you get. I shot this at f/32 for full depth of field.
Here is a horizontal version:
This is a May Apple leaf and they typically are not at an angle that catches the sun for backlighting, but this one had the right tilt that offered this view.
Backlighting really makes the veins pop in these leaves, so give it a try next time you’re out in the early morning or late evening sunlight.
You can visit Mike's blog and learn about his workshops here: Tiny Landscapes
Mike's eBooks are available in the OPG store here: Mike Moats
Finally! After many, many months (possibly even a year or so) of research and investigating, I finally purchased myself a ring light, or rather a ring flash modifier that I can use with my existing speedlights.
There are several makes and models to choose from which made the process a little more difficult than I expected, but I made a decision based on my shooting style, what would work with what I already have, and what my pocket book could let go of.
I decided on the Orbis Ring Flash adapter for quite a few reasons. Number one, it will work with my speedlights ...all of them. There are a few other ring flash adapters made for speedlights but some of them will only fit specific models. The Orbis is designed to be a universal fit, and it does indeed fit both sizes of my Nikon speedlights.
The next reason I chose the Orbis over other brands is that I like the quality of the light it produces. It doesn't seem to be as hard of a light source as some of the others, and its soft enough that I can use it off axis as another type of light modifier.
Yet another reason I picked the Orbis is that it is small and lightweight. I considered buying a self contained ring flash unit., but I know me, and if it's too much trouble to haul around, I simply won't use it. Plus, with a self contained unit, I would need additional power such as A/C or a battery pack, which is pretty inconvenient in most cases.
The last reason I picked the Orbis is cost. Pure and simple it seemed to me to be the best bang for the buck that I could afford. It cost me $200 which in my book, is more than fair enough, considering the quality of the product, and what it enables me to do. No other light source I have will give me the look the Orbis does.
Now, on to why I wanted a ring flash. I have to admit, I do love the simple portrait-against-the-wall-with-a-ring-flash look, but nowdays it seems way over done. That being said, I have shot a ton of shots like that just because I've never been able to get that "full-shadow halo" effect before as you can see in this pic. It's very big in certain circles, but its not the only trick I want in my bag.
What I'm more interested in with the Orbis ring flash is the ability to create on axis, fill light. When working with off camera lighting, you can create some really dramatic shadows. However, sometimes you might want those shadows to be a little more "opened up" in the darker recesses of your shot. That's where the Orbis absolutely sings! You can light someone or something with a hard or soft light off camera at a sharp angle, and then where you get those deep dark shadows, like in this photo, you can fill it in with just a wink of light from the ring flash. It's pretty much an effect that can be tailored to your own tastes, but the point is, using an on axis fill allows you to control those shadows and details as much or as little as you want.
"Why not just use and on camera flash or the pop-up flash on your camera for on axis fill" you say? Because it's just not the same quality of light--believe me I've tried it. A mounted, on camera flash will throw off a funny angle when shooting portraits and is also pretty harsh light. The pop-up flash will do the same somewhat and is not nearly as powerful as a separate flash unit. So the answer is definitely the Orbis!
Another neat thing about the Orbis is that due to the quality of the light it produces, it makes a really cool off axis light modifier. In this photo, I used my speedlight in the Orbis, dialed way down to just create a little fill light (camera left) to make more of an open, airy feeling shadow side. It's almost not even there, but just enough to make it noticeable. Sometimes less is more. (The main light for this shot was a speedlight in a 24" softbox camera right).
So in a nutshell, my overall impression and view of the Orbis Ring Flash adapter is fantastic. I absolutely love using it and hope to experiment more with it soon.
Oh, and you nature photographers out there, give it a shot with flowers. Incredible!
Now that winter has arrived here in southeast Michigan I’m mostly shooting indoors. Dealing with varying light conditions can be tough without artificial lighting. I mainly shoot in two location of my house, near a wall at the back of the house, or in the front foyer where a huge window on the second level floods the stairway with natural light. Whether I shoot at the back of the house or front depends on the time of day and where the strongest light is entering the home.
I have always preferred natural light for my images without the use of flash, and have been successful the majority of the time working in this manner. On most days I do get enough natural light through these windows that gives me enough light to pull off my shots. But there are those heavy overcast days when it’s just to dark in the house and tough to shoot. I tried flash in the past and found it frustrating at time and didn’t care for the look, even through I have seen photographers that use flash that get good results. It was just not for me.
Recently I’ve seen these LED light boxes that are sold as a constant light source used for shooting video with DSLR cameras. They attach in your camera’s hotshoe where the flash would be, and I thought this would be a great lighting tool for the macro photographer. I don’t use it attached to the camera, but rather use it by hand holding it where I what the light to hit the subject. Because the subjects we shoot are small this light works perfectly.
I can control the amount of light by adjusting how close the light is to the subject: more light I hold it closer, less light I hold it farther away. With this constant light I can see where the light is hitting, and how it affects the subject, so I have full control.
I bought of one of these lights to experiment with from the crew at Outdoor Photo Gear, who sell the Dot Line DV60 Video and DSLR Light. It sells for only $99, which is cheaper then a good flash system, and I feel I have more control with this light over using a flash.
It has tons of little LED lights and throws a lot of light, and as I stated you can control the lights intensity by varying the distance to the subject.
The light runs on a rechargeable battery and has an on/off switch.
I have seen other brands of LED lights being sold at different sites at much higher prices, sometimes in the three hundred dollar range, but this light worked great and at a much better price.
Our model, Rachael, under overcast skies at the DPE Learning Weekend in Atlanta, GA
Overcast skies may be bad for landscape photography, but they are great for shooting portraits. When shooting under cloudy skies you’ve got a giant overhead softbox to work with. This creates soft light that wraps around your subject and makes it easy to capture a proper exposure without blown highlights or harsh shadows. This soft light is also a great base for adding off-camera flash.
A few tips for success on an overcast day:
•Set your white balance to ‘Cloudy’ to add a little warmth to your colors
•Don’t include the sky in your photos. Unless the clouds are very dramatic, an overcast sky doesn’t make a good background.
•Use off-camera flash (speedlights or strobes) to create more interesting or dramatic lighting. Use the ambient light as your fill and build the main light with your off-camera flash.
•You may need to bump up the contrast (I like to use a curves adjustment) in Lightroom or Photoshop.
Learn more about Rob, view his images and check out his workshops at his website.
For something a little more useful, check out this portrait of my beautiful model using just a bare speedlight. While this particular model looks good in just about any light source, notice how hard the shadow lines are and how there is a little more texture and detail in the face. Also notice the shadow on the back wall and how sharp it appears.
In this next portrait, I used the large Flash Bender with the Diffusion Screen and right off you notice the better quality of light. The shadow lines appear much softer and the fall off of light on the background is much more subtle and diffused. Its hard to notice in these photos, but also the Flash Bender creates a larger catch light in the eyes, especially when using them in closer to your subject.
