Project 365 : 57/365 – Miranda Writing
Over the past few weeks Miranda has gotten into full swing with her new positions writing for Marvelous Girl and Joonbug. I love coming home and seeing her in her element at our kitchen table putting together her pieces. Be sure to check her out on both sites!
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Strobist Information : SB-600 fired via Cactus Triggers into 43″ shoot through umbrella camera right
Eneloop Batteries and the La Crosse Charger
Over the past few months I have been using my SB-600 more and more while gaining greater confidence in how I am using it. The downside is that I have been burning through AA batteries at a feverish pace. Of course I was disposing of them properly but the shear number I was going through was far too many.
I knew that I needed to make the switch to rechargeable batteries but I was unsure of which ones to get. I turned to Twitter to to put the question to the numerous photographers who would be able to point me in the right direction.
The almost unanimous response that came back was to pick up the eneloop batteries from Sanyo and the La Crosse charger. This combo allows for having highly reliable batteries that do not suffer from the ‘memory effect’ that plagues other rechargeable systems. The La Crosse charger allows a variety of modes for either a quick recharge to a complete discharge followed by a slow recharge. While recharging the batteries slow sounds like a nuisance, it is the speed along with the prior discharge that allows for the lifetime of the batteries for use and reuse to be so amazing. What is great is that the eneloops come fully charged and ready to use so you do not have to wait a day day to use them.
Knowing that I wanted to use the slow discharge > recharge step, I picked up two 4 packs of the batteries so that I would always be able to have a fully charged set with me as well as one being prepared. They are a great addition for use in my SB-600 but would be great for any other device that you have that requires batteries. Be sure to check them out for yourself!
Special thanks to @mhthomps, @n8smith, and @urbangrafix for your recommendations!
Portrait Session With My Beautiful Wife
Saturday night I took another shot photographing Miranda with off camera lighting. I used the same set-up that I have used before when making these photographs (SB-600 diffused with a white shoot through umbrella) and I have to say, it went a lot smoother than it did the first time.
The time that I have invested playing with the flash has really paid off. Knowing the shutter speed and the aperture that I wanted to use made it very easy to make some test photographs to dial in the power on the flash. After that, only minor aperture and shutter speed tweaks were made.
Here are a few of my favorite photographs from the evening:
* All of these photographs were made with the D90 and the SB-600 in full manual mode. The flash was fired with Cactus Triggers.
Nikon SB-600 : Learn How To Use It
When I first posted about my attempts to learn how to use my Nikon SB-600 I sought out answers on Flickr and on the Strobist Blog. I got some great feedback and tips on how to use it but the bottom line is that these tips and settings do not work in every situation. I, like many others was looking for the simple answer on how to conquer the use of the flash in all situations.
As time has passed, the best tip that I was given was to simply use the thing. Try it out. See what works. Over the past few months (and lots of AA batteries) I have used the SB-600 in various settings with wonderful results. I have abandoned using the Automatic function on the flash and I only use it in Manual Mode. Here are the steps that I take when using my SB-600:
- Set your aperture to your desired setting to get the DOF that you are looking for in the photograph
- Set the power of your flash as a starting point. This will vary based on how far away you are from your subject
- Review the photograph and the histogram on the rear LCD screen of the camera
- Adjust the power up or down depending on what you see
- Keep photographing, checking the LCD, and re-adjusting the power of the flash
This may seem like common sense to some, but for those of us who have bought the SB-600 and have felt totally lost, it is the best place to start. You will find that the flash will be on your camera a lot more and that you will be more comfortable using it.
SB-600 Tests : Indoors
I figured the first attempt that I would make at this would be to shoot indoors with a fairly low amount of natural light. Being home alone with Bailey I figured he would be a great subject for the tests. Judging by the fact that he turned his back on me after the first flash, I got the impression that he wasn’t as into it as I was.
I took a series of shots with my camera in Aperture Priority and in Shutter Priority but since there was such a small amount of natural light in the room, I had to go to shutter speeds less than 1/10 in order for the aperture to move from f/2.8 so I stuck with Aperture Priority as my shooting mode.
Below are the series of shots that I captured labeled with the exposure information listed on each. Some things to know about these shots:
- The maximum shutter speed that I could in this mode was 1/60 because that is the limit of my D90
- These are the RAW files right out of the camera and they have not been edited. Just re-sized.
- Nikon SB-600 was aimed to the ceiling
- Nikon SB-600 was fitted with a Stofen Diffuser
You can easily see the effect of opening the aperture here while leaving everything else alone. Personally, I like the shots at f/5.6 and f/9 the best. In this type of setting, I will stay within that range of apertures in the future.
What do you think?
Back to Basics : Using the SB-600 on Camera
It has recently occurred to me that while I have messed around a little with my Nikon SB-600 and I never leave home without it, I really don’t feel that comfortable putting it to use on camera. Lately, I have been noticing a lot of people using their speed lights in situations that I tend to bump up the ISO or open the aperture a little wider in order to compensate for not really knowing how to use the paperweight that I carry with me.
So, what I am going to do about it? Well, I am going to force myself to use it so that I can get a better grip on the ‘right’ way to use it. I know, I have started into Strobist techniques a bit with the Cactus Triggers that I picked up a few months back but I feel like I should learn how to crawl a bit before I run.
I am hoping to pass on whatever I learn as I make my way through this with some tips and some fun shots along the way.
Stay tuned !!
