Bobbee

Thanks, I was looking at the Cowboy triggers and then went with Pocket's. Go figure. I have an SB900 and when I am taking alot of flashes it seizes up on me because of thermal overload. A known issue. I like the flash but not what it does in these situations. I have another thread going and I am looking at the Quantum Trio for my Nikon. these have the radio build in and can fire thousands of flashes in a row without overheating. And seem to be, from the write up, much more powerful. But are expensive, but I do believe in that saying 'you get what you pay for', or the Russian saying 'by cheap 10 times, buy good once'. So I am probably going down that route. This weekend I was doing a shoot and the SB900 locked up on me 3 times. Very frustrating. Had to switch to my 600's. So I will keep the SB's for other tings and backups.

anotherview Loc: California

Hi: Good morning. Here’s that technique online that shows step-by-step how to set the neutral gray point in an image using Photoshop.

===========
An Easy Way To Find Neutral Gray In A Photo With Photoshop

http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/neutral-gray/
===========

Note: The Layers used have to be rasterized for this technique to work properly. You may rasterize a layer by clicking on it. Doing so brings up a menu containing the option for rasterizing. Click on this option to rasterize the layer.

If you need to rasterize more than one layer, then hold down the Shift key while clicking on each layer to highlight it. Then bring up the menu to rasterize the selected layers.

Second note: This technique uses a small area to represent the neutral gray in the image.

I use a refinement of this approach, by dragging the Threshold slider to the left while zooming in the image as necessary until the slider reaches 1 pixel representing the neutral gray point. Then I click on this pixel using the Levels eye dropper for the grey point setting.

You will see three eyedroppers in Levels. Use the one in the middle. If you hold the cursor over the eyedropper for a moment or two, a balloon will appear identifying the eyedropper.

Finally, note that hunting for that 1 pixel may involve zooming in and scanning the image while in Threshold mode. If you cannot find 1 pixel, then try finding a pixel with the Threshold set to 2 pixels. You can go up to 3 pixels and still achieve a close neutral gray point.

Occasionally you will come upon an image that has no neutral gray point even at the Threshold setting of 3 pixels. When this result happens, I adjust the image as best I may using my eye while making sure I have a good black point and white point set in the image.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Setup the shot. Have your model/subject hold a grey card. Snap a shot of the grey card making sure you fill most of the frame with the card. Then you can create a custom w/b in the camera if the lighting remain the same or keep your camera on auto w/b and then use the image of the card in post processing to set up a preset w/b and apply it to all the images taken in that session.

robert-photos Loc: Chicago

I shoot Canon which to me has a red bias so I gel my flashes for ambient incandescent with Rosco Cinegel #3441 Filter - Full Straw CTS (instead of Rosco Cinegel #3407 Filter - RoscoSun CTO):
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/44225-REG/Rosco_RS344111_3441_Filter_Full.html

The CTS has less red than the CTO.

Bobbee

Google.............our friend and our enemy. Sort of like those Sweet and Sour commercials!!!! Thanks.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/White-Balancing-Accessories/ci/12260/N/4077634549

check out the Photovision and WhiBal
I use both and my colors come out great.

anotherview Loc: California

With your high usage, you can justify going with better, more costly gear.

BTW: There are other radio triggers of better quality than the Cowboy Studio ones. Your workload may require those.

Bobbee

I have the pocket wizard Minni and Flex. Do you recommend something better than this. When I brought them I was reading the reviews and they seemed Ok. It may be the way I set them up. I was moving tooo quick on Saturday to give the issue a proper debugging approach. I had 87 actors lined up for portrait shots. This happened after about 25. I was thinking one of the contact that is on the bottom of the Transceiver came in contact the the mounting bracket which was metal. That may have caused the issue. Maybe I will tape a thin piece of rubber there so it could not possibly happen. Or switch to plastic. Thanks!!!!

jim quist Loc: Missouri

I use pocket wizard plus II. the only time they don't work right is when the battery needs replaced/recharged.

anotherview Loc: California

Your situation as a working professional with a high workload would justify your having a backup system for triggering your flash units.

Your existing gear may've gone haywire for a short or some other connection problem. You may wish to have this gear checked by a qualified technician.

Let me please suggest you check with other pros in your line of work for how they prepare for a backup system.

Bobbee

Thanks, I have two other backups. I like the Mini and TTL for features. Again thanks.