best way to light a lastolite hilite

usher4566

usher4566

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scott
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Hi i am new to this so a big hi .I recently purchased a hilite
I find when shooting I seem to be loseing a lot of contrast .I meter the hi lite a stop diffence ? So currently ime at 5.6 backdrop at 8 iso 100 any tips ?
 
Light to 2/3 stop difference. Remember blown is blown but keeping asmall exposure difference with your subject will help with flare/wrap which is why, at a guess, you're losing contrasr
 
Awsome so not as much of a difference as lastolite say .awsome thx so much will try this .is 1/200 ok
 
Light it less than you think you need and finish it in post.
 
usher4566 said:
Awsome so not as much of a difference as lastolite say .awsome thx so much will try this .is 1/200 ok
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It should be, but depending on your camera/lights/trigger you make get sync issues at 1/200. (If you do, you'll see the shutter as a black bar over part of the frame in the photo) if that happens slow it to 1/150 or 1/125
 
Awsome thz so much for help will try a shoot at weekend at 2 thirds see how I get on
 
The difference will depend a lot on the roo you are in and how much ligt is bouncing around and how far your subject is from the background.

I'm usually 1 stop difference - Subject at around f8 and hilite at f11.

You asked about shutter speed..... Shutter speed will have no effect on your exposure in the studio. The flash duration is your effective shutter speed.
 
EOS_JD said:
The difference will depend a lot on the roo you are in and how much ligt is bouncing around and how far your subject is from the background.

I'm usually 1 stop difference - Subject at around f8 and hilite at f11.

You asked about shutter speed..... Shutter speed will have no effect on your exposure in the studio. The flash duration is your effective shutter speed.
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Hey many thx for reply Ive tried 2 stops 1 stop and 2 thirds so far 2 thirds seems to be best but like u say in a larger room may be different .I no shutter speed controld ambient light only in flash I didnt no if droping it low may have an effect ie 1/60
 
usher4566 said:
Hey many thx for reply Ive tried 2 stops 1 stop and 2 thirds so far 2 thirds seems to be best but like u say in a larger room may be different .I no shutter speed controld ambient light only in flash I didnt no if droping it low may have an effect ie 1/60
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There's no point in dropping it, you can risk ambient creeping in, and there's nothing to gain.
 
At f8 and ISO100 even at 1/60th it's unlikely you would get ambient light creeping into the image (if you're in an average room with just room lighting) but I agree with Phil - there's just no reason to do that as you actually don't want any ambient light in your image - The flash should be the only thing lighting your subject and the background in the studio.

In a small room with +2 stops on the backdrop, you may get flare from all that light coming back towards the camera (especially with something like a Hilite) - The images will probably lack contrast and you may start tol burn out the edges of your subject.
 
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mike weeks said:
No, light it correctly and no post needed. Lastolite's own videos are a joke, 2/3 stop perfect.

Just read an old posting of mine http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/bright-white-background-exposure

Mike
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Ok...

Light it less than you think you need if you don't want to back light your subject - see the reflections under your subjects cheekbones.

That was always my problem with the hilight, it's almost impossible to control spill from it and it was the reason I finally flogged it.
 
CharlotteM said:
Ok...

Light it less than you think you need if you don't want to back light your subject - see the reflections under your subjects cheekbones.

That was always my problem with the hilight, it's almost impossible to control spill from it and it was the reason I finally flogged it.
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No. Light it correctly. If you are getting light feeding back to your subject the background is OVER exposed - or the subject is too close to the backdrop. I have no problem with spill because I don't over light it. I did that when I was learning - I blame Mark Cleghorn for that! ;)
 
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I use the f8/f11 method and it works for me.

I use 2 x studio strobes in my hilite but wondered how others place them? I've tried all sorts...pointing to opposite back corner, one high one low, both pointing each other etc. I also put a reflector on each light.

How do others place them to get even lighting as I always seem to struggle when trying to get both top and bottom even
 
Trial and error really. Every set up is different - design of the reflectors, how far they're positioned inside the HiLite etc. Aiming the light to towards the far side of the rear is a good starting point, and this also avoids any light striking the front surface directly which causes hot-spots. Over-lighting the HiLite is the most common error and creates all kinds of flare problems and bleached subject outlines. TBH, I'm with Charlotte - when in doubt, under-light and clean up in post processing. Very easy with LightRoom etc, unless you've got hundreds to do. Just get it as best you can around the main subject and let the corners go grey if needs be.

Easy way to test set-up is with blinkies (over-exposure warning on the LCD). Adjust exposure to around the blinkies threshold (do it with ISO to avoid possible lens vignetting issues skewing the result) then see how far the blinkies spread across the HiLite (y)
 
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