Minimum requirements for home studio

[MissionMan]

Just looking at what additional's I need for a home (non-professional) studio.

At this point I've got the following on my list:

Strobes (with soft boxes/umbrellas)
Flash trigger (if not included with strobes)
Light Meter (currently looking at a L358)
Backdrop/Props
Reflector with stand

Is there anything I missed?

[I @ M]

Do you intend just doing head and shoulder shots?

If not and you want to do full length body shots, to me minimum requirements are a space 6m wide by 4m high by 4m deep.

[Rattus79]

absolute minimum you require?

Flash + Trigggers (I suggest the Yongnuo gear YN 560 (or better) + RF 603 get more triggers then you have flashes, you will end up getting more flashes and/or use the spare as a cable release)

Flash stands = a broom stick cemented into an empty bucket/tin $next to free$

Flash holders = a pair of cable clamps + a quarter inch screw (bunnings $10 total)

Soft boxes = a foam Brocoli/Vegetable box with a white cloth diffuser $free$

Backdrop = 1x king bed flat sheet, White Commercial. Pm me, I'm a wholesaler.

Backdrop Stand = some PVC Pipe and some creativity or go to a shopfitter and get a clothing rack etc

Reflector = one of those silver/gold reflector things for the window of your car windscreen $3

lightmeter - make sure it can do flash metering. Chimp and check is a good method for learning to "guess" a good exposure. I know with my flash 1/4 power into a vege softbox gives a good exposure at F:8-9 for 3-4 feet

Snoots = pringles can

gridstops = a bunch of straws stuck in the pringles can

There are a HEAP of diy lighting stuff. Sure, they're not as professional looking as the real deal stuff, but you can get some very good quality results from them! for the $$ outlay, they're a good idea to get the basics down pat if you haven't done off camera flash work before.

They're not so good if you're wanting to head to the beach and shoot models in bikini's while looking professional about it.

[Bear Dale]

Just looking at what additional's I need for a home (non-professional) studio.

At this point I've got the following on my list:

Strobes (with soft boxes/umbrellas)
Flash trigger (if not included with strobes)
Light Meter (currently looking at a L358)
Backdrop/Props
Reflector with stand

Is there anything I missed?

Don't forget a home :)

[Wayne]

Andrews recommendations for space would be the absolute minimum IMO if you want to shoot full length without resorting to UWA lenses and distortion.

[MissionMan]

Do you intend just doing head and shoulder shots?

If not and you want to do full length body shots, to me minimum requirements are a space 6m wide by 4m high by 4m deep.

Mainly kids, toddlers, babies but the odd full length. I have the space for it at home so size isn't too much of an issue.


absolute minimum you require?

Flash + Trigggers (I suggest the Yongnuo gear YN 560 (or better) + RF 603 get more triggers then you have flashes, you will end up getting more flashes and/or use the spare as a cable release)

Flash stands = a broom stick cemented into an empty bucket/tin $next to free$

Flash holders = a pair of cable clamps + a quarter inch screw (bunnings $10 total)

Soft boxes = a foam Brocoli/Vegetable box with a white cloth diffuser $free$

Backdrop = 1x king bed flat sheet, White Commercial. Pm me, I'm a wholesaler.

Backdrop Stand = some PVC Pipe and some creativity or go to a shopfitter and get a clothing rack etc

Reflector = one of those silver/gold reflector things for the window of your car windscreen $3

lightmeter - make sure it can do flash metering. Chimp and check is a good method for learning to "guess" a good exposure. I know with my flash 1/4 power into a vege softbox gives a good exposure at F:8-9 for 3-4 feet

Snoots = pringles can

gridstops = a bunch of straws stuck in the pringles can

There are a HEAP of diy lighting stuff. Sure, they're not as professional looking as the real deal stuff, but you can get some very good quality results from them! for the $$ outlay, they're a good idea to get the basics down pat if you haven't done off camera flash work before.

They're not so good if you're wanting to head to the beach and shoot models in bikini's while looking professional about it.

Thanks for the tips but I've got a lot of the gear already and fortunately I've managed to get away with some budget for this (justified to my wife). I've got a SB600 and SB700 for the flash side, but I'm probably going to get a D-lite RX4 kit which comes with two softboxes and an umbrella. The transmitter is included in the kit and I've also already got a decent 5 in one reflector so that shouldn't be an issue. I may get a stand for the reflector so that's probably the only thing I'm really missing on that.

On the backdrop side, I've already got a heavy duty stand with a black and white roll so I'll see if I need anymore but most of what I do will be on black and white backgrounds.


Don't forget a home :)

Damn, one thing I forgot. Any idea what they cost these days? :p

- - - Updated - - -


Andrews recommendations for space would be the absolute minimum IMO if you want to shoot full length without resorting to UWA lenses and distortion.

Thanks. Only issue may be height. I've only got about 3m on that but the others are good enough at this point.

[Wayne]

You will need those D-Lites et al or more lights, because 2 speedlights just won't cut it. It can take 2 lights to light a 2.7M wide background roll, then you may need a hair/rim light and of course a key/fil, although with a good key, fill can often be a reflector. A boom is very handy especially in smaller width places as it will allow you to get the light in front or overhead without putting stands on your paper backdrops. That is the issue I'm kind of struggling with right now in my warehouse studio, it is only 4.6m wide and the background paper is 2.7M, plust stands.

[MissionMan]

You will need those D-Lites et al or more lights, because 2 speedlights just won't cut it. It can take 2 lights to light a 2.7M wide background roll, then you may need a hair/rim light and of course a key/fil, although with a good key, fill can often be a reflector. A boom is very handy especially in smaller width places as it will allow you to get the light in front or overhead without putting stands on your paper backdrops. That is the issue I'm kind of struggling with right now in my warehouse studio, it is only 4.6m wide and the background paper is 2.7M, plust stands.

I figured the two lights and a reflector were a good starting point. Once I get to grips with those I'll start adding additional ones, probably in the same series. The boom is another consideration I'm looking at but I suspect it will come later as with some of the other accessories as my budget dictates what I add.

Interestingly I don't have paper backdrops. The rolls I have are synthetic polypropylene. Standard rolls are 2.7mx11m and only marginally more expensive than paper roles. They're a little more durable for kids and you can draw on them to keep the kids focussed on where you want them to be (and then wash them off of photoshop it out)

[Bear Dale]

What brand/model of strobes are you considering?

[MissionMan]

The choice is between the Elinchrom D-lite RX4 and the Bowens Gemini 400 but I'll probably get the Elinchrom at this point.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[I @ M]

The choice is between the Elinchrom D-lite RX4 and the Bowens Gemini 400

Why?
There are quite a few quality ( with a capital Q ) products out there that will suit your needs at a $$$ saving margin than "name" brand products that come out of the same Indian or Chinese factories as the E and B brands.

[Wayne]

Only the low end Elinchroms are made outside Sweden, which is where the lights you are looking at sit. I disagree that there are cheap knock offs as good as the brand names. All good when using one light, but shoot 2 lights that show different colour temps shot to shot, inconsistent output power etc and the extra cost of well proven, well backed products soon fades into obscurity.

[MissionMan]

Why?
There are quite a few quality ( with a capital Q ) products out there that will suit your needs at a $$$ saving margin than "name" brand products that come out of the same Indian or Chinese factories as the E and B brands.

Generally everyone I spoke to (and all the research I did) said that it's worth buying decent if you can afford to.

There are other factors I consider, resale if I want to upgrade, ease of getting additional heads in the same model/brand, longterm product support etc.

[Wayne]

Generally everyone I spoke to (and all the research I did) said that it's worth buying decent if you can afford to.

There are other factors I consider, resale if I want to upgrade, ease of getting additional heads in the same model/brand, longterm product support etc.

Yep, we all value different things differently. I'm with you, quality, proven and well supported products that have a manufacturer that has been around 50 years is reason to sway from cheap Chinese shit made by whoflungdung that will probably not be there in 10 minutes time when I may need them. Try getting warranty from one of those suppliers, when you can be assured Elinchrom, Profoto, Broncolor,Bowens and even PCB will all be there for you if you need them.

[Puzz1e]

The D-lite kit is very good value for money given the quality. I'm not a fan of many non branded items...especially when it comes to lighting. There are so many factors such as color temperature consistency, sync speed, flash to flash power consistency, warranty etc. Go with a tried and tested brand IMO. If you don't need short flash duration, don't even hesitate with the elinchrom set!

[I @ M]

Mission Man, I read two statements from you and asked a question based on those lines.
The first part I read was in your initial post where you wanted advice for " a home (non professional) studio " and that indicates to me that you were not going to be subjecting the gear that you buy to heavy duty commercial use.

The second line that I read and based my question on was in post #8 where you stated that you would add other gear " as my budget dictates " which I consider entirely sensible so my thoughts were to maximise the initial budget.

The lighting units available in Australia at that end of the "non professional" "budget" range extend from poorly made rubbish through to very good bang for your buck units.

I have nothing against the Elinchrom units that you have indicated as being suitable for your use but I do feel that in a few areas they are a little over hyped because of their "name" and advertising.

Wayne has very eloquently described (not) various units as "knockoffs" "excreta" and manufactured by "whoflungdung" who "will not be there in 10 minutes when I need them" and I'm sorry to say that I don't find much merit in such descriptions with regard to some better quality "non named" brand lighting units.

I was merely pointing out that there are good quality units available that will save you $$$, offer similar / the same / better performance than the "named" brands. I do not consider them "knockoffs" as they are simply light heads that are manufactured in a similar style to other light heads. I certainly don't consider the 2 heads that I use as "excreta" because they function entirely as they should and in a couple of areas are better specced than the E brand.
As far as back up and service go for the "knockoffs" that I own, the business that sells them has been in operation for at least 5 years, maybe more but that is as long as I have been dealing with him. I don't think he is about to close up shop tomorrow, can always be reached with a phone call as well as having a physical address in Melbourne to visit.
He keeps a good stock of consumables ( modifiers, backdrops, stands, flash tubes etc ) for his units.
I have never seen any colour inconsistencies or power variances from the lights, they have never stopped working, they have not fallen apart. They have had more than average use over the time that they have been here.
The other thing that appeals to me over the Elinchroms is that if I owned an Elinchrom unit and I needed any warranty work done within the one year warranty period I would simply have to deliver it to the retailer and then wait for the service agent to get around to repairing it.
If my "knockoff" brand had suffered any form of failure ( flash tube excepted ) during the two year warranty period I would simply have delivered it to the retailer and received a new unit in exchange.

Certainly, there are some very mouth wateringly excellent products available from the well known makers and as far as I know there are no "knockoff" products that compare with or even manufactured competing in that end of the market but that is not where I thought the original thread was headed given the "non professional" and "budget" parameters.

Please excuse me for offering an opinion if you are determined to only consider name brands based on perceptions ( sometimes misguided ) of others who may not have even used the gear in question. Such is the life of the internet.

[Bear Dale]

I&M can you tell us the brand of strobes that you use, post pics or a link?

Thanks

[I @ M]

I&M can you tell us the brand of strobes that you use, post pics or a link?

Thanks

There ya go Jim http://www.studiolight.com.au/flashes.htm

[MissionMan]

Mission Man, I read two statements from you and asked a question based on those lines.
The first part I read was in your initial post where you wanted advice for " a home (non professional) studio " and that indicates to me that you were not going to be subjecting the gear that you buy to heavy duty commercial use.

The second line that I read and based my question on was in post #8 where you stated that you would add other gear " as my budget dictates " which I consider entirely sensible so my thoughts were to maximise the initial budget.

The lighting units available in Australia at that end of the "non professional" "budget" range extend from poorly made rubbish through to very good bang for your buck units.

I have nothing against the Elinchrom units that you have indicated as being suitable for your use but I do feel that in a few areas they are a little over hyped because of their "name" and advertising.

Wayne has very eloquently described (not) various units as "knockoffs" "excreta" and manufactured by "whoflungdung" who "will not be there in 10 minutes when I need them" and I'm sorry to say that I don't find much merit in such descriptions with regard to some better quality "non named" brand lighting units.

I was merely pointing out that there are good quality units available that will save you $$$, offer similar / the same / better performance than the "named" brands. I do not consider them "knockoffs" as they are simply light heads that are manufactured in a similar style to other light heads. I certainly don't consider the 2 heads that I use as "excreta" because they function entirely as they should and in a couple of areas are better specced than the E brand.
As far as back up and service go for the "knockoffs" that I own, the business that sells them has been in operation for at least 5 years, maybe more but that is as long as I have been dealing with him. I don't think he is about to close up shop tomorrow, can always be reached with a phone call as well as having a physical address in Melbourne to visit.
He keeps a good stock of consumables ( modifiers, backdrops, stands, flash tubes etc ) for his units.
I have never seen any colour inconsistencies or power variances from the lights, they have never stopped working, they have not fallen apart. They have had more than average use over the time that they have been here.
The other thing that appeals to me over the Elinchroms is that if I owned an Elinchrom unit and I needed any warranty work done within the one year warranty period I would simply have to deliver it to the retailer and then wait for the service agent to get around to repairing it.
If my "knockoff" brand had suffered any form of failure ( flash tube excepted ) during the two year warranty period I would simply have delivered it to the retailer and received a new unit in exchange.

Certainly, there are some very mouth wateringly excellent products available from the well known makers and as far as I know there are no "knockoff" products that compare with or even manufactured competing in that end of the market but that is not where I thought the original thread was headed given the "non professional" and "budget" parameters.

Please excuse me for offering an opinion if you are determined to only consider name brands based on perceptions ( sometimes misguided ) of others who may not have even used the gear in question. Such is the life of the internet.

I have no issues with differing opinions. There are a wide variety of people from different backgrounds with different sets of experience and it's unlikely people will always agree, particularly when it comes to equipment. Ask two people for an answer on the best portrait lens and you're likely to get different answers because it's dependent on a number of factors like skill, budget, experience etc. I generally always take forum answers with some degree of scepticism because there could also be hidden agenda's (i.e. retailers/distributers hiding behind a name (although this is less of an issue with Ausphotography than other industries).

I'm not determined to get brand names, most of the preference for brand names has come from discussions with people who used lighting (both in a personal and professional capacity), both here and elsewhere.

The biggest drawbacks with non-brand name models is a lack of independent reviews, even if purchased from established stores. I tried searching for a number of the names and models of cheaper non-brand names and I could not find a single review of the models available, samples, etc. The big issue I've noticed is you don't actually know what you're getting, and as someone new to studio work, you probably won't know what you're getting until much later when you actually start to learn the limitations or issues with your equipment. Some people have mentioned issues with durability, issues with getting hold of bulb replacements (or at exorbitant cost), consistency of light, or outputs which are not as quoted. The problem as you mentioned is that "The lighting units available in Australia at that end of the "non professional" "budget" range extend from poorly made rubbish through to very good bang for your buck units." and the bigger problem is finding out independently which falls into each category because there is very little information that allows you to validate the non-brand named models. At least with the established names, you know what you're getting (good or bad), not what you think you're getting.

On the issue of budget, it's a case of buying the best I can afford right now. In principle, I could get a 4 head no-name setup for the cost of a 2 head setup with an established name, but I've also accepted that with my limited experience, the use of 4 lights is unlikely as it will take me time to get to grips with the 2 lights and as the number of lights limit my ability, I should be in a position to purchase more and extend my kit.

[Bear Dale]

Thanks for the link.

They come in 300w, 400w, 500w etc etc ....... roughly how many watts (I know they're not the same of course) does a speedlight put out? What I'm asking is how much brighter is say a 300w strobe compared to a Canon 580EXII speedlight?

Hope that makes sense.

[MissionMan]

Thanks for the link.

They come in 300w, 400w, 500w etc etc ....... roughly how many watts (I know they're not the same of course) does a speedlight put out? What I'm asking is how much brighter is say a 300w strobe compared to a Canon 580EXII speedlight?

Hope that makes sense.

From what I gathered, a speedlite (580EX/SB900) puts out about 60W depending on the model. Some can go as high as 120-150W but these are mainly specialised models.

[Wayne]

Thanks for the link.

They come in 300w, 400w, 500w etc etc ....... roughly how many watts (I know they're not the same of course) does a speedlight put out? What I'm asking is how much brighter is say a 300w strobe compared to a Canon 580EXII speedlight?

Hope that makes sense.

From what I gathered, a speedlite (580EX/SB900) puts out about 60W depending on the model. Some can go as high as 120-150W but these are mainly specialised models.

Nikon's SB-900 and most other speedlights give guide number references rather than w/s output.
The short answer to the question about how much brighter is a 300w/s strobe to a speedlight? = Plenty brighter!

Maybe 4-5 times as bright. I will shoot an SB-900 for you at full power later today and then shoot my Ranger RX Speed AS on 1/3 power, it is an 1100w/s pack to show the difference.

[MissionMan]

Nikon's SB-900 and most other speedlights give guide number references rather than w/s output.
The short answer to the question about how much brighter is a 300w/s strobe to a speedlight? = Plenty brighter!

Maybe 4-5 times as bright. I will shoot an SB-900 for you at full power later today and then shoot my Ranger RX Speed AS on 1/3 power, it is an 1100w/s pack to show the difference.

The answer I used was based on some feedback and elinchrom (who estimate their entry level RX one (100W) model is twice as bright as a typical external flash with a much shorter recycling time. I figured the upper end flashes would be slightly better.

[MarkChap]

Missionman, I am going to jump in here, nly as you seem to really have a thing for those RX4's
My only advice is think really hard before you buy 100 Watt light's, I am pretty sure, before too long, you will be searching for more light.

If you really want a good budget, branded kit, I would look at the D-Lite 4's, 400 watt heads, built in wireless control, and in my opinion a lot better bang for buck than 100 watt heads

EDITED - My bad, missread the previous posts, the RX4's you are looking at are a replacement for the D-Lite4's so disregard everything I said :)

[ricktas]

Interesting discussion. More so cause some of those posting argue quite vehemently about buying grey and the cost savings of doing so and how they would never but locally, but are the same ones arguing against the cheaper units here. Funnily if you turn Elinchrom etc upside down, most of them are made in China, just as the 'cheaper brands' are.

if you investigate thoroughly, you can find cheaper brand monoblocs that are compatible with Bowens, Elinchrom etc, so light replacements etc are easy to get.

I have Elinchrom's that I have had for years (about 10 at a guess), but I have also got friends with hypop and other brands and from use, they work just as well.

[Wayne]

I'm one of those who is very pro-grey buying to get better, fairer pricing. In fact my Elinchrom lights, all 6 of them and all modifiers are from the USA, nothing bought locally. Even my light stands are from the USA, and with shipping I can still buy Avenger/Manfrotto cheaper than here. I don't advocate buying grey to get the cheapest item of a type available, I buy grey to get the quality products at a much better price. If I could buy the gear (apples for apples) that I buy grey for the same price or even very close to the same price locally I would, but I will never buy questionable quality/feature limited camera gear simply to save a few $.

[William W]

Noted that you already have a SB700 and a SB600: have you seriously considered using an ALL Hot-Shoe Flash set up?

WW

[JM Tran]

The cheap, low end Elinchrom units are made from China/India

Most Bowens are made in the UK

I use Broncolor and its made in Switzerland

Too bad we dont live in the US, plenty of cheap local brands which are highly regarded by professionals such as Speedotron

[MissionMan]

Noted that you already have a SB700 and a SB600: have you seriously considered using an ALL Hot-Shoe Flash set up?

WW

Yeah. I thought about it but my major concerns are needing to have the lights too close for kids (I'd prefer to have them back a bit to avoid accidental knocks) and running at slightly higher shutterspeeds to cater for them not sitting still. Running the speedlites through umbrellas or softboxes may lose to much.

[I @ M]

Yeah. I thought about it but my major concerns are needing to have the lights too close for kids (I'd prefer to have them back a bit to avoid accidental knocks) and running at slightly higher shutterspeeds to cater for them not sitting still. Running the speedlites through umbrellas or softboxes may lose to much.

MM, having the lights further back is a double headed situation.
Yes, they will be out of the way of moving bodies -- but -- the further away that you have them the harsher the light will be and of course more power is needed to compensate for distance.

Trying to run higher shutter speeds is another problematic area.
Studio heads ( the lower end of the ranges ) usually have quite a long duration flash. Your camera will most likely only synch cleanly with studio heads using the cheaper triggers at about 1/160. Combine that shutter speed with long duration flashes and you still have movement blur in fast moving subjects.
The solution is to buy studio lights with shorter duration flashes ( cubic $ ) or "smart" triggers such as the phottix, pixel and other brands leading up to pocket wizards to allow high speed synch.
Your SB series speedlights have a much quicker flash duration that studio lights already.

[Wayne]

MM, having the lights further back is a double headed situation.
Yes, they will be out of the way of moving bodies -- but -- the further away that you have them the harsher the light will be and of course more power is needed to compensate for distance.

Trying to run higher shutter speeds is another problematic area.
Studio heads ( the lower end of the ranges ) usually have quite a long duration flash. Your camera will most likely only synch cleanly with studio heads using the cheaper triggers at about 1/160. Combine that shutter speed with long duration flashes and you still have movement blur in fast moving subjects.
The solution is to buy studio lights with shorter duration flashes ( cubic $ ) or "smart" triggers such as the phottix, pixel and other brands leading up to pocket wizards to allow high speed synch.
Your SB series speedlights have a much quicker flash duration that studio lights already.

An option, although not a cheap one is PW's Mini/Flex combos for Nikon that have hypersync, allowing an offset to fire the light before the shutter opens, and this works best with heads that have slower flash duration. Essentially the longer T05 number will mean you can use shutter speeds much faster than x-sync because the whole time the shutter is open, you will have the strobe tail lighting the scene.
Many people with the right heads, typically for Elinchrom the 'S' heads are achieveing 1/4000+ shutter speeds.
Most quality heads have a flash T05 of 1/1000+ (1/800 for D-lite4's) in any case, so freezing all but the fastest moving subjects is not usually an issue if you are killing the ambient, but with hypersync allowing such fast shutter speeds the slower T05 is not going to be an issue. I was able to sync 100% clean frames with the Ranger pack and an 'S' head at 1/8000 and not even on full power.

[William W]

Yeah. I thought about it but my major concerns are needing to have the lights too close for kids (I'd prefer to have them back a bit to avoid accidental knocks) and running at slightly higher shutterspeeds to cater for them not sitting still. Running the speedlites through umbrellas or softboxes may lose to much.

Thank you for answering.


SLOWER Maximum Sync Speeds with Studio Flash Units, has already been mentioned.


Secondly – if the AMBIENT LIGHT in the studio is at the correct level, the SHUTTER SPEED should have naught to do with arresting SUBJECT MOTION – the Studio should be maintained such that the FLASH EXPOSURE is solely responsible for that.


***

In response #6 you specifically mentioned:
“Mainly kids, toddlers, babies but the odd full length"

And went on to state:
“fortunately I've managed to get away with some budget for this . . . "


In consideration of the thread generally and these two comments in particular, one might re-consider the addition of Hot Shoe Flash Units as “THE KIT”, for reasons of:



Flexibility (location Child Portraiture as well as Studio, just as one example)
System Redundancy
System Integration
Overall Cost
Weight
Bulk



WW


. . . and it is easy to run High Speed Sync, if you really want to.

[I @ M]

Secondly – if the AMBIENT LIGHT in the studio is at the correct level, the SHUTTER SPEED should have naught to do with arresting SUBJECT MOTION – the Studio should be maintained such that the FLASH EXPOSURE is solely responsible for that.




Sorry, cannot in any way agree with that when the situation arises where you have a rapidly moving subject and long flash duration studio lights at slow(ish) shutter speeds even in a pitch black (ambient light) environment.

I can post plenty of photos proving that point!

[William W]

. . . yes: but that was NOT the point.

The words have been quoted as a standalone out of context; also it occurs to me that my entire post has been misunderstood, at least by you and/or I was not clear enough.

To explain:

The point was: "SECONDLY"
i.e. the 'SECOND PART OF’ the fact that studio flash units MAKE one use a longer Shutter Speed, which you had already established and I particularly and had purposefully noted.


***

Then, later in the post . . .

"In consideration of the thread generally and these two comments in particular, one might re-consider the addition of Hot Shoe Flash Units as “THE KIT”, for reasons of:” and etc.

i.e. Apropos any very fast moving children or the like: it would be redundant to mention that (for a "properly maintained studio" to which I referred) Hot Shoe Flash will have a FASTER Flash Speed and that faster flash speed would be what would be 'NECESSARY' for such a properly maintained Studio if the OP were shooting fast moving children.

That point was already mentioned - it was you who specifically mentioned that.

Hence, my suggestion to the OP that he reconsider ‘Hot Shoe Flashes’ as an all round better option and I gave a list of THE OTHER reasons why I suggest he do that.

I trust that a clearer explanation of the way the specific words were used, to convey what was a total concept in my previous post and how it was an adjunct and addition, to the facts you had already posted.

There is no need to post examples, I also have plenty.

WW

[I @ M]

William W, your post is rather misleading as the subject that was being addressed was the issue of shutter speeds and long flash duration studio heads so if your "secondly" part is about speedlights then that is rather out of context and certainly nothing in your writings indicate that you are referring to speedlights.

As for posting some images to demonstrate, I for one would wholeheartedly welcome seeing some from you demonstrating the issues that are being addressed. We haven't actually seen may images from you at all in the year or so that you have been a member.

[William W]

I am not sure what your intention is by continuing this conversation, when a simple:
“OK thanks for clearing that up” would have surely been sufficient?

My first post was not clear enough - you pointed that out to me: and so in my second post I (assume) that I made my intented meaning clearer to the OP and to the thread generally.

If you want to term my first post "misleading" then that's fine by me - but that word conjures up some 'purposeful mischief' and that I did not have: so let's be clear on that point.


Isn't this forum supposed to be all about making the points clear to the OP?


WW

[MissionMan]

Relax guys. No need to get stressed. I knew the original context of Williams post so it would only have been misleading to someone who didn't see it. There are more important things to worry about than arguments over misunderstandings. Here is an example of what i mean, she arrived at 1:50 pm yesterday and she already has me wrapped around her finger like her sister. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/02/07/sybatyvu.jpg

[William W]

. . .I knew the original context of Williams post so it would only have been misleading to someone who didn't see it.

Good, thanks for mentioning you understood the original.


. . . she arrived at 1:50 pm yesterday and she already has me wrapped around her finger like her sister.

HUGELY beautiful.

Congratulations - I wish (both) your Daughter(s) a long prosperous, happy and healthy life.

WW

[NeoPhotoStudio]

absolute minimum you require?

Snoots = pringles can

gridstops = a bunch of straws stuck in the pringles can

Oh my gosh, the pringle can snoot = priceless! Trying that out as soon as I finish my pringles... *munch munch* I nearly bought a snoot a while ago, but only being marginally aware of what they do at the time, I passed it up. I used two toilet roll cardboard taped together since then but a pringles can will be way better, thanks!