Does anyone light up their hi-lite with flash?

[cambsno]

Don't use mine as much as I should! Partly as I shoot in homes and sometimes having the space for the lightstands at each side can make it difficult. Thought about getting a couple of cheap Yongnuo flashes to light it from inside (thought about placing them on the floor pointed up with wireless triggers) - would that work?

 

[mike weeks]

Don't use mine as much as I should! Partly as I shoot in homes and sometimes having the space for the lightstands at each side can make it difficult. Thought about getting a couple of cheap Yongnuo flashes to light it from inside (thought about placing them on the floor pointed up with wireless triggers) - would that work?

I generally use studio flash but have used flashguns with smaller versions.

Mike

 

[TG.]

What size is your Hi-lite ? I've never used speed lights with my 7x8 I can't imagine them doing the job properly, I normally use 2 smartfash 200, but like you say can sometimes be a real pain with the stands, I would be interested in hearing from people who have used speed lights with success, and would also like to see some results.

 

[cambsno]

Mine is the 7x6 version

 

[HarveyM]

I also have the 7x 6 version which is lit using 2 by 200w's studio lights which are plenty powerful enough. I haven't tried to light it using speedlights but suspect that it would be a struggle to white out a Hilite of that size just with two speedlights. Factor in the longer recharge cycle and thirst for batteries, that will slow down the flow shot to shot, which would be an issue for me but not necessarily others. Secondhand studio lights also tend to be cheaper than the more poweful speedlights, I've bought all my studio heads and mainly Metz speedlights secondhand for a fraction of the new costs.

 

[MidnightUK]

suspect that it would be a struggle to white out a Hilite of that size just with two speedlights.

Is it possible with these big boxes, to insert 4 or six speedlights or do access/space limitations preclude this?

 

[boyfalldown]

I have used speed lights in the past with limited success. The problem with having them on the floor is you get fairly rapid light fall off. Using stands seems to work best, but it doesn't solve your issue

 

[HarveyM]

Hilites have zipped access on all four sides and there would be plenty of room to put such as a threeway speedlight mount into 2 sides. My Metz speedlights, like most others, have a manual slave function, so a couple of speedlights could easily be placed on the floor inside the Hilite which could save on a multi mount. So it's certainly feasible given 4 or 6 speedlights and a lot of batteries.

 

[Diving Pete]

I've used 2 x speed lights (sb800's) in my 7 x 6. You get serious falloff to the point I won't do it again... for a head & shoulders you can get away with it but much over that it's really noticeable.

 

[shreds]

Wouldn't dream of using the Speedlights in mine.

A couple of studio lights on stands work really well, but can imagine that Speedlights would use up the batteries very quickly and as is said, the light fall off is likely to be an issue. You could of course hire the necessary equipment? Plus if you are using speedlights. you need to factor the cost of remote triggers unless the unit has something like this already? Studio lights, especially secondhand mono-blocks are usually as cheap as some speedlights.