First Published March 17th 2018
I went out last week with an intention to get used to my new lighting setup. I have never really used it in anger before and hoped to give it a good run out.
I had booked a model and scouted a location in the weeks before. I had also communicated the look i was going for and also gone over clothing as well.
I knew it was going to be a fantastic shoot. This blog is about that experience and some of the kit and settings used to achieve the photos.
The Kit i used. Click on any of the links to have a closer look at the hardware.
Tokina 28-70 f2.8 ATX Pro Lens
Godox Wistro AD360 Portable Flash
Onto the shoot. I had thought about a couple of locations i wanted to use and met up at the first one.
Just started shooting with the flash. I was happy with the setup pretty much immediately. As the sun was right behind the subject, and using a wide aperture i had to push the shutter speed up to get a good exposure with the flash.
All Shot at ISO100 unless stated, f1.8, 1/1600th @50mm
Didn’t do too much at this first location, as i really had a few other areas in mind.
The location i wanted to use was nothing special, but had old housing and buildings around, so even when not in focus, it added an element you wouldn’t get in a studio.
1/800th f1.8@50mm
I Really like the dreamy look a wide aperture gives.
Just experimenting with the aperture though, and put it down to f4, 1/320th for this shot.
Doorways are always a good spot for shooting. f1.8, 1/200th@50mm
This shot, i love the pose and the lighting. f1.8, 1/200th@50mm
The other side of this alleyway was the cathedral and some railings so a few shots here, just trying different poses and ideas.
f1.8, 1/250th and some conversation about being on the prow of a ship.
f1.8, 1/250th. The lighting is generally from the right hand side, either just in front or behind me. It is quite high up, about eye level with the model and that showed up something that needs upgrading. The stand. A cheap and cheerful thing that really wasn’t up to the job. With some weights it would have been a bit better,but not ideal.
We decided to start wandering round to some other parts of the cathedral for some different scenes.
Steps to add some different levels and poses. f1.8 1/320th. Always adjusting a little bit for the ambient light. The flash i didn’t change that much until a little later.
f1.8, 1/320th This was looking good anyway, and just added a little bit of lean in. Little things really do change the shot.
Another thing to deal with locations, is rain. Luckily it started a little but only for a few minutes. We decided to get under a little cover for a short while. There were some good shots here but a lot of scaffolding around which needed working around.
Changed the lens at this point to my trusty 28-70 Tokina ATX Pro f2.8.
f2.8, 1/800th
f4, 1/1000th Just playing with the settings again to see what differences were made.
The weather breaking again, back out into the open.
Stuck with the 28-70 here f2.8 1/500th. I do really like a good close portrait.
f2.8, 1/1600th. At this point i thought i’d quickly check the battery on the AD360. It had already been through a full 4 hour shoot in bright daylight using High Speed Sync, and it was still on 3/4 power. It really seems like a good workhorse, with excellent power.
This was a spot i thought would work great and i wasn’t disappointed. f2.8 1/1600th.
Wardrobe Change!!!!. We found a local pub we could jump in for a quick change. Luckily i knew the bar manager and had a good chat in the meantime.
Back to the same location, and the sun was low in the sky and lit up the street beautifully. This is where i was worried that the AD360 might not have enough to do what i wanted. I was shooting directly into the sun.
Nothing to worry about. This flash really did the job. My favourite photo of the whole shoot. f2.8 1/4000th
f2.8 1/4000th again. The recycle was pretty good on the flash as well.
Now the sky was doing everything i wanted it to, and i think we really got into a flow with shooting.
A great spot i’ve been wanting to use for a while. Coming back here in the late spring/early summer when the blossom is out and the flowers are blooming. f1.8, 1/640th, back to the 50mm lens.
Just moving around this location and using it to it’s advantage.
f1.8, 1/3200th
f1.8 1/3200th. Loving the bokeh, and giving me a few new location ideas to try.
f1.8 1/1600th. Flash still keeping up.
f1.8 1/1600th.
f1.8 1/1000th the light starting to fail, so starting to wind up at this point. The flash was a good 9ft away to camera left here, and it was giving me some great light.
Finally back to the steps for a couple of shots. Again the flash was on the left, near the the bottom of the steps, 6ft away. f1.8, 1/2000th.
f1.8, 1/2000th still with the 50mm. For a £100 lens, it really is a fantastic little piece of kit.
f1.8 1/2000th. More or less the final shot of the evening.
Roundup.
This was a fantastic evening, with a fantastic model. I love the pinup look and it worked really well for this shoot.
The camera performed flawlessly and focusing was quick and accurate with the lenses. The AD360II light performed as expected. I was a little worried after some reviews of the first iteration of this flash unit, and overheating(All sorted with new firmware),but it kept up even when using High Speed Sync.
The trigger i use is made by the same company, and can control the power manually from the camera. It also automatically goes into HSS mode when the shutter speed is changed. No messing around with settings. However i may upgrade to the newer control trigger, as it has more options and a more visible screen.
The model, Misty is local to me, and can be found on facebook right here.
She is multi-talented, a dancer, singer and model. Definitely will be working her again.
If you want to book a shoot, or do any work with me, please use the contact page.
I now have a store for Prints and anything else. Look at the top of the page and click on Shop. If you want to email me for a custom order, or something not in the shop drop me an email. As always, have fun, stay safe, and enjoy shooting.
Any suggestions for future blog posts, drop me an email. I will at some point be going into more detail on future posts.
you can see more of my work at
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