Recent content by CharleyL

That will depend on how strong the tobacco smell is, but Sunlight seems to do pretty good at removing strong smells like this. There is a sandwich chain restaurant here named Firehouse Subs, and they get dill pickles in some red 5 gallon plastic pails that are stronger than the white pails of...

For tabletop work, I frequently use pieces of white or black foam core cut to the size needed, white to reflect light and black to absorb light. Some friends use flat white or black matt board the same way. Photographers that do framing tend to have matt board scraps available, I don't frame. I...

From my experience, animating a still photo only works reasonably well when the only movement is a zoom function. Otherwise, a real video is the best way to animate. I fully agree with @Phil V about shadows being very important and you won't get the needed shadow movement from a still photo if...

Avoiding shining lasers at, or near anyone's eyes is important, but I found it necessary to get a focus target spot on those being photographed 26 years ago when the camera that I was using had no provision to auto focus in low light otherwise. A simple edit later easily removed the red dot from...

Manual focus on something about where the badger would be when you take the shot using an object in that position and in visible light. Turn off the auto focus of your Godox flash. When the badger is in frame and where that object has been placed when you set the manual focus, Take the shot, I...

It always amazed me how the footprints are dents until the sand around them blows away and the footprints become bumps. I know why, but it still interests and amazes me. I like the shot, so you've got my like. Charley

I've taken quite a few minimalist type still life shots, Attached is the one that seems to get the most attention of those looking through them, and it was relatively easy to shoot. Just some roses in a vase, with a studio strobe about 5' from the vase, and a 7"reflector attached, with a 10...

I think I appreciate my life and enjoy things better since my bypass surgery and "near death" experience 26 years ago. I take time for me now, and didn't very often prior to my heart problems. I had five cousins, all about my age and just lost the last one 3 months ago and he was 77, all of...

I went through the triple bypass and a valve repair (no more murmurs) back in 2000. Recovery was a bit rough and I wasn't convinced that I was going to make it for about 3 months, but then realized that I was doing better than before the surgery. Three more months and I was feeling 10 years...

One of the tricks that I use when trying to focus and there are many points in the shot that the camera sees and wants to focus on like your wire fence, is to set the camera for very few focus points in the center area of the screen, then position these focus points on the exact position that I...

The 2.4 GHZ band is actually the WIFI band. The Godox "X" system uses the high end channels of WIFI, so to avoid interference from your other WIFI gear, set those appliances for any of the low to mid WIFI channels. Many Refrigerators, Freezers, home thermostats, and other commercially available...

In the 6 years of me owning Godox/Flashpoint I have only had one gear failure, and it was my fault. I smashed a flash tube on a Godox SK400 light. Easily replaced by me with a relatively minor hit to my budget. Amazon had the Flash tube and I bought two so I would have one, for the next time. I...

Six years ago I was using a very popular pro brand of lights, but was getting tired of their frequent misfires and their need for adapters so I could fit many of my soft boxes to them. I wanted something better, and wanted a different brand, since this brand seemed to have lost their competitive...

My studio flash lighting is all Godox and Flashpoint now, and my field kit the same. I have Studio strobes, mostly in pairs, from 300 w/s up to 1,000 w/s, 5 Godox speedlites, and 3 AD200 Pro II lights for the field kit, all acquired in the last 6 years and all still working with no service...

A speedlite that works well with your camera, hopefully with it's head adjustable for angle and rotation, will be best for starters. You don't need on made by the camera manufacturer, but one designed to work properly with your brand and model camera would be the best choice. Round or...