BetterPhoto Q&A
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Linda Buchanan		Photo Bulbs I have a lighting question. I will be taking photos of children with Santa next weekend. There will be a set instead of a backdrop, the tree, packages, Santa in a rocking chair, etc. I have light stands, two white and one silver umbrellas (small) and strobes that my trigger with my Canon 580EX flash. I would like to use continuous light instead. What type of bulb do I need? I have a couple of the metal reflector bowls from home depot to connect them through. Will these "bounce" off the umbrellas? What are suggestions for fill flash and placement of these lights? How far, how high? I know this is long, I have had limited success with the strobes and shadows on the face. I appreciate any help! Thank you To love this question, log in above November 30, 2006

Alan N. Marcus		Hi Linda, Your poor results from strobe are likely due to poor lamp placement. You are destined to repeat even if you choose to use incandescent unless .... Where to place the fill: You are filling shadows cast by the main light, from the cameras prospective. The fill is to be placed as close to a line between the camera lens and the subject as possible without allowing the fill fixture to get in the picture. The fill is at camera lens height. The fill must be subordinate to the main. Usually the fill is set to ½ brilliance as it relates to the main. This is not just a function of the power setting on the flash or lamp wattage used. This is a function of the actual light energy at the subject plane. Best established with a light meter. If both main and fill are equal in intensity, the fill is placed further away than the main. If both are equal in wattage, measure the main to subject distance and multiply by 1.4. Place the fill at this revised distance. This distance factor will cause the fill light to arrive at the subject at ½ power but only if both lamps are equal, otherwise you must establish by metering. Main is placed off to the side and high to simulate mid morning sun. Bounce light off ceiling and walls is problematic. A lot depends on ceiling height and color. The idea is to simulate open shade i.e. bright sky conditions, blue sky etc. but subject in shadow of large building or under leafy tree. A lot of light is lost in the bounce. You will need extra wattage. My advice is to use the strobes you have! If you choose incandescent lamps: With digital you can set the color balance for tungsten. I would suggest you go to a camera shop and buy photo lamps (maybe difficult to find). You need bright lamps and these are the bulbs of choice. You need high wattage to achieve a suitable aperture so you can have some depth-of-field. I think f/11 or f/16 is your goal. Lights that bright are generally uncomfortable for Santa as he will be under the lights for a sustained period. Look out for blown fuses! High wattage is problematic. Your pin-up lamps take the standard Edison base bulbs. You can try the full spectrum compact florescent lamps. They might just work for you. However, I don’t think you can get the wattage you need for a large set with high ceilings and no close by walls. In any case, with incandescent and florescent, you need enough light to allow the use of a reasonable shutter speed 1/60 (minimum) 1/125 – 1/250 best to insure you capture the kids as they tend to not sit still. With strobe, the flash duration naturally arrests motion. Best of luck Alan Marcus ammarcus@earthlink.net To love this comment, log in above November 30, 2006

Linda Buchanan		So, would I bounce my flash off the ceiling to trigger the strobes? I have a Canon 580ex, what should I set that on? Thanks for all your help To love this comment, log in above November 30, 2006

W.		Hi Linda, Dunno how to set the 580EX to use it as trigger light. If it has that feature, the manual (or the manual of your cam) should be able to tell you what to do. I use the tiny built-in flash on my cam to trigger the big flashgun(s), which is/are on separate tripods. "I have had limited success with the strobes and shadows on the face." Try 2 or 3 big pieces of foamcore as reflectors to fill in/open up those shadows. To love this comment, log in above November 30, 2006

Alan N. Marcus		Hi agin Linda, I don’t have time to look up your specific on-camera flash. Maybe someone can help with actual settings. I think you will need all the light you can get to do this job. Therefore, I think bounce is out. Use the camera mounted flash as the fill and use the other two together as main. The two together will act as a “broad” that’s good. If the on-camera flash is powerful enough it is well positioned to act as the fill. Should it prove to be insufficient at the distance you choose to work --- Mount one of your strobes as the fill, close to the camera – allow the on-camera flash to be the trigger. Aim it at the subject. Together both will act as the fill. The other strobe is to be set high and off to the side. It needs to be close to the subject so it overpowers the fills by 1 f/stop i.e. twice the light energy as the subject. If you are working with digital, bring a lap-top or small TV to view the results on the spot. With film camera make your set-up, make test shots, take to local one-hour shop for development and evaluate on the spot. Good luck, Alan Marcus ammarcus@earthlink.net To love this comment, log in above November 30, 2006

Linda Buchanan		Thank you for your help. I will definetly take my laptop with me. We are setting up the night before and I will have lots of time to get this right before the real thing. To love this comment, log in above November 30, 2006

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