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theabortionator
April, 2025

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Strobist thread

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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
Been wanting to make this thread for a while now. Lets use it to discuss anything and everything strobist! For those new to the idea, "strobist" is just a general term for using flashes in photography, and is mostly related to speedlight/diy projects/creative use of light.

So, discuss techniques, gear, your latest/favorite works, tips, secrets, and questions!
12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
I'll start off with the topic of Gels. Anyone have any good kits they've used in the past? I had an ebay one but i'm starting to loose some of the filters and they are a bit small/flimsy.

I just ordered a free Roscolux Sample Swatchbook from Rosco (with S/H it is 7.50). I guess you can get them cheaper/faster here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?sub=rosco&is=REG&Q=&A=details&O=productlist&sku=45189

anyways, I'll be sure to report how they are. Gels are a blast to use
12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
I guess Rosco makes a 55 piece strobist gel kit with holder, probably should have just gone with that!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/649244-REG/Rosco_Strobist_55_Piece_Filter_Kit.html
12 years ago
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Dwarftosser1
Posts: 2602 - Karma: 951
I'll pose question;

What's a relatively good, yet still cheap set of wireless triggers for two yongnuo 460-II's?
12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
Yongnuo RF-603's. Transceivers so you dont have a dedicated trigger or receiver unit, just all in one. Really handy and pretty reliable set
12 years ago
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,798
Threads
12 years ago
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Bmo.
Posts: 4908 - Karma: 2,669
these. They are also waterproof. yes i know this from experience.

Jamie, I also got those gels about a year ago, really fun to play with. I just need to figure out how to make a little holder for them

Stoked to see where this thread goes, I love playing with strobes!

Shameless entry:

2 AB800s, 5Dii + sigma 50mm 1.4
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Yongnuo 560 and 460, T2i + canon 17-40
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12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
Needed a place to remind myself to get some of these lightstands, thought i'd share them here:

http://mpex.com/lumopro-lp605-7ft-compact-light-stand.html

really compact, great for skiing stuff, and they're cheap!
12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
Just got 100 of these velcro ties for cables. If anyone needs them, its someone with a billion sync cables (aka me). They're $7 for a pack and are awesome, here's david hobby's (strobist blogger) take:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2013/05/gear-bag-five-great-tips-for-dealing.html

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12 years ago
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jfxphoto
Posts: 2038 - Karma: 2,346
Total noob here who just bought a beginner strobist setup! Any photo idea's out there that I could go practice with only one flash? I just need to get out and use this bad boy.
12 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
Wow, I never knew these things existed, I always used cable ties.
12 years ago
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tBatt
Posts: 9632 - Karma: 580
I'll contribute the little that I have. I took a studio photo class two years ago to fill an art requirement, here are a few of my shots.

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Not exactly sure what my setup was on this, but I wanna say
550ex on top of the camera, bounced off of a big white board to camera left.
580ex off camera right

Definitely some things I would have changed if I were to do it again.

Selfie with an ABR800. Yeah, I airbrushed myself. dealwithit.gif
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Srobes are horribly overpowered, but these are 30s exposures w/ a 16-35 f/2.8L on a 5DC. I want to do more stuff like this once I get my own flashes and have a better idea of what the hell I'm doing with them.

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12 years ago
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jfxphoto
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Hey guys this was my first shoot with a flash. I only have one, and I'm finding it kind of hard to work with. I know these need a lot of work, but hey I'm just trying to practice. Tips appreciated.

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12 years ago
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bo0b
Posts: 2964 - Karma: 996
Recommendations for third party speed lights?
12 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
Family Jewels FUQ 690.
12 years ago
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,798
Yongnuo 560 ii's are pretty damn sweet for the price, or 560 iii's if you want the built in receiver for the rf-603(?) triggers.
12 years ago
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Sklar
Posts: 8865 - Karma: 31,618
vivitar 285hv are cheap and reliable
youngnuo 568 can do hss with the yn 622 triggers
12 years ago
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Joshua.
Posts: 2957 - Karma: 6,231
Threads

12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
Vivitar 285hv's are built like tanks
I like the Yongnuo yn560's and have modded mine to have a 1/8th sync jack (rad)

About to go shoot the first urban of the season, stoked! Too bad my second einstein has a blown bulb, guess I'll have to call upon the trusty yn560's
12 years ago
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jfxphoto
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What first urbans of the season???

Where are you shooting at?
12 years ago
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1337
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Maine, grabbing some arena snow and hitting a pretty tech rail. should be a fun time, and urban will hopefully come soon!
12 years ago
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jfxphoto
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Ahh I gotcha, I'm jelly man. Stoked to see the shots!
12 years ago
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jeano
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since i'm going to school on the east coast i think it's time to start getting back into strobes for urban!!! all three of my 285hv's are dead from battery acid corrosion :(((((((

some of my better ones back in the day!
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12 years ago
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jfxphoto
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Those are pretty sick man! I like it.
12 years ago
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1337
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Nice stuff, Jeano!
12 years ago
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casey.clement
Posts: 208 - Karma: 596
Any ideas for a portable setup I can use for senior pictures? I was out doing pictures last week and saw another person using one in a huge diffuser on a monopod
12 years ago
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buttrapinpirate
Posts: 497 - Karma: 225
I saw this never really got a reply to... With one flash, (my current setup as well, looking into a second) I think it's fun to just set your camera up at night and do some long exposures, and capture motion through the middle of it, it can create some really cool effects, combining action with some portions of exposures you can only get by really exposing you sensor for a long time. The one by tBatt is a perfect example. Here's one I posted a while back but I had my friend take it of me, it's a 30 sec exposure at 20mm at f/4. We set up a rail on a hill at a golf course, and I told my friend where to fire the flash from in his hand, and he fired it while I was on the rail. Pretty fun to get shots that way. Also fun because I was hopping around through the whole exposure but obviously you can't tell.

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12 years ago
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steezysteeze
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Can somebody explain to me the use of gels? Is it to match the light temperature of your stobes to the light temperature of shit you can't control?
12 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
yes! you can also use gels to add color to elements if you'd like to. Example, I used a blue gel in this photo:

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12 years ago
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SeanTom
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so i was assigned this yesterday and have 2 weeks to pull it off. thought i could just look up a quick tutorial and do it but alas. no.

the assignment is to freeze motion (in this case a skier) with a strobe and blur the background. was trying today for a few hours and just couldn't get it right.

using an alien bee b400. basically asking how i ca go about creating this shot.
11 years ago
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Sklar
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rear curtain sync panning with a longer ss
11 years ago
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SeanTom
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did the rear curtain sync, panned, and a ss of 1/250th
11 years ago
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Sklar
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post your results maybe?
were you letting in ambient?
you might need to slow it down even more, too
11 years ago
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SeanTom
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at a quarter power

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at half

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11 years ago
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cydwhit
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Finally getting into this side of shooting, just starting to research what I want to get, anything change recommendation wise in the last two years?
10 years ago
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Michael_Thatcher
Posts: 523 - Karma: 3,469
cydwhitFinally getting into this side of shooting, just starting to research what I want to get, anything change recommendation wise in the last two years?


I would recommend the Yongnuo 560 iii or iv's (2 or 3 for skiing) along with a yongnuo 560-tx to control all of the strobes from the camera. You could get 3 strobes and the controller for less than 300, maybe less than 250. Big studio strobes are a lot more expensive if you're just getting into it and they can be a pain to carry around all day.
10 years ago
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,102
my experiences with strobes are photographers fiddling with them constantly, them dying before the photographer wants them too, then said photographer cussing and screaming a lot.
10 years ago
1 0
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
loganimlachmy experiences with strobes are photographers fiddling with them constantly, them dying before the photographer wants them too, then said photographer cussing and screaming a lot.


Nailed it.
10 years ago
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cydwhit
Posts: 5079 - Karma: 43,074
loganimlachmy experiences with strobes are photographers fiddling with them constantly, them dying before the photographer wants them too, then said photographer cussing and screaming a lot.


And that's why I haven't ever even tried to get into that side of things.... But now that I have a little more time to experiment and learn I figured I might as well try to become the obnoxious photog that everyone hate to wait for.
10 years ago
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Sklar
Posts: 8865 - Karma: 31,618
loganimlachmy experiences with strobes are photographers fiddling with them constantly, them dying before the photographer wants them too, then said photographer cussing and screaming a lot.


Truee
10 years ago
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Sklar
Posts: 8865 - Karma: 31,618
On the helpful side,

Speedlights will (pretty much) really only be usable when it is dark. Good way to learn though.
As for strobes, you can get away with something like alienbees, might be a good place to start learning.
If you want a real, usable, reliable-ish package, you should be looking along the lines of PCB Einsteins (Jamie knows the ins and outs of these) or maybe even all the way up to ranger's. Some other options at that level, too.

As for triggers, again, you can get away with the cheaper stuff, like the yongnuo's, but there is a reason why pocketwizzards are the industry standard.


Really depends on how much money you have and how deep you're tryna jump in.
10 years ago
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chipkalback
Posts: 2255 - Karma: 30
loganimlachmy experiences with strobes are photographers fiddling with them constantly, them dying before the photographer wants them too, then said photographer cussing and screaming a lot.


haha, so true
10 years ago
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,392
cydwhitAnd that's why I haven't ever even tried to get into that side of things.... But now that I have a little more time to experiment and learn I figured I might as well try to become the obnoxious photog that everyone hate to wait for.


Buy good, dependable gear then. Don't cheap out in order to get more gear, you'll end up replacing it all if you do anyways. On the other hand, fancy things end up being more delicate and that sucks too. What is fun is lighting photos, what is not fun is gear crapping out on you.

I suggest Alienbees, the lightweight packs, and Pocketwizard triggers... but get the PlusX or PlusIII. I've never had a problem with these, but I know people who wrestle with the pricier stuff all the time.

Alienbees aren't the best, but I have had mine for 6 years. They have been dropped, flown with me multiple times, fallen over in wind, been caked in snow, and still work great. I've played with plenty of other gear, I've never had a time when I was like "damn wish I had some profoto shit right now" (at least not for skiing, and almost never for anything else either).

Some people who shoot more skiing and need different gear might tell you about the benefits of that gear, if there's someone out there I would love to hear their take on whatever they are using, as well as a crit of the bees. But You can get that setup I described above for probably around 1300(?) which is pretty damn good for two dependable strobes, set up with remotes and batteries.
10 years ago
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cydwhit
Posts: 5079 - Karma: 43,074
TWoodsBuy good, dependable gear then. Don't cheap out in order to get more gear, you'll end up replacing it all if you do anyways. On the other hand, fancy things end up being more delicate and that sucks too. What is fun is lighting photos, what is not fun is gear crapping out on you.


Thanks, really good info, I appreciate it. As you can see from my other thread, I'm a little split between a new camera and some lights, so I'll have to figure that out before I make any purchases.
10 years ago
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