Don Gale's Macro Video

Don Gale sent us a neat little video on balancing available light and flash for his macro work. He's come up with a variety of creative results...take a look at it!

The Moment It Clicks

Hey, if you haven't picked up a copy of Joe McNally's new book, you should! He's a great photographer AND writer. It's a hybrid coffee table/instructional book...funny, informative and loaded with Joe's incredible work. We're proud to say that LumiQuest is part of his gear list.

I'm sure you can find the book in a variety of places...including at a great price thru the Strobist book section.

THE Strobist

   Last fall I was at a trade show in NYC answering some questions about what our products would and wouldn't do. When the customer and I finished talking, a fellow approached me introducing himself as Joe Sorrentino. Joe had some kind words to say about how nice it was to hear a manufacturer being so honest about the capabilities of it's products (thanks again Joe!). Joe said he was with a group called the Strobists and asked if I wanted to contribute some LumiQuest items to give away at their next "meet-up". We had a bit more conversation about the group and it's founder, David Hobby. Anyway...fast forward to now. I've joined the group and it's a blast! Lotsa questions, Lotsa answers and Lotsa photos! David has been great, we're advertising on his site, and enjoying great interaction with the other members (thanks again again Joe!). 

   If you haven't visited the Strobist you really should...USA Today ran a terrific article on David and the Strobist today, take a look at it.

   The Strobist is the best site of it's kind that I've found...if you have others to recomend, I'd love to hear about them!

   So, congratulations to David for the
Strobist and the article...good job!   

"Studio Like" Light Quality

Another request we often get is "I want studio like quality from a small light modifier". Well . . . tough request. Large studio softboxes and umbrellas are large for a reason . . . their size is what, in large part, makes them effective. Small light modifiers, like LumiQuest, bridge the gap between direct flash and studio equipment...often representing a significant improvement over direct flash, but hardly a replacement for studio equipment. Often and where possible, some of our light modifiers work in conjunction with the walls and ceilings on location to obtain the softer, more even light photographers are generally looking for. These bounce surfaces become the new light source. They are softer because, in size, they come closer to the size of studio equipment.

The important thing to note here is that in the absence of nearby bounce surfaces, shadow softness is a function of the size of the lighting device itself. This applies to LumiQuest or any brand of light modifier. Here's a link to drawings illustrating this point...How They Work

Shadows . . . hate 'um and love 'um!

    A recurring request that we hear is "I want to eliminate the shadows". I'm sure that this is an overreaction to a frustration with the typical harsh shadows that flash can produce. Actually shadows are our friends in photography. They add depth, interest and three dimensionality.

    Generally speaking most shadowless photographs tend to be flat, two dimensional and boring. There are exceptions to this, but it's a good rule of thumb. The key here is to understand and exercise a degree of control over the shadows . . . where they are and what they look like. 

    By having the light coming from a direction that makes sense (at least for the photograph you are making) the shadow will also tend to make sense (again, at least for the photograph you are making). Couple this directionality with manipulating the quality of the shadows (harsh/soft) to your meet objectives and you are on your way to using the power of shadows in your photography.

So, why is flash so harsh?

There's some misunderstandings regarding what's going on when photographers complain about flash being "so harsh and unnatural". The truth is that this undesirable "harsh" look can be caused by a number of things or combination of things:

• There is a significant discrepancy between flash and available light exposure (use slower shutter speeds to record available light with out affecting flash and balance the two );


• On camera flash creates flat, "deer caught in headlights" look (have the light come from a more natural direction by removing if from the camera or bouncing it off a nearby surface);


• The transition from illuminated areas to shadow areas is abrupt (enlarge the light source by either bouncing it off a large surface or refract it through a large piece of diffusion material);


• Foreground objects are washed out while background objects are underexposed (move the flash, the objects or a combination of the two. Consider partially blocking the light that is overexposing an object and using additional flashes to properly illuminate those underexposed objects).

   The point here is that you must identify the issue causing the problem and take the appropriate action. For instance enlarging the light source will soften shadows but have no impact on foreground and background exposure. Balancing flash and available light will generally reduce contrast, but not actually soften the transition between fully illuminated areas and deep shadow areas illuminated by the flash.  

                                          Ya gotta use the right tool for the job!

Which Modifier???

I'm often asked "Which LumiQuest light modifier is the best?" It's a reasonable question, but requires more information to answer properly. All of our accessories were designed for a specific situation/objective. As you consider one of our modifiers (or another brand for that matter), first identify the problem, then determine what would realistically improve upon or eliminate that problem and then select the device/technique that is most appropriate. We make every effort to help you with this process at LumiQuest and there are a number of sites out there that offer some great information on flash photography. Certainly one of the best is The Strobist and the Strobist Flickr discussion group.