Any advice for first use of Elinchrom D-Lite 4 speedlights?

[sduk]

Hello, I have decided to upgrade my lighting set-up (from nothing lol) and have bought the Elinchrom D-Lite 4 speedlight, softbox kit from a friend!

This is the kit here...

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-elinchrom-400-400-d-lite-4-rx-softbox/p1533305


Another friend would like me to photograph models wearing the wedding dresses she has made and I was considering using the new kit.

Been doing a fair bit of reading online and can have as many shots of getting the photos right as I want, so no pressure.

Can anyone offer any advice on camera settings or lighting set up to a beginner?

I'm thinking of using my 16-50mm f2.8 lens. Would this be the best choice?

thanks in advance,

Sammy

 

[Garry Edwards]

The flash heads are perfectly capable, but you might want to consider getting better (and bigger) softboxes.
As a starting point, you might want to try having your subject sandwiched between each light, i.e. one light directly at each side, this will skim light across the front of the dress, and will show both the texture of the dress, and the shape of the model well. You will need to experiment with the power/ratio of the lights.
With just 2 lights, forget about having any kind of lit background, this will require extra lighting.

The lens doesn't matter much. Use the longest lens you can, consistent with the amount of space you have available. A wideangle lens, because it is used close up, will distort the perspective.

 

[sduk]

Will look into getting upgraded softboxes. Do you think those with the kit will be okay for what I need to begin with?

My longest lens is 50mm and I have a 50mm prime lens and the 16-50mm.

I've read that's best to shoot in manual. Any advice on shutter speed or aperture? I appreciate ever situation varies. I will be shooting in a castle in one of the bedroom's and lounges. It's quite dark I believe.

thanks for the help

 

[Garry Edwards]

It isn't "best" to shoot in manual, it's essential to do so.
As a starting point, set your ISO to 200
Set your shutter speed to 1/125th
Set your aperture to whatever you like, a good starting point would be f/8
Adjust lighting power and/or aperture/ISO to get correct exposure, as you clearly don't have a flash meter, using trial and error.

It doesn't make a scrap of difference if the rooms are dark, the flashes provide the light.

Your friend is expecting a lot of you - she should be paying a fashion photographer to do this

 

[sduk]

It isn't "best" to shoot in manual, it's essential to do so.
As a starting point, set your ISO to 200
Set your shutter speed to 1/125th
Set your aperture to whatever you like, a good starting point would be f/8
Adjust lighting power and/or aperture/ISO to get correct exposure, as you clearly don't have a flash meter, using trial and error.

It doesn't make a scrap of difference if the rooms are dark, the flashes provide the light.

Your friend is expecting a lot of you - she should be paying a fashion photographer to do this

thanks for the tips, will use that at a starting point. I borrowed the kit once before and triggered the flashes using my built in camera flash. I think I will have a trigger with this kit.

I have offered to help my friend, happy to get the practice

 

[Phil V]

thanks for the tips, will use that at a starting point. I borrowed the kit once before and triggered the flashes using my built in camera flash. I think I will have a trigger with this kit.

I have offered to help my friend, happy to get the practice

If you really want to help, send the lights back and buy a longer lens.

 

[cymruchris]

I owned this set - and really enjoyed using them. Sold them now though They'll sync easily up to 1/160 of a second - and depending on your camera, you might be able to sync slighty higher. As you get more practiced, you could look at adding in some light modifiers and grids to experiment further, but to start with get used to these, and see what results you can pull-off... Good luck.