redpepper Loc: Central NY

I'm ready to delve into off camera flash and plan to purchase the Yonguo 622c transceiver pair to work with my Canon 6D an 430 EXii speedlight. I've done some research and stumped as to whether I should get a shoot thru umbrella, reflective umbrella or a soft box for a one light setup. I'm a hobby photog and on a budget. I'd like to use my OCF indoor/outdoor for photo sessions. I did shoot an outside event at high noon (ugh) and used my Rogue flashbender with flash on camera and it worked great for landscape orientation but switching to portrait was a royal pain. The modifier wouldn't let the flashhead swivel. Any thoughts?

banjonut Loc: Southern Michigan

Well, they all do perform a little differently and there is no right answer. however, you mentioned shooting outside at high noon. I believe that the reflective umbrella would give you the most amount of power which you may be needing at that time of day.

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

I don't know what your budget is, but you can get an inexpensive 43" shoot-through umbrella for around $15 and a 43" silver reflective for a few dollars more.

Generally, the closer the light source the larger it appears, and it will give softer light to shadow transitions. You can get shoot-through umbrellas and softboxes very close to your subject. The reflective umbrella must be a bit farther away because of the rod & flash position.

The softbox and reflective umbrella will control light spill better than the shoot-through.

An inexpensive hobbiest quality softbox for speedlights can be found for less than $50. So, you could have all 3 for < $100.

As far as your Flashbender, why not try mounting it on the side of your flashhead if you often quickly need to transition from landscape to portrait. Something similar to the following:

(Download)

redpepper Loc: Central NY

Thanks Rick for the clarification of different umbrellas. I wonder if there is an umbrella that can be an all-in-one type so I don't need to purchase separate shoot thru and reflective ones.

I did try to use my flash bender on the side, it's just challenging to fiddle with it in the other position.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Yes, they are called convertible umbrellas.
An example of one can be seen at this link from B&H and the Westcott line can be seen here .
The Strobist website (highly recommended) has an article devoted to the Westcott Convertible double-fold umbrella (very compact) HERE.

I recently got a Neewer Softbox for location work and absolutely love it!
The flash adapter works so well I got a second one.
Works with the accessories I use with my Bowens monolights which pretty much stay in the studio now.

Joe McNally is a great educator in the use of off camera flash.
He has several videos HERE.
I attended a seminar of his a couple of years ago.
It was fantastic.
You should look for his books (I have several of them).

Neil van Niekerk's website LINK HERE is also very informative.
Definitely worth a few hours of perusing!

You should know this by now, but as a suggestion, OCF is not a very good topic title.
If you had used "Off Camera Flash" as a title, it would have taken this thread into several pages by now.
There are quite a few members here who use off camera flash and may not be chiming in because they think this may be about some medical condition (OCD, ADHDD, HDADD... :lol: )
The search engine here uses the topic titles to find subjects.
They should be concise, but descriptive.
Cheers!

redpepper Loc: Central NY

Thanks GoofyNewfie! I actually subscribe to Neil's Tangents Newsletter and love his way of instructing. I'll definitely check out the other sites you listed. I wonder if I can try and edit the title of this thread?

Do soft boxes blow over in the wind easier than umbrellas? What do you use to secure the stands? Thanks.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

You've got a good head start then!


Only up to an hour after posting.
You might ask admin.


Yes, but maybe a little less.
Murphy comes to every shoot.
He brings friends to weddings.
Another person is the best thing to bring.
They can be your VALS (voice activated light stand).
Next best thing is a sandbag.

redpepper Loc: Central NY

;) Thanks Goofy

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

You can buy a small umbrella type softbox like this:
http://www.amazon.com/ePhoto-Speedlight-Photography-Umbrella-Softbox880GD/dp/B009RVLX1S/ref=sr_1_129?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1422323164&sr=1-129&keywords=umbrella+photography

I have one that is very similar. You can leave the grid and diffuser off and have the equivalent of a 30" silver reflective umbrella. The downside is the build quality and materials used are usually not that great. One of the ribs in mine bent after a single use.

Or they also make convertible shoot-throughs like:
http://www.amazon.com/Impact-Convertible-Umbrella-Removable-Backing/dp/B0053NWF8O/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1422323620&sr=1-5&keywords=umbrella+photography&pebp=1422323626442&peasin=B0053NWF8O

The downside is that as a reflective, the white interior doesn't bounce the same intensity of light that a silver reflective would.

Haydon

Some like to use a manfrotto superclamp with a J hook and hang their camera bag off it.

redpepper Loc: Central NY

I was thinking of the same setup Haydon. Thanks. I've got my computer work cut out for me tomorrow by searching all this wonderful information!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

This is a question that cannot be answered. It is your creative decision with regards to the quality of the light you want to put onto your subject(s). Each light modifier will produce a different quality of light. So you should look at the results that others have gotten with the different modifiers to decide what is best for you. The thing that is important to understand is that different subjects will likely require different lighting - if you are doing it right.

Shooting with a speedlight through or with a modifier outdoors in bright sunlight is frustrating, unless you place the lights extremely close to the subject - not enough power.

The Yongnuo triggers are great and easy to use and very reliable.

If you are not already familiar with this site, there is a ton of useful information if you are using lightweight gear and trying to leverage all the benefits of doing so>

http://strobist.blogspot.com/

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

You said you did some research, do a little more and you will know, if you want, either a reflective or shoot thru umbrella - a soft box will be much more versatile!

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

Consider a Gary Fong Lightsphere. I've been using one for years for single flash. If you have multiple light situations, that's different. I use two softboxes but for a single, the Lightsphere does a beautiful job. For outdoors, I put a piece of aluminum foil in the back to give a little more punch--but that's personal preference.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The problem with diffusers like the GF is that they perform best in smaller rooms with low ceilings, and only with short working distances. The other issue is that they eat up a lot of power. The best light comes from the largest apparent source - so umbrellas, softboxes and large reflecting surfaces will provide the softest light which also removes the harshness and depth of shadows.

These are two guys that get amazing results, each with a different approach - appropriate to their speciaties:

http://neilvn.com/ in particular check out his blog and tutorials

http://duenkel.typepad.com/
http://www.duenkel.com/
http://www.ppmag.com/current_issue/pdfs/0213/duenkeltutorial0213.pdf

If you google Fuzzy's name you will find videos on YouTube that are all worthwhile watching.

There is much to be learned from these "masters of light"