Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

So if you use a modeling light does that affect your shot in anyway? Or does the Einstein compensate for it?

I was watching a few videos by arum light
https://vimeo.com/113271328

And he uses Einsteins but there looks to be some ambient light thought I am guessing probably it's not picked up. What are typical different power settings used freezing liquids like he throwing milk on a model in studio?

Thanks

It can happen, but it depends on your ratios. For example, if your flash is at full power, your camera is likely set to a small aperture at a low ISO at normal sync speeds. If the model lamp is also at full, it does not have enough "oomph" to overcome the low ISO and low aperture. If your shutter speed is longer, then more ambient can be "absorbed" in to the image (just like any other continuous exposure).

If you lower your flash power to minimum, you will likely need to raise your ISO and/or open your aperture. If your model lamp is at full, then it is quite possible for it to impact your image. There may be some variations of flash power/model lamp power and ISO/aperture that causes or doesn't cause any impact. This can vary depending on your shutter speed. His flash power appeared to be high enough that even full power model lamps would not likely affect the image.

Also, at the extremes where model lamps can impact the image, if you turn your model lamp to be your recycle indicator, you can have variations in exposure from the inherent variations of the model lamp lighting and extinguishing. In these cases, leave the model lamp set to always on or not on at all, and white balance as needed.

To determine if you have any ambient pollution, take a photo with your camera set to the correct settings for using flash, but do not let the flashes fire. If you see any image, then it comes from the ambient light (which may or may not be limited to the model lamps). If you want to be super safe, open the aperture or raise the ISO 2-3 stops and try again. If it is still dark, you should be OK, but if the ambient starts to creep in, you may see some impact if you lighten the image (or lighten the shadows).