Right, where do I start?

Marcel

Marcel

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Marcel
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I've managed to come by 3 studio lights (Thanks chuck ;) I will cherish them until you shout at me for hogging them for too long :D), as I'd like to turn my hand to having a dabble.

They are Lencarta PF-200's as I found from Googling and came across this thread
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=334310

I also have two softboxes and a silver umbrella.
I have a 7D and a 430EX (Not MkII).
I also have 4 x Yongnuo RF603 trigger which I purchased last week.

No I have the lights physically functioning. One trigger attached to one flash with a cable and left tucked ontop. A second trigger on the camera. Not using the 430 (for now).
So I fire the camera, the lights trigger....everyone's a winner.

Now the real learning starts. How to use them. Where is the best to start reading? ebook perhaps?
I want the nuts and bolts of how it all works. I understand aperture and ISO are used to control the exposure, shutter speed should stay constant.
What do I set the lights to as a starting point? If they aren't bright enough or too bright should I adjust exposure via the aperture or the power control on the lights?

A few questions to get me started :)
 
Hi Michael, That's a very generous offer, thanks!
I've just sent you a PM in response :)
Paul, thanks for the link. That does explain things a little better.

What I don't understand is what to set the lights to? I understand about the ISO and aperture controlling the exposure etc, but how does that relate to the light settings?
 
Marcel said:
Hi Michael, That's a very generous offer, thanks!
I've just sent you a PM in response :)
Paul, thanks for the link. That does explain things a little better.

What I don't understand is what to set the lights to? I understand about the ISO and aperture controlling the exposure etc, but how does that relate to the light settings?
Click to expand...

You meter the light from the flash? or if you fancy it, just check the back of the camera and histogram.

It's straightforward, the light they put out is constant so even balancing it against another source is easy once you've got the power level right.
 
Marcel said:
What I don't understand is what to set the lights to? I understand about the ISO and aperture controlling the exposure etc, but how does that relate to the light settings?
Click to expand...

That's really the point at which the creative element comes in - using the level of lighting (power) to set the overall aperture for controlling the depth of field, the ratio's between the lights for effect and so on. This is then added to the fact you can control the postion of the lights + size/type of modifier and the combinations are limited only by your imagination or in my case size of room :D

Paul
 
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