Buying the right flash(s)

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Sam T

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Sam
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Hi,

Im looking to buy my first flash in the next couple of weeks or so. Iv had a look around but Im still not a hundred percent on what Im after. I have a Canon EOS 50D, and before the on-board flash is mentioned, It's not really doing it for me. You can come off with some half decent photos now and then with a pretty small apperture and some filtering, but the light is just wayy too harsh for close photography and doesnt suit what I want it for.

Im into auto-motive photography mainly, I go out on a Sunday night usually to weekly modified car meets, where you see alot of nice cars, and the majority of the drivers actually welcome photography of their motors, but without using the on-board flash, you have to have there is some decent street lighting or that the venue/car park you're on has decent lighting. Otherwise it doesnt work out so well without having a really long exposure, and it's not really practical to have a tripod in play and setting up when you are tying to photograph about 200 cars in an hour or so.

Iv been reading about photography involving remote off-camera flashes which give the best results iv noticed, so Im thinking of going for this, and maybe two at some point.

I also like to take photos of anything else, im pretty much all-round, so was looking at a screen diffuser or some sort, nothing too over the top.

What would you reccommend to match my camera?
 
Can you post a link to an example of the kind of shot you'd like to achieve? Should be easy enough to see how it was done.
 
What budget are you setting yourself on this lighting project?

You could use a Canon wireless trigger ST-E2, with a couple of 580EX2 flashguns - however this would set you back the best part of £700...

You could also try one on-camera flash with a diffuser - or a camera frame that allows you to raise the flash away from the body to help reduce shadows.

Let us know your budget - and we can help make a few suggestions...
 
3745999087_cc8208b306_b.jpg


http://syf0n.deviantart.com/art/Still-Life-141481316

Couple of examples, seem abit ambitious at the moment, but there you go.
 
cymruchris said:
What budget are you setting yourself on this lighting project?

You could use a Canon wireless trigger ST-E2, with a couple of 580EX2 flashguns - however this would set you back the best part of £700...

You could also try one on-camera flash with a diffuser - or a camera frame that allows you to raise the flash away from the body to help reduce shadows.

Let us know your budget - and we can help make a few suggestions...
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In retrospect, 700 doesnt seem all that much, considering Iv spent over 1k on the camera and a lens, the way Im looking at it at the moment is, if you want it you pay it, but I see what you're saying, and I agree, save money where possible.

Well, Im waiting for pay day to roll-around, for my first flash, Im willing to spend in the reigion of £350/450 for a remote setup and if needs must, add a second later.

With the ST-E2, can that work with more than one flash? IE, if I have 4 580's for arguments sake, will that seamlessly control all 4 of them?
 
Remember you'll need lightstands etc as well. If you're mainly going to be shooting cars it would be an idea to look at studio lights and a battery pack, probably work out a lot cheaper and produce more satisfying results.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Remember you'll need lightstands etc as well. If you're mainly going to be shooting cars it would be an idea to look at studio lights and a battery pack, probably work out a lot cheaper and produce more satisfying results.
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What would you advise?

I need something that is going to be practicle, Im often moving around in short spaces of time, and the cars are other peoples, so could leave at any point.
 
Sam T said:
What would you advise?

I need something that is going to be practicle, Im often moving around in short spaces of time, and the cars are other peoples, so could leave at any point.
Click to expand...

If it's not a "proper" shoot then I guess that rules out using big lights, are you talking about being able to setup your lighting or is it more a case of just taking pics of the cars as you come across them at an event?
 
Flash In The Pan said:
If it's not a "proper" shoot then I guess that rules out using big lights, are you talking about being able to setup your lighting or is it more a case of just taking pics of the cars as you come across them at an event?
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I wouldnt rule out setting up a 'shoot' in the future, but for the moment, Im mainly taking photos at events where I dont know, anything between 10 and 200 cars roll up for literally an hour or so before moving on to another location.

So yes, it is as I go around, need to be quick, hassle free yet giving half decent results.
 
Yes you can control a number of flashguns using the ST-E2 - assuming they are in range. I bought one today - and it works wonderfully indoors - however I'll be using it outdoors for the first time tomorrow - and will be running it with 2 x 580 EXII's... I think 2 would be enough for what you'd want - 3 at a push... I'm not sure you'd get the amount of clear space around the cars at a meet that you show in the photo above though.. They do tend to have many people wandering around.. The one above looks more set up and studio style...
 
Have a look on Flickr, there is an automotive strobist group and a lot of the images have setup shots attached, which will give you an idea of the sort of stuff you'll need
 
The white car you posted is lit with two flashes, high up to either side on tall stands. Left light is the main key light, and the one to the right is fill, probably set about a stop down, perhaps a bit more. You will find it very difficult to get anything like a decent result with one flash.

Bearing in mind the circumstances (I'm imagining a cruise meet) you haven't got time to mess around, nor the possibility of using studio style kit with a battery pack. But, if it's dark, I think you could do that with a couple of Canon 580EXII guns. The E-TTL should work fine outside when the ambient light is low, and that is what I'd use as you need the exposure to be right first time and can't go fiddling with adjusting the manual power outputs. You will also need an ST-E2 master unit on the camera to adjust and control the light ratios and trigger everything.

That all adds up to quite a bit of money but I think Kerso does the 580 for around £280 each. You could save money by using 430EXII guns instead, but they are about one stop less powerful and you will be marginal on power. That will be okay if you can run a higher ISO though. Nissin or Sigma guns are also cheaper.

On the other hand, you could also do it in manual and use cheaper radio triggers, which would be okay if you have everything pre-set exposure wise. You could then position the lights at just the right distance and know you'd be okay.

You need to shoot when it's dark though. That way you can use ISO and f/number to effectively increase the power of the flash guns enormously. If you're trying to battle against daylight, you'll lose, and you might also have trouble with the master unit failing to communicate and trigger due to the ambient light reducing sensitivity. Radio obviously gets over this.

There are ways around these problems but I can't think of a perfect solution without throwing loads more money at it. This is all IMHO of course. I'm not a million miles away in Peterborough (home of Max Power :lol: ) and have four 580EX guns and tiggers and various other bits if you want to roll over and try a few things.

Edit: WTF is that car? I say it's a heavily modded coupe of some sort, a bit Tigra at the back, but the whole thing's a bit small. Son says it's a US model Acura concept - the badge is close and he's usually quite cute on these things. I need to know! There's money invloved ;)
 
HoppyUK said:
Edit: WTF is that car? I say it's a heavily modded coupe of some sort, a bit Tigra at the back, but the whole thing's a bit small. Son says it's a US model Acura concept - the badge is close and he's usually quite cute on these things. I need to know! There's money invloved ;)
Click to expand...

Infiniti - possibly a G37. :thumbs:
 
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