New Technique: ND filter + Flash for Portrait

Usually, photographers use a Neutral Density (ND) Filter to shoot landscape, so they can use a lower shutter speed to show the motion in the subject. For example, those silky water fall images you see often.

We can also use it to shoot people portrait. I read about this technique from Joe L. Basically, the idea is to use a Neutral Density (ND) Filter to cut down the ambient light and then use a flash to light the subject for correct exposure. Now the background is darker, so the subject stands out for the image.

I got a chance to try out this technique last week. The images in this post were taken around 4pm in a sunny Calforina afternoon. The Sun was not hitting the pool but the ambient is still very bright. I think it was around f8 at 1/250. I used a ND8 filter to cut down 3 stops of the light. To compensate it, I had a Nikon SB-800 Speedlight attached to a Lastolite Ezybox 24" Softbox. I think the flash was set at 1/2 power. The light was held on top the model on camera right by an assistant.

Camera was set at ISO200, f2.8 at 1/250 and the pool was nice and warm.

Session with Suzanne and Victoria

Camille is a makeup artist and she wants to update her portfolio, so we did a session for her. Suzanne and Victoria were the models for the session. Danielle did the hair.




Some behind the scene pictures:



More pictures can be found here.

In Search of the Perfect Trigger (Part 5)

We have been taking about flash triggers and each of them has it's pros and cons. The best trigger I have ever used is the made by Pocket Wizard. It is very reliable and it can trigger from very far away. It does not have the line-of-sight requirement. The issue I have is it is very expensive (about US$140 each and you need at least 2). Here are the pros and cons of Pocket Wizard:

• Pros:




• Reliable. No line-of-sight requirement. Can trigger from far away.
  
• Scalable. Just add more Pocket Wizards if you want to add my flashes.
  


• Cons:




• Very expensive.
  
• No TTL
  
• The device is bigger than I expect but it is not that heavy.
  

Now the question is which trigger do I use? The answer is all of them.
In a simple one or two flashes setup, I would use Nikon CLS. It is quick and simple to setup. When I need to use more flashes and non-Nikon flashes (i.e. AlienBees), then I would use a mix of triggers. Here is my typical setup:

• AlienBees: triggered by its internal optical trigger.
  
• Nikon SB800: set to SU-4 mode to be triggered optically.
  
• Nikon SB600: plugged it to the pocket wizard and to be triggered by it.
  
• Vivitar 256: plugged it to the Sonia optical trigger.
  

I plug another Pocket Wizard on the camera's hotshoe. Now when I push the shutter,
The SB600 will be triggered and its light will trigger the other flashes. This setup works very well in my studio setup and it is much cheaper than using 3 or 4 Pocket Wizards.

In Search of the Perfect Trigger (Part 4)

The optical trigger and the Nikon CLS both require the slaves to be in the line of sight of the master. Sync cable does not have that requirement but it is not very flexible. The next method is to use wireless trigger.

I got this wireless trigger on eBay for less than $20. It's brand is Jianisi or JN and it's model number is PT-04TM. It is an OK trigger, when it works. The reason I said that is because something it does not trigger and I need to "reset" it by switch the channels and the on-off switch. Another thing that I don't like is the receiver is too long if I mount the flash on the hotshoe. It does not feel that stable when mount the setup on a lightstand with an umbrella. I can use the sync port but then there is no way to place the receiver on the stand.











Here are the pros and cons:

• Pros:
  
  
  
  • No light of sight requirement
    
  • Can trigger multiple receivers
    
  • Once it is working, it works pretty well
    
  
  
• Cons:
  
  
  
  • Sometimes it does not work. Need to be "reset"
    
  • The receive is too long if mount the flash on the hotshoe
    
  • There is no other way to mount the receiver on a stand
    
  
  

In Search of the Perfect Trigger (Part 3)

Both the Sonia and the Nikon CLS are triggered by the light from the master flash. CLS is more sophisticated because it allows you to control the slave flashes' setting from the camera. However, both of them have the same drawback: the requirement of staying in the line-of-sight between master and slaves. This is especially a problem when shooting outdoor.

The cheapest and the easiest way to solve this problem is to use the sync cord or sync cable. Plug one end to the camera and plug the other to the flash and you are done. You can move around without worrying about the master flash is pointing to the sensor of the slave flash, as long as you are within the reach of the sync cord.

Here are the pros and cons of using sync cords:

• Pros:
  
  
  
  • Cheap. A few dollars will get you one.
    
  • Reliable. As long the connectors are secured to the camera and the flash, you know for sure the flash will be triggered.
    
  
  
• Cons:
  
  
  
  • Not scalable. You can only connect one flash to one camera using one cable. You can use an extra adapter to plug in more flashes but there is still a limit.
    
  • Limited distance. You can get a pretty long cable but you still have a very limited shooting distance. Also you may get tripped up by the cable while walking around.
    
  
  

I only use sync cord when I use a hand-held off camera flash. Quick and simple and I don't need to worry about my fingers are blocking the optical sensor. It is just not quite meet all the requirements for shotting in the studio.

In Search of the Perfect Trigger (Part 2)

The next triggering device or triggering method that I am going to discuss is the Nikon CLS (Creative Lighting System). This system triggers the flashes optically but it is a lot of more sophisticated than the optical trigger I talked about in the previous post.

CLS is built in to the sb900, sb800 and SB600 flashes. With SB900 and SB800, you can use them as either a master or slave. With SB600, you can only use is as slave. It is also built in to some of the newer Nikon DSLR, e.g. D300 and D700. You can use the camera's built-in flash to trigger the off camera flashes. Or you can use the SU800 as the master trigger.

There are many articles on CLS already and there is even a DVD from Nikon that teaches you how to use it. Therefore, I am not going to spend time on it. I will go
directly to the pros and cons on using Nikon CLS as the triggering method.

• Pros:
  
  
  
  • Much more sophisticated than the regular optical triggers. It supports iTTL and it even allows you to adjust the settings of the remote flashes from the camera
    
  • Built-in to the flashes. No extra component to buy. No extra battery is needed.
    
  • Very Scalable. It can trigger many flashes with different settings.
    
  
  
• Cons:
  
  
  
  • Nikon only. Not compatible with other vendors. So it does not work with my Vivitar, Canon and Alien Bees.
    
  • Still an optical trigger. Still need to make sure the master and slaves are in the line-of-sight.
    
  • It allows you to use the on-camera flash as the master but with the line-of-sight requirement, you may need to use a separate master to trigger. You can get another SB900, SB800 or SU800 to do that but they are very expensive.
    
  • It cannot be mixed with other optical triggering slaves because the pre-flashes will trigger them.
    
  
  

I have written a few other posts on using it on location and with my softbox. You can find those articles here and here. In general, I like Nikon CLS very much because I don't need to carry extra components and I can set everything from my camera. I use it whenever I can. However, I still need a way to trigger my flashes from other vendors.

By the way, with SB800 and SB900, you can put them into something called the SU-4 mode. Basically, it put them into the simple optical trigger mode. Now you can mix them with other optical triggering slaves. I use this a lot in the studio setting. I use the Alien Bees as the master flash and the SB800 as the slave in SU-4 mode. I can add my Vivitar using the Sonia optical trigger. Now I can use 3 flashes in the same. I just need to use manual mode for all of them.

There is no SU-4 mode in SB600 and there is no sync port. It cannot be a CLS master. However, it is at least $100 cheaper than a SB800 (used). So if I want to use the SB600, then I put the Sonia on it or a hot-shoe adapter to give it a sync port. I only use the SB600 if I have to as it is not as flexible as the SB800.

In Search of the Perfect Trigger

We all know that we have to take the flash off the camera in order to take good pictures. However, when the flash is not being attached to the camera's hot shoe, we will need a way to trigger it. Also when we are using more than one flash or studio strobe, we will need a way to trigger them all.

In the next few posts, I am going to tell you about my experience on using various trigger devices or methods. And if you have any suggestion, please feel free to let me know.

Here are my requirements for the device/method:

• Reliable. It has to trigger every time I push the shutter.
  
• Scalable. It can trigger one or more flashes at the same time.
  
• Compatible. I have a Nikon SB600, SB800, Alien Bees, Vivitar 273, and a Canon 580EX. It would be nice if I can trigger them all at the same time.
  
• Affordable. I prefer to spend my money on lenses and lights than on triggers.
  
• Mobile. I shoot indoor and outdoor and when I am on location, I don't have a lot of time to set things up.
  

The first device I am going to review is the optical trigger made by Sonia. I got it from eBay for US$13 + shipping, so it is very affordable. It's pretty well built.

It comes with a hot shoe and the hot shoe has one female PC outlet and 2 male PC outlets. The trigger is plugged into the female PC outlet. It claims you can plug in multiple flashes using PC cords and it will trigger them but I haven't tried that yet. It also has a screw hole on the bottom, so you can mount it on a lightstand.

In the picture above, I put the Nikon SB800 on the hot shoe with the trigger and I used the on-camera flash to trigger it. It worked without any problem. Since it has the hot shoe, it should work with all the flashes.

As with any other optic triggers, the master flash needs to be in the line-of-sight of the slave. There is no exception for the Sonia trigger. If you are shooting indoor (in a small room), the light from the master flash will bounce around and it may trigger the slave. However, you will be out of luck if you are shooting outdoor.

Another problem I ran into is the SB800 would go into standby mode when it's idle for awhile. When it was in standby mode, the trigger would only wake it up but not trigger it. So I would miss the first shot if the SB800 went to standby. This is not as "smart" as Nikon's CLS.

Here is the summary:

• Pros:
  
  
  
  • Seems to be quite reliable. Just make sure it is in the line-of-sight of the master and the flash is not in standby mode.
    
  • It is scalable. I can trigger more than one flash at the same time. Just get more triggers.
    
  • It is compatible with many flashes as long as they are the in manual mode. No CLS. No TTL.
    
  • It is very affordable
    
  • It is easy to setup and I can move around and shoot without problem.
    
  
  
• Cons:
  
  
  
  • line-of-sight requirement.
    
  • No CLS. No TTL.
    
  • May not be reliable when shooting outdoor.
    
  
  

That's it for now. I will talk about other devices and methods in my following posts.

Ezybox with Nikon CLS update

I have been using the 24x24 inch Ezybox with my Nikon SB800 triggered by CLS for over a month now. Here is how I mounted the flash on the Ezybox.

This is a summary on my experience on using this setup.

It's great for indoor shoot (small room). I could just set it up on a light stand and I could trigger it with CLS without any problem. I didn't even need to worry about the on camera flash needed to be line-of-sight of the SB-800 sensor. The CLS signal could bounce off the wall/ceiling and triggered the flash.

It's great for outdoor shoot if I used a long lens. If I used my 18-200mm or if I didn't get too close with my 50mm, the SB800 was triggered without problem. I need to make sure the on camera flash was on the line-of-sight to the SB-800 sensor. The results were great too as long as the flash was triggered.

It's not great for outdoort shoot if I use a wide lens. If I used my 12-24 and if I need to get close, the SB-800 sensor would not be on the sight of the on camera flash.

My conclusion is to use a long lens if I want to use CLS with the Ezybox outdoor. If I need to use a wide lens, then I will need other form of triggering instead of CLS, maybe a SU-800 or a pocket wizard.

Here is a picture taken using the Ezybox with Nikon SB-800, triggered by CLS via the on camera flash. The flash was set to TTL.

Lastolite Ezybox on location

We did a shoot on a beach using the Ezybox. Nikon SB800 was mounted on the Ezybox and then it was mounted on a regular lightstand. Some mild wind was blowing but the Ezybox held up pretty well. It only fell over twice and we were able to catch it before damage was done.

When I set it up, I tried to make the legs of the lightstand as wide as possible. Then I pushed them into the sand. I put my camera bag and another equipment bag on top of them. In general, that worked very well.

The Ezybox gave pretty good light but I found that it maybe too small for full length shot and I have the bigger version (60cmx60cm). Also the light fell off quickly, so it cannot be placed too far from the subject. Since I had to move it close and I had to make sure I didn't have it in the frame, my wide-angle shots were limited.

In summary, I think the Ezybox is very easy to carry around, very easy to setup and used. It gives good light but it is not the perfect solution for full length shots.
A big shoot-through umbrella maybe better, but the chance of getting it blow over will be higher, I think.

Lastolite Ezybox testing

Here is the comparison on the Lastolite Ezybox with bare flash. My settings are: Nikon SB800 at 1/4 power, camera is at ISO200, 1/250 f6.3. The flash has the wide angle diffuser on plus the diffuser dome. Then it shot through the Lastolite Ezybox. This is shown in the first picture. Look pretty soft but there is some light from the back.


Here is a picture without the Ezybox, just the wide angle diffuser plus the diffuser dome. Other settings are the same. Looks a lot brighter and harsher.



Here is a picture without the diffuser dome, just the wide angle diffuser on the flash. So much light that even the blind on the left starts losing details.


So here you go, that's the difference between a flash with the ezybox and without.