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Originally Posted by Tat2Jr
Wow! Nice offer. I've been a videographer for 8 years. Got that down pat. Just bought me a Nikon D70, but I'm so lost I wouldn't even know where to start with questions.
Here's one - I've got my hot lights (3200°) that I use for video. I also have the SB800 flash for the Nikon. I've been trying to mix them with little luck. I've been using the tungsen gel on the flash, and setting my white balance that way too. Shooting in Raw so I can fuck with the white balance. I want to shoot as automatic as possible (I don't need my stuff to look anything as good as your stuff does).... Videos are what keep my members, so I would really like to stay away from strobes and stuff. Just want acceptable stills. Soon I'm going to be buying florecents for my video work which is the same temp as the flash, and outside, so I'm hoping that my problems will be solved with them (will they?), but untill then Should I just turn off my hot lights, and use a few tourch lights, and the flash on auto? Oh, and I've been playing with different diffusers, and the white eye card thing. UGH!
Btw - I have a Nikon D70 book, and a DVD coming in the mail, as I'm a total noob.
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well you could add filters to flash head and monkey around with it but the easy way to do it is just shoot everything in raw and then batch correct WB with software. (bibble, etc) this requires a computer with some horsepower---if you don't have that you are resigned to working with jpg files.
you have less correcting latitude if you shoot in jpg format.
make sure you have consistent exposure, this is the main advantage of using hot lights, if your exposure changes it will be very difficult to accurately batch correct the color balance, try to always be within 1/4 stop of correct exposure. don't believe the camera autoexposure, do some bracket tests on manual, then tweak the auto exposure setting as necessary to get perfect exposures as you walk around the set. constantly monitor your shots in your LCD, and tweak exposure for distance---this will require practice but soon become second nature.
also you need the proper series lens for auto exposure with that flash---keep the flash head off the camera and use an L bracket like wedding shooters to get the flash off the axis of the eyes to avoid redeye. mostly your flash will not be your main light if you are using hotlights, but will just add a very little fill. use the hotlights for modeling, do not overlight. a better trick is do it like the fashion shooters by putting a small soft box on your flash head (something like an apollo) and then a coiled cord extension that goes on your hotshoe, now you can shoot with one hand and hold the flash head at arms length high and to the side, for quickie fashion look. no time to write a book here---take chances and experiment, and throw away any shot that's not good enough.
all of this is a compromise for fast production. i do not recommend shooting with hotlights if you have the girls eyes in the pix. (it closes down the pupils and you lose the sexy bedroom eyes look)