Gear

Combining 2 Speedlites for power & fast recycling1

On the top left you can see the Lumpro Double Flash bracket inside my small Octodome softbox.
On the top left you can see the Lumpro Double Flash bracket inside my small Octodome softbox. I had 2 Canon 600-EX-RT speedlites inside the Octodome and a 3rd one fitted with a grid/snoot on the right behind my model Lianna.
I stepped back on this shooting with my 100mm f2.8 lens. 1/90 sec ISO 100 @f2.8. Canon 5DMark2
I stepped back on this shooting with my 100mm f2.8 lens. 1/90 sec ISO 100 @f2.8. Canon 5DMark2. All Speedlites fitted with 1/4 CTO gel to give a more pleasing late evening feel instead of an overcast cloudy day.

Combining 2 Speedlites is sometimes the only way to produce the kind of power needed to have any effect when shooting during the day.

Most Speedlites produce something in the neighborhood of 80 to 100Ws of power, so combining 2 of them can result in faster recycling and more power.

Before you can use 2 Speedlites, yes,  you’ll have to buy more stuff.

Sorry. Sometimes you really do need the tools and there are no workarounds.

Since I am a softbox user, I had to get something specific like the Lumopro’s double flash bracket speedring.

The bracket allows me to attach my favorite Small Octodome and fire 2 Speedlites giving me faster recycling and more power when I shoot in daylight hours.

Both Speedlites were set to the same group, group B.

The 3rd which was fitted with a snoot/grid was set to group C.

I adjusted its distance to give me just a hint of backlight so that it was perhaps 1 stop more than the main light my small Octodome.

After mounting 2 Speedlites to my cheap Cowboy studio boom, I realized I had better be careful and balance the boom with a heavier weight especially if I were going to walk away from the boom/stand.

If you favor umbrella-style light modifier then , then  you might want to look at the Phottix Multi Boom.

The name or description of that piece of hardware is kind of vague if you ask me.

Portraits of Lianna

A different feel--I tried to make this portrait of Lianna less contemporary by a little different post processing. ISO 50 Canon 5DMark2 70-300mm zoom at 235mm 1/60 @f5.6
A different feel–I tried to make this portrait of Lianna less contemporary by a little different post processing. ISO 50 Canon 5DMark2 70-300mm zoom at 235mm 1/60 @f5.6

So here are some of my pictures with this 3 Speedlite setup, 2 inside the softbox and a 3rd as a accent light behind Lianna.

Let me know what you think.

The specifics like focal length and exposure info is under each picture.

Lianna photographed with a 70-300mm zoom. ISO 50 1/60 f5.6. Main light is the Octodome on the left just outside of camera frame, the other 600 EX-RT Speedlite fitted with Honl Grid. The green in the background are the leaves in the trees that are out of focus.
Lianna photographed with a 70-300mm zoom. ISO 50 1/60 f5.6. Main light is the Octodome on the left just outside of camera frame, the other 600 EX-RT Speedlite fitted with Honl Grid. The green in the background are the leaves in the trees that are out of focus.

Next: Part 2. More pictures
Peter Phun Photography

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