Strobe and Sunlight - How to?

I’ve had a couple people ask me about how to create the lighting effect in the following image.

It’s one of the various lighting techniques that I teach in my workshops (check this blog, or e-mail me for details). I find there are a number of roadblocks in learning photography that tend to stop people in their tracks until someone gets them over the ump.

One of those was the relationship between the shutter speed, aperture, and light. Until you really understood that relationship, you were forever doomed to shooting in automatic modes and thus severely limiting your creativity. But once  you finally understood it, it opened up a wealth of new opportunities for creativity and further learning.

The relationship and control between strobe light and available light is another one of those stumbling blocks. And in some cases worse, because it also seems opposite of what you were taught with regard to light, shutter speed, and aperture. And in fact it is, so you need to unlearn some principles with regard to exposure, and learn a new one that just seems so obviously wrong!

On top of what you already know, only when dealing with strobe and available light together, add these to your memory;

If you want to change the exposure of the available lighting, use the shutter speed.

If you want to change the exposure of the strobe, use the strobes power setting.

If you want to change the exposure of the image overall, (both available and strobe) use the aperture.

Do not exceed your camera’s flash sync speed.

Some background first;

The reason why the above works is because the flash duration is shorter than the duration of the shutter speed. Typically, the strobes flash output is in the thousandths of a second. Lets say 1/1000 for the same of argument. A typical shutter sync speed is no faster than 1/250th for most SLR cameras. So the shutter never has time to effectively regulate the strobes light output.

I.e., the shutter opens, the flash fires all its power in the beginning of the exposure in maybe a 1/4 of the time the shutter is open. The shutter stays open much longer in order to properly expose of the available light, in relation to the time the flash fires. Since all of the light from the strobe is delivered immediately upon the shutter opening (this is called first shutter sync), the effect of adjusting the shutter speed has no effect on the strobes lighting. It’s already contributed all its light to the image long before the shutter ever closes. So the shutter speed does nothing to adjust the exposure of anything that is predominately illuminated by the strobe. Thus, you can use the shutter speed and aperture independently to balance the two light sources together. There is a practical exercise at the end of this post that will help you understand this better, and see the results immediately.

With that out of the way, the following will be better understood. So on to how the above image was produced.

First, I shoot manual mode almost all the time, except when shooting fast action in changing lighting conditions. I find it faster to shoot manual than trying to second guess what the camera and strobes are thinking on my behalf. Rather than try to understand what they are thinking, equate that to what I want, then figure out what controls I need to twiddle to readjust their ‘thinking’ to match mine desires, I just tell it what I want and it does it. I eliminate the middle man (cameras CPU and software) and do a direct Star Trek Vulcan mind-meld to the camera (brain to hands to manual controls). Fast, simple, easy.

So, the camera was set to manual mode. I knew I would be shooting directly into the sun, so a small aperture would be needed. I also know I need to stay below the flash sync speed of 1/250th for the camera and strobe to operate properly. Using the sunny 16 rule as a start, I file away in my head 1/125th at f16 as a good starting point. That would give me a real close exposure appropriate for normal daylight conditions.

But we have some ripples here. It wasn’t direct sun, but was overcast and hazy in the background. So I knew I would lose about a stop or two to the overcast. I’m guessing maybe 1/125th at f11 now. I also want a slight bit of under exposure to add a more dramatic feel, so I’m going to under expose the image, and I generally like about 1 to 2 stops under.

I want to adjust the shutter speed first, rather than the aperture, for two reasons. One, it will help eliminate any camera or subject movement since I am shooting hand held.  Second, it will allow me to under expose the background without affecting the flash power I would need. If I just closed the aperture down, it would require more power from the flash to compensate. And when balancing strobe to daylight, the strobes power is the last thing you want to squander away. I adjust the shutter speed first till I hit the max sync speed, then start to adjust the aperture further to get where I want to be.

I mentally adjust the shutter speed from 1/125th to 1/200th, but know I will still need more since that’s well under the stop or two I feel I need to underexpose the background. I also mentally adjust my aperture as well to f22, which puts me at 1/200th at f22. I dial that into the camera via a mind meld and take a test exposure.

I love the sun and sky, but the background is too dark. But I am within 1 stop of where I wanted to be. I ask my assistant to move in to the frame so I can also start to dial in the strobe exposure. I open up the aperture to f16, dial up the strobe to around 1/2 power, and take another test exposure.

The background is still a bit dark for what I wanted, and the strobe power level isn’t enough. I could adjust the shutter speed down one stop to bring up the background, and then adjust the strobe power up one stop to bring up the light on the subject. That would waste some of the strobes power where there is a much better way.

Since I want the background lighter by one stop, and the strobe brighter by one stop on the subject, I can use the aperture to adjust them both (see the above rules). And I am not wasting that extra stop of strobe power I would have lost if I just added more power. I kill two birds with one stone. I open up the aperture from f16, to f11 and get the following.

A closer look at the LCD and histogram and decide that f11 is just too bright for what I am after. The sky is more washed out, and I feel the lighting is also to bright on the subject. I adjust the aperture to f14, which will darken both at the same time.

Much better. But I really wanted the sky a bit darker, but also don’t want to darken the ground behind the subject and in the distance which would result from further adjustments to the available light exposure. So instead decide I will darken the sky a bit in post. The available light exposure is good as is. At this point, I move the model into place. Mike put a nice X on the ground to mark the spot just for Anya. Once she is in place, I erase the X with the clone healing tool (my sneaker ), so I won’t have to deal with it in post. I ask her to just relax for a moment while I take another few test exposures to see how the light is falling on her.

Other than a cloud that rolled in to ruin my nice sun star effect in the previous images, we are pretty much ready to go. I do a couple more test exposures, check the histograms, zoom in to check focus, added some warmth to the scene (adjusted kelvin), etc. By then the cloud has moved away, I get into a lower shooting position, call for the model to ‘do her thing’,  and we start shooting. The result is the first image in this post.

Here are a few others shot in different locations during the session. All use similar techniques to setup the lighting, but are varied in the effects they produce based on the mixture of the two light sources. I’ll try to find time to add a couple new posts with more details on the images below. Look for the one with the natural rainbow that appeared after the thunderstorm that passed by!

The following images have not been edit yet, only exported from Lightroom. They are the outtakes from the shoot, or not selected yet to be post processed. But I wanted to give you a feel for the variations that can be made by adjusting the available light and strobe light in different ways.

The above image used a White Lightning 1600Ws strobe on camera left for the main lighting on the subject. My assistant Mike, was also ducked in the weeds on the right and behind with a 580EX set to give just that hint of accent lighting on Anya’s left arm. Its a subtle effect, but brings a lot of production value and interest to the image. All three light sources were balanced appropriately.

The above image goes for a darker effect, and would be perfect with storm clouds in the background. But the overcast didn’t have any interest in the clouds, other than being dark and forboding. I used a WL 1600ws strobe on camera right for a subtle fill, while the Canon 580EX created the nice accent lighting on their right sides (image left). It adds nice definition to their cheek bones and separation from the background. I feel the strobe on camera right should have been a tad brighter, which I did adjust for some of the images.

This image shows a more balanced effect between all three sources. The available lighting is a bit underexposed, but not by much compared to the others above. Te 580EX on camera left, and the white lightning 1600ws on the right, were pretty even in their light output. This does answer the question whether or not a small 580EX is enough to handle balancing with daylight. Although, it was overcast at the time. My assistant did comment that he liked shooting with the 580 at such a low power setting because of the short recycling time, so it has ‘longer legs’ to deal with direct sun.

This is another image with the same lighting setup as the image preceding it. The 580EX on the left is set slightly higher than the 1600WS on the right.

A quick look at the setup used for many of the images here. It doesn’t show the 580EX which was had held by my assistant. Note the rainbow in the background! Just luck really. It was a great addition to the thunder and lightning show we were treated to as the storm moved past us. I guess it was fitting that I was using White Lightning strobes at the time

Here is one of the images that resulted from the above lighting setup (minus the rainbow which appeared shortly after). The only difference is the addition of the 580X that my assistant is hand holding which is absent in the above lighting setup. It provided fill light from the right side of the image.

Orphan Works.. take a moment to understand it.

The Orphan Works bill has caught my attention again. It keeps resurfacing and doesn’t seem to want to go away. I took the time to read through both bills and realign my bearings. Hmmm, rather than getting better, it seems to be going backwards.

I decided to write a few letters with my thoughts. One to Sen Kennedy, and a couple to Representatives Hatch, Lahey, and Tsongas. Just trying to protect my own piece of the patch. The industry doesn’t need this, and it will have a significant and negative impact.

If you are a visual artist, its worth doing just a little research on these two bills. They are only 20 pages each, but are packed with some prickly thorns. This isn’t something you want to be aloof about, only to have it come back and bite you in the ass. You won’t like it, and will wonder why you didn’t do anything about it.

At least take the time to understand the issue. It’s that important. If you can’t read the bills, here is a short summary of some of the issues. It is somewhat pro bill, but one of the better summaries I could find.

http://www.orphanworks.net/

Size Dosen’t Matter

NIKA.MOSCOW.BAGRATION, originally uploaded by natalia.abramova.

I ran across this image from one of my contacts on Flickr. Its very nice, styled well, composition is excellent, and the mixture of colors pull it all together. I see a lot of new photographers in the industry, or as a hobbyist, and many seem so preoccupied with the equipment. Which lens, body, or accessory to purchase.

It does matter to a point, and then it ceases to be important. This photo was identified as being taken with a 20D. Not a IDsMkIII, or a 1DsMkII. Not even an older mark 1, or even a 1Ds. But a consumer level camera at the lower end of Canons bodies. In fact, a decent point and shoot, like the G7 or G9, could just about pull this off if it wasn’t for the depth of field issues. The technical aspects of this image are also pretty routine. Lighting appears to be natural available light, and easy to expose for, well within acceptable shutter speed and apertures. Pretty straight forward.

But the gem in this image doesn’t come from the camera, it comes from the photographer. It comes from vision, style, and creativity. From taking all those elements, putting them together in a visually interesting way, and putting on the final touches for an excellent presentation.

The image grabbed my attention immediately, and held it there. Then I noticed the camera that was used. I felt it was a good example on how equipment can be insignificant in the hands of a thinking photographer, and worth a post on the blog.

I guess it really caught my attention quite squarely, since it caused me to take the time to write this. Even at 2:02 am after a long day!

Russell Environmental Portrait

When I first started with photography, people were a challenge that I was reluctant to tackle. I felt like a duck out of water, not knowing how to pose or position people. So I avoided shooting portraits, especially family portraits. But over time I found the issue wasn’t me shooting portraits or people, it was shooting people that necessarily didn’t want to be photographed in the first place.

Only after shooting a lot of models and actors for their portfolios and head shots, did I find I have a passion and love for shooting people. They key that eluded me for so long became plain as day, and quite simple. They all wanted to be photographed, were interested in the creative ideas, techniques, or scenarios that became part of the session, embraced the cameras presence rather than scoff at it.

Shooting people is what I prefer, and I get an enormous pleasure from it. Models, actors, families, business executives, celebrities, or just everyday people. If they are engaged in the session, and are there in hopes of creating a nice photograph of themselves, its just plain fun. The ideas flow, creativity happens, and the results work.

The above photograph was taken along the harbor in downtown Boston. We were there to shoot some editorial images, but I decided to do some head shots and portraits to warm up to the session. Russell was a model with a great attitude. “I’m here for the shot, just let me know what you want me to do.” Perfect. I saw a great opportunity for a environmental portrait, and decided to go for it.

I had Russell sit on one of the granite benches right on the wharf, and had my assistant position a 580EX strobe in a small softbox on the left. I had him dial it in till I got just the right balance of light from the strobe mixing with the available lighting. I underexposed the available light by about 1/3rd, and overexposed the strobe by about 1/3rd. The balance worked perfectly in my opinion. The sky was perfect, overcast with some stormy clouds to add some interest, while also providing beautiful soft fill light from every direction. Since he had just commented that he would like to earn enough to afford a ncie boat and condo on the ocean, what better background to use.

Neon Window

While shooting in Boston about a year ago, I found this great window illuminated from a neon sign, under an emergency fire escape, and illuminated with the spill from a nearby street lamp. I knew I wanted to use that at some point once I could find a good reason to do so.

The reason surfaced last evening. While shooting nearby in Boston with a male and female model, I took the time to stop and grab a few shots at the window. I setup the scenario with the models; existing a restaurant or club, and nearing their first kiss. I positioned Anya, the female model with her back to the wall so that the street light would provide some good facial lighting. I had Russell move in such that he was rim lighted by neon sign, but also received fill on the camera side from the street light.

I set the white balance for the street light since it was primary for good skin tones. I went warm with the balance to capture the feel of night street illumination. I had my assistant hold a 580EX in a small softbox for additional fill illumination, but in the end decided that all natural lighting would give me the results I was after.

Shutter speed was marginal and I lost some sharpness to hand holding. But the great natural lighting was a better trade off. The scene was captured with a Canon 1DsII, 50mm f1.4 at f1.4, 1/25th and carefully hand held.

I live in crazy times…

Life has been crazy the last few weeks. I’ve also broke a new record this week. What you may ask? Well, multiple records actually. I’ve now had the pleasure of having the most things break on me within a couple days, followed by the most repairmen at the house all at the same time with their hands out groping for cash.

Last Thursday I had a repairman show up to replace the microwave/oven we just bought to replace the one that broke a few days earlier. While he was there, a tow truck pulled up to tow away one of our cars because the key assembly decided it no longer wanted to put up the daily routine and went on strike. While both of these guys were there toiling away, another truck pulled up to take our ride-on lawn mower to the shop.

It needed a repair after the mice made a nest in the carburetor and cylinder head area over the winter. They actually used the air cleaner as a litter box, very ingenious for something with a brain smaller than a pea. I wonder if I could convince them to stay in the reflector bowl of one of my strobes so I can give it a 4800 watt second pop out of revenge! The last time the mice got me, they built a nest in the generator on our motor home. That was a $6,000 repair! This time, its only $475! Bastards!!! It’s a brand new zero turn mower with only a few mows from last year.

And with all that going on, another repairman from the same appliance dealer as the oven guy showed up to replace the motor and rollers in the dryer, which happened to die 3 days earlier.  Yes, its been an interesting couple weeks. Everything just seemed to go south all at once. But no, we aren’t done yet!

We have 5 bathrooms in our house. The his and hers in the master bedroom is being converted to one larger bathroom, and at the moment is totally gutted and ready for framing, floor, tile, fixtures, etc. So we are down to three bathrooms. The upstairs bathroom, well, teenagers live up there so us adults don’t venture into that neck of the woods at all if we can help it So it’s basically unusable.

So that leaves us the two bathrooms downstairs. Well, the toilet in one of the baths downstairs has some issue with plumbing leaving it weak in the flushing department. Until we get a plumber to take a look at it, we don’t use that one either. So with 5 bathrooms in the house, my wife, my son, and I all all sharing one bathroom downstairs. My daughter gets the upstairs bathroom all to her self (who wants to share a bathroom with a female teenager!).

Lets see, what else is on the list from the last three weeks. The light above the garage blew, the phone lines all over the house went south with strong random noise, so we have a phone line running from the termination box in the garage, through the garage door, and into the laundry room so we don’t have to stand in the garage to make phone calls anymore. The basement is torn apart while it’s being re-finished, with sheet rock dust everywhere. The power window on the car my daughter is driving quit last week and rolls down, but will refuse to roll back up. Lets pray for no rain.

What else… It has been wicked busy at work and I’m having a hard time keeping up with the workflow. We are switching out our PC’s for MAC’s, and everything is in various states of disarray during that process. My data, contacts, schedule, e-mail, files, forms, etc, is all spread over. It’s stuck between two laptops and a desktop, and in multiple applications while I merger it all together on the Mac somehow.

I can’t yet get syncing to work to my Blackberry on the Mac, which has quickly become my soul mate. I’ve got 8 copies of each contact in my database, and its chocking the Blackberry until I can find a quick and easy way to remove the 7 duplicates without having to do it one by one. I’m back to using a paper calendar until I can trust the appointments are not ignore or duplicated during a sync. And my memos, notes, and tasks won’t sync at all. Not having everything at my finger tips while on the road really hurts. I fully understand where the term Crackberry comes from. Yes, it has become my drug of choice, and its now broken so to speak.

I’m also moving our studio from an old antiquated building 5 minutes from my house, into the dark recesses of the city. So on top of all the chaos at home, my office, studio, and professional life is adrift, in transition, and another mess to be swept up. I’ve been working non-stop morning till late evening for the last few weeks. Its spring, and my motorcycle sits idle in the garage covered in dust, the airplane grounded, and I haven’t even visited the lake across the street yet.

But one thing remains stable. I have an itch to go out and shoot. The weather is good, and I’ve got a couple interesting projects coming up that will get me outside, shooting, and soaking up the springtime. It may be work, but its also a good stress reliever. I think I’ll also plan a trip to Boston to shoot the streets in the wee hours of the morning. Always an interesting trip, peaceful, quiet, and somewhat surreal at 3am.

I just hope, and pray, that my cameras will continue to operate without issues, failures, or complaints, as they have for years. The last thing I need right now is for my stress relivers to give up the ghost!

Lighting by Design Workshop - Announcement

I have revamped my lighting workshops, and re-branded them as the “Lighting Design Workshops”. I’ve heard a steady stream of comments on my work with regard to my creative lighting style, and have been asked by many if I would focus more on that in my workshops. I listened, and the result is the Lighting Design Workshops.

It now covers the basics just to make sure everyone is on the same page, and then launches into using lighting in a more creative manner. I won’t be teaching three light portrait setups (although touched upon), but how to take lighting further and make it work creatively for you. More of a cinematic approach to lighting.

I’ll post an update once I have the new web site up, and the current workshop schedule. If you happen to be interested in more details, send me an e-mail at workshops@stephenfaust.com and I’ll make sure you are on the list for the updates and schedule.

I am currently working on delivering one in Boston this summer (Newburyport to be exact), New York, and California or Las Vegas in the fall. I’ve also had some requests from Florida and the Rhode Island, so I am looking at those as well. Pricing is generally in the $300-$400 for a intense 3 day weekend workshop.

Motion blur or Having fun with Siblings

I was out one evening with my sister, and she was shooting with her point and shoot. We all know how good point and shoot cameras are with being hand held in low lighting conditions! She showed me a blurry image with light trails of a neon sign and asked what happened. I started to explain it to her, while showing her the images on the LCD of the DSLR. That allowed me to vary the shutter speed and its easy to see the motion of the camera since its so much larger (huge, and heavy I should say. Canon IDsMkII).

So we played around for a while trying to different looks by changing the motion of the camera and shutter speed. Up and down, side to side, in small circles. with some zoom, and so on. We had a great time and make some interesting images. We tried a dozen different signs and lights to see the effects and try our luck at one-upsmanship! Here are a few more showing some of the variations of the one sign. If you look at the bottom edges of the images, you can see the motion that was used to create the effect.