Got the equipment now what, please help me set this up

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Fshoot7

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Hello

I am new here as you can tell and this is my first post

So hello to everyone

I have the D300 and some good top quality lenses and bowens studio setup and really want to start taking some great pictures with it and putting it to some use however i am not to sure how to set it all up. I also have the speedlight SB-900 and pocket wizards and would like to have the pocket wizards strobe off all 3 flashes at once. I will probably use the SB for lighting the background and getting a high key

I know i have to do everything in manual mode but what if i dont set the sync speed what will happen? and how do i know the sync speed of the lights?

To get a good image do you have to edit in Photoshop after or can you get a good clean image first time round if you shoot good?


Thanks
 
Fshoot7 said:
Hello

I am new here as you can tell and this is my first post

So hello to everyone

I have the D300 and some good top quality lenses and bowens studio setup and really want to start taking some great pictures with it and putting it to some use however i am not to sure how to set it all up. I also have the speedlight SB-900 and pocket wizards and would like to have the pocket wizards strobe off all 3 flashes at once. I will probably use the SB for lighting the background and getting a high key

I know i have to do everything in manual mode but what if i dont set the sync speed what will happen? and how do i know the sync speed of the lights?

To get a good image do you have to edit in Photoshop after or can you get a good clean image first time round if you shoot good?


Thanks
Click to expand...

Awe.....
 
In college we have a hotshoe thing that sets of the big flash lights when you press the shutter. THat is porberly no use to you as you have a flash gun!!
 
Have you got a Flash meter like a Sekonic L 308s or 358

Set your iso in it fire the lights and it tells you the settings you need as a baseline which you can then play around.
 
Welcome aboard Fshoot7, can't help I'm afraid but I've shifted the thread into lighting for you :) Hopefully one of the guru's in here can help out :thumbs:
 
What you really, really need is some proper training on how to use them.

For the Sb's go and look at strobist website.

For the studio flashes have a look at Garry Edwards Training Guides or Mark Cleghorn (Marks training DVD's are downloadable from his website)

It's honestly not that easy that you can just get a reply on a thread, especially since we have no idea what kind of image you want to produce.
 
AliB said:
What you really, really need is some proper training on how to use them.

For the Sb's go and look at strobist website.

For the studio flashes have a look at Garry Edwards Training Guides or Mark Cleghorn (Marks training DVD's are downloadable from his website)

It's honestly not that easy that you can just get a reply on a thread, especially since we have no idea what kind of image you want to produce.
Click to expand...

Good advice.

Your starting point is to understand the absolute basics. The camera is used on manual, set the shutter speed to 1/90th or thereabouts (it has to be fully open at the moment the flash fires, the actual speed is almost irrelevant) and adjust your aperture as necessary.

Start with just 1 light. Other lights are only used to solve problems but when you're starting out, using more lighting will cause rather than solve problems.

With knowledge and care, you can create everything you need in camera. IMO PS should be used to improve good images, not to rescue bad ones.

You can get my written tutorials from here, my videos from here and free downloads from http://www.photolearn.co.uk/webpages/book_free_preview.html.

When you have specific questions to ask, ask away - meanwhile welcome to the fascinating world of studio photography!
 
wow, lot of kit. what are you taking pictures of?

what wattage are your lights?
what accessories do you have for your lights?
how big is the room?
how many pocket wizards you got?
 
Fshoot7 said:
Hello

I am new here as you can tell and this is my first post

So hello to everyone

I have the D300 and some good top quality lenses and bowens studio setup and really want to start taking some great pictures with it and putting it to some use however i am not to sure how to set it all up. I also have the speedlight SB-900 and pocket wizards and would like to have the pocket wizards strobe off all 3 flashes at once. I will probably use the SB for lighting the background and getting a high key

I know i have to do everything in manual mode but what if i dont set the sync speed what will happen? and how do i know the sync speed of the lights?

To get a good image do you have to edit in Photoshop after or can you get a good clean image first time round if you shoot good?


Thanks
Click to expand...


Your local college should hold 9 week Studio Photography classes, get yourself there.
 
Thank you for the help guys

I wish i could take classes but i don’t really have the time right now i was just hoping to set it up and start using them right away

I got this lot to take pictures of the kids but so far haven’t taken any and its just been stuck doing nothing

My setup is

D300 + Grip
Nikon Speedlight SB-900
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens
Nikon 18-200 AF-S DX lens
Nikon 60mm macro lens
Nikon MC 36 remote
2 x Pocket Wizard Plus II
Sekonic L-358
Bowens 2x 500w heads
Back drops, stands and clamps
few lastolite collapsible backgrounds
and a few reflectors

All stays in my Pelicase

Now with my setup will i be able to get magazine quality shots if i want too?

I will for sure check out the sites you recommended thanks, but i would also be interested in any studio lighting DVDs that are good that take you right from the start

I already have blue crane and elite training DVDs but still don’t understand how to do studio lighting that well

Most of the time i just shoot in auto lol

Thanks
 
DO YOU HAVE UMBRELLAS OR SOFTBOXES?

what skill level are we talking?(ie, salesman said i need this stuff, got it home and cant find the power button or i can set up the kit and take a few snaps but they arent coming out how i want to)
 
First things's first, turn on the lights and set them to an approriate power setting - 50% power should be fine.

Connect the PW to the camera, switch to the transmit mode.

Connect a PW to one light, set to receive.

Set the camera on manual - something like a shutter speed of 1/125th and an aperture of f/8 is a good start.

Press the shutter and everything should fire - that's studio photography in a nutshell. :)

If you want to go more advanced then set the other light to slave mode (so it reacts to the flashes going off - the instruction amnual will tell you about this) and this can be sued as a second light for background etc.

You have a lot of gear there that is pretty high spec. You really need to learn about the equipment first. Read the manual for the flash and the PW and you're halfway there.

There are ABSOLUTELY NO RULES when it comes to lighting. It's all about experimenting and getting the look you want through changing light positiona and angle, and power output.
 
The key to it is the Sekonic.

Read up on your camera's synch speed and learn to use the Seconic first.

Once you know how to use it you can turn the lights on. After that it all depends what you want to do, low key dark moody nudes right through to white background or heaven forbid venture style. It's all in the box.

You just need to learn how to use it and that does not take five minutes.
 
You've been given some good advice.

Studio photography can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. I think you should buy all my videos and tutorials (I think everyone should buy them :-) ) but although they're full of info on how to achieve specific effects they won't answer your questions on how to get started.

And I doubt whether a local evening class would help much either, judging from what I know of the standard of studio lighting tuition at degree level in a lot of colleges...

All you need to do is to actually make a start, experiment and note cause and effect, it's that simple. But start with just one light, forget about all that expensive gear for now, all that extra lights do is to add sophistication that you don't need right now, and adding sophistication adds complications that you don't need.

You won't learn with your gear stuck in a box, so get a light out, see what it can do. and go from there. Photograph an object, not a person, because objects keep still and don't get bored. Once you've exhausted all the possibilities with one light, try a different object, then start the process again. Then add a reflector and start again, and so on. Once you're confident you can try photographing people.
 
Thank you very much for all the help very glad i signed up

fletch5

No sales man i just searched around and the D300 seem to be about the best camera for the money without going to the D3 which i wouldn’t even be able to operate so i went for the D300 and got the 24-70mm which is a great lens

I have 2 umbrellas 1 that came with the bowens kit and another i got separately and i have 1 softboxe that also came with the kit

Same as this one

bowens_250-250.jpg


Believe it or not but i had the stuff for a few months now and haven’t really got around to using it much. the last thing i got was the SB-900 which i was hoping to use to get a high key white background

The good news is i can setup the pocket wizards to strobe the heads but where i get stuck is setting the sync speed to the heads and how close to place the flash heads to the subject without losing detail in the face

But i think i will take your advice and start experimenting with them to find out what results i can get i guess that’s the only way to learn

Up until now i have been using auto mode so this will be my first time in manual mode

Thanks again
 
:thinking: a lot of pricey gear there, did you upgrade from something else or has this all been bough in one go, so to speak?
 
OK, set up one light, set the camera to 1/125 f8 (you need to be on manual to do that).

get hold of your light meter, go to where your subject is and point it at the light. Trigger the light and read what the meter says. (You need the meter set to ISO 100 and 1/125 sec.) Try to get it to say f8. (turn the light up and down until it does)

That's your starting point. Move it around a little, try umbrellas and softboxes and then try turning it up and down a bit.

Once you have got that one sorted out then start playing with reflectors or second lights.

Have fun and let's see the pics!
 
Thank you again for the help

Flash In The Pan

I upgraded from a Nikon d50 which is a big step i know i only ever use to use that camera in the auto mode, so now i have all these new buttons on the D300 and dont know where to start lol

Heres a quick pic of my hard case incase anyone is remotely interested what a D300 might be like in a Peli case. Might not be the best layout but oh well lol

newye4.jpg


Will post up some pictures when i have figured this all out

Again thanks for everyone help :)
 
The best advice has already been given - start with 1 light, off camera with a shoot through umbrella or softbox. Then add a reflector.

That is really all you'll need to get great family portrait shots.

Some great video tutorials about:

http://www.prophotolife.com/video-library/

Love this guy:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6lsRu90jE88&feature=related
(8 in total)

Some more here:

http://uk.youtube.com/user/PhotographersAcademy

Just take some time reading/watching video's and take it one step at a time - do not think you have to use all your equipment :)
 
Fshoot7 said:
Thank you again for the help

Flash In The Pan

I upgraded from a Nikon d50 which is a big step i know i only ever use to use that camera in the auto mode, so now i have all these new buttons on the D300 and dont know where to start lol

Heres a quick pic of my hard case incase anyone is remotely interested what a D300 might be like in a Peli case. Might not be the best layout but oh well lol

newye4.jpg



Again thanks for everyone help :)
Click to expand...

Awe.... (again)
 
hi

I was in the same situation as you 6 months ago but I enrolled on a 2 day studio and photoshop course, it was not cheap at £400 but have since re-couped more than that will sales of portaits

The company is based in the perak district http://www.peakphotocentre.com which is not ideal for everbody but it was really well run and very good indeed.

Stringy
 
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