I use the Gary Fong Lightsphere - he needed to lower the power of the flash to obtain a softer light. IMHO the Gary Fong Lightsphere is the best one out there.
Would have been interesting to see the difference between gary fong and flash disk with the same power (off camera) because the shadows look similar to me.
So helpful! My favourite is the flashdisc! 😍It gives beautiful highlight to the cheekbones, compared to all the others, while also producing medium light in the back. Shadows aren’t so harsh as well. #2 GaryFong: no undereyes, nice background too.
The two backgrounds? Ha I kind of like that it adds something less polished and perfect. The final image didn't have as much of the two fabrics but they were meant to show dimensionality of the light fall off on the background
This was extremely helpful! Thanks for taking the time to describe and show everything! Never thought about pointing an on-camera flash back and to the side.
Bounce flash is amazing as long as you know how to work it. Takes trial and error to get it right but the lighting looks very natural and you do not have some big bulky thing on your flash to bump things into. I never use the bounce card but more of facing it 45 degrees to my upper right. Sometimes I fire it behind me or to the left. The reason I favor the right angle is that if I shoot a portrait and rotate my camera counter clockwise my flash would be pointing at the ceiling instead of the flood it it was pointing left.
Interesting you lowered or changed the flash power for the FS diffuser and others but you didn't lower power on the Gary Fong and further commented on the hard shadows. I used the Gary Fong last week for graduation photos outdoors with good results, it can be used a variety of ways.
Great video; thanks. So many of the pros have suggested Magmod system, I purchased the Grid, Bounce, and Sphere, put them on light stands (off camera) and triggered with Godox xPro-N trigger and came away with great results. Since I used Nikon speedlights, I have to use Godox receivers too.
I was thinking the same thing, because that little card has done amazing things for my bounce photography with that nice front fill it provides. I would have loved to see the comparison with that, too!
yep, I used it constantly for small clubs. The venues are pretty dark so I go with a 1/32 - 1/64 power with a flash straight up, bouncing on the sides its a bit difficult since a lot of areas are warped below the ceiling or contain other elements which can create chaos while bouncing light.
Great video! I’d love to see a video on when it’s appropriate to have shadows on the faces and when it’s not. I tend to prefer the look of less shadows from the bounce flash but I can also appreciate the more dramatic look of the shadows from the directional off camera flash.
if you bounce bounce to the halfway point in the ceiling between the flash and the subject and nikon has a built in bounce card hidden behind the wide angle panel
For me i use the GF modifier, and i see now with your test GF is very powerfull, need reduce the power of flash for the same light renderer.. :-) nice for my battery ;-) The second is the price, the magmod are very very expensive.
Great video, i used something like this some yrs ago to choose the gary fong sphere, for a long time served me very well, but tbh since i tried out the selens, which then made me want the magmod( better quality product) so i swapped to that now. its quick and easy to use for me at events, i can switch on and off whatever i want, colour correct quickly, or magsphere grid and colour correct all at same time, for me its just light control, i am no expert at all, just someone using the gear i find the easiest to use, without an assistant. I like the result, i don't think there is a wrong or right, just get the shot and be happy, just be a master of what you do have. I do find though the gary fong needs more power, the magbounce needed much less power and thus in the long run saves me in battery costs and recycle time. good example video though.
A very known pro told me that when you are bouncing off a colored wall then you do a FEC and increase the power to over ride the color and it works. Bounce off a red wall and do a FEC of +2 and I have no red color bouncing off the wall to my subject.
I modified Gary Fong light spheres by spraying the dome silver, and spraying the back of the modifier silver. Still got the diffusion, but flash recycle times where much faster and battery lasted longer. I used to try all those bounce techniques, but it was too fiddly run-and-gunning, and colour casts.
This tip applies only to old guys like me, but you should not use MagMod if you have a pacemaker. Most listing don't mention that, but I saw it on Amazon and contacted MagMod direct. They confirmed that people with pacemakers should not use the products with those magnets.
Thought this was awesome Patrick!!!!!!!!!!!! I am just really starting out my professional career in photography and getting into flash and I have been messing around with the flashpoint ad200 and thinking I need to get a couple more speedlights for events!
flashdisk off the camera was the best. It produced shadows, but soft, still giving 3D pop out unlike direct flash on camera options that flattened him.
I use a canon with off camera flash but triggered by the built in flash. The off camera flash will have a flashbender to broaden the light or add a kick when i bounce flash. The onboard flash will also add a little bit of fill light.
Take the dome out of the lightspere and most of the light will bounce off the ceiling and some of the spill will light up the lightsphere and throw enough light at your subjects face to get rid of the shadows. Keeping the dome on puts all the power in the lightsphere and looks like direct flash.
I believe it's better in convenience but in all honesty, each modifier does achieve a different quality of light that can be useful in different situations. I kind of hate when people say "this one is so much better light quality". It's like saying harsh sun in worse light than soft overcast skies. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. -P
I felt your comparisons were weak in that you cycled very quickly through your limited options. The one that stuck with me is the MagSphere. I'm surprised you didn't include it as it's an excellent diffuser, and if you shoot with two flashes like I sometimes do at events, the magnetic system is fast and easy allowing to pop the diffuser from one flash to another. The quality of the bounce is consistent and you also get solid diffusion if you shoot straight at your subject thanks to its design.
Yeah, we just used our favorite modifiers that we have in our office. I like how a few of their modifiers actually BLOCK light coming from the front which I think is pretty useful. Bouncing light 270 degrees and excluding the light coming from right above the camera is pretty helpful too.
bounce while excluding the direct part of the flash: sounds like a job for the "black foamie thing". I haven't used it in any professional setting but I do like the results and bonus points for costing twenty cents
Yeah I was going to say the same thing. I've used about every light modifier out there over the past 2 years (including the Flashdisc, Fongies, roguebenders, mag system, mini dishes, grids and a whole bunch of others), and your video title "The Best Light Modifiers For Bounce Flash and Off Camera Lighting" isn't very accurate. If you just used some of your "favorite" ones you had "laying about", PLEASE put that shiz in the title of the Vid! I've used the Flash Disc in clubs and found it to be pretty damn effective, just a little large for that purpose as you state. My faves at the moment are the magbounce first, and the magsphere 2nd. Magbounce is super versatile for singles, groups, and even shows/bands when you need a bit of fill, and when it gets bumped it either stays on or gets knocked off without damaging the speedlite or hotshoe. The only negative is that it gets called names in jest, like Popes Hat, She-Wee, a condom and a bunch of others lol. Love these kinds of vids, but your title is way out of whack, and a review of 'your faves' is a bit of a waste of time. Either give us ALL the good options, or re-title your vid so we don't waste 25 minutes of our busy days :) Love you guys and your channel tho, so don't think I'm having a go at you or trolling, just providing a bit of constructive feedback :)
i just bounce my speedlight appropriately, or use softbox and don't spend any more money on an ever growing numbers of modifiers. BTW Gary Fong mod looks better than the rest
Zack Choy if he had done that he’d look like a lier just trying to sell his own modifier. Because that REAL TRUTH IS GARY FONG’S light modifier is the best of them all and if you also noticed he’s never using the Gary Fong light modification at the same power as the others
It would probably look the same, just dimmer. The point is though, to get the same AMOUNT of light on the subject, you still have to keep the flash at a higher power. The light is being thrown in every direction, so you need more power to get more forward. The other modifiers are directing most of their light forward, so the flash has to be turned down to prevent overexposure.
Thanks cadillacred178, I was thinking why the GF Sphere was not dial down while the disc and magmod was dial down. In addition, I thought the mag-sphere would be more appropriate for on camera flash modifier.
Thanks DeltaPhi79, It seems to me subjectively that the GF Sphere was kinda of overexposed. So I would have dial it down with a low reflective ceiling. If I was doing it....
I use the Gary Fong Lightsphere often when shooting alone and get very pleasing results. I also use the Rogue kit which has a unique Speedlight mounted folding Softbox and grid. Also has a large light box simulating modifier like the FStopper shown here, as well as a large flexible white reflector. The GF and Rogue products should be in every serious, quality, shooters gear box IMO.
I'm wondering if the MagGrid would be good for low light music event photography, where you may want to isolate a person, but keep some of the production lighting as ambient light.
Not sure why you left out the built-in bounce card that is usually on the flash and give some more forward lighting when doing a bounce so you don't lose the eyes so much. Also you forgot the most cheap diffuser of the mall which is the simple large white balloon strapped onto the end of The Flash. None of them are as cheap or compact as a balloon and the balloon can be inflated to all different sizes to change the amount of diffusion.
I was about to say the same thing. He simply skipped the bounce card when he mention about having the flash at 45-degree angle. It was as if he was sponsored by Gary Fong or some sort.
When you point the flash up how do you avoid the subject being low lit below the knee... top half is well lit but bottom half of subject is dark. Any tips?
We don't add the magsphere or bouce and honestly it probably would have looked pretty similar to the Gary Fong modifier. They aren't THAT different in design so the quality of light will be fairly similar. If we had one we would have added it though but also at some point we would have had 10 modifiers which gets confusing. Maybe in a future video we will explore more modifiers
You forgot one of the most basic modifiers, bounce flash plus the bounce card built into many speedlights, or a 3x5 card for those that don't come with one.
Keith Swindell I'm not a big fan of bounce cards because they add harsh light forward much like the Gary fong light sphere. I tend to not like direct flash at all
I like small softboxes if you can easily use them in tight areas. Sometimes in nightclubs or at wedding receptions, a softbox is still too bulky to really use in a non obtrusive way. Flash brackets....man I hate those things. They are only really useful if you want to use direct flash because they do raise the flash height a few inches which is generally more appealing but 95% of the time I don't like direct flash at events. It's also a huge pain having to carry that bracket, and have the extra TTL cable, and have to rotate the bracket between vertical and horizontal photos....I'm not a fan haha
Fstoppers, thank you for the response. I have the Westcott pocket box kit (3 different size/shapes) and after watching your video was wondering if I stick with them or get a Garry Fong or f-stoppers disk.
Fantastic all venues have white low ceilings or white walls . Just thank god you showing light modifiers and how effective some are The gary fong not so good and well over priced . LIke this review keep it up fellas. It would also be a better video if all the exposures had the correct output, as some are way under exposed
This is such a hugely useful tutorial! What would you recommend when trying to light the couple during the first dance where you don’t want to throw light completely across the dance floor destroying the ambient light? I’ve been using a Lastolite Ezybox off camera but wanting a better solution! Thanks Patrick!
I usually put a light on a stand and place it as a backlight. This can give you a strong silhouette and allow the natural ambient light to burn in but because you are lighting them with a strobe everything can still be sharp. I usually bounce flash with the flash set to 105-200mm so the footprint on the ceiling is super small. This usually gives you a nice soft light on the couple without blasting the entire room. It's very rare I use off camera lighting at a wedding unless the ceilings are made of red wood or the event it outside. I bounce probably 80% of the time with some lights on stands acting as dramatic side/back lighting
I put a Flash on Camera at all times for weddings because it is the most useful light you can have (bounced primarily). For the reception I then add a pocket wizard plugged into the on camera flash or the camera body (D750 vs D850) and the remote flash is triggered by the pocket wizard. Firing a remote flash by Nikon's Creative Lighting System is too unreliable and using optical sensors at a wedding means all your guests will be firing your flash by accident. Look up our youtube video "How to light a wedding reception" and you will see our setup
I use the Gary Fong Lightsphere - he needed to lower the power of the flash to obtain a softer light. IMHO the Gary Fong Lightsphere is the best one out there.
What does "power" mean. What setting?
Would have been interesting to see the difference between gary fong and flash disk with the same power (off camera) because the shadows look similar to me.
I noticed he never turned down the power for the Lightsphere before going to the disc.
That last image was really nice with the Maggrid. I love the Magmod system
More of this type of videos please! Very helpful. Cheers
I thought it was excellent as well.
Bounce flash made the best shot. :)
So helpful! My favourite is the flashdisc! 😍It gives beautiful highlight to the cheekbones, compared to all the others, while also producing medium light in the back. Shadows aren’t so harsh as well. #2 GaryFong: no undereyes, nice background too.
I love the big line that goes through his head. Looks really professional. 👍
The two backgrounds? Ha I kind of like that it adds something less polished and perfect. The final image didn't have as much of the two fabrics but they were meant to show dimensionality of the light fall off on the background
this is great for someone who doesn't know anything about flashes
This was extremely helpful! Thanks for taking the time to describe and show everything! Never thought about pointing an on-camera flash back and to the side.
Nice, clear, easy-to-understand examples. Thank you so much!
I would like to see you do a complete review of all of the MagMod modifiers.
I really like the Rogue speed light modifier. Much better light quality than any other ones currently available on the market.
This is the best video on flash subject. Huge shout out!
Bounce flash is amazing as long as you know how to work it. Takes trial and error to get it right but the lighting looks very natural and you do not have some big bulky thing on your flash to bump things into. I never use the bounce card but more of facing it 45 degrees to my upper right. Sometimes I fire it behind me or to the left. The reason I favor the right angle is that if I shoot a portrait and rotate my camera counter clockwise my flash would be pointing at the ceiling instead of the flood it it was pointing left.
I was waiting for you to try turning the speedlight around facing backward hitting a large white board. I will try that. Thank you for the tutorial.
Remember folks...Photography is about how you capture light!...All these modifiers do is give you the artistic results that YOU prefer. ✌🏼🤙🏼
I'd have liked to see how the Gary Fond Lightsphere worked with less power output compared with the flashdisc.
I do a lot of flash photography for work and this was really helpful.
Interesting you lowered or changed the flash power for the FS diffuser and others but you didn't lower power on the Gary Fong and further commented on the hard shadows. I used the Gary Fong last week for graduation photos outdoors with good results, it can be used a variety of ways.
Great video; thanks. So many of the pros have suggested Magmod system, I purchased the Grid, Bounce, and Sphere, put them on light stands (off camera) and triggered with Godox xPro-N trigger and came away with great results. Since I used Nikon speedlights, I have to use Godox receivers too.
I honestly love this video.
I like the flashdisc, because it looks like a frontal bounce flash with soft shadows. I'm going to buy one! Thanks!
Excellent video on flash techniques.
So much to learn to take good pictures. Learned a lot from this tutorial vid very good instruction
You forgot the bounce flash with a small white bounce card connected inside the flash.
I was thinking the same thing, because that little card has done amazing things for my bounce photography with that nice front fill it provides. I would have loved to see the comparison with that, too!
yep, I used it constantly for small clubs. The venues are pretty dark so I go with a 1/32 - 1/64 power with a flash straight up, bouncing on the sides its a bit difficult since a lot of areas are warped below the ceiling or contain other elements which can create chaos while bouncing light.
The grid also makes for a great hair light coming in off of one side or behind. Great vid - thanks.
Better than a college photography course. Thanks, bud!
Great video! I’d love to see a video on when it’s appropriate to have shadows on the faces and when it’s not. I tend to prefer the look of less shadows from the bounce flash but I can also appreciate the more dramatic look of the shadows from the directional off camera flash.
You are a really good teacher. Thank you.
if you bounce bounce to the halfway point in the ceiling between the flash and the subject and nikon has a built in bounce card hidden behind the wide angle panel
I've seen many videos , but this is the only time i find the photographer is more handsome than the model.
LoL! Totally, and he seems really cool. Would love to have lessons with him. Mmm...
The most handsome photographer!
Also I feel like many photographers are good looking! ;)
you my friend, know how to give a tutorial! Great Job
For me i use the GF modifier, and i see now with your test GF is very powerfull, need reduce the power of flash for the same light renderer.. :-) nice for my battery ;-)
The second is the price, the magmod are very very expensive.
Honestly, I'm digging that Flashdisk portrait on camera :)
Great video, i used something like this some yrs ago to choose the gary fong sphere, for a long time served me very well, but tbh since i tried out the selens, which then made me want the magmod( better quality product) so i swapped to that now. its quick and easy to use for me at events, i can switch on and off whatever i want, colour correct quickly, or magsphere grid and colour correct all at same time, for me its just light control, i am no expert at all, just someone using the gear i find the easiest to use, without an assistant. I like the result, i don't think there is a wrong or right, just get the shot and be happy, just be a master of what you do have. I do find though the gary fong needs more power, the magbounce needed much less power and thus in the long run saves me in battery costs and recycle time. good example video though.
If only you would use the Gary Fong lightsphere correctly! Such as no dome when bouncing off ceilings!
Very helpful - Thank you! I'm going to try the Gary Fong with the flash on camera pointing backwards
Great vid... good to see all the examples together to compare.... thanks FStoppers ..
A very known pro told me that when you are bouncing off a colored wall then you do a FEC and increase the power to over ride the color and it works. Bounce off a red wall and do a FEC of +2 and I have no red color bouncing off the wall to my subject.
Flash exposure compensation for those of you who dont know
I don't have camera, not crazy taking photos but this clip is so great about explaining using Flash
I think that it's worth saying that another possibility of bouncing flash off a non-white surface is that you might get a colour cast.
very cool and instructive video, love the image with the mag grid off camera, I need to try this, thanks guys for the inspiration.
Very detailed and helpful
Great examples. Thanks.
I modified Gary Fong light spheres by spraying the dome silver, and spraying the back of the modifier silver. Still got the diffusion, but flash recycle times where much faster and battery lasted longer.
I used to try all those bounce techniques, but it was too fiddly run-and-gunning, and colour casts.
asmr of the Gary Fong
Wow this is the most intuitive light modifier presentation that I have seen!!! Really good gob guys!! :D
subscribed!!!
This tip applies only to old guys like me, but you should not use MagMod if you have a pacemaker. Most listing don't mention that, but I saw it on Amazon and contacted MagMod direct. They confirmed that people with pacemakers should not use the products with those magnets.
Felicidades! Este video es una joya!
I use the MagMod system...it's really good, assuming you know enough about lighting and all your technical knowledge.
I use their 2 light softeners
Thought this was awesome Patrick!!!!!!!!!!!! I am just really starting out my professional career in photography and getting into flash and I have been messing around with the flashpoint ad200 and thinking I need to get a couple more speedlights for events!
You're a great educator!
Thank you for this!
I needed this tutorial so bad!!!!!!!!!
best flash demo ever. thank you for the tips
nikolas karatzas I liked Zack Arias’ better on DEDPXL.
nikolas karatzas ua-cam.com/video/rc0jHWCU43k/v-deo.html
flashdisk off the camera was the best. It produced shadows, but soft, still giving 3D pop out unlike direct flash on camera options that flattened him.
Excellent video, many things to pick up from!
I use a canon with off camera flash but triggered by the built in flash. The off camera flash will have a flashbender to broaden the light or add a kick when i bounce flash. The onboard flash will also add a little bit of fill light.
The on on-camera flash disk does thins the face by creating shadows that narrow the face. A little more becoming for most of us who are plus sizes.
That's a super solid tutorial! Subscribed!
Comprehensive tutorial
Awesome video. So thorough! Thank you so much!
Great video
Take the dome out of the lightspere and most of the light will bounce off the ceiling and some of the spill will light up the lightsphere and throw enough light at your subjects face to get rid of the shadows. Keeping the dome on puts all the power in the lightsphere and looks like direct flash.
this is great. I also like how you guys dont try to 'sell' your product by purposefully making it look better, or making the others look worse
I believe it's better in convenience but in all honesty, each modifier does achieve a different quality of light that can be useful in different situations. I kind of hate when people say "this one is so much better light quality". It's like saying harsh sun in worse light than soft overcast skies. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. -P
I felt your comparisons were weak in that you cycled very quickly through your limited options. The one that stuck with me is the MagSphere. I'm surprised you didn't include it as it's an excellent diffuser, and if you shoot with two flashes like I sometimes do at events, the magnetic system is fast and easy allowing to pop the diffuser from one flash to another. The quality of the bounce is consistent and you also get solid diffusion if you shoot straight at your subject thanks to its design.
The side by side comparison is very helpful. Just curious, what lens are you using in this video? I can't remember if you mentioned it or not.
you are intelligent brother, thankyou
nice video!
what a handsome photographer!!😍
Nicely done.
Really excellent. Thanks.
Patrick, why you didn't used the other magmod modifiers, for instance mag bounce and mag dome
should of kept the power output the same we all know we can adjust the power to get a better look
You would have compared magmod magsphere and magbounce
Yeah, we just used our favorite modifiers that we have in our office. I like how a few of their modifiers actually BLOCK light coming from the front which I think is pretty useful. Bouncing light 270 degrees and excluding the light coming from right above the camera is pretty helpful too.
bounce while excluding the direct part of the flash: sounds like a job for the "black foamie thing". I haven't used it in any professional setting but I do like the results and bonus points for costing twenty cents
Yeah I was going to say the same thing. I've used about every light modifier out there over the past 2 years (including the Flashdisc, Fongies, roguebenders, mag system, mini dishes, grids and a whole bunch of others), and your video title "The Best Light Modifiers For Bounce Flash and Off Camera Lighting" isn't very accurate. If you just used some of your "favorite" ones you had "laying about", PLEASE put that shiz in the title of the Vid! I've used the Flash Disc in clubs and found it to be pretty damn effective, just a little large for that purpose as you state. My faves at the moment are the magbounce first, and the magsphere 2nd. Magbounce is super versatile for singles, groups, and even shows/bands when you need a bit of fill, and when it gets bumped it either stays on or gets knocked off without damaging the speedlite or hotshoe. The only negative is that it gets called names in jest, like Popes Hat, She-Wee, a condom and a bunch of others lol.
Love these kinds of vids, but your title is way out of whack, and a review of 'your faves' is a bit of a waste of time. Either give us ALL the good options, or re-title your vid so we don't waste 25 minutes of our busy days :)
Love you guys and your channel tho, so don't think I'm having a go at you or trolling, just providing a bit of constructive feedback :)
Exactly!
Big B damn, thanks dude!! Im getting the magbounce :D
How about doing the bounce thing, with the white flash card up?
Strange no magbounce or magsphere?
What do you think of the small soft box on-camera flash modifier?
i just bounce my speedlight appropriately, or use softbox and don't spend any more money on an ever growing numbers of modifiers. BTW Gary Fong mod looks better than the rest
This is very helpful! Thanks!
Helpful. Thank you
What happen when you dial down the exposure for the Gary Fong Sphere? since the last two modifier was dial down....
Zack Choy if he had done that he’d look like a lier just trying to sell his own modifier. Because that REAL TRUTH IS GARY FONG’S light modifier is the best of them all and if you also noticed he’s never using the Gary Fong light modification at the same power as the others
It would probably look the same, just dimmer. The point is though, to get the same AMOUNT of light on the subject, you still have to keep the flash at a higher power. The light is being thrown in every direction, so you need more power to get more forward. The other modifiers are directing most of their light forward, so the flash has to be turned down to prevent overexposure.
Thanks cadillacred178, I was thinking why the GF Sphere was not dial down while the disc and magmod was dial down. In addition, I thought the mag-sphere would be more appropriate for on camera flash modifier.
Thanks DeltaPhi79, It seems to me subjectively that the GF Sphere was kinda of overexposed. So I would have dial it down with a low reflective ceiling. If I was doing it....
Zack Choy yes I totally agree with you and I used a GF lightsphere for a wedding I did and all the photos came out amazing
Excellent informative video...thanks
I use the Gary Fong Lightsphere often when shooting alone and get very pleasing results. I also use the Rogue kit which has a unique Speedlight mounted folding Softbox and grid. Also has a large light box simulating modifier like the FStopper shown here, as well as a large flexible white reflector. The GF and Rogue products should be in every serious, quality, shooters gear box IMO.
that was an awesome class!!!
Great video!
In side it's great.... what about in out side ?
This is actually a good idea to revist! -P
I'm wondering if the MagGrid would be good for low light music event photography, where you may want to isolate a person, but keep some of the production lighting as ambient light.
And TUPPERWARE???
And a simple white balloon.
Great stuff! Thanks!
Not sure why you left out the built-in bounce card that is usually on the flash and give some more forward lighting when doing a bounce so you don't lose the eyes so much. Also you forgot the most cheap diffuser of the mall which is the simple large white balloon strapped onto the end of The Flash. None of them are as cheap or compact as a balloon and the balloon can be inflated to all different sizes to change the amount of diffusion.
I was about to say the same thing. He simply skipped the bounce card when he mention about having the flash at 45-degree angle. It was as if he was sponsored by Gary Fong or some sort.
You guys never seem to include Rogue's Flashbender in these comparisons.
When you point the flash up how do you avoid the subject being low lit below the knee... top half is well lit but bottom half of subject is dark. Any tips?
A good tip is to always point the flash up and behind. This makes the bounce spot further back and offers more natural and even illumination. -P
I don't understand why you chose the grid to compare instead of the magsphere or magbounce
We don't add the magsphere or bouce and honestly it probably would have looked pretty similar to the Gary Fong modifier. They aren't THAT different in design so the quality of light will be fairly similar. If we had one we would have added it though but also at some point we would have had 10 modifiers which gets confusing. Maybe in a future video we will explore more modifiers
You forgot one of the most basic modifiers, bounce flash plus the bounce card built into many speedlights, or a 3x5 card for those that don't come with one.
Keith Swindell I'm not a big fan of bounce cards because they add harsh light forward much like the Gary fong light sphere. I tend to not like direct flash at all
Great video nice job
What are your thoughts on soft-box diffusers like the Westcott Pocket Box and the use of a rotating flash bracket?
I like small softboxes if you can easily use them in tight areas. Sometimes in nightclubs or at wedding receptions, a softbox is still too bulky to really use in a non obtrusive way. Flash brackets....man I hate those things. They are only really useful if you want to use direct flash because they do raise the flash height a few inches which is generally more appealing but 95% of the time I don't like direct flash at events. It's also a huge pain having to carry that bracket, and have the extra TTL cable, and have to rotate the bracket between vertical and horizontal photos....I'm not a fan haha
Fstoppers, thank you for the response. I have the Westcott pocket box kit (3 different size/shapes) and after watching your video was wondering if I stick with them or get a Garry Fong or f-stoppers disk.
This is a good video.. I use Gary Fong Lightsphere.. It STAYS on my camera..
Fantastic all venues have white low ceilings or white walls . Just thank god you showing light modifiers and how effective some are The gary fong not so good and well over priced . LIke this review keep it up fellas. It would also be a better video if all the exposures had the correct output, as some are way under exposed
Great video
Thanks for the lovely video. Which modifier would you use when you have a ceiling that is about 20-30 feet high and you are shooting an event?
prashanth bhogaraju You can use ANY...In my opinion.
This is such a hugely useful tutorial! What would you recommend when trying to light the couple during the first dance where you don’t want to throw light completely across the dance floor destroying the ambient light? I’ve been using a Lastolite Ezybox off camera but wanting a better solution! Thanks Patrick!
I usually put a light on a stand and place it as a backlight. This can give you a strong silhouette and allow the natural ambient light to burn in but because you are lighting them with a strobe everything can still be sharp. I usually bounce flash with the flash set to 105-200mm so the footprint on the ceiling is super small. This usually gives you a nice soft light on the couple without blasting the entire room. It's very rare I use off camera lighting at a wedding unless the ceilings are made of red wood or the event it outside. I bounce probably 80% of the time with some lights on stands acting as dramatic side/back lighting
Fstoppers thanks so much for the advice, so do you use the on camera bounce flash to trigger the off camera strobe?
I put a Flash on Camera at all times for weddings because it is the most useful light you can have (bounced primarily). For the reception I then add a pocket wizard plugged into the on camera flash or the camera body (D750 vs D850) and the remote flash is triggered by the pocket wizard. Firing a remote flash by Nikon's Creative Lighting System is too unreliable and using optical sensors at a wedding means all your guests will be firing your flash by accident. Look up our youtube video "How to light a wedding reception" and you will see our setup