My one-light setup

[Fireball]

Okay, need lots more practice but here's my first few shots using the one-light setup ya'll suggested. I set up my backdrop (a blue blanket) on my stand in my bedroom about 4 ft behind my subject. I put my AB800 in a medium softbox and angled it at 45 degrees up and to the right of my camera set at 1/16th power. My settings were 100 ISO, 1/160 sec, aperture 6.3. I took a shot of my Photovision calibration target and set a custom WB.



I didn't like the shadow on her back side so I added a large reflector close to her body to the left of the camera which helped define her fur better. I still don't like my dark background but can't invest in another strobe/receiver/etc. right now. Any other inexpensive way to light it without messing up the color cast?



Then I took a few shots of my husband and then my daughter before she went to work at Sonic. I was pretty pleased with the lighting when my daughter was turned with her back to the softbox but as you can see, my husband got hot spots when turned towards it. Would it have been better farther away? Again, I had the reflector quite close to the left side of them.

In post-production I still had to up the brightness by quite a bit. How do you know when enough is enough, especially in camera? Any pointers would be appreciated. I have not practiced adding my second AB800 yet.

[Fireball]

What, 23 people looked but no one has any suggestions?!

[z-monster]

No suggestions from me. I think you did a fantastic job with one light!

[dmcantrell]

I think the lighting you've set up looks okay, and the white balance looks to be correct. I'm not a lighting expert though. Also the reflector use in the seocnd image really opened up the shadows, just like you said.

Do you have enough room to pull the subject away form the background some? I can clearly see the wrinkles in the background cloth. If you can get more distance between the subject and the background that will be more out of focus.

[texxter]

Charrie, I think you did pretty well for your first light setup with your b800s! I like the simplicity of the portraits and the very genuine expressions of your husband and daughter. Nicely done! You could use your second b800 and point it to the background at low power - you can use the slave eye for this and don't need another trigger. Altenatively your could use your second B800 as a hair light to create a bit more separation, especially on your daughter. But the images look prerrt good for a single light setup.

Getting the exposure right without trial and error normally requires a flash meter - a good investment if you can afford it - otherwise you need to get a feel for the light by trial and error.

Keep on posting work!

[Fireball]

Thanks for your kind comments everyone! Good to know I'm making a bit of progress.

David, you're right about needing to pull my subjects farther away from my background. I was actually "lazy" and just pulled out a blanket I had close at hand. Gonna pull out the true backgrounds I have for the next one. I don't have alot of space in the bedroom I set up in and it's so darn hot in the garage!

Paco, what do you mean about using the slave eye without a trigger for my other b800 light? Is that built into it like my speedlites? Wouldn't the body of my subject block that?

[Fireball]

Originally Posted by z-monster

No suggestions from me. I think you did a fantastic job with one light!

Thanks Justin! Still learning...

[arich]

Originally Posted by Fireball

Paco, what do you mean about using the slave eye without a trigger for my other b800 light? Is that built into it like my speedlites? Wouldn't the body of my subject block that?

its the small white circle on the back of the unit labeled "SLAVE", it should be on by default and will only disable if you have something plugged into the sync port. Your subject shouldn't (theoretically) be a problem as far as triggering, however, since your main light is in a softbox the diffusion might make it hard for it to catch it. I know people have had trouble with the optical receiver before but I believe that was mainly when using outdoors in the daylight. Give it a try and see what happens. if it isn't popping try using something to reflect light onto the receiver.

[danchez]

a few pointers/tips/suggestions... if you don't have a light meter, you can always check the histogram, and your 2nd light will easily detect and fire with a softbox on your primary light.

[Redneck]

Since the backdrop is not very pretty (wrinkled) I'd use a grid on the softbox to keep your light on the motif and not have it spilled over the background too much.

[nameBrandon]

Well done, Charrie!! What a difference from the first set! :)

You were spot on with the reflector with the dog, you're catching on quickly!

If the position of the light (or the strength of the light) didn't change between your husband and daughter, the hot-spot is due to either your daughter having a slight profile vs your husband looking straight on, or your husband's skin type. Oily skin reflects more light, and if your daughter had makeup on, that would help control the reflections / hot spot.

As a few have mentioned, when possible, iron the background material for a smooth look, but not a huge deal.

If you're going to dedicate a b800 for background illumination, you may want to look into a spot-grid.. otherwise I think you'll notice the background getting very washed out, very easily. Luckily those are somewhat cheap, ~$20-$30 at PCB.

You're progressing very well, keep at it!

[Fireball]

Originally Posted by arich

its the small white circle on the back of the unit labeled "SLAVE", it should be on by default and will only disable if you have something plugged into the sync port. Your subject shouldn't (theoretically) be a problem as far as triggering, however, since your main light is in a softbox the diffusion might make it hard for it to catch it. I know people have had trouble with the optical receiver before but I believe that was mainly when using outdoors in the daylight. Give it a try and see what happens. if it isn't popping try using something to reflect light onto the receiver.

Oh I see. Thanks Andrew, I'll try that. I had the b800 plugged into the wall and one of my cybersyncs plugged into the sync port with the receiver in my hot shoe on my camera (for the softbox) and many times the light wouldn't fire at all. Don't know why? Does the strobe need to be in front of me or the transmitter facing towards me or what? It was just hanging from the sync port.

[Fireball]

Originally Posted by nameBrandon

Well done, Charrie!! What a difference from the first set! :)

You were spot on with the reflector with the dog, you're catching on quickly!

If the position of the light (or the strength of the light) didn't change between your husband and daughter, the hot-spot is due to either your daughter having a slight profile vs your husband looking straight on, or your husband's skin type. Oily skin reflects more light, and if your daughter had makeup on, that would help control the reflections / hot spot.

As a few have mentioned, when possible, iron the background material for a smooth look, but not a huge deal.

If you're going to dedicate a b800 for background illumination, you may want to look into a spot-grid.. otherwise I think you'll notice the background getting very washed out, very easily. Luckily those are somewhat cheap, ~$20-$30 at PCB.

You're progressing very well, keep at it!

Thanks Brandon, your words of encouragement mean a great deal to this lighting newbie!

You're right about my husband's skin being oily compared to my daughter. I wondered later after looking at the image close up if that was the problem.

I'll look into the spot grid. So, so much to learn! I really appreciate everyone's help!

[David Whatley]

The receiver should be on the AB and the transmitter on your hot shoe. I'm sure you typed it incorrectly :) If the softbox is to camera right, turn it till just the right edge of the light coming from the box hits the subjects face and that will take some of the light spill off the BG and cause it to go darker and the wrinkles wont be as noticeable.
Do you have any other modifiers besides the softbox?

[Fireball]

Yes, I wrote it incorrectly.

I have white shoot-thru umbrellas and a very large black umbrella with a reflective interior.

I still don't understand why the strobe wouldn't fire at times. Does it make a difference letting the receiver hang from the strobe?