I recently ran across an interesting question on one of the forums I frequent. This lead me to thinking about the advice I would give..wanted or not… lol… about the purchase this person was going to make. It’s a fairly simple question with what I think is a complex answer.

If you have never used a studio strobe or off camera  flash, then diving in to multiple studio strobes might not be the right choice to make.  I will explain why I say this a little further on in the post. Opening up Pandora’s box… feel free to share your comments at the end.  Here we go!

A little history

Several years ago I attended a workshop put on by Scott Smith.  He is a Dallas based photographer who knows his lighting.  The two day seminar was immensely beneficial to understanding lighting methods and techniques. Before I walked in to the seminar I had heard of Rembrandt lighting but I had no clue about Loop, Butterfly, Broad, Short...etc. I had also read a little about watt seconds and a few other terms used in flash photography. Other than this… I was pretty clueless about studio lighting…alright…completely clueless if I’m being honest.

Fast forward 5 years from my first lighting seminar.

Several more seminars about lighting and strobes, reading various books, watching on line videos, asking questions on the forums has helped me make better choices when it came time to buying my first studio strobe.  Don’t get me wrong,  I did learn the hard way, I made bad purchases. If I can help you think about your first strobe purchase and save you some money and frustration in the long run… all this typing I hate will be worth it. LOL

Questions with more questions

Let’s talk about the type of photographer you are and what you really need. I don’t have a clue what you need,  but think about this for a minute. Ask yourself some very important questions.

1. Are you a portrait photographer who only shoots in studio?
2. Would you like to work on location with studio quality strobes?
3. What is your style of photography?
4. Do you need one strobe or multiple strobes to achieve the look you have in your minds eye?
5. How large is the space I will be shooting in and how much power do I need from the light or lights?
6. Do I need 1, 2, or 10 strobes?

More importantly a couple of questions I think are overlooked are… what brand will I commit my hard earned $$$ too? What is my true budget?

Making your first strobe purchase can be a daunting one.  I know when I was in the market for strobes I was looking at these amazing packages with pack units and 4 heads and all the modifiers I could ever want and wireless triggers and on and on.  Then trying to compare one brand against another and it all makes your head spin. Well.. it did mine.

Studio Lighting Brands

An endless variety to choose from, with prices from the very low end to strobes which cost more than a compact car.  So, which brand should I purchase?  Great question and I have to go back and ask you, to ask yourself what is your true budget?  When you go to purchase your first strobe, think about everything that is going to go with the purchase. The $300 strobe you have had your eye on now becomes a $800 strobe when you add a light stand, a sand bag to secure it from tipping over, a nice soft box or octa box… wait.. you don’t want to shoot tethered to the strobe.. you want to shoot wireless…add another $150-200 for quality wireless triggers (yes you can use cheap Ebay triggers…and save a little money…your call) So… the $300 strobe has just turned in to a $900+ purchase.  But wait… there’s more! What about a light meter?  Maybe something to help control my white balance…need a white balance card or something more advanced like the Color Checker Passport?  I think you get my point. A simple decision to  just buy a strobe or strobes becomes very complex and can cost a substantial amount of money.  This is why I’ve asked what is your true budget.

• Warranty -Does the manufacture stand behind their product?  Drop in to a local camera store who rents equipment and see what they are renting, ask why the offer brand “x” to the public.  From my experience the band has been Profoto. They are hugely popular, great build, color consistency … top of the line strobes.  ie  (not cheap)
• Build quality- this ties in to the warranty, if the strobe isn’t built well, odds are it’s going to break sooner than later.  How heavy is the strobe, will you need a big light stand?
• Color reproduction- will the strobe keep the same color consistency shot after shot?  Or, will you have a nice warm looking shot and the next image is blue? Yikes!
• Power- Do you need a 3000 watt second light or for your shooting style will a 400 watt second light meet your needs?  Power effects the F-stop you can shoot at. Too much power and you can’t shoot wide open, (without some tricks and tools) not enough power and you have to shoot wide open and at higher ISOs.  But what if you want to shoot F/16 and your strobe only gets you to F11?
• Recycle times- How fast will the flash recharge when it is fired at full capacity? Does it take less than a second.. a few seconds?
• Flash Duration- Can the strobe effectively freeze your subjects? Do you need a strobe with a higher flash duration?
• Modeling lamps? Do you need a 100w lamp will this be enough for the space you are working or or should the strobe have a 250w lamp?
• Modifiers- Does the brand you want to purchase offer a wide range of quality modifiers?  When I speak of quality, I’m talking about the light being distributed evenly in the modifier to avoid hot spots.

My Recommendations

Paul C. Buff and Alien Bees.  LINK

I’ve used the AB800?s on several shoots and they have done the job for their job well. The warranty and customer service Paul’s group provides is well known for being the best in the industry. They strobes are in the $300 range without any accessories. Very simple controls… very simple to use.  The modifiers are not bad and there is a variety on their site. Lots of top pros use these lights and produce stunning work. Build quality, really tough plastic… they hold up well. recycle times were never an issue.  The modeling lamp is a little low but you can replace the bulbs with hight watt bulbs.  The only issue I have ever had with the AB’s is with color consistency. Not a huge problem but on a few shoots  I did  have images that were off…very few but it did happen.   With the new Vagabond Mini portable power pack  you could take your new AB800 and the mini to outdoor locations for under $600 including a modifier in the package.   Paul has introduced the new Einstein units and from the reviews I have read… it’s a real winner of a strobe for $500.

Profoto  LINK

Ive had very limited use with the Profoto pack systems or monolights.  From my experience the pack system worked great. Color in the images were  very consistent and the recycle times were fast.

Calumet Travelite 750R  LINK

I used the Travelite’s at Bobby Deals studio in Las Vegas.  The lights did a great job, very easy to use with the power dials. The build appeared to be very solid and Bobby recommended them wholeheartedly.  I’ve only used them once, but I did enjoy the experience and maybe this is a brand that will fit your shooting style, budget and needs?

Elinchrom  Link

This is the part of the post where I’m going to become biased.  LOL  I’ve used Elinchrom gear for about 4 years now and I can’t say enough about the brand and the products they offer.  Elinchrom is the brand I’ve become loyal too and one of  which I have invested in for the long run.  My first Elinchrom purchase was the Ranger RX/AS with an “S” head and the Elinchrom 39? Deep Octa. The Ranger is a portable battery powered pack system with ports for two heads.  It’s very powerful at 1100 watt seconds.  Shooting at noon in Phoenix with this beast is not a problem at all.  Built like a tank…can sit in water and just flat out works.  The battery last all day long… it’s just a wonderful tool.  I can’t count how many outdoor sessions and even the studio sessions I’ve used the Ranger on.  I use the Elinchrom Skyports adjust the power of the pack up or down from the camera.

For studio work I do use the Ranger on occasion but I have a pair of Elinchrom 600rx’s which meet the majority of the needs I have during shoots.   They are 600 watt second strobes.  Color temp/ consistency is dead on, recycle times are very fast,  flash duration is  1/2050 a second  and they are built very well in my opinion.  Love being able to control the lights with the Skyports as mentioned. The modeling lamp is plenty strong.

The modifier line Elinchrom offers is outstanding and their modifiers are wonderful.  Very even light distribution across the face of the modifiers. The Elinchrom deep octa has a unique look and feel to the lighting.  One of my favorites from the lineup.  The 53? octa provides super soft light that just wraps your subject.  Wonderful tools! I do use other modifiers from Chimera and Westcott.

Why is Elinchrom my brand of choice?

Several of the top professional photographers I admire use and swear by Elinchrom.  I loved the look of the lighting in their images and I wanted that same look at feel in mine. Not to mention Elinchrom has a great reputation and the products are built extremely well.  The Elinchrom product line has a lot to offer and from researching what  I wanted out of my lights,  what fit my needs, style, and more importantly, my budget.  Elinchrom was/is my brand of choice.

In Closing

In my opinion you shouldn’t run out and buy a multiple strobe kit until you understand how to effectively use a single strobe. I’m still learning  creative ways to use a single light source…I don’t have it fully mastered… not sure I ever will.   I can’t tell you which strobe to buy or how many. These are choices you have to make on your own. I hope I have provided enough information to start  you  thinking about buying your first strobe. That being said I hope you give some serious thought to which brand you will go with and how this is a large investment. You do not have to buy everything all a once.  I’ve built my kit over the past few years.  Adding tools where I need them for different lighting effects and scenarios.  The majority of my work is with one or two lights.  On occasion for  high key I will use three strobes to light the background and the client.  I’ve only used four strobes a few times.  I’m not saying there is any right number of strobes… for my style of photography I’m using what works for me.

So, get out there… do some research, ask tons of questions and more importantly, when you do buy your first strobe… practice, practice, and practice some more.

Images on this page

All the images above were taken using only one strobe to light the scene.  Click on the images to read the details.

Thank you!

For taking the time to make it to the end.  I hope you enjoyed the post and if you have any comments or questions, I will do my best to answer them.

Hatch

When I was 5 maybe 6 years old my Uncle Frank gave me a book about insects and the images were fascinating to me. I never knew there were so many different shapes, sizes, colors, types, etc. This is the earliest memory I can trace back too when it comes to my love for the creepy crawlies. I do remember catching dragonflies when we lived in Florida and letting them loose in our house. My poor mother!

Let’s fast forward a number of years and I just purchased my first macro lens. The Canon 100mm macro… what a great lens! I had the Canon 20d at the time and we were living in Okinawa. Lots of bugs! I didn’t have a clue about macro photography.

I had seen these amazing images being posted on sites like Fred Miranda and the Canon POTN forums and all I knew is I wanted to makes shots like the ones I was seeing. It turned out to be a lot more challenging than I had expected. Did I mention I was fairly new to photography and didn’t really know anything about depth of field, F-stops..or a macro lens… let’s be honest.. I didn’t know anything about using a dSLR or photography. I would shoot and my images were horrible! Why am I only seeing slivers of the insects in focus? Well… for one I was shooting my macro shots @ F/2.8 … wide open on the Canon 100mm macro. After some great tips from the forums I was well on my way. I spent hours and hours learning about macro photography and how to improve my images. I still have tons to learn… but… it’s a journey.If you are starting out and have an interest in macro photography, drop in to the Fred Miranda Macro thread and see the amazing work and resources being offered there. It’s a great resource!

Some thoughts and tips below.

Interesting fact: The number of insects floating and flying through the air are phenomenal. A researcher named P. A. Glick collected insects in special traps that were placed on airplanes flying over Tallulah, Louisiana. He collected 30,033 specimens in the air, including wingless insects and spiders that were air blown. He calculated that a cubic mile of air, starting 50 feet above the ground, contained an average of 25,000,000 insects and other arthropods.

Equipment:

Macro lens vs. lenses that say macro on them.

What? My lens says macro on it! It’s a macro lens Hatch…

Well… it could be close but a true macro lens is capable of 1:1 magnification. Meaning if you have an object that is 10mm, when the macro lens is focused to 1:1 magnification it will project on to your cameras sensor the size of 10mm. So if you have a point and shoot or a lens that isn’t a true macro lens… odds are you are close to making a macro image but it isn’t a true macro. (this doesn’t make it a bad thing) Lots of great information here explaining more about macro lenses and magnification.

What do I shoot with you might ask?

I started out with the Canon 100mm macro and used it for a little over 4 years. Canon has since released the newer Canon 100mm L with image stabilization. The older 100mm does not carry the “L” designation or have image stabilization. I can tell you the older 100mm, which is still available for purchase, is a phenomenal lens. From the samples I have seen comparing the two lenses, I would save my money and buy the older 100mm macro. I can’t see a difference in the images worth justifying the large price increase. That’s just me.. and not owning the lens… isn’t really fair to the “L” owners. So… I suggest renting both and deciding which one you like more.

2007-2011… I shoot with the Sigma 180mm macro. Sigma no longer makes the 180mm macro but they do offer the Sigma 150mm macro and a 105mm macro in different mounts. (Canon, Nikon, Olympus) The build quality of the Sigma 180mm macro is fantastic. It’s built like a tank! If you can pick up a nice copy in the used markets.. it’s well worth the investment in my opinion. I have several friends who shoot with the Sigma 150mm and love it.

Why did I sell the Canon 100mm macro for the Sigma 180mm macro?

I loved the Canon and would own another one. It’s a great lens not only for shooting insects. Many wedding photographers use them for the detail shots. I used mine for everything as well. Some photographers use the macro lens for portraits also. I would use caution when using a macro lens for portrait work. The individual being photographed needs to have really good skin or I would suggest using a professional makeup artist as the lens shows all the details… good and bad. I made the switch mainly because of the bokeh the Sigma produces…plus I love the colors and contrast of the lens.

The image on the left is of a sweat bee. I photographed the scene with the Sigma 180 mm macro and the Sigma 1.4xTC attached in natural light. The image on the right was photographed with the Sigma as well but with no teleconverter attached. I shot this around F/5.6 for really diffuse the background. Love the bokeh in this image.

Extension tubes, Teleconverters, Bellows?

Let’s start with extension tubes. (From B&H Photo) Extension tubes are designed to enable a lens to focus closer than its normal set minimum focusing distance. Getting closer has the effect of magnifying your subject (making it appear larger in the viewfinder and in your pictures). They are exceptionally useful for macro photography, enabling you to convert almost any lens into a macro lens at a fraction of the cost while maintaining its original optical quality.

The extension tubes have no optics. They are mounted between the camera body and lens to create more distance between the lens and film plane. By moving the lens father away from the film or CCD sensor in the camera, the lens is forced to focus much closer than normal. The greater the length of the extension tube, the closer the lens can focus.

When using the camera’s TTL metering system, no exposure compensation will be required (exposure compensation is required for hand held meters).

Teleconverters. (From B&H Photo) The 1.4XTC is a high-quality teleconverter that preserves the image quality of the lens it’s mounted to and multiplies its focal length by 1.4x.

Bellows (From B&H Photo) The bellows unit and macro focusing rail,allows for open-aperture metering by employing connections which will close the diaphragm only at the moment of exposure. Using bellows is the classic and proven path to macro and micro photography. “It looks like an accordion for your lens”

I use extension tubes and a teleconverter(1.4xTC) to increase the magnification of the lens. I may use only the Sigma 1.4xTC with the lens or I will stack the extension tubes or I’ll use the 1.4xTC and the tubes together. When you start stacking the tubes there is a trade off for the extra magnification. You loose light for one and the depth of field gets really shallow…we are talking millimeters.

My favorite shooting combo with the Canon 100mm macro is with the Canon 1.4xTC and a 20mm extension tube. The Canon manual will tell you it’s not possible to use a teleconverter with the lens. This is true as you can’t connect the 1.4xTC to the lens. What the left out is you can in fact connect the Canon 1.4xTC to your camera and then place an extension tube on the teleconverter and the last step is to attach the lens the the extension tube. I would shoot with a 20mm extension tube most of the time. The extra magnification was great! Give it a try and see what you think.

Here is an example of a standard U.S. penny. I shot this image with the Canon 100mm macro and all three Kenko extension tubes connected or stacked for increased magnification. The lighting was a single Canon 580ex on it’s side near the coin. Love the details in this image! The image on the right is of a miner bee. It was clasped to the tree branch cleaning off its legs. This is an example of the Canon 100mm macro + Canon 1.4xTC + Kenko 20mm extension tube. Lighting was a Canon 580ex flash.

Tipods? Monopods? Hand-held? Yes!

All over the above. No, I’m not suggestion you have to go out and buy a tripod or a monopod. With the Canon 100mm macro I shot 90% of my macro images hand-held. It’s a light lens(to me) and I didn’t have many issues with camera shake. The Sigma on the other hand is a little more challenging to use (for me) and I shoot it on a monopod and at times a tripod. I’ve found for my shooting style the monopod works best. I find it’s a challenge to chase after insects with a big bulky tripod.

If you want to photograph still objects a tripod is invaluable. Chasing insects a monopod or shooting hand-held gives you the freedom to do so. That being said, you will need good technique to capture sharp images.

Technique…

I truly believe shooting macro makes you a better photographer. What? Macro photography is one of the most challenge forms of photography in my opinion. Especially if you are trying to capture images of insects. Think about this for a minute. When you are shooting 1:1 or at higher magnifications you are dealing with millimeters when it comes to what will be in focus in the images. Add a moving insect to the mix and now you have to focus on this tiny moving subject only inches away from it and you need to get as much of it in focus as possible. Now, add its movements plus a slight breeze and your breathing which has an impact as well and camera shake from holding the gear. All these factors are working against you and you really have to concentrate on holding your gear steady for sharp shots. Now add manual focusing to all of this. ( I shoot 99% of the time in manual focusing mode) If you can capture sharp macro images then photographing people, landscapes, buildings…etc. really becomes much easier when it comes to getting sharp shots.

I’ve always equated shooting macro to shooting guns. No.. I’m not crazy… hear me out. (smile) To shoot a gun you need to control your breathing, have a solid stance to keep you steady and you need to really focus on your target. All these techniques apply to using your camera and shooting macro.

If possible always try to find a stance or position that will allow you to be as steady as possible. Use a monopod or tripod if you are not the most steady hand-held shooter. Calm your breathing. Remember, you are dealing in millimeters when it comes to the focal plane. Try to photographer your subject at a right angle to the lens. This will allow you to capture more of the subject in focus. Again… working with millimeters here.

Speaking of millimeters and the focal plane. One of my favorite tools to use is a depth of field calculator. Not only for macro work, this tool is very useful in everyday photography. To know your working distances and how much of the image will be in the focal plane is invaluable. Have a look at this great tool.

Good starting points…

You’ve just purchased your first macro lens and you need a good starting point. Well, depending on what look you want this will of course vary. I personally shoot around F/11-F/16 when photographing insects. Wow….f/16! Again… we are not shooting landscapes with a wide angle lens here=… F/16 with the Canon 5D2 and the Sigma 180mm macro when 18 inches away from the subject only provides a depth of field near limit of 17.9 inches and far limit of 18.1 inches for a total of 0.15 inches to work with. Not a lot to work with. You might ask why I wouldn’t shoot say F/22 or stopped even further down. Well… this is where you can experience diffraction. For more about diffraction…click here.

Natural light or Flash? Both!

Depending on the look you want in your images you can use one or the other or a combo. I love natural light but if you use a flash to augment the lighting in the scene it can look very pleasing as well. Not to mention using a flash helps freeze your subject. When photographing insects… it’s a great help! I use the Canon 580ex with an off camera shoe cord or I will leave it in the hot shoe when just adding a little fill light to the scene. There are several specialty macro flash units on the market. I do not own one so I can’t tell you which one to buy or how well they perform.

The robber fly to the left is an example of using the flash to just give a little fill to the image and not really overpower the scene with a harsh flash. The colorful little fly… and when I say little… we are talking maybe 6mm in length… was shot with more power to the flash as I needed more light while using the extension tubes on the camera/lens. This makes the lighting a little more harsh but still acceptable to me.

Another example of natural light and only flash.

The image on the left was with natural light only, using the Sigma 180mm macro. The wildflower on the right was shot using a studio strobe in the desert and the lens was the Sigma 180mm macro.

Thank you!

I hope I have piqued your interest in macro photography. It’s amazing to be able to view what the naked eye can’t see without the use of a macro lens. The challenge of capturing something you haven’t seen before can be exhilarating. Give it a try, you might just get hooked. Everyday household objects take on more interest, insects show details you never thought were possible. It’s a fantastic form of photography.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I can only hope you enjoyed the images and the content. I’ve included the article images in an easy viewing gallery… with a few extra ones just for fun.

Thanks again!

Hatch

Join Julieanne Kost, Digital Imaging Evangelist at Adobe Systems. In each episode, you’ll obtain valuable insights and in-depth information on a variety of topics covering both Photoshop and Lightroom.

Take a look at this useful video over at AdobeTV and follow Julienne Kost as she takes you through the process of creating Triptychs & Dyptychs in Adobe Lightroom. You may be suprised at some of the ways she uses the interface to work with multiple images and create these linked image layouts.

Some of the new features are outlined below:

• NEW The History Browser saves every step of your editing process, so that you can easily compare your current enhancements to any previous state. Changes can be tracked and every state of your work is saved – giving you the ultimate in experimental flexibility.
• NEW Enhanced visual presets. The presets are categorized by photographic style – you can create a black and white image with just one mouse-click or you can create your own presets and share them with others.
• NEW Natural image borders create unique, natural, and random image borders, inspired by classic darkroom borders.
• U Point Technology offers precise, selective control, combined with unique user friendliness.

Check out the new Nik Silver Efex 2 today with their 30 day trial download.

Lightroom 3 is a powerful application. If you haven’t used the app, give it a try. I was resistant for a couple of years as I was so comfortable using Photoshop to handle all my image processing and raw conversions. Well… times have changed and I do 80% of my post work in LR3 and then the final touches are finished in Photoshop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sibHiYbke04

Learn how to use Photoshop to simulate the popular tilt & shift lense effect quickly and easily.

This shoot was  inspired by watching the video above.  Clay Enos is an amazing photographer and if you haven’t seen the video… be sure to have a look.  You can view more of Clay’s work here.

The setup:

We found a place in open shade on Mill Ave in Tempe.  I approached the owner of the establishment and asked if we could tape a piece of white seamless to the wall.  They were very nice and allowed us to setup on location.

We taped the paper to the wall and simply asked people…as Clay did… if we could have a few seconds of their time to photograph them.  This was a great exercise in making your subject feel comfortable in front of the camera and it really puts your skills as a photographer to the test.  You have to really interact with the individuals and try to bring the most out of them in a very shot amount of time.  Most portraits were taken in under 1 minute if that… and we had a blast.

So… if you are a little nervous about photographing people… this is a wonderful way of coming out of your shell.  The majority of the individuals we approached were happy to have their photo taken.  We simply explained we were practicing our photography techniques.

Tips:

Do have a model release on site… explain to them what you intended to use the images for and have them sign the release.  We offered high resolution downloads for them to enjoy of the shots in exchange for a minute or two in front of the camera.

The outing was a great success.
Thanks for looking.

Hatch

Images from the shoot.

Learn how to use Adobe Photoshop to sharpen your images with the Edge Blur filter in a non-destructive fashion in this Adobe Photoshop tips & tricks section.

Learn how to create eye catching black & white conversions with Adobe Lightroom 3 in this WZ2K video tutorial.

Learn how to utilise various tools to correct and enhance your subjects eyes. Give them that real sparkle and pop!