Using studio strobes outdoors

FlyTVR

FlyTVR

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What's the score with using studio outdoors in cold dry weather.

I'm concerned with the condensation when returning indoors etc.

Cheers.

Dav
 
This was a conundrum that I've recently had. I think in fine, dry weather there shouldn't be any problem but with the combination of cold winter weather and the heat that studio lights generate, I believe this could be the recipe for disaster!
Though considerably more expensive, I've decided that something along the lines of the safari/quadra/ranger etc is more suited.
 
Not ideal but should be fine really... don't take them straight from -10 into your lovely warm lounge, but y'know... :)

I know you said dry outside, but be careful - put an RCD on each plug (good practice anyway) and be prepared to wrap the shoot, or the lights*, in the slightest hint of rain.


*not the best solution...
 
ok, never in a month of Sundays would I try this one with studio lights.

199125_453417268031590_942706009_n.jpg


Location lights definitely have their uses, er............ as do big plastic bags!
 
I find wedding photos really boring.
But after staring at that picture for a few minutes, well, it's a masterpiece!
Fascinating...

Frank
 
Michael Sewell said:
Something is only boring if it's the same as everything else.
Wedding images can be extremely varied.

erm............... possibly not a debate that should be started here, TBH.
Click to expand...

That's a great shot though Michael :thumbs: Just for interest, is the rain 100% real?
 
HoppyUK said:
That's a great shot though Michael :thumbs: Just for interest, is the rain 100% real?
Click to expand...

Yes, real enough to ruin a very expensive pair of shoes, worn for the first time that day, and only lasting about eight hours.
The water managed to seep into the sync port and short the contacts, so the Safari wouldn't fire. It was ok after standing on a radiator for a few hours.
I hadn't been quite quick enough to close put the generator in the bag. Or rather, it had been raining far harder than any previous occasion when I had done rain shots, and I hadn't placed it within the bag quite quick enough.

I've done rain shots with both speedlights and Safaris, and would recommend speed lights for quick 'n' dirty scenarios, not least because they tend to put up with rain a little better.
 
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Incidentally, you should be able to make out the rain marks on the groom's suit, the wet bride's arm and the ripples in the puddles.
TBH, it was hammering it down. It was taken in early August, during that horrendous time of torrential rain.
 
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Back on topic:
On the occasions I have had to bring studio heads from an outdoor environment into the warm, I tend to do it in stages.
From the car (cold and damp), to the landing of the studio (cool), and then finally into the studio (Warm and snug!).
Not experienced any problems when doing this. That said, when I've "forgotten" and simply brought heads straight into the studio from a very cold car, they've been fine. Although I haven't gone straight from car to studio use.
 
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Thanks :) I never doubted the rain, just that it's so perfectly captured I thought you might have 'shopped it along a bit. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

I've never much fancied being a wedding photographer.
 
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HoppyUK said:
Thanks :) I never doubted the rain, just that it's so perfectly captured I thought you might have 'shopped it along a bit. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
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120cm folding Octa at shoulder height camera right, 1/4 output on a Safari Classic.
Nikon D3 1/50th sec ISO400 24-70mm f4.5
The shot was more about balancing the ambient so the background didn't just evaporate to black. The Safari needed to be quite low, because really, it was only used to provide a little lift to the couple, but mainly to highlight the rain.

Post processing wise, converted in Lightroom 3.2, with a touch of punch to add to the mood. Had a slight sharpening effect on the rain due to the increased contrast, so that may be what you are interpreting as "perfectly captured."

Although I'll still take it as a compliment.

I have others without any form of post processing if you want to see, Richard. Shot using two speedlights.
 
Michael Sewell said:
120cm folding Octa at shoulder height camera right, 1/4 output on a Safari Classic.
Nikon D3 1/50th sec ISO400 24-70mm f4.5
The shot was more about balancing the ambient so the background didn't just evaporate to black. The Safari needed to be quite low, because really, it was only used to provide a little lift to the couple, but mainly to highlight the rain.

Post processing wise, converted in Lightroom 3.2, with a touch of punch to add to the mood. Had a slight sharpening effect on the rain due to the increased contrast, so that may be what you are interpreting as "perfectly captured."

Although I'll still take it as a compliment.

I have others without any form of post processing if you want to see, Richard. Shot using two speedlights.
Click to expand...

Flash is beautifully done :thumbs: Have you got the same shot without flash? Would like to see that. I love to see examples where skillful use of light transforms and creates pictures, and I supect that here, even though the use of flash is invisible to the untrained eye (an not that obvious to a professional) I suspect that it really makes the picture.

Thanks for the info :)

Edit: I bet you could win an award with that shot. Please straighten the verticals :D
 
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HoppyUK said:
Have you got the same shot without flash? Would like to see that.
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Well, I do have an example of overcooking it slightly, lightwise.

05Aug12_542.jpg


This was all by the seat of the pants stuff, and I felt this was just a little too much light for what I wanted.
The following image is without flash, and was between the above image, and the landscape image I posted in #4. This was when the Safari started to complain about the amount of water it was having to endure, and was misfiring every third shot or so.

D3A_6222.jpg


Although the rain is still evident in the puddles, the grooms jacket etc, there's no light catching the rain at all. The groom's suit becomes quite dull, and the bridal gown doesn't exactly exude affluence either. You will also notice the slight shift in colour balance on the stonework, gravel and the couple. The WB was set to flash, and of course, t'ain't none.

I'll dig out a two speedlight rainshot for you in a minute or two.
 
Thanks Michael.

The no-flash shot says it all really, and the big softbox has both made the light and the short duration shows the rain. They make a great comparison pair. Without flash, it would probably have to go in the album as a record of the miserable weather, but with flash it's the shot of the day. Totally better :thumbs:

It would be interesting to see what the speedlites could have done when toned down a bit, but I think the hard light would still have made the flash fairly obvious.
 
HoppyUK said:
It would be interesting to see what the speedlites could have done when toned down a bit, but I think the hard light would still have made the flash fairly obvious.
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Agreed. The speedlights worked fine for the night shot, but would have given the game away in the daytime set. Even with a 60x60cm speedlight softbox, I think I would have had too much by way of highlights on the bridal dress and the grooms suit to get the image I was after.
On the other hand, speedlights wouldn't have complained half as much with the rain, and I'd likely have gotten finished before ruining my shoes.

I do wonder if a very large reflective brolly with a white inner surface may have done the trick. Hmmmmmmmmmm, I'll try that one next time, erm... with wellies though.
 
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