You have NO idea how long I've needed such a concise and well articulated explanation for why not to use continues light vs speed lights . You have made a great video here. Doing great work. Thank you.. I've subb'd
Tempted to study through this video, I have gone through it again and really benefited. Therefor in education it is perception, retention and reinforcement. I am obliged. Thank you Wolf for enlightening us with concept of light in photography.
Thanks a lot, Dinesh. Yes, watching things twice helps a lot with understanding even better what it is all about. More about lighting technique, etc. to come a little later ;)
I have been searching so long for advice on speed lights vs continuous... I'm only an amateur but lighting has been so confusing for me. This video alone has helped me more than the hours of research I have done on this topic. THANK YOU! Subscribed.
I’m a fan! I just discovered you because I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about lighting for portraits. I’m an amateur, but I understand how my camera works, and I’ve taken some pretty good photos. I love taking photos using natural light from a window, but of course, that light isn’t always available. I was so close to buying that soft light from Amazon, but now I won’t. In fact, I bought my husband a very nice flash for his camera last year, and we still haven’t tried it! I’m definitely going to subscribe, and thank you!
I learned so much from this , thank you !!!! I’m an amateur photographer that uses minimal equipment. I even use my I phone , cheap lights and good editing! It works and I make decent stuff with almost nothing . I think my editing makes it;)
Definitely subscribing 💯 I’m so happy i found this video before purchasing anything. Thank you so much this was probably the most informative video for someone in my situation (kit lens and new to studio lighting) that I’ve found regarding this topic !😭🔥
Thank you a lot for this video!!! I took portrait pictures of the kids of a preschool my wife and I owned and even with four lights the results were bad. You are right when you say children move a lot :) I can't express enough how much I needed this video to explain why my pictures looked so awful. Try to freeze pictures of 3 and 4 years old kids, it's impossible!!!
I was really against flash photography initially since built in flashes (on canon dslrs) would routinely ruin pictures. As soon as I got an on body flash with settings i could adjust and angle, it was a total game changer, not even an expensive flash, an old 550ex i picked up for second hand for £30-40.
Absolutely, Ragnar. But even built in flashes can do a decent job when only used to fill instead of completely dominate an image. No doubt speed lights are much better though.
@@wolfamri I meant, many of the videos by other yUA-camrs were not worth watching. Many rabble on about nothing.. You explained everything I needed to know brilliantly. Thank You.
For the newbies watching this video then going out to research strobes just know that having a higher wattage strobe is not necessarily a good thing, yes you can have too much light. What is more important is how much you can turn down the strobe, usually 1/16 or 1/32 or 1/64 of power. I bought budget Godox's - two SK300ll - that only go down to 1/16th power. I know I can cheat and put a cap over the reflector and thus reduce the power even more. With the budget strobe packages, something too cheap will be thrown in to keep the price low. With the Godox package, the light stands are cheap and will need to be replaced sooner than later or never. With the Neewer package, the portable wireless receivers will either be lost, crushed from being stepped on, or die. I prefer the internal wireless receivers with the Godox unit. These budget packages are a good place to begin a decent studio set up. Three hundred watts of power is enough in a two light package for a small to medium sized studio, or as advertisers would put it, 600 watts of power (2 x 300 watts).
I agree, Rick. I much more often had too much power than too little. I‘m working on a website godox-comparison.com where I am explaining all that stuff. and comparing all the units. I’ve started with speedlights and am currently working on the bigger guns. 1/256 power is very helpful. Unfortunately it’s more pricey. When working outdoors, TTL is very helpful too in this regard because when using it you can even go lower than the min. setting of the flash. But results won’t be as consistent as with manual settings.
@@wolfamri With wedding shoots, active subjects moving, then TTL is really great but in a studio or studio like setting, you can have subjects sit a couple of minutes to get lighting power and camera settings down. Would I prefer TTL, absolutely but I don't want to pay the price for those units as I'm not an active studio guy, I take photos for free with family, relatives, friends and pets for free because I enjoy the process. And again for newbies, a flash I highly highly recommend is the Godox TT 350 line. This is a smaller less powerful than its big brothers and sisters in the Godox line. But it is a small flash, easy to lug around, doesn't dominate the camera or make the camera/flash feel top heavy, and most importantly is simple to use. Flash compensation doesn't get much easier than what's on this flash. It is wireless, TTL and high synch featured and the price is right. This is the perfect flash to learn on, is easy and intuitive to use and once you have mastered it you can move up to a bigger "better" flash. This flash will do about 95% of what a larger flash can do, perfect for fill flash, and flash use in homes, friend's places, and out and about. digital-photography-school.com/godox-tt350-flash-review/
Not sure I understand the sitting subjects a couple of minutes thing. But I agree, regarding TTL. I just think people should know all the pros and cons before making a buying decision because everyone has a different budget and different plans for the future. I like the small footprint of the tt350, but find it a bit expensive compared to the other speedlights in the Godox lineup. The TT685II (ua-cam.com/video/EcMTP3f44jY/v-deo.html) surely is more expensive, but much easier to work with for beginners due to the menu system.
@Jack Warner , I mainly use it for Elinchroms amazing deflector and the newer and older versions don't seem to have the same diameter. On a sidenote: I have started to use a shoot-into-umbrella with a white coating as kind of a beauty dish when I want to be fast and not carry too much with me. They give a beatufiul light.
Yes, you can, Joel. But for photography that is still not a huge lot of light. I even had three with 8 bulbs each once. But I agree for video they work good.
Those LED bulbs that are built like a cone instead of a disk emit a huge lot of light to the sides, so you lose quite a lot of power. Plus, I‘m afraid at one point it starts,to get too bright to look into it (e.g. for portraits). I‘ve tried and worked with a lot of different lights. Flash is still by far the best for photo I‘m afraid.
Filip, video is s totally different thing with very different settings. So yes, I use different lights. Currently I use 7-9 lights. Some of them not even meant for photography and video 😬.
Questions: What is the difference between the speed light and the flash/strobe light? Do they both fulfill the same purpose? Do I need both or is one better than the other?
Flash usually has a quite a bit more power, faster recycle times and doesn’t get hot. Some speedlights have a heat protection system and will take very long to recycle after a while. You also get more light shaping tools for flash. But they are more expensive. So are battery powered flash. Plus, they add a lot of size and weight to your equipment box 😉.
Thanks for your feedback, Graham. Yes, for product photography they are totally fine. Just make sure that you can make your room completely dark, otherwise the ambient light might overpower or at least „disturb“ your photo lights 😉
@@wolfamri maybe you can be my Santa and suggest something universal: I just started my photo journey and at that moment of life I spend money instead of earning them 😁 however, I need friendly budget lights for video indoors (office, one head) and photo also indoors/outdoors... And what device sync lights and camera
Great explanations in your videos. Thank you so much!! I ordered one of the cheaper continuous light kits (which should arrive tomorrow). I WAS looking forward to receiving it, but now not so much... At this point, I'm just doing hobby photography, so have not been wanting to invest TOO much money yet.
Thank you, Janine. That’s totally understandable, it’s a way too expensive hobby 😁. You can do a lot with these lights, but I want people to be aware about their limitations because way too many people then think they are bad at photography, while in reality the stuff they buy has limitations. The more you are aware, the more you can work around those limitations. And if you don’t like them at all, you can usually return them 😉.
I will try and get a speedlight soon for photos, limited to Canon's own for my 250d I think. But I had ordered the cheap soft boxed before viewing them, they will be good for my youtube videos though, hopefully.
But these, or LEDs don’t get all that hot, Lex. 2-3ft are no problem. You can even touch the lights after an hour running (you shouldn’t though 😉). The old Tungsten are really bad!
Thank you so much for the VERY informative video. I swear I've watched about 10,000 of these things and this was the most concise and informative explanation of why to go with speedlights and flash over continuous light. I was going to pull the trigger on the recommended complete kit, but, if I may ask a question: Every session I shoot will be "on the road." There won't be a permanent setup. I'll need to set up and tear down every session at a new (indoor) location. Would the complete kit above be the best option for a "mobile" studio? Thank you for any insight!
Thanks so much, Ray. Umbrellas are very quick to set up, that will help. If you want to use softboxes, the Elinchrom system is great since it is faster to tear down than regular softboxes. But Elinchrom is medium priced. You don’t need battery power, do you?
@@wolfamri Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to reply, sir. No, sir, shouldn't need battery power. (But if I *did*, any suggestions?) As I was typing my response, I looked at the Elinchrom options . . . you're right: a bigger financial commitment, indeed. :) (All of my work is pro bono -- 100% out of my pocket -- so I cost is always a consideration.) Thank you again for sharing your expertise and experience!
Ray, if you want battery powered flash, then Godox is the way to go IMO. But then again the prices go up quite a bit. Speedlies are the most budget friendly battery powered solution, but take up to 5 sec to recycle, which is „a little“ long. If they get hot you may even have to wait up to 15sec.. It really all depends on your needs and budget.
@@wolfamri Thank you again for the information. Since the folks are getting photos for free, I think even as long as 15 seconds is a small "price" for them to pay. :) Have a terrific day! I'm off to watch more of your videos and see what *else* I can learn!
Glad it was helpful. Many people fall for them. Some are even happy, because they don't understand that their ISO is way too high, and they also have no idea how good it could be with different stuff.
@@migbds That depends on how much light is entering the room. If it is direct sunlight, a reflector (even a white styrofoam board) could be much more effective. But if it is a window facing north, it is overcast of towards the evening, it can definitely work.
A great explanation for a beginner like me. So I'll be shooting product photos for my import company (mostly glass) while using the Panasonic GH5. Is it safe to assume the flash/strobe kit would be a nice place to begin given my limited experience? It seems the constant soft box/strip box could also come in handy.
Thanks 🙏🤗. For product photography, the continuous lights will work very well. The only downside is, that you can’t change the softboxes if you want for example a more narrow softbox. But you can help yourself with black paper or fabric and cover parts of the front.
Great to hear that, Pranjall. I hope it was easy enough to understand. I thought the first few minutes were a bit boring, but the info is needed to understand why continuous light is not all that great.
Great video. Vendors sell items hoping the client is ignorant. In my usage of lighting, what works for me is lumen. IMHO advertised typical product photography lights are underpowered. For studio flash one needs to know what the flash GN rating means (e.g. GN of 125' at ISO 100 with the zoom head set to 35mm) as well as converting this to watt-second strength (as well as lumen-seconds). Sounds technical? Not really difficult once the math is sorted, but I do wish manufacturers would use lumen as a basis.
Hey there. I couldn’t agree more. A standard would definitely make sense. Unfortunately the guide numbers aren’t always calculated correctly. Besides, some are in ft some are in m and for bigger flash they give it in Wattseconds as you say, but that’s also only partially helpful.
I exactly understood the importance of speedlight thanks to this video. But, we do not have an alternative choice other than prefering "continuous" light for videography, right?
You mean thunderstorm lightings? Absolutely. I wanted to start last year, but then the season was over. I kind of “hope” we will get a good season this year with some good lightings (that won’t harm anyone!😉)
I would couple this with "dont use the kit lens" a cheap nifty 50 at 1.8 would be £109 new, £65-75 used from a reputable second hand store. That's 3 and 1/3 stops.
I totally agree with that for outdoor and event shooting, but shooting a family portrait at f/1.8 is a bit risky ;). Plus: in a studio environment you don't need the shallow focus for separation. Easiest is really to get some cheap speedlights instead of the continuous lights.
It is a very informative video. Thank you for the knowledge you are sharing. (3:24) I was wondering how I could get this exposure cheat sheet. Can you please help?
The neewer sofboxes are they easy to get more compact? I need a better lighting set up for my wellness vlog but have 0 space for more storage. Umbrella(s) which I use look flat and basic. But softboxes are bulky. I need continuous lighting.
Hi Tatiana. TBH, I don’t quite remember, I sent the lights back afterwards. They are of course collapsible, but not as quick as umbrellas. What is your setup and space? Do you have a link to your vlog?
Is my understanding correct that actually we need continuous light and flash light together? Flash to expose the image and continuous at least to help with auto focus?
Alex, it depends on the available light. Most cameras can focus pretty well in low light. But for those that don’t, dedicated flash heads have a modeling light. Personally I hardly ever use the modeling light unless a makeup artist asks for it, because they want to see the makeup better. It also depends on the aperture you set. If you shoot wide open, you want to avoid mixed lighting.
The other day I was looking at an old movie light I had (for super 8) and noted how much it looked like a sealed beam car headlight. Hmmm... 12 Volt...
@@wolfamri Yep, they get really hot. It just made me think that one might make up an interesting portable set up using car headlights (halogen or LED) for a pretty reasonable cost.
@mkshffr4936 Definitely worth a try. Experimenting lets you learn tons of new things no matter how experienced you are. But I guess car lights will be less bright than expected and obviously not all that flexible.
Hi there. Thanks a lot for your support ;). Great to hear the video was helpful. There has ever only been one single trigger for smartphones, but that was discontinued a while ago and didn't get the best reviews as far as I remember. What you could theoretically do is get an ND filter for your smartphone. That would reduce the incoming light and force the phone to use longer shutter speeds (but be aware to not make it raise ISO instead, which is the gain that will add noise). Then for example when the camera takes a shot for 1sec (needs to be on a tripod to not shake), you can trigger the speedlight by hand within that second. I hope that is not too complicated explained ;).
Thanks, Kira! I'm currently working on a new and improved version. Please stay tuned. A lot of new and hopefully very helpful things in the pipe 😉. A website to better structure the content (no worries, still free), a new course, course pdfs, cheat sheets, and maybe even certificates.
Thank you. Video is a totally different beast and much more difficult than photography. Of course you need continuous light and how much of it depends on the available light. In a dark room you can work with rather low priced rather low powered lights. If you can get close enough to the subject with your lights. If not, you need a lot of power. Luckily COB LED lights have been entering the stage and you can get a 300W LED light for a “rather affordable” price. You can put that in a softbox.
Hi Thank you for your wonderful video! Please please could you help me? I have one of the cheap lighting kits to photograph my silver ewellery for eBay but it is not sufficient. I cannot set up close to a window so need advice as to what to upgrade to please. I have looked at the Geox s60w with softbox but am concerned that it might also be insufficient. I shoot on my bed so could easily use very close up small stands if it would help? I once purchased a ring light but all my jewellery reflected the tons of LEDs so it was returned. What do I buy please specifically for jewellery? Thank you so much
Thank you, Susie. When you say not sufficient, what is it that makes you think that. Power shouldn’t be much of an issue, because you can always extend exposure time (if your room is dark otherwise). A different topic is shaping the light. What kind of jewelry are you photographing and how big are the subjects?
what a great video..recently i am trying to make some decent videos and upgrade the quality of my videos and this video for sure will help me..but i don't get for video recording what is your recommendation.flash light is useful for freezed image but what about when i want to constantly shoot video for about an hour?
Thanks. I’m afraid video is a totally different thing. In video you don’t really mind motion blur, in fact you even appreciate it. You usually go for 1/60sec shutter spord (1/50 in PAL regions) and that’s a fraction of the needs for photographing movement. Plus: you don’t have a lot of coices either. These lights are extremely affordable and really OK for video. Bring them close to the subject and they even work really well.
I'm afraid ambient light makes things even worse, Sergiu. In full sun it is sometimes even hard to brighten shadows with a speedlight. Due to the much lower power of continuous lights, you wouldn't even realize that you turned the neewer on at all. That's why in the old days, they have used 5000 or even 10.000W lights for movies. Lately I've been shooting an interview in front of a window of a skyline. Not even my new 300W LEDs (that are about 3000W of old tungstens) were close to being bright enough to fight the background light. If you have bright ambient light, you'd better use reflectors than continuous lights (or bigger flash heads).
That depends. A speedlight will give you more speed and freedom to move, a flash more power and options to form the light. We have pot a battery powered elinchrom into a backpack and walked around with it to photograph people at a wedding. We got impeccable results and people thought it was funny so were happy to look into the cam 😉
Great review. Every time I've tried to do flash photography it always comes out looking like trash though. I just can't seem to find the right formula.
Thank you. What are you trying to photograph with the flash? What you always have to keep in mind is that anything that is closer to the flash is much brighter lit by it than anything further away. So standing in a dark room and using flash to brighten the person is bound to create a no so great pic 😉.
@@wolfamri People. I'm using it on camera. I know that's part of the problem. But I was wanting to use it as a supplemental light to natural lighting. I've seen videos of it being done really well, but it always comes out crappy for me.
Expose for the ambient light first. So take a normal shot and adjust the settings (including ISO) so that it is just a tad under exposed. Then add the speedlight. That’s the trick. Don’t feel like the flash has to light the complete scene. Don’t use TTL if your subject is too small in the frame. If it is wearing black or white clothes and you are using TTL, use the flashes flash compensation to come up for the different amount of light that would reflect into the camera. I hope that helps 😉.
@@conservovirtus5796 You can color gel your flash to match the ambient, which would be best. If you can’t, or forgot it at home 😁, it depends a bit but shoot raw and you can decide later 😉.
Very good info, thank you for taking your time to explain this very well. I have a question, what kind of set up would you suggest if I’m shooting fitness? I’m shooting with a canon eos rebel sl2. So I’m looking into doing backdrop session so I’ll need more help on lights, umbrellas etc. Are the links you put out good enough?
Thanks for your feedback! Do you shoot images, or video - seeing that you have a youtube channel? And what is your backgroud like plus: how much space do you have available?
@@wolfamri I shoot both, including music videos as well, I don’t post it on UA-cam or anything just social media, like Instagram & Facebook. I’m planning on getting my own studio soon. For now I’m doing more photo shoots at the gym and fitness videos as well.
If you are doing it in a gym, it depends a lot whether you want the gym to be visible. If yes, you could use these lights. If you want the gym in the background to be rather dark, you need flash instead. A 3 light setup with softboxes will let you do almost anything you want, but it of course is a question of budget. Flash is better than speedlights in regard to power and recycle times, but you cannot use either of them for video.
You have NO idea how long I've needed such a concise and well articulated explanation for why not to use continues light vs speed lights . You have made a great video here. Doing great work. Thank you.. I've subb'd
Thanks for your feedback, Carlos 🙏🙏 and for the sub 😉
Totally agree! Very clear and too the point.
Omg yes,thanks lots!!!!
Thanks you two, much appreciated 🙏🙏
That's God damn right.
Tempted to study through this video, I have gone through it again and really benefited. Therefor in education it is perception, retention and reinforcement. I am obliged. Thank you Wolf for enlightening us with concept of light in photography.
Thanks a lot, Dinesh. Yes, watching things twice helps a lot with understanding even better what it is all about.
More about lighting technique, etc. to come a little later ;)
I have been searching so long for advice on speed lights vs continuous... I'm only an amateur but lighting has been so confusing for me. This video alone has helped me more than the hours of research I have done on this topic. THANK YOU! Subscribed.
Thanks so much, Taylor. This year I want to concentrate on creating lighting videos 😉.
Look for videos by Daniel norton
This is the best lighting video I have ever watched. Well explained and thank you so much for providing this knowledge.
Awww, thank you 🙏🤗
This is the best video i have seen about Light Photography. Kudos Wolf Amri.
Thank you, Dennis 🙏🙏. I plan a whole series about light this year.
A lot of bright ideas there . Nice work ! 😃😎
Thank you, Mike. some are indeed “bright” 😎😂.
I’m a fan! I just discovered you because I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about lighting for portraits. I’m an amateur, but I understand how my camera works, and I’ve taken some pretty good photos. I love taking photos using natural light from a window, but of course, that light isn’t always available. I was so close to buying that soft light from Amazon, but now I won’t. In fact, I bought my husband a very nice flash for his camera last year, and we still haven’t tried it! I’m definitely going to subscribe, and thank you!
Thanks so much for that great feedback, Anne! Great to hear this video helped you save some $$$ 😉
One of the best videos i've ever watched on photography. I've learnt a lot today. Good Job
Wow, thanks! 🙏
I learned so much from this , thank you !!!! I’m an amateur photographer that uses minimal equipment. I even use my I phone , cheap lights and good editing! It works and I make decent stuff with almost nothing . I think my editing makes it;)
The video I been looking for much appreciated
Great to hear that 🙏
Man, this video is on the top 3 on youtube about this topic, and i've seen plenty of them. Lot of ammiration and thank you so much :D
Thanks, Alberto! Feels good to get such feedback 🙏🤗
Definitely subscribing 💯 I’m so happy i found this video before purchasing anything.
Thank you so much this was probably the most informative video for someone in my situation (kit lens and new to studio lighting) that I’ve found regarding this topic !😭🔥
Thank you for such a great feedback. Great to have you on board🤗🤗
Thank you a lot for this video!!!
I took portrait pictures of the kids of a preschool my wife and I owned and even with four lights the results were bad.
You are right when you say children move a lot :)
I can't express enough how much I needed this video to explain why my pictures looked so awful. Try to freeze pictures of 3 and 4 years old kids, it's impossible!!!
Thanks for your feedback. Photography is all about light. Very easy if you have enough of it, close to impossible if you don’t 😂.
Great, as always. Thank you very much for you honest, practical and simple and yet comprehensive teaching
Thank you so much, Pedro 🙏🙏
Thank you so much, Pedro 🙏🙏
Exactly the info I was after , thanks.
Thanks, Miriam. Great to hear that 🙏
Very well made video. In depth and well spoken. The info popping up on screen and staying for a while is very absorbable
Thank you, Benny 🙏🙏
I was really against flash photography initially since built in flashes (on canon dslrs) would routinely ruin pictures. As soon as I got an on body flash with settings i could adjust and angle, it was a total game changer, not even an expensive flash, an old 550ex i picked up for second hand for £30-40.
Absolutely, Ragnar. But even built in flashes can do a decent job when only used to fill instead of completely dominate an image. No doubt speed lights are much better though.
I actually love the way grow lights make my photos look lol they really are versatile
So,true. Which ones do you use?
Love your video's! You're an awesome teacher. This video really helped a lot! Thank you for shedding light on the subject! :)
Thanks a lot, Carl! 🤗
Great
As usual
The best photography learning video on UA-cam
Awwww, thank you, Dipak!!! 🙏🙏
I was very confused about buying my first light. Thanks. This helped me. One step closer :)
Great to hear that! Thank you for your feedback 🙏🙏
Wow!! Thank you very much!! You'r video help me a lot! Please never stop doing this type of videos! Please!
athanks for your feedback, Scenghiul 🤗
Finally, a video worth watching.
Thank youuuuu🙏!!! I hope you don't think the rest of my videos were not worth watching 😆
@@wolfamri I meant, many of the videos by other yUA-camrs were not worth watching. Many rabble on about nothing.. You explained everything I needed to know brilliantly. Thank You.
Thanks so much! I was just trying to be extraordinarily funny 😆
Excellent review. The part when three of you appear is fun!
🤣 Thank you! That's great to hear!
This video is beginner friendly, highly recommend. Thanks for sharing, I found the answer i was looking for.
Thank you 🙏🙏 Great to hear that!
Awesome tutorial. I have been watching many tutorials on lighting setup but your tutorial is very understandable.
Thanks, Ashish. I actually feared it might be too technical, but great to hear that!
Very very!!!
Great explanation; clear, complete and very easy to follow and understand…thank you..
Thank you, Milan 🙏🙏
For the newbies watching this video then going out to research strobes just know that having a higher wattage strobe is not necessarily a good thing, yes you can have too much light. What is more important is how much you can turn down the strobe, usually 1/16 or 1/32 or 1/64 of power. I bought budget Godox's - two SK300ll - that only go down to 1/16th power. I know I can cheat and put a cap over the reflector and thus reduce the power even more. With the budget strobe packages, something too cheap will be thrown in to keep the price low. With the Godox package, the light stands are cheap and will need to be replaced sooner than later or never. With the Neewer package, the portable wireless receivers will either be lost, crushed from being stepped on, or die. I prefer the internal wireless receivers with the Godox unit. These budget packages are a good place to begin a decent studio set up. Three hundred watts of power is enough in a two light package for a small to medium sized studio, or as advertisers would put it, 600 watts of power (2 x 300 watts).
I agree, Rick. I much more often had too much power than too little. I‘m working on a website godox-comparison.com where I am explaining all that stuff. and comparing all the units. I’ve started with speedlights and am currently working on the bigger guns. 1/256 power is very helpful. Unfortunately it’s more pricey.
When working outdoors, TTL is very helpful too in this regard because when using it you can even go lower than the min. setting of the flash. But results won’t be as consistent as with manual settings.
@@wolfamri With wedding shoots, active subjects moving, then TTL is really great but in a studio or studio like setting, you can have subjects sit a couple of minutes to get lighting power and camera settings down. Would I prefer TTL, absolutely but I don't want to pay the price for those units as I'm not an active studio guy, I take photos for free with family, relatives, friends and pets for free because I enjoy the process.
And again for newbies, a flash I highly highly recommend is the Godox TT 350 line. This is a smaller less powerful than its big brothers and sisters in the Godox line. But it is a small flash, easy to lug around, doesn't dominate the camera or make the camera/flash feel top heavy, and most importantly is simple to use.
Flash compensation doesn't get much easier than what's on this flash. It is wireless, TTL and high synch featured and the price is right. This is the perfect flash to learn on, is easy and intuitive to use and once you have mastered it you can move up to a bigger "better" flash. This flash will do about 95% of what a larger flash can do, perfect for fill flash, and flash use in homes, friend's places, and out and about. digital-photography-school.com/godox-tt350-flash-review/
Not sure I understand the sitting subjects a couple of minutes thing. But I agree, regarding TTL. I just think people should know all the pros and cons before making a buying decision because everyone has a different budget and different plans for the future. I like the small footprint of the tt350, but find it a bit expensive compared to the other speedlights in the Godox lineup. The TT685II (ua-cam.com/video/EcMTP3f44jY/v-deo.html) surely is more expensive, but much easier to work with for beginners due to the menu system.
Priceless information. I have been researching what to buy to start a little home studio and this was a big help I thank you so much
Thanks, Sophi. Great to hear it was helpful!
As a film photographer i started crying when you changed your iso to 1600
🤣 yes, that hurts! 😉
@Jack Warner yeah, they are workhorses. Do you also have an issue with the integrated "umbrella holder" - or better said the holder for the deflector?
@Jack Warner , I mainly use it for Elinchroms amazing deflector and the newer and older versions don't seem to have the same diameter.
On a sidenote: I have started to use a shoot-into-umbrella with a white coating as kind of a beauty dish when I want to be fast and not carry too much with me. They give a beatufiul light.
Get ISO 400 black and white film and push it two stops! Don't be sad my friend :)
Well tested well explained, just another great video!!!
Thank you, Jens! Much appreciated feedback ;)
Thank you I do a lot of outdoor and sports shooting at the moment, but I would like to do indoor and this have me a really good insight. Thank you
Thank you, great to hear it was helpful 😉.
Wow. Educational, helpful, and concise! Thank you!!!
Thanks, Dara! 🙏
Thanks so much Wolf, a fantastic video as usual . I was about to purchase the Amazon soft boxes , but will look into a speed light instead !
Great to hear that it was helpful and saved you some money, Tamya! Thanks for your feedback 🙏
This video is awesome at providing value and I am so thankful for it!! :) Also saved me $270 . Thank you!!
Great to hear, Lex!
same with me!!!!
so much info in one video. Thank you!!!
Thank YOU 🙏😉
Nicely done. Thanks. JT
Thank you, JT 🙏🤗
You can change the bulbs and some can put 4 bulbs inside. Great for video.
Yes, you can, Joel. But for photography that is still not a huge lot of light. I even had three with 8 bulbs each once. But I agree for video they work good.
It's no speed light but 8 X 40watt LED is pretty bright and cheap. You get around 1,000 per bulb. 8,000 total.
Those LED bulbs that are built like a cone instead of a disk emit a huge lot of light to the sides, so you lose quite a lot of power. Plus, I‘m afraid at one point it starts,to get too bright to look into it (e.g. for portraits). I‘ve tried and worked with a lot of different lights. Flash is still by far the best for photo I‘m afraid.
Oh my I love his voice
What? That’s a rarity 😂. Thanks, though 😉.
Ok but how do you light your videos so well, what lights are you using? I guess they are continuous lights.
Filip, video is s totally different thing with very different settings. So yes, I use different lights. Currently I use 7-9 lights. Some of them not even meant for photography and video 😬.
two are video lights and the rest are growth lights for plants. 😉
Questions:
What is the difference between the speed light and the flash/strobe light?
Do they both fulfill the same purpose?
Do I need both or is one better than the other?
Flash usually has a quite a bit more power, faster recycle times and doesn’t get hot. Some speedlights have a heat protection system and will take very long to recycle after a while. You also get more light shaping tools for flash. But they are more expensive. So are battery powered flash. Plus, they add a lot of size and weight to your equipment box 😉.
@@wolfamri I greatly appreciate your information, I myself am an upcoming photographer and I need to start collecting more equipment for photo shoots.
Great breakdown. Thank you sir!
Thank YOU 😉🤗
Thanks a lot for this video! Clear, simple and very useful :)))
Thanks so much for your feedback!!!
Thanks for the video. We were looking at a cheap pair of softboxes for product photography, looks like they will do just fine for that purpose.
Thanks for your feedback, Graham. Yes, for product photography they are totally fine. Just make sure that you can make your room completely dark, otherwise the ambient light might overpower or at least „disturb“ your photo lights 😉
வீடியோ மிகவும் பயனுள்ளதாக இருந்தது மிக்க நன்றி
இரா.மனோகர் சென்னை .
Very useful This video sir, , big thank you sir R.MANOHAR ,Chennai.India
Thanks a lot for your feedback. Great to hear that!
Brilliant, down to earth video. Big thanks for your time
Thanks for your feedback, Terry 🙏
THIS IS IT!!! Thanks for this vid.
Thanks for your feedback, Keith 🙏
you are an amazing teacher congratulation
Thanks, Cledenir 🙏
An excellent presentation easy to understand and so very helpful - thank you!
Thank you, Mike. Much appreciated feedback 🙏🙏
Sir you’re videos are excellent thanks for sharing your knowledge 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Thank you, Vijay! I hope it is helpful when making photography lighting decisions.
great informative video
Thanks, Hasan 🙏🙏
Exactly what I needed right now👍
Awesome, I hope it helped taking the right decision 😉
@@wolfamri It solves my photography problems, but what about for a video? 😬 which lights do you use for your UA-cam videos? 😀
You're simply the best!!!
aaawwww 🤗🤗
"Better than all the rest"
GREAT LESSON!!!! VERY WELL EXPLAINED!
Thank you, Johnny!
Great video Wolf! Loved it
And subscribed!
Thanks, Hamid! Much appreciated!
thanks, man. Definitely gonna purchase these.
Great to hear it was helpful!
Truly amazing and informative!
Thank you, Kenny 🙏🙏
The best ❤
Aaaaaw 🙏🤗
@@wolfamri maybe you can be my Santa and suggest something universal: I just started my photo journey and at that moment of life I spend money instead of earning them 😁 however, I need friendly budget lights for video indoors (office, one head) and photo also indoors/outdoors... And what device sync lights and camera
This was really helpfull. Thank you so much. 😊
Great to hear it was helpful! Thanks for your feedback! 🤗
Subbed for quality and content!
Awesome, thank you 🙏
superb video
Thank you, Maxim 🙏🙏
Great explanations in your videos. Thank you so much!! I ordered one of the cheaper continuous light kits (which should arrive tomorrow). I WAS looking forward to receiving it, but now not so much... At this point, I'm just doing hobby photography, so have not been wanting to invest TOO much money yet.
Thank you, Janine. That’s totally understandable, it’s a way too expensive hobby 😁. You can do a lot with these lights, but I want people to be aware about their limitations because way too many people then think they are bad at photography, while in reality the stuff they buy has limitations. The more you are aware, the more you can work around those limitations. And if you don’t like them at all, you can usually return them 😉.
Brillant!
Thank you 🙏🤗🙏
I will try and get a speedlight soon for photos, limited to Canon's own for my 250d I think. But I had ordered the cheap soft boxed before viewing them, they will be good for my youtube videos though, hopefully.
They are fine for video if you get really close like I did in the video.
But these, or LEDs don’t get all that hot, Lex. 2-3ft are no problem. You can even touch the lights after an hour running (you shouldn’t though 😉). The old Tungsten are really bad!
Thank you so much for the VERY informative video. I swear I've watched about 10,000 of these things and this was the most concise and informative explanation of why to go with speedlights and flash over continuous light. I was going to pull the trigger on the recommended complete kit, but, if I may ask a question: Every session I shoot will be "on the road." There won't be a permanent setup. I'll need to set up and tear down every session at a new (indoor) location. Would the complete kit above be the best option for a "mobile" studio? Thank you for any insight!
Thanks so much, Ray. Umbrellas are very quick to set up, that will help. If you want to use softboxes, the Elinchrom system is great since it is faster to tear down than regular softboxes. But Elinchrom is medium priced. You don’t need battery power, do you?
@@wolfamri Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to reply, sir. No, sir, shouldn't need battery power. (But if I *did*, any suggestions?) As I was typing my response, I looked at the Elinchrom options . . . you're right: a bigger financial commitment, indeed. :) (All of my work is pro bono -- 100% out of my pocket -- so I cost is always a consideration.) Thank you again for sharing your expertise and experience!
Ray, if you want battery powered flash, then Godox is the way to go IMO. But then again the prices go up quite a bit. Speedlies are the most budget friendly battery powered solution, but take up to 5 sec to recycle, which is „a little“ long. If they get hot you may even have to wait up to 15sec.. It really all depends on your needs and budget.
@@wolfamri Thank you again for the information. Since the folks are getting photos for free, I think even as long as 15 seconds is a small "price" for them to pay. :) Have a terrific day! I'm off to watch more of your videos and see what *else* I can learn!
🤗🤗🤗
Where was I all these years? Wery well explained sir!
Thank you, Jay 🙏🙏 Happy New Year!
@@wolfamri happy New year to you too
speed light is amazing 👌
absolutely! Great bang for the buck!
Very good Video
Thank you!!!
Whao! thank you for saving me from buying a continuous light. i almost got one of those.
Glad it was helpful. Many people fall for them. Some are even happy, because they don't understand that their ISO is way too high, and they also have no idea how good it could be with different stuff.
@@wolfamri Do you think this softbox could be useful when I'm taking pictures next to a window and I want a 2nd light?
@@migbds That depends on how much light is entering the room. If it is direct sunlight, a reflector (even a white styrofoam board) could be much more effective. But if it is a window facing north, it is overcast of towards the evening, it can definitely work.
@@wolfamri thanx a lot for this answer. Super useful :)
A great explanation for a beginner like me. So I'll be shooting product photos for my import company (mostly glass) while using the Panasonic GH5. Is it safe to assume the flash/strobe kit would be a nice place to begin given my limited experience? It seems the constant soft box/strip box could also come in handy.
Thanks 🙏🤗. For product photography, the continuous lights will work very well. The only downside is, that you can’t change the softboxes if you want for example a more narrow softbox. But you can help yourself with black paper or fabric and cover parts of the front.
Very nice, looking forward for new videos
Thank you, Alex 🙏🙏
Very helpful!
Thank you 🙏🙏
Thank you for the video and links... this helps a lot... thank god i didn't by that speedlight yet...
Great to hear that, Pranjall. I hope it was easy enough to understand. I thought the first few minutes were a bit boring, but the info is needed to understand why continuous light is not all that great.
Hi Wolf, Could you find a chance to upload the cheat sheet? Great video, as always!
Hey Murat! I'll write you on IG ;) Thank you!!!
Great video. Vendors sell items hoping the client is ignorant. In my usage of lighting, what works for me is lumen. IMHO advertised typical product photography lights are underpowered. For studio flash one needs to know what the flash GN rating means (e.g. GN of 125' at ISO 100 with the zoom head set to 35mm) as well as converting this to watt-second strength (as well as lumen-seconds). Sounds technical? Not really difficult once the math is sorted, but I do wish manufacturers would use lumen as a basis.
Hey there. I couldn’t agree more. A standard would definitely make sense. Unfortunately the guide numbers aren’t always calculated correctly. Besides, some are in ft some are in m and for bigger flash they give it in Wattseconds as you say, but that’s also only partially helpful.
Excellent explanation - I flashed at the cheap flash light but it didn't see me :)
😁 Thank you 🙏🙏
I exactly understood the importance of speedlight thanks to this video. But, we do not have an alternative choice other than prefering "continuous" light for videography, right?
Exactly, Carl. Outdoors in the sun you can use reflectors. But other than that, we can only use continuous lights.
Great video, as always! Wolfgang, don't you have a plan to create a tutorial 'How to photograph lightnings? Or it's too specific?
You mean thunderstorm lightings? Absolutely. I wanted to start last year, but then the season was over. I kind of “hope” we will get a good season this year with some good lightings (that won’t harm anyone!😉)
@@wolfamri 👍
I would couple this with "dont use the kit lens" a cheap nifty 50 at 1.8 would be £109 new, £65-75 used from a reputable second hand store.
That's 3 and 1/3 stops.
I totally agree with that for outdoor and event shooting, but shooting a family portrait at f/1.8 is a bit risky ;). Plus: in a studio environment you don't need the shallow focus for separation. Easiest is really to get some cheap speedlights instead of the continuous lights.
Great video. What’s the difference between softbox and white umbrella??
Thanks
The umbrella (if translucent) spreads the light in all directions, so it is harder to control if you want to create certain light effects.
It is a very informative video. Thank you for the knowledge you are sharing.
(3:24) I was wondering how I could get this exposure cheat sheet. Can you please help?
Thanks 🙏 I want to finetune the cheat sheet and will then make a video about it. Stay tuned 😉
The neewer sofboxes are they easy to get more compact? I need a better lighting set up for my wellness vlog but have 0 space for more storage. Umbrella(s) which I use look flat and basic. But softboxes are bulky. I need continuous lighting.
Hi Tatiana. TBH, I don’t quite remember, I sent the lights back afterwards. They are of course collapsible, but not as quick as umbrellas. What is your setup and space? Do you have a link to your vlog?
Is my understanding correct that actually we need continuous light and flash light together? Flash to expose the image and continuous at least to help with auto focus?
Alex, it depends on the available light. Most cameras can focus pretty well in low light. But for those that don’t, dedicated flash heads have a modeling light. Personally I hardly ever use the modeling light unless a makeup artist asks for it, because they want to see the makeup better. It also depends on the aperture you set. If you shoot wide open, you want to avoid mixed lighting.
Is speed light a flash ? I was thinking of getting some simple cheap ring lights
A speedlight is basically a flash, it just has less power and fits on a camera. ;)
The other day I was looking at an old movie light I had (for super 8) and noted how much it looked like a sealed beam car headlight. Hmmm... 12 Volt...
Those old lights are cool, but if they produce enough light, they draw so much power that it is a pain. Plus, they get soooooooo hot 😬.
@@wolfamri Yep, they get really hot. It just made me think that one might make up an interesting portable set up using car headlights (halogen or LED) for a pretty reasonable cost.
@mkshffr4936 Definitely worth a try. Experimenting lets you learn tons of new things no matter how experienced you are. But I guess car lights will be less bright than expected and obviously not all that flexible.
i see 1.4f ... thinking about my 6x6 medium format.. damn that 3 mm hyperfocal..JEEZ
😬 I honestly hope there is no f/1.4 for 6x6 🤣
@@wolfamri legends say somewhere, someone, somehow managed to do it ahahah. really nice video there anyway!
🤣 Thank you 🙏🙏
Thank you!!!
Thanks for watching, Whitney!
Dang I would love a “speed light “ for my I phone to take Realestate photos! Anyone have any ideas ! ? Something cost effective??Please and thank you
Hi there. Thanks a lot for your support ;). Great to hear the video was helpful.
There has ever only been one single trigger for smartphones, but that was discontinued a while ago and didn't get the best reviews as far as I remember.
What you could theoretically do is get an ND filter for your smartphone. That would reduce the incoming light and force the phone to use longer shutter speeds (but be aware to not make it raise ISO instead, which is the gain that will add noise).
Then for example when the camera takes a shot for 1sec (needs to be on a tripod to not shake), you can trigger the speedlight by hand within that second.
I hope that is not too complicated explained ;).
Try Yongnuo or Godox with flash remote control…
This video is FANTASTIC! Any chance you could share a link to download the scene luminance cheat sheet?
Thanks, Kira! I'm currently working on a new and improved version. Please stay tuned. A lot of new and hopefully very helpful things in the pipe 😉. A website to better structure the content (no worries, still free), a new course, course pdfs, cheat sheets, and maybe even certificates.
@@wolfamri Fantastic. Keep up the excellent work. :-) Thank you!
Nice BUT what about video lighting?
Thank you. Video is a totally different beast and much more difficult than photography. Of course you need continuous light and how much of it depends on the available light. In a dark room you can work with rather low priced rather low powered lights. If you can get close enough to the subject with your lights. If not, you need a lot of power. Luckily COB LED lights have been entering the stage and you can get a 300W LED light for a “rather affordable” price. You can put that in a softbox.
@@wolfamri thank you so much 🙂 Appreciate your in-depth answer, I want to buy studio lights and looking for details. So helpful answer. Thanks again
Hi
Thank you for your wonderful video! Please please could you help me? I have one of the cheap lighting kits to photograph my silver ewellery for eBay but it is not sufficient. I cannot set up close to a window so need advice as to what to upgrade to please. I have looked at the Geox s60w with softbox but am concerned that it might also be insufficient. I shoot on my bed so could easily use very close up small stands if it would help? I once purchased a ring light but all my jewellery reflected the tons of LEDs so it was returned. What do I buy please specifically for jewellery? Thank you so much
Thank you, Susie. When you say not sufficient, what is it that makes you think that. Power shouldn’t be much of an issue, because you can always extend exposure time (if your room is dark otherwise). A different topic is shaping the light. What kind of jewelry are you photographing and how big are the subjects?
what a great video..recently i am trying to make some decent videos and upgrade the quality of my videos and this video for sure will help me..but i don't get for video recording what is your recommendation.flash light is useful for freezed image but what about when i want to constantly shoot video for about an hour?
Thanks. I’m afraid video is a totally different thing. In video you don’t really mind motion blur, in fact you even appreciate it. You usually go for 1/60sec shutter spord (1/50 in PAL regions) and that’s a fraction of the needs for photographing movement. Plus: you don’t have a lot of coices either. These lights are extremely affordable and really OK for video. Bring them close to the subject and they even work really well.
Great video thanks! I had a question, I mainly use lights for clothing product photography. do you have a light selection that would work for that?
Thanks, River. For product photography in general, these lights are really useful. You just need to have a really dark room and a tripod.
What about accounting for the already present ambient ligthing. You are turning the Neewer ON in complete darkness or what am i missing?
I'm afraid ambient light makes things even worse, Sergiu. In full sun it is sometimes even hard to brighten shadows with a speedlight. Due to the much lower power of continuous lights, you wouldn't even realize that you turned the neewer on at all. That's why in the old days, they have used 5000 or even 10.000W lights for movies. Lately I've been shooting an interview in front of a window of a skyline. Not even my new 300W LEDs (that are about 3000W of old tungstens) were close to being bright enough to fight the background light. If you have bright ambient light, you'd better use reflectors than continuous lights (or bigger flash heads).
For wedding photography, do you recommend doing a speed light or a flash strobe? TYIA!!!
That depends. A speedlight will give you more speed and freedom to move, a flash more power and options to form the light. We have pot a battery powered elinchrom into a backpack and walked around with it to photograph people at a wedding. We got impeccable results and people thought it was funny so were happy to look into the cam 😉
Thank you. Great video.
Thanks for your feedback 🙏🙏
Thank you kind sir
Thanks for your feedback 🙏
Great review. Every time I've tried to do flash photography it always comes out looking like trash though. I just can't seem to find the right formula.
Thank you. What are you trying to photograph with the flash? What you always have to keep in mind is that anything that is closer to the flash is much brighter lit by it than anything further away. So standing in a dark room and using flash to brighten the person is bound to create a no so great pic 😉.
@@wolfamri People. I'm using it on camera. I know that's part of the problem. But I was wanting to use it as a supplemental light to natural lighting. I've seen videos of it being done really well, but it always comes out crappy for me.
Expose for the ambient light first. So take a normal shot and adjust the settings (including ISO) so that it is just a tad under exposed. Then add the speedlight. That’s the trick. Don’t feel like the flash has to light the complete scene.
Don’t use TTL if your subject is too small in the frame. If it is wearing black or white clothes and you are using TTL, use the flashes flash compensation to come up for the different amount of light that would reflect into the camera. I hope that helps 😉.
@@wolfamri Thanks for the tips. What about the color temp? I assume set for ambient also?
@@conservovirtus5796 You can color gel your flash to match the ambient, which would be best. If you can’t, or forgot it at home 😁, it depends a bit but shoot raw and you can decide later 😉.
Very good info, thank you for taking your time to explain this very well. I have a question, what kind of set up would you suggest if I’m shooting fitness? I’m shooting with a canon eos rebel sl2. So I’m looking into doing backdrop session so I’ll need more help on lights, umbrellas etc. Are the links you put out good enough?
Thanks for your feedback! Do you shoot images, or video - seeing that you have a youtube channel? And what is your backgroud like plus: how much space do you have available?
@@wolfamri I shoot both, including music videos as well, I don’t post it on UA-cam or anything just social media, like Instagram & Facebook. I’m planning on getting my own studio soon. For now I’m doing more photo shoots at the gym and fitness videos as well.
If you are doing it in a gym, it depends a lot whether you want the gym to be visible. If yes, you could use these lights. If you want the gym in the background to be rather dark, you need flash instead.
A 3 light setup with softboxes will let you do almost anything you want, but it of course is a question of budget.
Flash is better than speedlights in regard to power and recycle times, but you cannot use either of them for video.
Thanks!
Thanks for your feedback 🙏🙏