Sunday's On and Off Camera Bounce Flash Workshop

Hi and welcome back,

Sunday I ran a quick workshop for on and off camera bounce flash.  Well, I liked the off camera results better than the on camera results.

I used my California Sunbounce Micro Mini for the shoot with the flash bracket attachment.  The supplied bracket from California Sunbounce, despite being engineered by Germans, is a piece of junk and fell apart Saturday afternoon during a test run.  I cobbled together a bracket with parts around my office and from my dad.  I was able to pull it together for yesterday’s shoot.

Here are a few shots.  You can see Gary holding my reflector and bouncing the flash onto Olivia, our model for the very warm afternoon:

The California Sunbounce system is one of the most versatile reflector systems on the market.  The fabric or textile is attached to a break down aluminum frame that stores like a light stand.  I love their system and carry it everywhere I go.

Many thanks to Olivia, our model for the afternoon, not only for sitting for us but for lasting in that oppressive heat!

That’s it for now, till next time, happy shooting!

Saturday's Meetup Workshop: On Camera Bounce Flash

Hi and welcome back,

Here are a few shots from last Saturday’s workshop with on camera flash.

I used my usual bounce setup shown here:

I’ve since changed this setup a tad.  Now I use white foam paper and then put black gaffer tape on one side to have a white and black reflector in one shot.

With this setup, I was able to achieve these shots by bouncing light at different angles around the room:

Then we headed outside, where I used the same bounce setup but had one of my attendees hold my California Sunbounce Micro Mini.  We bounced our flashes on camera but off of that reflector to get these results:

Here is the California Sunbounce.  It is a very versatile reflector that assembles quickly and travels well:

On camera flash can be a very versatile tool when used creatively.  I’ve never owned any other bounce attachment for my flashes except for the ones supplied by Nikon.  I’ve never owned a Gary Fong Lightsphere or a Lumiquest and never will.  By using the white foam with black gaffer tape applied to one side, I can get great, controllable light whenever I want it.

For those of you looking to work with or try this setup, I’m running an On Camera and Off Camera bounce flash meetup/workshop in mid July.  Just like the screenshot image of the reflector, I have the bracket to attach a speedlight to the  sunbounce.  It’ll be great fun.

Till next time, happy shooting!

Black and White Summer Sale

Hi Everyone,

Once again this year I’m running my Black and White Summer sale.

Book a sitting and capture those precious moments in Black and White.  Also, as an added bonus and the beauty of digital photography, you’ll be able to view and purchase images in Color as well.

Don’t wait, call or email today to book a sitting:

203-641-2880  or rvh34@hotmail.com

A Return to the Big Light

Hi and welcome back.

Anyone who knows me and my work knows that for the past two years I’ve not shot a studio strobe at all.  In fact, in August of 2008 I sold my high-end lighting and based myself completely with off camera flash.

Two weeks ago I had a situation on a shoot where I needed more power than my SB900 or SB800 could give me, so I borrowed my friend Laurie’s Alien Bee strobe and grid to get the shot I needed.  I decided right then to start building a small strobe system to maintain portability and get some bigger power.

After much research and deliberation I decided on this setup:

1 used Profoto 300 watt second CPS strobe from B+H

1 Elinchrom 39″ x 39″ softbox off of ebay

1 Elinchrom to Profoto adapter

1 Elinchrom beauty dish reflector

The Profoto strobe is one of the best made: durable, fantastic power, color consistency of light, and sturdiness.

Elinchrom softboxes are legendary for their build, ease of assembly and break down, and cost.  The best thing about the Elinchrom system is the disk reflector.  Just remove the softbox outer and inner diffuser and insert the disk in the umbrella hole.  Now you have a giant beauty dish.  So you get multiple uses out of one light modifier.

Here are a few shots of the setup and a few shots from today:

This is a great little system that works beautifully and travels well.  It is compact and powerful and gives fantastic results.

That’s it for now.  Till next time, happy shooting.

Meetup and a Return to Blogging

Hi Everyone,

It has been a long hiatus from blogging, but after chatting with some of my Meetup group members I decided to give it another go.  I will not be posting everyday as my schedule doesn’t allow it, but look for blog posts at least once a week.  I can handle that.

Yesterday was an off camera flash meetup/workshop I held in Norwalk.  It was hot, to be sure, but it was also fabulous.  Here are a few pics from the afternoon.

All of these shots were taken with off camera flash: specifically Nikon Sb800’s.  I broke my group into two separate groups, gave them a complete setup, and then I shadowed them as they shot.  I got a few shots off too.

Many thanks to our models: Kathy and Sam, who were just wonderful and totally photogenic.

And many thanks to the group members who came, you make it all possible.