Diffuser for Canon 600ex for event

[Ryan_]

Hi all, been lurking here for a while cause I like to nerd out on all the sensor/lens talk.

A little background:
Anyway, I am a hobby landscape/surf photographer, though slowly I've been learning/taking small jobs (commercial stuff, installation shots) from people I know, and its been going pretty good. Slowly but surely... So last month I did a one day shoot of an installation of a cleaning accessory in the house (a pretty hands on involved process). The company wanted photos of the whole process for PR and their website. Before that job I purchased a canon 16-35 f4 which I was getting anyways for landscapes, and also the canon 600ex flash. I have 2 old 3rd party flashes w/ PW's I used years ago when photographing skateboarding, but they are fully manual and pretty slow to recycle. Fine for off camera lighting with skateboarding but for paid event, I wouldn't feel comfortable. Those 2 purchases really helped the job go smoothly.. Tight spaces, low light - that new lens and flash worked perfectly. The customer and I were very happy with the results. Luckily the whole house had white ceilings and light palette colored walls, so I bounced the flash off the ceiling for 99% of the shots.

Need advice:
Now the same company wants me to shoot a 2 day event. It will be outside, under a few tents. I don't know much more details. I assume they will be medium-ish sized tents, and I assume they will be white, however they could be black for all I know. I'd like to be prepared for both instances. If they're white, I'm thinking I could bounce the flash off the tent. However, I'd like to purchase a diffuser if the tents are black or for shots taken outside of the tent. I'd appreciate if you'd share your experiences with whatever diffuser you have. I've been looking on BH and see a bunch but just wanting to hear others experiences and maybe recommendations based on the provided info.

Thank you

 

[privatebydesign]

I'd strongly recommend getting the flash off camera and into a white umbrella. You'd need an ST-E3-RT or YN-E3-RT to trigger your 600, or use the older flashes you have and trigger them how you did for the skateboarding.

If you have to have on camera bounce then take a look at the Rouge FlashBender kit, I have the large version and it works fine, but it is no umbrella........

 

[Ryan_]

I'd strongly recommend getting the flash off camera and into a white umbrella. You'd need an ST-E3-RT or YN-E3-RT to trigger your 600, or use the older flashes you have and trigger them how you did for the skateboarding.

If you have to have on camera bounce then take a look at the Rouge FlashBender kit, I have the large version and it works fine, but it is no umbrella........

Thanks private. I'll be flying to this event, and my tripod barely fits into my checked bag as it is, so bringing the light stand/umbrella that I do have isn't really an option. And truthfully if it was I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that just yet. Like I said anything but landscapes/surf is pretty new to me, so I can't picture myself running around with an umbrella/light on a stand during the event without looking like a klutz. I do plan on getting the ST-E3-RT and another 600ex or 2 in the future because I have an interest in tying portraits into my landscapes, but that'll be a little further down the line.

How is the Rouge FlashBender compared to a mini soft box attachment such as: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/752482-REG/Vello_FD_320_Universal_Softbox_for_Portable.html or http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1010800&gclid=COGnvaOjiMQCFaRi7AodzDsA8A&Q=&is=REG&A=details ? I thought a soft box would make the light softer than something like the flash bender, but I'm no expert so could be wrong

Also should I maybe consider some sort of bracket that attaches to hotshoe or something to place the flash slightly off to the side of the camera? Would that help the quality of the light at all? Or maybe (less ideally) a cord from camera to flash to hold it off center? But that would then disable TTL metering with the flash right?

 

[candc]

This came up on a previous thread and another forum member who seems to know a lot about lighting recommended the winglight http://winglightstore.com/ I bought one to take on trips and I think its fantastic.

 

[old-pr-pix]

Good suggestions so far. I like the Gary Fong Lightsphere myself; but you do have to be willing to put up with the jokes about having a Tuperware bowl stuck on your flash. I've also used the Lumiquest pocket bouncer which folds up really flat for easy portability.

Just using ceiling bounce flash without any fill can be really ugly for people's faces. If all the light comes from the ceiling it tends to make for dark eye sockets and other unflattering shadows on the face. If you happen to have a white tent, I'd suggest you use bounce with the little white reflector card built into the 600ex. The white card provides enough direct light to counter some of the shadows from the bounce. (Caution though since the tent roof is likely curved and may not reflect most of the light back in the direction you want.) For years I used a white, unlined, 4x6 index card held to the flash with a rubber band. About as cheap a solution as you can find but quite effective.

 

[candc]

p.s.

Here is an example of a shot with the winglight. Its just direct flash with a 70d, 320ex, and sigma 18-35. It is straight out of camera jpeg on the go.

 

[old-pr-pix]

Thinking more about your question and events I've covered... I suggest you try to get a little more information about your client's expectations. Will you be taking photos of people-employees or their clients-or products? During the day or night (affects ambient light)? Do they expect candids or should you plan on having a little set-up to do informal portraits? If you are just wandering around doing candids you will want on camera flash or flash mounted on a bracket slightly off-axis. (Using the right cord will maintain TTL control BTW.)

The goal with any of the diffusers is to try to make the flash appear like a bigger source of light than it is. Reflectors can be helpful as well - and inexpensive. You'd be surprised how many portraits have been shot with one flash and white table cloths and aluminum foil for reflectors.

 

[Ryan_]

This came up on a previous thread and another forum member who seems to know a lot about lighting recommended the winglight http://winglightstore.com/ I bought one to take on trips and I think its fantastic.

Thanks candc.. Currently looking into that and comparing to Rogue and mini soft boxes.

Good suggestions so far. I like the Gary Fong Lightsphere myself; but you do have to be willing to put up with the jokes about having a Tuperware bowl stuck on your flash. I've also used the Lumiquest pocket bouncer which folds up really flat for easy portability.

Just using ceiling bounce flash without any fill can be really ugly for people's faces. If all the light comes from the ceiling it tends to make for dark eye sockets and other unflattering shadows on the face. If you happen to have a white tent, I'd suggest you use bounce with the little white reflector card built into the 600ex. The white card provides enough direct light to counter some of the shadows from the bounce. (Caution though since the tent roof is likely curved and may not reflect most of the light back in the direction you want.) For years I used a white, unlined, 4x6 index card held to the flash with a rubber band. About as cheap a solution as you can find but quite effective.

Yea the Lightsphere looks decent, but it seems more directed specifically at indoor stuff. So I think the Rogue or a mini soft box will be more versatile for this event given that I'll probably be in and out of the tents.

Also the event is a promotional thing. There will be other companies/vendors there. Overall its a pretty big event but I'm only with this company. They want me to document what goes on in their booth/tents. I know thats not very specific but the person I spoke with said it will be pretty laid back, they just want nice photos of the event and whatever it is they'll be doing. The person I know in the company also knows my primary focus in photography is landscape/surf. They know I'm new to event photography but still of course they'll expect top quality so I want to go in feeling well prepared


Thanks for the advice guys, appreciate it

 

[eninja]

You can also check graslon diffuser. - they say the bigger, the softer, so I chose this.

 

[MintChocs]

Just some thoughts from a hobbyist. If the tents are white and let some light in then a moderately high ISO with some fill in flash might do the trick. Having the flash off the camera and slightly higher to one side is better than direct on camera. There are various accessories for this so I don't know which is best. I recently got the Rogue medium flash bender to help out fill in the eye sockets with bounce flash. Depending on the distance to the subject it can help but the wider the angle the less useful it is. The biggest problem with shooting people (with flash) is the specular highlights on oily shiny skin (more noticeable on dark skin).

 

[mrzero]

Also should I maybe consider some sort of bracket that attaches to hotshoe or something to place the flash slightly off to the side of the camera? Would that help the quality of the light at all? Or maybe (less ideally) a cord from camera to flash to hold it off center? But that would then disable TTL metering with the flash right?

This is a good idea, many/most event photographers using flash will use a bracket and cable. Consider a bracket that allows you to quickly flip the camera from horizontal to vertical and keep the flash above. (I don't have one but I know they're out there). The bracket will attach to the tripod mount of the camera and have an arm for the flash to mount on top. You connect the hotshoe of the flash to the hotshoe mount on the camera with a coiled cable. Here is an example of the setup, although I don't know anything about the particular bracket: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/743039-REG/Vello_CB_200_Speedy_Camera_Bracket.html

You want to get an E-TTL cable that will keep TTL metering between the flash and the camera. Canon makes one, but there are more inexpensive versions as well. If you go off-brand, just try it out and make sure it works consistently before your event.

 

[YuengLinger]

I'd strongly recommend getting the flash off camera and into a white umbrella. You'd need an ST-E3-RT or YN-E3-RT to trigger your 600, or use the older flashes you have and trigger them how you did for the skateboarding.

If you have to have on camera bounce then take a look at the Rouge FlashBender kit, I have the large version and it works fine, but it is no umbrella........

+1

FlashBender works better than on-camera soft-boxes. A lot better. The sb's look just like bare flash if more than 1 meter away. The FlashBender gives a little better than double that and is less clumsy.

If possible arrive early and find some good bounce spots, trying to get guests at (or to) those points. Generally ok to ask subjects to step to a better spot. For truly pleasing shots without bounce, off-camera is the reality.

Congrats on the 600ex! Great on umbrellas!!! Or in an Impact 24" Soft-box.

Checkout Neil Van Niekerk to see how versatile bounce really is.

 

[RLPhoto]

I second the Large Rogue Flashbender and the option to take the speedlite off camera. If you can get some help, A speedlite+umbrella on a mono-pod w/ an assistant moving it quickly through the event will be a life-saver if everything is black.

 

[Ryan_]

Unfortunately I don't think I have the budget for a bracket right now. I did do some outside shots with no ceiling/bounce/diffuser using HSS for some fill and they came out nice.

I really gotta order this soon. Now I'm between a mini soft box and the flash bender. It seems theres a line split down the whole internet about which is more effective or effective at all. So hard to decide.

Thank you all for your input

 

[privatebydesign]

Mini softboxes are a POS, they are not worth the postage unless you can get them off camera and close, very close, to a small subject. The Rouge FlashBender isn't much better, especially on camera, but it is better in that it has more flexibility.

 

[Ryan_]

Mini softboxes are a POS, they are not worth the postage unless you can get them off camera and close, very close, to a small subject. The Rouge FlashBender isn't much better, especially on camera, but it is better in that it has more flexibility.

I guess thats where I'm getting lost. I can bend it, but whats so great about that as far as softening light? It seems pretty useful if you're under white ceilings or a tent cause then you're not wasting all that light going up, but what about for the outside shots with sky overhead? Use the flash vertical and use flash bender to reflect the bit of light it'll catch as fill? Or is bare flash at a low power fine for simple fill?

 

[privatebydesign]

Mini softboxes are a POS, they are not worth the postage unless you can get them off camera and close, very close, to a small subject. The Rouge FlashBender isn't much better, especially on camera, but it is better in that it has more flexibility.

I guess thats where I'm getting lost. I can bend it, but whats so great about that as far as softening light? It seems pretty useful if you're under white ceilings or a tent cause then you're not wasting all that light going up, but what about for the outside shots with sky overhead? Use the flash vertical and use flash bender to reflect the bit of light it'll catch as fill? Or is bare flash at a low power fine for simple fill?

Nothing.

On camera with no bounce they are both extremely limited, but the Rouge does give you the option to split light in any percentage you want between direct forwards and bouncing if the venue allows that capability. With a small softbox you are stuck with a slightly larger than flash head sized output.

Neither is ideal, the Rouge gives you more flexibility if you get the opportunity to use it, if you don't they also do a little cover to make it a pure softbox, which I also have.

Light is not magic, it is entirely dependent on the apparent size to the subject, with that softbox in this situation you are stuck at one size and one distance, with the Rouge you are not, you have all the capability of the softbox and more options if you can use them.

I'd use the Rouge for your outsides, it makes the light bigger, comparatively, and further from the lens axis, which are both good things. Just curl the top over and make a scoop.

 

[Ryan_]

Mini softboxes are a POS, they are not worth the postage unless you can get them off camera and close, very close, to a small subject. The Rouge FlashBender isn't much better, especially on camera, but it is better in that it has more flexibility.

I guess thats where I'm getting lost. I can bend it, but whats so great about that as far as softening light? It seems pretty useful if you're under white ceilings or a tent cause then you're not wasting all that light going up, but what about for the outside shots with sky overhead? Use the flash vertical and use flash bender to reflect the bit of light it'll catch as fill? Or is bare flash at a low power fine for simple fill?

Nothing.

On camera with no bounce they are both extremely limited, but the Rouge does give you the option to split light in any percentage you want between direct forwards and bouncing if the venue allows that capability. With a small softbox you are stuck with a slightly larger than flash head sized output.

Neither is ideal, the Rouge gives you more flexibility if you get the opportunity to use it, if you don't they also do a little cover to make it a pure softbox, which I also have.

Light is not magic, it is entirely dependent on the apparent size to the subject, with that softbox in this situation you are stuck at one size and one distance, with the Rouge you are not, you have all the capability of the softbox and more options if you can use them.

I'd use the Rouge for your outsides, it makes the light bigger, comparatively, and further from the lens axis, which are both good things. Just curl the top over and make a scoop.

Thank you private. Between what I've read here and a couple youtube videos I've been watching I'm sold.

 

[YuengLinger]

Nothing has remained more permanently in my gadget bin than my on-camera softbox.

 

[brianodell]

I second the Large Rogue Flashbender and the option to take the speedlite off camera. If you can get some help, A speedlite+umbrella on a mono-pod w/ an assistant moving it quickly through the event will be a life-saver if everything is black.

I'm in a similar situation, as the OP. I use a pair of Canon 580exii flashes though. I do have access to an assistant. So... what kind of umbrella would be ideal, and what size? Thank you!!