RE: Flash for portrait
Hi Steven I hope you get lot's of answers to this one as I'm in the same boat. I've been trying several things with bouncing the flash from various surfaces - with varied success. I have just bought 2 meters of DIY Diffuser and some gold paper. The diffuser is just translucent material from a craft shop. My idea is to line a very large cardboard box with gold paper and crumpled aluminium foil and use the cloth over the opening. I'll poke the flash head into the box and put the flash in manual mode and do the calculations for distance. Any comments from other PDMLers? Cheers Simon -Original Message- From: Stephen Hoffman [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Saturday, 29 June 2002 3:19 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Flash for portrait Let me say first off that I'm new to the forum, asked my first question a few days ago and was amazed at how helpful everyone was. Thanks to all that responded. I have an AF 360 FGZ but I am new to the idea of dedicated flash. I will be using the flash unit on a 645NII. When I took my first portrait photos with straight flash not surprisingly the light was harsh and the shadows (on my makeshift sheet as a backdrop) harsher. I tried using a Photoflex On-Camera XTC II softbox to soften the light. I could tell that it did have some effect but nowhere near as soft as I would like. I don't have the money for a fancy lighting system or the room to set up a studio. I'm just trying to find an optimum, inexpensive way to produce well lit photos without the harshness or shadows that professional studios make. Any and all ideas/comments are greatly appreciated. Stephen - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Flash for portrait
Stephen, I have used the Lumiquest Soft Box (not the mini) on several weddings and portraits with good success. It is relatively inexpensive (US $25.00) and will fit on your flash (uses velcro). The other thing to consider is the film. If you are not using portrait film, things may be stronger/harsher than you desire. Bruce Saturday, June 29, 2002, 12:18:38 AM, you wrote: SH Let me say first off that Im new to the forum, asked my first question a SH few days ago and was amazed at how helpful everyone was. Thanks to all that SH responded. SH I have an AF 360 FGZ but I am new to the idea of dedicated flash. I will be SH using the flash unit on a 645NII. When I took my first portrait photos with SH straight flash not surprisingly the light was harsh and the shadows (on my SH makeshift sheet as a backdrop) harsher. I tried using a Photoflex On-Camera SH XTC II softbox to soften the light. I could tell that it did have some SH effect but nowhere near as soft as I would like. I dont have the money for SH a fancy lighting system or the room to set up a studio. Im just trying to SH find an optimum, inexpensive way to produce well lit photos without the SH harshness or shadows that professional studios make. Any and all SH ideas/comments are greatly appreciated. SH Stephen SH - SH This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, SH go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to SH visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Flash for portrait
- Original Message - From: Stephen Hoffman Subject: Flash for portrait I have an AF 360 FGZ but I am new to the idea of dedicated flash. I will be using the flash unit on a 645NII. When I took my first portrait photos with straight flash not surprisingly the light was harsh and the shadows (on my makeshift sheet as a backdrop) harsher. I tried using a Photoflex On-Camera XTC II softbox to soften the light. I could tell that it did have some effect but nowhere near as soft as I would like. I don't have the money for a fancy lighting system or the room to set up a studio. I'm just trying to find an optimum, inexpensive way to produce well lit photos without the harshness or shadows that professional studios make. Any and all ideas/comments are greatly appreciated. The trick is to make the light source as large as possible. If the photoflex isn't big enough, try making a largish bounce reflector out of white foamcore. The foamcore is attached to the flash head (elastic bands), and the flash is fired straight up into it. Bend the foamcore at a 45ºangle over the head and it will bounce the light to the subject. I have seen some very large reflectors made with this method. William Robb - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
