Priest Michel Poitras
Priest Michel Poitras poses in front of some of the items that were brought back last week after a public appeal for their return. The St. Augustin-de-Desmaures Church was robbed in early January of several historic silver pieces. Photo Francis Vachon for The Montreal Gazette.
Technical: Canon EOS 1D Mark II, 1/80 at f6,3 with a 16-35 at 33mm – ISO 250, 3 flashes: One on the right bounced into an umbrella to the silver pieces, one direct flash 45 degree left snooted on his face, one direct flash on 45 degree from subject back left side
Francis Vachon - Editorial photographer / photojournalist - Quebec City, Canada » Strobist on assigment
[…] the comment section of a previous post, Richard was asking: How long does it take you to figure out ratios for this type of shot? How many […]
Richard Juneau
Thanks for the explanation.
Francis Vachon
Everything is on manual: camera and flash.
With experience, things go smoothly.
When using multiple flashes, you just set up the first one correctly, and then add the second one, and then the third.
You just have to know what you want BEFORE setting up
On this case, I wanted the item well lit, as well as his face. The rest had to be a couple of stop darker. I started with the umbrella for the silver item. Not to much light: this is a reflecting surface! I made sure this flash was not falling too much on the priest. Then, I snooted the second flash and made sure only his face was lit (that’s why I snooted: I can focus the beam exactly where I want, even from farter away).
And then the final touch: a backlight to add some separation (this light is VERY subtle on this particular photo).
When you know what you are doing, each light should not take more than 2 minutes to set up – 2-3 test shots each. When using multiple flashes, I make sure to shoot a couple of frames before adding each light so my subject does not get bored :)
However, it is uncommon for me to use more than one flash, and I almost never use 3.
Richard Juneau
Very Good. How long does it take you to figure out ratios for this type of shot? How many test shots do you do to get to the right one? I assume that all your flashes are on Manual? Camera, too?