Comments on: Aleona (model) ..

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:51:45 +0000

Hi there Antonio ..

In this case, the actual settings, 1/1000th @ f4 didn’t gain me anything over what I would’ve gotten with 1/250th @ f8

It was really just an exercise for me to figure out something more about flash, and using some aspects about the actual flash pulse, to sync flash at higher than the max sync speed.

If your photo lacks impact, it is most likely a combination of your lighting and post-processing.

Neil vN

By: Antonio

Antonio — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:45:38 +0000

Hello Neil….always a pleasure to read your posts. After watching your las video with the three models in Manhattan, I got motivated and went with my doughter to shoot. I used my 20×20 softbox with one Vivitar 285 manual wireless, since the Vivitar….well is very simple.

Came back to see that the pictures did not end up like yours…ahahah!!! no wonder. Anyway, I was wondering how can you achive that deep yellow soft like light and the bright colors…from de video you can see that the scenery is like your everyday scenery, but when you see the final result is like Wao!!!!.

My flash light looks white and with no real definitions. I have used several of your techniques indoorrs with on camera flash and is getting better, but outside the light looks white…like is not even there…and the picture in RAW format lacks deep color.

After reading some more, I saw your comments when shooting Aleona, that your Speed was 1/1000……wao, I never thought of that. Obviously, my 18-80, does not go bellow 4.5, but I guess higher speed and higher aperture is the way to go to try to achieve that hugh?

Thank youm keep them comming.
Antonio

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:03:19 +0000

Here it is .. an explanation of the way I understand how I was able to get flash exposure at a shutter speed much higher than maximum flash sync speed. I'd love to hear comments and any corrections. Neil vN

By: Damian Leonard

Damian Leonard — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:38:10 +0000

Or, to be precise, 1/200 second (1/250 s curtain travel time + 1/1000 s lag between first and second curtains).

By: Damian Leonard

Damian Leonard — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:16:30 +0000

That should have been 1/250 second, of course.

By: Damian Leonard

Damian Leonard — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:08:12 +0000

Maybe at full power the flash is so insanely bright that it glows for the full 1/1000 second or longer? Even a relatively weedy SB-900 has a quoted flash duration of 1/880 second at full power.

By: Neil

Neil — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:14:57 +0000

Nope & nope. :)

Just a single Q-flash at full power .. triggered wirelessly.

The wireless triggering has nothing to do with it .. but being at full power has everything to do with it.

Here are two clues: t.5 and t.1

(I’m hoping to hear from the people at Quantum in the next few days to clarify a few specific technical details .. and then I’ll write it up with a proper explanation.)

Neil vN

By: Dave Graham

Dave Graham — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:53:47 +0000

Neil,

You used an on-camera sb900 in HSS mode to trigger the quantum (possibly an optical slave trigger, or using the pc jack on the sb900 as an output) early enough to avoid the black band across bottom, and relied on the longish flash duration to cover the whole sensor? Feathered the softbox to compensate for the fading flash pulse?

David Graham

By: Trevor

Trevor — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:01:43 +0000

Ummm…you got to test the unreleased version of the new pocket wizards for Nikon before anyone else! (I’m hopeful anyways…)

Cheers!

By: Neil

Neil — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:25:47 +0000

Steve … nope. That’s not it either. With the D3 (as in most (all?) digital SLRs, the shutter curtain runs vertically. So if I were to chop off part of the image that wasn’t lit by flash, it would be a vertical crop, not a horizontal crop.

Sooo .. there’s still flash adding light to the model.

Neil vN