Fucking pisses me off!!!!!!!!

[Desirae]

Hi there, I just bought a D60 canon digital camera with there L series lens. I have there 550ex flash. I was shooting one of my friends last night and really had a tough time getting the exposure and lighting right. Should I stick with that flash? Or get some studio lighting? If someone can help a nice girl out, that would be wonderful. Everyone tell's me this is an incredible camera. I just really need some help with the lighting issues Im having. To get the brightness I want things get over exposed. Anyways, I would love some input here.

Desirae =)~~~~~~~

[Lane]

post the pics, we'll comment

[Desirae]

come on, i dont want to do a picture post here. i just need some help.

Desirae Spencer =)~~~~~~

[CDSmith]

Pretty hard to advise on improving someone's pictures without seeing the pics.

[Desirae]

come on, im just looking for some general idea's here. what kind of lighting works best in a bedroom? there has to be something better than my 550ex flash. please help me.

Desirae =)~~~~

[Lensman]

The 550 is a great flash. But if you're using just one flash, your light is too unidirectional, especially if you're using it on-cam which I assume you are doing.

What I recommend is adding to your already expensive investment and but 2 more lower-end Canon TTL flashes, I think they are the 420's at about $200 each. Put them at the corners and point them at the action. Then point the 500 at the ceiling and let them trigger the other two.

The results will be great. (be sure to have lots of batterys). You can also use studio lights, but that's another topic.

[CDSmith]

*sigh*

You're being a bit mental, but whatever....
Try positioning a light source off to the sides of the subject. If you can aim the light, try aiming it in behind the subject to remove shadows and cut down on glare from the flash. Also, if you have a very bright light source (like halogen lights for example), try bouncing the light off of the ceiling.

Of course I'm only guessing here. If I could see a sample pic of what you're up against I'm sure myself and many others here could diagnose the problem more exactly for you. Just play around with it until you get it right.

[Desirae]

hi there, i actually have a 420ex flash and have tried that. it works pretty good. i didnt try aiming the 550 towards the ceiling. i will try that. thanks so much for the tip, that was nice of you. its not to often on here you get someone willing to help you out. most people just want to bash you. so thanks much! ps, what kind of studio lighting would you go with? and how much better would it be? i will never be shooting in a studio, its almost always in a bedroom or living room.

Desirae Spencer =)~~~~~~

[vik]

Desirae -

E-mail me at [email protected] and I'll help you a little bit. I've spent the last 11 months figuring out the lighting with my Nikon CoolPix 5000, and think I finally have it down. It's a whole lot less forgiving then 35mm, that's for sure. I use 4 lights now, Nikon SB28DX (similar I'm sure to your 420ex flash), plus 2 Sunpak 522's, and 1 Sunpak 322.



vik

[pottdoctor]

if you shoot in different locations, studio lighting is the way to go. otherwise i'm sure you'll get plenty of help here. good luck....!

[KRL]

Just add 2 Studio umbrella lights to what you have and you'll get good results. I've also shot with studio video lights which let you really get a good handle on lighting since they are always on and you can position them to get the exact shadow and angle effects you're looking for.

Better yet, outdoor lightning right before the sun sets always produces incredible shots or on overcast days, with fill flash.

Good Luck!

[Julian Kay]

Hey Desirae,
I think I found your problem. It's your location. You need to be filming in my bedroom.

[Young Hefner]

With my little Canon Digital Elph, I have been messing with the digital settings and you can do some really artsy things. You can create makeshift studio lighting with some home lamps and some white cardboard that reflects a tad...hhehehe... it is ghetto but it works... smiles

[BV]

what mode do you have your d-60 in and settings?

are you getting ghost like images?

i have same flash and a d-30 and can get decent results indoors and outdoors at night.

yes you will be able to achieve perfect results with additional extra lighting BUT you should still be getting good results with just the 550ex.

Here is an optimized example of what mine look like indoors with the d-30 & 550 ex

http://www.bikinivoyeur.com/amateur-...mages/4243.jpg

[UnseenWorld]

I'm not familiar with that camera and flash (I started out with Minolta analog equipment and shifted to Olympus C-line cameras).

However, I use fill and bounce (which means light from the camera mixed with light bounced of the ceiling). It gives me results like this:

Mixed with window light:



Mixed with ambient lighting:



It's not necessary to buy lots of expensive lighting to take a decent photo. And lots of people with expensive lighting take shitty photos.

So, since your camera appears (from what I can see of it on the Web) not to have a built-in flash like my Olympus C-3040, you'll have to buy a slave flash (I can recommend the slaves from SR Electronics for an inexpensive solution: their lowest-priced model should do just fine for you. The slave flash will be tripped when your camera-mounted flash discharges. Use it to bounce light off the ceiling and after experimenting a bit with exposure, you should get results like the above.

[Desirae]

well, i went out and bought another slave 420ex flash. i still cant get the results im looking for. im going to take that stuff back and get some studio lighting, a few umbrella's and a softbox. a few people have told me i will get amazing results with that stuff. i sure hope so. thanks so much for your help guys.

Desirae Spencer =)~~~~~~

[Desirae]

wow, those pictures are great. i can see you have alot of natural light coming in from some windows. but anyway you look at it, you did a great job. that is totally the look i want. but i do most of my shooting at night. so i need to get some lighting. when i bounce i seem to get a yellow tint to my pictures. i have an off while ceiling. im so flippin frustrated. hope the studio lighting helps.

Desirae Spencer =)~~~~~~~

[CDSmith]

I use two standing automotive halogen lights, 500 watts each, they run about $45 Cdn a pair. :D

I bounce the light off the ceiling, and like Unseen said, with some natural window light or ambient light (aimed in from the side of the subject), it works quite nicely. I think expensive shit is over-rated personally.

[Splicer]

Originally posted by Desirae
Hi there, I just bought a D60 canon digital camera with there L series lens. I have there 550ex flash. I was shooting one of my friends last night and really had a tough time getting the exposure and lighting right. Should I stick with that flash? Or get some studio lighting? If someone can help a nice girl out, that would be wonderful. Everyone tell's me this is an incredible camera. I just really need some help with the lighting issues Im having. To get the brightness I want things get over exposed. Anyways, I would love some input here.

Desirae =)~~~~~~~

Desirae

I'm assuming you were taking those photos in interiors.
If that's the case, you're way better off buying an electronic studio lighting system.
Don't get scared, there are quite a few at very reasonable prices and you won't believe the improvement.
I suggest getting the power unit and two strobes (with umbrellas).
You can always add on later if you need it.
It's also easy to use, so no worries there either.
Hope that helped.

[grumpy]

Dont wanna disapoint you but we have brought back our D60 Canon cameras. They are ok for outdoor shoots but not for closeups and indoor shoots. They just wont focus. We have talked to some other photographers and they had the same problem. ( we tried diffrent lenses to ). Now we are working with Nikon the results are 300% better.

[Ace-Ace]

Boneprone: ANGES WIN, WELL DONE!

[schilli]

The stuff I shoot is totally amateur so I don't know if my views are gonna be up to par with what ya wanna achieve. Here goes --

Go to Home Depot or a home improvement store of some sort and get a few 500 watt halogen lights -- the ones you see on construction sets. You can get two heads on a stand for about $70 CND. You can also get floor ones for about $12 CND. I use a couple on stands and a few on the floor for a location. I then have a few more that I've bolted into my bedroom ceiling. Get hold of some studio gel like Rosco or Lee - 216/full white and some dollar store spring clips to clip the diffussion gel onto the lights with. To see the results check out some of the included galleries of the stuff I've shot for my own site. Again - this is from a total amateur. Theres pics from a stills camera mixed in with stills pulled from video I've shot.

http://www.chezchris.ca/promo/amber_tgp1.html
http://www.chezchris.ca/promo/amber_tgp2.html
http://www.chezchris.ca/promo/dixie_tgp_1.html
http://www.chezchris.ca/promo/angie_ken_tgp1.html

[Carrie]

Unseen, your pics are always fantastic.
If I could get my digital to shoot anywhere near the quality that you and GothWeb acheive, I'd be ecstatic.

With an analog Minolta I can get pics close to that - but not with my digital. Suppose I've gotta get something more expensive.

Btw, how easily do these umbrellas collapse and store? I can imagine the in-laws coming over, the nosy mother going to the bathroom and "accidentally" wandering into the bedroom and seeing it all dressed up like a photo studio with big pretty light umbrellas aimed at the bed... heheh

[thatdykeliz]

Originally posted by Young Hefner
With my little Canon Digital Elph, I have been messing with the digital settings and you can do some really artsy things. You can create makeshift studio lighting with some home lamps and some white cardboard that reflects a tad...hhehehe... it is ghetto but it works... smiles

I've got a Fujifilm FinePix A201, and my lighting setup is real ghetto too. I almost never use the flash that's on the camera -- it's too damn harsh. Right now I'm shooting in the afternoon, with good daylight coming in from the side, and a 500 watt halogen work light from K-Mart pointed away (reflecting off a mirror that's pointed up at the ceiling) from the action. It bounces a good amount of light off the ceiling back at me/the models, and it isn't too harsh. I've also used white craftstore spongeboard to bounce light off of too.

However, once the holidays get here and my daughter is outta school for damn near two weeks (and don't even remind me about summer ) I'm going to have to figure out a lighting setup for shooting at night, in the bedroom. We've tested out different combos of lights, and it always ends up very red. Anybody got any ideas? I've scoped out some studio lights I can afford on eBay, but I have no clue what would be the best for cutting down on the redness...

[Desirae]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh1.sph/...=F 161CDBCBC0

Can someone look at this lighting setup and let me know if that would be a good way to go? my boyfriend and i will hardly ever be shooting outdoors, if we do we have a flash for that. please let me know what you think. im sick of looking at the pics my bf is shooting and they are all messed up because of lighting issues. thanks so much for your comments

Desirae Spencer =)~~~~~

[tony286]

Why buy such a serious camera without knowing much about light . Seems like a big waste of money. There 100's of books on lighting I recommend buying one. Also trial and error is a good learning tool , especially you dont want to show any photos. If you want to be private I would buy a book.

[UnseenWorld]

Originally posted by Carrie
Unseen, your pics are always fantastic.
If I could get my digital to shoot anywhere near the quality that you and GothWeb acheive, I'd be ecstatic.

With an analog Minolta I can get pics close to that - but not with my digital. Suppose I've gotta get something more expensive.

Btw, how easily do these umbrellas collapse and store? I can imagine the in-laws coming over, the nosy mother going to the bathroom and "accidentally" wandering into the bedroom and seeing it all dressed up like a photo studio with big pretty light umbrellas aimed at the bed... heheh

Thanks.

I wouldn't know about umbrellas. I don't use them, I just use fill and bounce. I use a combo of fill flash from my camera and flash bounced off the ceiling for most of my shots. When I can, I mix in a little light from a nearby window. Obviously, I don't do that at night. I do a lot of work in hotels, and the less crap I have to haul around, the better. And all the better not to draw attention to myself, too!

[Gemini]

Cheap and excusable to the nosy M-I-L... hardware handylights from the hardware store. With shroud and clip on to about anything thingee... 5.99, 250 wt floodlight bulb. Do like Unseen said and use the bounce effects. It will take two minimum. We used up to 8 back when we shot. You can arrange the lights to not even have to deal with a flash.

Sidenote: spring for the (actually meant for outside) heavy lensed floodlight bulbs. You can get the bulbs in various wattages and colors for special effects.

[Dirty F]

Desirae, hows it working out now? I have a d60 and a 420ex as well and im not happy with the lighting results. Actually with my last shoot i used the cam's flash, not the 420 cause it gave me very odd results. Basically the place where i point my flash is very bright and the rest of the pic turns out dark...like the flash is focussed on just one small point.

[BrutalMaster]

Desirae,

Expensive studio lighting won't solve any lighting problems unless you know how to use the lights. The 550ex and D60 are a lot easier to use and you can buy a couple more 550ex lights to use for fill. The great thing about that system is its E-TTL capabilities. In other words, you can make the lights react to what the sensor in the camera is doing. You can't do that with studio lights.

On remote shoots, I use a Canon EOS 1D and a D30 (fore runner of the D60) and three 550ex lights, along with the remote on camera trigger. They are much easier than hauling my big studio lights around.

Remember, too...with studio lights, you have to pretty much operate in manuel mode and use a flash meter.

It's also important to have your camera set correctly, not just the strobe. I stick to the E-TTL on the lights and make sure my white balance is custom set...although you can usually get pretty good results with the flash setting.

Any minor corrections can be made in Photoshop.

If you have specific set up questions, ICQ me at 17775070.

Brutal

[Desirae]

I have a 550ex master flash for my d60 and two 420ex slaves. my pictures really look great now. thank you everyone for your help.

Desirae Spencer =)~

[Fletch XXX]

Taking pictures is a fun hobby.

I wish I had more time to do it, but noise is my addiciton.

Keep it up, I like the quality of Unseens pics up top. That grade r filter whatever you guys call it hehehe

;)

[UnseenWorld]

Originally posted by Gemini
Cheap and excusable to the nosy M-I-L... hardware handylights from the hardware store. With shroud and clip on to about anything thingee... 5.99, 250 wt floodlight bulb. Do like Unseen said and use the bounce effects. It will take two minimum. We used up to 8 back when we shot. You can arrange the lights to not even have to deal with a flash.

Sidenote: spring for the (actually meant for outside) heavy lensed floodlight bulbs. You can get the bulbs in various wattages and colors for special effects.

Actually 500W photoflood bulbs are available from well-stocked camera shops and mail order houses. I started out with floodlamps and I think they are better than flash in some ways. The most obvious one is being able to "read" and adjust the light in real time (without having to make a Polaroid or view the shot on your laptop or some such).

The other advantage is harder to explain or justify, but I think shots done with hotlights (one of their other names) look warmer. This is not a reference to the color of the light. I think models feel warmer basking in floodlamp light and it just comes through in their posing and expressions. Some models find the light difficult to deal with and have to fight squinting. It's probably a toss-up between this and the blinking and flinching and "seeing stars" they have to deal with when working in front of flash units.

Of course, shooting with floodlamps is one of the rooms in Hell if you are shooting without air conditioning on a hot afternoon.

BTW, one needs to be aware of "color temperature" when using any light source. Flash puts out a white light akin to midday sun on a summer day, and most film is balanced for this color of light. (Digital cameras have a "white balance" system built-in that can compensate for different color temperatures.)

Incandescent lighting, even photofloods, put out a yellow/orange light that is more like early morning or twilight sunlight in color. It needs to be corrected most of the time (unless you like the yellow-orange tint for what you are doing). I have used filters on my camera lenses to do this, but I know there are also blue-tinted bulbs as well. I have no idea how well these work since I've never had occasion to use them.

One thing to bear in mind when doing color photography using photofloods is that the useful life of a photoflood is only a few hours (I found a references saying between 3 and 6 hours...after this, they are still useful for b&w work).

By contrast, quartz halogen lamps and flash units are more expensive, but the initial expense is outweighed by much longer useful life for color.