Hello Bushido Photo fans! My site was down for a while, but we’re now back online. I took some photos and created a video tutorial about how to overpower the sun with a high powered strobe and a variable neutral density filter. I used an Alien Bees B1600 and a Singh Ray Vari-N-Trio ND filter in the video. Please comment on the video via the link below and I hope you enjoy the video. I personally recorded all of the music in the video myself as well. The Japanese music was also played by me on a Koto and Sanshin/Shamisen. Enjoy and I will be releasing many more tutorials in the near future. Thanks, Chris
Hi, I was wondering if one could still get that Bokeh effect by just using a speedlite with the ND filter and not a softbox (since I don’t own one) ? How much does a step down filter run for since I may need to purchase one? The local camera stores don’t seem to have the 72 mm filter that I need and I had no idea there was this step down filter. Great video and great pics!
Scott,
You can do the same thing without a softbox, but the light will be very hard with hard edges on the shadows. You might want this effect, but I like soft light 99% of the time, so I use a softbox. The stepdown adapters are not expensive. Here’s the ones I use. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/60515-REG/Tiffen_7277SUR_72_77mm_Step_up_Ring_Lens.html Thanks for checking out my blog and for the comment. I hope this helps!
–Chris
Thanks Chris for answering back, that info sure does help. Have a nice evening.
No problem Scott. If you ever have any questions about technique, feel free to let me know and I’ll do my best to help you out.
How are you metering the light with the Vari ND filter?
First you meter the ambient that you want and then you have to use your LCD or histogram to meter for the strobes. It’s kind of like light to taste (sort of like adding salt, except this is flash power). I hope this helps. Chris
i really like the pictures of your daughter,the pictures looks attractive and the girl is so cute!i’d like to know, the light on the girl looks golden warm,do you add cto gel on the light?if want to overpower the sunlight,the strobe output must be stronger than sunlight?and how much about your strobe light and battery?it looks so compact!
Frank, thank you for writing on my blog and for the nice comments! The orange or warmer tone is possibly from your monitor not being calibrated. It looks pretty neutral on mine. I did not use any CTO on the strobe at all. You will need something like an Alien Bee B1600 to overpower the sun in the mid afternoon. Something with around 620 watt seconds of power. The battery pack I used weighs 18 pounds, so it’s not light. It’s got about as much juice as a motorcycle battery. They make a new lithium ion battery from http://www.alienbees.com as well that is really light weight. Feel free to ask any other questions you might have. Thanks, Chris
chris,thanks a lot for your answer and information,it’s really helpful to me!
No problem and I’m glad I could help! I’m doing another photo tutorial today on location, so keep your eyes out for that one too!
It was a great tutorial and I also appreciate you explaining the gear you were using as well. I am leaving next week for Hawaii and have a couple portrait beach shoots lined up. I am actually waiting for my Vagabond Mini to arrive this week in time I hope, and will be taking my Alien Bees 800 with an Umbrella Softbox made by Creative Lighting. I do have a Sekonic L358 and an ND 10 Stop Variable Filter, so I think I have all the right gear, I just want to make sure I measure correctly for the proper exposure on the subject without blowing out the sky or sunset.
Thank you James for your comments! Yes, you have all of the right gear! I love using the Alien Bees B1600 the best for bright sunny days since it’s twice as powerful as the B800, but the B800 is way more powerful than a speedlight, so your shots should turn out great with that gear! Have fun in Hawaii and feel free to post your results here if you’d like since I would love to see them. Thank again and have fun! Chris
love your images and how you use the nd filter to tame the sun..great job..and thanks for sharing!