Surfer Girl - Location Lighting with Multiple Strobes ... (part 1)

Beach Workshop in Puerto Plata, DR.
Multiple Strobe Set Up
Total Session Time: 11 Minutes

I had the pleasure of presenting for a day at a convention held at the IberoStar Dorada in Puerto Plata, DR. A great group of people from the NOBS Forum got together for some serious ( but not all the time ) learning... What follows over the next few pages, is the basic setups and settings used during the session and then the production involved in creating the final image, as seen below.

Some things just work out for the better...

During a recent workshop held in the sunny tropics, my scheduled models ( local vacationers ) had succummed to the all-inclusive bottle flu and missed our start time... One of the organizers worked his magic on the Dive & Surf Shop manager who was kind enough to pose but only had a few minutes left from her break - So what followed was a very fast, un-rehearsed and completely real-time location operation.

* The specs that follow relate to my Nikon gear and the SB800 Speedlights, but the positioning, exposure values, camera settings and shooting considerations are all universal. The Nikon iTTL Creative Lighting System system ( the technology built into their strobes) allowed me to achieve the final results all that much easier - and under some challenging conditions.

Step 1 - Seek out your model and explain to her that she's absolutely perfect "As Is" for your session , and also to ignore the crowd of 20 other people with cameras watching her...

Step 2 - Have a good look at the general location considerations, and evaluate how they may affect your image.
Here we can see that the background is brightly lit by high overhead sunlight. Our subject is in a shaded area with a considerable difference in brightness, light direction, white balance and color values. I need to be concerned about keeping the naturalness of the background, not losing the white details in any hilights, lighting my subject in a manner that works with the existing ambient AND filtered sunshine breaking through. Shooting in a different setting with everything evenly lit from the sun would definitely be easier, but I personally prefer depth in my images, and that usually involves setups that are a bit more challenging - but always more rewarding!

Step 3 - Pre-Visualize your results and decide on your Lighting. The image below gives an overview of the area and how I have placed my lights... It will almost always change as the session progresses, but at least figure your basic starting points and work up from there
I'm going to use sculpted lighting on my model, bringing in "light intensities" to the shadow areas of her presentation, allowing that sculpted light to create the drama, clean up the color cast of the shade, and blend in with the harshness of the background illumination. My lighting is actually fairly simple - two accents from either side - one slightly behind on camera left, the other off to a high angle on camera right . I have another strobe lower, closer in and on the left. I have it bouncing into a gold reflector which should add a nice subtle warmth to the fill from that side - I would normally use the flash covered with its fitted amber gel, but I couldn't find my gels, so did a quick improv on the fly. The last strobe involved in this, is sitting on top of the camera - the handy one built into the D200 Body. It is set so as to be a fill, but also as the trigger for the other strobes. I'll explain the letters and their significance next.

Here we see the setups viewable on the camera's menu ( left ) and on the strobes ( right ).
I have here, the ability to control the outputs of the individual strobes right off of the camera. With TTL finesse, the balance of the strobes is setup off of the cameras menu, and here you can see that I have set the A Strobe to fire at 1/3 over my main exposure, my B 's to be at 2/3's more, and my on-camera to be at 1.7 less than the main exposure . The only settings necessary on the strobes are for their A, B, or C Grouping, and the Channel that the trigger signal is received with. I can also control the spread of the flash with the zoom function .

I use colored rubber bands on the strobes so I can easily tell from a distance what group they're set for, and have the color coding on the back of the strobes as well ( visible above) . The built-in flash on the camera may not be up to heavy duty usage - but it will almost always trigger the strobes that are, and act as an effective fill as well ! Of course you could use another SB800 mounted on camera, but while in travel mode, it's nice to have the option of uisng the built-in flash.

Setting up the camera to control the strobes in "Commander Mode", is done by accessing the Bracketing / Flash option off of the main menu, then selecting the Built-in Flash, setting it to Commander, and then finally entering the balances you prefer ( as shown above).

If this is starting to sound a bit technical, fear not... My whole approach to my prep work is to get a few things setup up ahead of time, and then work with the camera's auto functions and wonderfully accurate meterings so that after a couple of quick histogram checks - I just spend my time shooting and forgetting about all the complexities of exposure calculations that the camera is handling invisibly!

Step 4 - Start Shooting ! The Results...
Now we have a well balanced, evenly lit exposure, with built-in accenting, a full tonal range, with no problematic or blown-out exposure areas. While not perfect as a final image, it is a perfect starting point for the final steps of production to follow ... To see where we are going with the next few pages, mouse over the image to see the results of the post-production, and look for the link below to continue the Tutorial. - Mouse Over to See Image ** It's important to remember that trying to create finished files in camera under these conditions will likely lead to problematic and often disappointing results, as your flexibility in image production can be limited to the point of affecting image quality and typically extending your necessary production time involved.

Not to be forgotten, but just as important in their supporting role - are the battery and mechanics that allow me full freedom to work as I need to on location. The Quantums are great for the compact travelability & seemingly endless power. I also have a minor santa sack of flash mounts, my favorites being the manfrotto accessories and others shown below.

Next Steps - Image Post Production and Retouching - Click to Continue


Related Links:

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Working with Adobe Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw

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All Images & Text Copyright 2006 - Craig Minielly M. Photog., MPA