Gear

Creating an on-location 1940 Stylized portrait

I photographed Jodi Newton using 2 Speedlites inside Lake Alice Trading Co Saloon and Eatery in Riverside. The Speedlite behind her was set to give 1-stop more light than the Key light just to the right of the camera. Canon 5DMark2 with a 50mm lens. ISO 400 1/30sec f4.5
I photographed Jodi Newton using 2 Speedlites inside Lake Alice Trading Co Saloon and Eatery in Riverside. The Speedlite behind her was set to give 1-stop more light than the Key light just to the right of the camera. Canon 5DMark2 with a 50mm lens. ISO 400 1/30sec f4.5

I usually have the exposure mode on my cameras set to “Manual”.

Likewise when I use my strobes, Speedlites or flash units.

That doesn’t mean I  fight the technology especially when the results are consistent and predictable.

It’s always a good idea to learn how to work the Speedlites on power ratio or manual settings just in case E-TTL or iTTL goes berserk and no matter what you try, it’s unpredictable.

For this particular picture of Jodi Newton, I used Canon’s ST-E3-RT transmitter with the new Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites.

The Thought Process

I had 30 minutes and was running late.

So not having to figure exposure manually was a godsend.

I tend to start with the lowest ISO and meter a scene.

In this case, the light levels were extremely low,  it was something absurd like 1/8 sec @ f4 ISO 100.

I knew from my own experience that 1/8 sec was not something I could successfully hand hold.

So  increasing my ISO from 100 to 400 allowed me to confidently use 1/30sec with a 50mm lens on my Canon 5D Mark II.

Once I made some exposures with that setting and verified  light over the pool table was going to be visible, it was time to bring in the Speedlites which I had set up as Group A (Keylight) in Photoflex soft box and Group B (backlight) fitted with Honl grid to control spill.

With the STE-3-RT attached to my hotshoe, dialing in the ratio A:B was a cinch.

Setting up the Canon ST-E-RT to control the output of my Speedlite 600EX-RTs.
Setting up the Canon ST-E-RT to control the output of my Speedlite 600EX-RTs.

Light Placement Behind-the-Scenes

To get a better idea of where I placed my lights, take a look at the pictures below

Click on the player and choose “FS” for full screen.

Mothers

Peter Phun Photography

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