Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi. This is my first time posting. I am a 2 year veteran to photography after 25 years as a programmer/analyst. I have a Canon 7D and a Canon 5D. I have a 580 EX II. And while my husband was recovering from a hip replacement I asked him to find me studio lights, and he ended up ording me the new Paul Buff Einstein's. 3 of them and all kinds of fun stuff to go with them.

Here's my dilemma... It's been almost a year, and I still don't know how to set them up optimally. I get how to raise and lower the brightness and then get the f/stop to use. Seriously, that's it. They scare me.

I have a big wedding coming up in January, and I plan to set up a "Crazy Booth" with these lights. I seriously need help, and am wondering what the best way to go about learning how to use these lights is, using both cameras...and also incorporating the cyber commander with the 580 ex - is that possible? I know my 7D has a built in thing where I can remotely trigger the flash, but what if I got another one...?

What are my possibilities? Where can I learn what I need to know? And although I have a technical background, for some reason, lighting hasn't come easy. I'm sure once the lightbulb goes on I'll be fine, but please, can someone give me some simple, easy to understand information and instructions?


Thank you in advance for any help and advice.

Bonnie

The 580 can be incorporated into the CyberSync/Cyber Commander set up, barring only the remote power adjustment function. Triggering, metering, and grouping would still work. You would need a CSRB+ and possibly an SLFA to make it compatable. You will not want to mix the optical remote control built into the 7D with the manual triggering of the studio lights (at least until you understand how each works and how each will interfere with the other).

You seem to have the technical side down. Connections, and getting them to fire, taking a meter reading, etc. Unfortunately, it would be difficult to suggest specifics, as that will be more artistic than rigid steps. I am not really sure exactly what a "crazy booth" entails, but I have seen multiple types of photobooths, each requiring a very different approach to the lighting. Also, as this is a technical forum, the discussion would have to be on the technical side (though the artistic and technical lines blur).

I will say this from reading the post. You say you know how to get the f/ stop to use (I assume this is from the Cyber Commander). This is a common practice with most lighting set ups, as changing all lights in ratio is usually a chore. However, what you are getting with Cyber Commander is what f/stop you have at the time of the meter reading. You should decide what f/stop to use based on your needs/wants for depth of field, then use the CC to adjust the lights up or down until the meter reading matches your envisioned f/stop.

I use a 7D routinely - sometimes with on-camera 580ex-II, sometimes with off-camera speedlites, and sometimes with Einsteins. I sometimes use Cybersync devices and sometimes use Phottix radio triggers. I used to use the 7D's master flash function or an on-camera speedlite as a master but for me, radio triggers have turned out to be much better.

What information are you really asking for? One thing I have come to understand is that lighting gear, and photography gear in general, are simply tools. Asking "What is the best light modifier" is like asking "What is the best hammer?" You can't answer either question very well without some additional information - as in, "The best hammer for doing what?" There are many ways to trigger off-camera flash units and many ways to modify the light they produce. There are countless ways of setting it all up. The real question is, "What kind of pictures do you want to make?"

If you can be more specific I'd be happy to share what has worked for me as far as integrating Canon and PCB products. There are also many resources on the web. I have bought many photography books on Amazon - you can usually get the Kindle version for around $15 and start reading the book on your computer, smartphone, etc. within a couple of minutes of buying it.

So, can you elaborate?

My goal is to create a step by step document that lists what I need to do to set my cameras and lights up (both 580 EX and Cyber Commander w/ my Einsteins) so I can reference it for optimal lighting scenarios in different lighting situations. I don't want to get to a shoot, and forget a step because I'm not yet familiar enough with it.

But in order to write this doc, I need to know what I'm writing about, and the info I have seems so complicated. I would like to run the 580 EX in Manual, and use it off camera with the cyber commander with my 5D, Mark II for one thing. And maybe use it with ONE Einstein and the 580 EX if I'm traveling...

I've figured out how to use the 7D and 580 off camera, but only using the Program mode... I would like to understand the 580 EX better, and the manual is hard for me to understand.

Do you know of good resources that written in easier to understand terms that would help me learn these lights? I live in a remote area, so there's nobody else around here that has or knows these lights. Thanks so much!!!

Strobist.com and Syl Arena's "Speedliter's Handbook" are generally well regarded resources. The former is a very comprehensive site written by David Hobby, and is centered on using manual flash. He often uses speedlites (i.e. flashes similar to the 580), but the concepts translate pretty much directly to studio lights. The latter is a book geared to Canon systems, though the concepts can be carried over to other systems.

There are an infinite number of different checklists that could be made to cover any situation. These would vary based on what you want the image to look like and what resources are available at the moment.

Determining the optimal lighting scenario for a given situation is always a challenge - even for seasoned photographers. Consider this quote from Joe McNally's new book, Sketching Light:

Broad-stroke lessons and experience derive from every time you put your camera to your eye, and those strokes will inform your next shoot, but always, always understand this about shooting on location: What works today, will not tomorrow. You have to take everything you know, everything you’ve learned, and all information that the mistakes and bad frames have provided you with, and bring them to bear, every day, with every click. It’s never the same. What a pain in the ass! At the same time, what bliss! Not everybody gets that wonderful, invigorating opportunity to figure it all out all over again, each and every day.

McNally, Joe (2011-12-08). Sketching Light: An Illustrated Tour of the Possibilities of Flash (Kindle Locations 902-906). Pearson Education (US). Kindle Edition.

Joe is considered a master of photographic lighting and has written several great books about it. But as he notes above, you really have to figure out what is optimal on the spot every time. The exception would be a studio setting where you have near total control over subject position, subject movement, ambient light, flash position and power, etc.

A great reference for Canon speedlites is Syl Arena's Speedliter's Handbook. It is nearly 400 pages long and is essentially encyclopedic.

There are many posts on this forum that answer specific questions about the Cybersync system and it's use on the technical side.

One concept you might want to study/reflect on is TTL vs. manual metering. With TTL, the camera is attempting to determine the optimal flash brightness for you. And then you can fine tune the result a little with FEC - flash exposure compensation - as in, "a little brighter." When you meter manually, you have to make the decision yourself based on readings from a light meter (including the Cyber Commander) or from the histogram. But if your subject moves closer or farther from your lights then you'll have to re-meter. Or take an educated guess. TTL meters for you every time you take a picture.

Your speedlite is designed for TTL. It's one reason they're so expensive. You can also use a speedlite in manual mode. Studio lights like Einsteins are generally going to be manual. If you just want your pictures to be properly exposed, TTL will allow the camera to do more of the thinking for you. I use a TTL radio trigger by Phottix called the Odin and it's awesome.

Take a look at Neil van Niekirk's Off-Camera Flash Technique. He also has a great book on on-camera flash technique.

There are also a lot of good videos on lighting that you can buy from http://www.shootsmarter.com.

You have so many questions and I understand what you are asking however it will be impossible to explain all your question on a technical forum without writing a book.

Breaking it down in several areas would be the best thing. Maybe you should start from the ground up and go from there.

Although I'm into photography for over 40 years I'm still learning.
Let me explain how I have learned to use flash and you might find some answers in there;

Lets pretend I just started out a year ago and my wife bought me a ton of stuff! (Sounds familiar?) It does not matter what brand names or if it is a small camera flash or they are studio lights! Just lets say it's the best of the best and can do anything you can imagine but you don't know how to make that work! So let's go on a dream:

I decided to start off using a one flash/strobe for off camera work. Everything I did was in manual with the use of radio triggers, no TTL no tricks no cables. Now I knew how to set it up technically and made it fire work with my 2 Canon and 3 Nikon camera's (My wife loves me), considering sync speed and the channels of my remote it worked great. Also started to use a flash meter that came with the package so I knew what Aperture I had to use. I had to figure out what gave the best lighting using just one flash that had nice soft lighting so I used an umbrella for several months before I added a second flash for a hair light. The question now becomes what is the best way to use a hair-light so I researched it and choose a grid to have a controlled bundle of light that did not interfere with my main light. It made me realize that combining two lights I had to make sure the main-light was stronger, figure out where to put the light and how close to get the right softness. All this is part technical and part creativity but one step at a time.

As you can read that starting from no lights to two lights and knowing how to do that technically and creatively took some steps and adding a step made me backtrack several times to make it work. Yes the receiver of the second flash had to be set to the same frequency oh I could have used the optical slave too bla bla bla........

This is where my advise comes in;
Take ONE light (It does not matter if it is a speed light like your Canon flash or a studio flash like the Einstein) and first learn hot to set it up and fire it with the equipment you have.
Next step is how to meter the light.
Next step is to figure out how to light something creatively with that one light.
Extend your knowledge using a light-modifier (Umbrella, softbox etc.)
Add another light and start from the beginning.

That is how you write your procedure and gain your knowledge, ONE step at the time. If you want the fast track you have to hire someone who can show and tell. But figuring this out by our own gives the most satisfaction and will stick better.

Lastly everything about creative and technical photography has been written down somewhere if you know where to look and take ONE problem at a time to learn the needed skills.

It's all about doing things step by step, ONE step at the time.

http://OCFworkshop.com has a lot of starter tips. (Shameless plug for my website)

Oh my goodness...what a wealth of information from you all! I am so impressed with your answers, and your direction. There is so much to go on, and yes, I like the advice about starting from the bottom up...that's what I did as an analyst before starting to build my program logic...why didn't I just think of that myself!?

I will be going over all the information I've receive from ya'll over the next two weeks, and I may be back if I run into a snag.
'
Thank you ALL so very much! I'll be in touch and let you know how I make out!

I'm going to Photoshop World conference in DC in March, so I'll see Joe McNally in action! WhooHoo! Maybe I'll even be able to understand what he's talking about by then!

Happy Holidays! Cheers!

Bonnie