|
|
|
Image Gallery
|
Quantum QFlash images
|
|
Ready, Fire, Aim!
In today's fast shift from film to digital, the time for multiple lighting has never been more important. I have noticed that the best pictures in my portfolio are the ones where the lights are coming from off camera, and usually from above and behind the subjects. In the picture of the bride with her arms out stretched, (we affectionately call this image the flying V), it is certainly evident that the intensity of the room lights create the three dimensional look that gives the photo depth and impact. And with Quantum's new Turbo AC we now have consistent output all night long. It's not just the candid images either.
We are using the flashes in a back 45 degree position on our portraits and family groups. My typical set-up is a Canon 5D, or now the Mark III, with the 580 flash on the camera. Using the FreeXwire for remote firing we typically add 3 to 4 QFlashes to the equation. One near the camera in a 45 degree position to shape the face. The other 2 or 3 from behind the subject to shape and separate the subject from the background. Qflash gives me very consistent light output, plus my Qflashes are positioned before the reception begins, making sure that I get even lighting throughout...thus...Ready, Fire Aim!
Clayton Blackmore. www.clayblackmore.com
|
 |
|
Love, marriage and a little fireworks keep the spark of romance alive.
This image is from a wedding celebration in Punta Mita, Mexico. I knew there would be a fireworks display during the first dance. I always use a second remote to add depth to a usually dark environment. This was an outdoor reception with the black ocean for a backdrop with only candlelight on the tables. I used the Quantum Qflash T5d-R, with the Qnexus adapter set to receive the dedicated signal from my Canon 580EX. The Qnexus gives me dedicated wireless TTL control over the remote T5d-R flash. The Qflash was placed on a light stand to the camera left about 15 feet with the Qnexus sensor aimed toward the camera. Strobes were used to accent the image.
I used a Canon 5D with a 24mm f/1.4 lens shot RAW at ISO 800, 1/8th of a second @ f/1.4 hand held. I choose the slow shutter speed to capture the explosion of the fireworks and to allow for motion blur of the bride & groom to convey them dancing. My goal was an image that had the same WOW effect as their first dance accompanied by the awesome fire works display. I used the remote light for most of the reception to give my images depth that cannot be achieved by using a single strobe. Qflash offers great creative control, is great on location, travel's well and works seamlessly with my Canon system. I can't imagine going on assignment without Qnexus and Qflash.
Bob Davis www.bobdavisphoto.com
|
 |
|
This image was made as part of an experimental self-assignment. My studio is in a hurricane prone area of the East Coast and while visiting the local hardware store I discovered the translucent 4x8 background I am using here, which is actually an impact resistant material used to board up windows. Because of the internal honeycomb construction light interacts in a very unique almost laser like way (notice the white streak at the bottom of the image).
Behind the panel we hung one of those tacky shell curtains from World Bazaar and beyond that is white seamless paper. This was an exercise in light control using a total of 5 Quantum T5D's with attached FreeXwire Receivers (FW7Q) all on manual with a variety of light modifiers all slaved and controlled with a shoe mounted FreeXwire Transmitter from my Canon 5D. The image was shot at ISO 100, @ F6.3, @ 1/60 sec with a 70 to 200 2.8 lens zoomed to 78 mm. Fill-flash was provided by a T5D with standard reflector placed on the floor just in front of the subject at 1/16 power. The raw quality of the fill is what gives the image its punch in the diffused highlights and also the beam of light at the base of the image.
Ed Pierce www.photovisionvideo.com |
 |
|
Taos Pueblo is the only North American Native community which has been continuously inhabited for more than a thousand years. ''That's what the picture needed to say.'' The Camera was an E series Olympus with a 11 to 22 mm zoom lens, a fantastic, very sharp lens and a Quantum Bare Bulb Qflash. I feel one of the most overlooked and least understood lighting technique is outdoor bare bulb in full sunlight. It adds a fantastic sharp slice of foreground that makes your image look as close to 3D as possible. As photography is primarily a two dimensional arena, lighting is the brush that makes your pictures stand out.
My approach is to meter for the background and sky. I use that F/stop for my aperture. Usually around F/16 to 22. My distance with the flash is then calculated at the highest sync speed I can get and I balance it at a quarter to half a stop under the normal flash exposure for the face. In this way I do not destroy the natural lighting but fill in the gritty shadow tones. You have to make sure you do not let the flash overpower the natural light… Just a soft blend into it. The final photo you see is a composite of two photos taken one right after the other. Both were shot with just enough bare bulb flash to bring out the shadow detail to make the end result "POP". Bare bulb is just a fantastic way to make your pictures stand out and shout. And the folks at Quantum make it so easy. They truly are a company that listens to the photographers needs and supply a product that just screams of quality and ease of use.
Michael Gilbert
|
 |
|