I was going to recommend the FastenR T but you already tried it.

These are getting good reviews.

https://www.cheetahstand.com/Cheetah-Light-p/cl-180.htm

:thumbup:

The BEST?

Exactly, there are bunches of people that ski, but only a handful are "skiers" and there is a BIG difference...

Yea I used it to smooth his skin out a tiny bit. Still holding onto that adolescent acne

:lol:

I’ve been reading a lot of posts recently basically alluding to the downward spiral of “quality” photography. There are those that believe the masses are more desires of the quick, fast, and low quality images grabbed on the spot by devices such as phones and the like. I say that in general people simply “settle” for these images because they are what the “photographer” is capable of producing, either because they do not have any other options, do not posses the skills to do a better job, or simply out of convenience. I think of the situation as a matter of differing levels of acceptance. Most people understand that these are quick snapshots and that there are better, more “professional” photographs that require more effort.

Recently a young man I have known for many years contacted me. He knows I am a Commercial Photographer and asked me to take some pictures of him simply to post on Instagram. He is an avid poster and had never been able to get over twenty something “likes” on any of his pictures taken with his IPhone 5S even though he has hundreds of followers. We went out and took some images and he posted the image below. It received hundreds of likes and over a hundred comments from his many followers easily becoming his most popular post. The bulk of the comments were not about how handsome he was, or his popular BEATS Headphones, not even about the super rare Jordan’s he was wearing. They were about the quality of the image itself. Comments like “it’s so clear” or “WOW that looks like it’s from a magazine” were pouring in. One woman said it was the best pic she had ever seen on Instagram and many wanted to know how he got the pic.

Now obviously I don’t think it’s the best picture ever taken but it was “technically” done correctly and with some descent equipment. I was actually very excited to read all the comments because it clearly showed that the masses (mostly twenty somethings) still have eyes and brains and when you hit them with a well-done or "real" image they can see the difference, and they still appreciate it. Oh and I have since been hired to take some of his followers pictures so they can shoot for Instagram fame HaHa. Keep snapping gang, and don’t let what the masses are doing distract or discourage you from “doing it right”.

For the techies, the image was shot with a Canon 5D MkII, Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II lens at 85mm, ISO 100, f/3.5 at 1/800’s. Lighting was ambient camera right through a 2/3rd Sun Bounce Scrim, Elinchrom Ranger through a Gridded Kacey Beauty Dish boomed overhead from camera left. A California Sunbounce Micro Mini from camera left behind bleachers for some fill and another Micro Mini low directly under the camera for fill. Processing was in Lightroom 4 with very minimal cropping and adjustments.

+1 and don't forget the IQ-180 digital back.
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I coach High School baseball and shoot the game at all levels and the kids dig the staged shots. Try some of them fielding and with a bat and let them decide but most like the fielding shots they look "sick" :thumbup:

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Looked before I posted, didn't see anything so I thought others might be interested. Your point?

I converted to Canon a few years ago but I still have a soft spot in my heart for my old Oly gear...

Oly fans check this out.

http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/e-m1.html?utm_content=em1_copy_link&utm_campaign=em1_ot_esys&utm_source=email_etprm&utm_medium=email :thumbup:

If the Sun is the issue I assume it is an outdoor wedding and I have never shot one where you could not use strobe lighting. And a small light source like a "flash" is about as horrible as it gets. Using real lighting is what separates the snap shots from the rest. To do it right requires a large, diffuse, and powerful light source such as what I mentioned or one of the other systems out there. Once you see the product of good lighting you won't use a "flash" unless its the absolute last resort even if you can get it off the camera.

This is a routine Environmental Portrait situation. Expose for the brightest part, which is usually the background. Then light the couple with strobes to expose them properly. I use a pair of Elinchrom Ranger packs with "S" Heads and either large Softboxes, Beauty Dishes, or the Maxi-Light reflectors depending on the look I want to achieve or how far I need to "throw" light. Triggered with Pocket Wizards Mini-TT1 and the matching ST-4 Transceivers on the Ranger Power Packs I can get up to 1/1000's Shutter Speed with perfect Flash sync. The combination can quite easily overpower the Sun in any conditions and then some including lighting a very large Reception Hall. The setup can also be used for the formals simply by grabbing the lights and moving them into position. Total cost about $10K for the lights, welcome to the club.

I shoot with Canon 1Dx bodies which have awesome high ISO performance and I still find myself using f2.8 all the time (and well above ISO 3200). Sometimes I use it for light to keep my Shutter Speed up to freeze action but other times I use it to try and cleanup that ugly background you cannot get around. I have shot news, sports, and events all over the planet and to be honest I don't really fear the guy with a point and shoot. I remember when the Sony NEX cameras came out and several guys claimed "the end of the DSLR" was here and that they were selling their over priced gear. Well cool beans one less guy trying to sell pics because they are simply no competition for the big boys, if they were the 1DX and D4 would never have been released.