Practicing backlit "not quite sunset" speedlight photograpy
Jul 30, 2017 20:34:48 #
My first attempt.
I have a destination wedding coming up in a few weeks and need to make sure I can "get the shot" without fumbling around.
Enlisted a few friends to glam it up with me. I don't have HSS speedlights and triggers yet (just 1 non-radio HSS speedlight, the other 6 are all 560iii and iv's, so i have to shoot at at 200ss and F16-22
Any advice or tricks for non-HSS, backlit with "sun still high in the sky" beach photography appreciated...played around in LR a little with colors and gradients but otherwise did not do much (cropped out speedlights etc)
I have a destination wedding coming up in a few weeks and need to make sure I can "get the shot" without fumbling around.
Enlisted a few friends to glam it up with me. I don't have HSS speedlights and triggers yet (just 1 non-radio HSS speedlight, the other 6 are all 560iii and iv's, so i have to shoot at at 200ss and F16-22
Any advice or tricks for non-HSS, backlit with "sun still high in the sky" beach photography appreciated...played around in LR a little with colors and gradients but otherwise did not do much (cropped out speedlights etc)
Jul 30, 2017 20:36:47 #
Jul 30, 2017 21:53:00 #
Nice job. Are these composites? They don't appear to be actually backlit. Some motion blur on the right arm of the model in the first shot. I am not being critical, just curious. I do like these images.
Jul 30, 2017 22:00:53 #
kpmac wrote:
Nice job. Are these composites? They don't appear to be actually backlit. Some motion blur on the right arm of the model in the first shot. I am not being critical, just curious. I do like these images.
The backlighting is the sun which is still an hour or more from setting. These shots were taken in a full sunshine. The challenge is
Good eye on the model blur. I saw that also when I got home. Might be just motion with not enough SS but not sure....
These are not composites...single shots pretty much SOOC (some lightroom work on gradients and color and crops with the odd clone to remove a bird or too. I can post the original sooc with no adjustments so you can see what i did.
Jul 30, 2017 22:11:24 #
kpmac wrote:
Nice job. Are these composites? They don't appear to be actually backlit. Some motion blur on the right arm of the model in the first shot. I am not being critical, just curious. I do like these images.
Jul 30, 2017 22:14:42 #
Original. Finished included removing some birds and the boom arm, cropping and some general LR tweaking.
End of boom arm was a Westcott triple threat with 3 bare Yongnuo 560iii speedlights at 1/1 power triggered from a Yongnuo 560iv on camera flash.
F18, 1/200, 24mm.
End of boom arm was a Westcott triple threat with 3 bare Yongnuo 560iii speedlights at 1/1 power triggered from a Yongnuo 560iv on camera flash.
F18, 1/200, 24mm.
Jul 31, 2017 06:21:21 #
tcthome
Loc: NJ
Nice! Looks like a Joe McNally shoot. How many shots before you got the lights dialed in the way you wanted them.
Jul 31, 2017 06:21:24 #
tcthome
Loc: NJ
Nice! Looks like a Joe McNally shoot. How many shots before you got the lights dialed in the way you wanted them.
Jul 31, 2017 07:14:07 #
tcthome wrote:
Nice! Looks like a Joe McNally shoot. How many shots before you got the lights dialed in the way you wanted them.
Did my research beforehand. I knew I was in trouble with low sync speed flashes so it was only f13-f22. (No creamy bokeh for this shoot). My only option was to get the background underexposed and 3 full power lights on the subject. Took about 5-10 shot-chimp cycles to get familiar with what was acceotable....thrn I could focus on the composition.
Nice side effect is the starburst at f18+
Probably took more time to get the models to get goofy. It was a crowded lighthoused breakwater pier....they were a little self conscious but got into quickly when i showed them the first shot :-)
Also, no softbox used....these are 3 overhead speedlights at full power. Did a bunch of shots of the couple (white haired girl and her husband) with horizontal lights that look pretty decent also.
I did just order some HSS triggers, 2 HSS flashes and a portable softbox .... will post my results in a couple of weeks.
Jul 31, 2017 07:28:03 #
Jul 31, 2017 08:42:07 #
Jul 31, 2017 08:47:32 #
If you're looking for advice it doesn't look like you need it... 
Jul 31, 2017 08:57:50 #
phlash46 wrote:
If you're looking for advice it doesn't look like you need it...
There is always something but thanks for the compliment....the blur on the models hand would be an area of insight...other lighting tricks...anyone use gels?
Getting lots of advice from youtube but they never really do enough to cover the dont's...just the do's...
Want to know if anyone has done this before, I want to learn from all you UHHers failures... withouth having to pay for a course to sit there and go "yeah yeah yeah know all that" to get to the real nuggets. .... I am cheap...also rather be shooting :-)
Jul 31, 2017 17:02:01 #
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