Good Old Reliable Light Sphere

If a photographer is just getting into the indoor flash thing, I continue to recommend that the first light modifier you buy is the Gary Fong Light Sphere. In spite of all my experimentation with dozens of different modifiers and techniques, you can't beat the Light Sphere for simplicity and consistency. I remember the first time I used it to make a group photo with Senator Jackie Speier when she visited an upholstery class that was held on one of our campuses. I literally took it out of the box, attached it to a NIkon D600 speedlight mounted on a Nikon D50 body, and by simply following the instructions, took a very acceptable class photo. The Light Sphere was a relatively new product at the time, and was something my subjects had never seen before. It was introduced in late 2004, and since then one of the many versions has always been within arm's reach. 

Hail Mary: The photo at the top of this post was taken by simply mounting the Sphere onto an on-camera flash, holding the camera high overhead, and framing the shot using the tilting LCD on the back of my T-2. I mentioned that I find the T-2's simple "tipping" panel more practical that the T-4's that is fully articulating. Notice that by using a reasonably powerful flash at a relatively short distance, there is enough light to balance the street visible through the window behind my subjects. 

I will say  that there is no perfect variation. The originals were designed to fit certain families of flash heads and while easily attached to the flash, they were easily knocked free with the slightest bump. Later models incorporated a Velcro cinch strap which was more secure, but impossible to install with only one hand. When the collapsible variant became available, I settled on that one, as it was easily stuffed into a camera bag and used as a "lens cozy" for my medium zoom lens. The "dome" portion was detached and stored separately. Good thing, because I've taken to using the dome as a diffuser when taking white balance readings.

Packing Heavy: I normally carry two of everything when I'm on an assignment. Either as redundancy for backup or a chance to get multi-light creative, you will find two flashes in my bag. In being prepared, I normally use a round-headed Godox flash for its more even light pattern. But when the Light Sphere is needed, I switch to a more convention square-headed speedlight. Gary Fong claims to have made a new version that can be attached to a round-headed flash, but I haven't seen one for sale, and since I always have a suitable flash, haven't felt the need.

The Fourth Of July - Stage And Audience Combined

There are several Fourth of July events on the Peninsula. So far I've photographed in Foster City and Half Moon Bay, but never in San Mateo Proper.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Pet Parade in Foster City was a bust, so I drove up to San Mateo to photograph their dance party in Central Park. I didn't arrive in time for the Raising of the Flag, but did arrive in time to hear the band do their sound checks.

Early in the set I made a photo to determine the proper exposure for the sunlit dancers in the background. You can see plenty of color, contrast, and saturation, but the performers on the stage are terribly underexposed. Obviously I would need some flash assistance.

I had a Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2, Adorama's house brand made before Godox imported the flash under its own name. The primary advantage is its fast recycle time (it uses a proprietary lithium ion 7.2 volt rechargeable battery and has a round head design for a more even lighting distribution. It also has a built-in receiver for the R2 series of radio flash triggers, so that output can be adjusted remotely. I decided I would make a simple exposure with the flash mounted in the camera's hot shoe.

This test shot showed that a camera-mounted flash could get the job done. with some limitations. The lighting was flat, as was expected. There was also a positioning issue. In order to get a good profile of my singer, she would have to be looking towards the audience at frame right, or else very little of her face could be seen. Even holding the flash with my outstretched right arm would  have improved the shot incrementally. 

While I do keep a small clamp for mounting a small flash in my camera bag, it has a maximum "bite" of 1.5", and there was nothing that size that I could reach.

It happens that I also carry a few small ball bungee cords, and by linking two of them together, I had enough stretch to tie my flash onto almost any convenient standing support. In this photo I made for an earlier post, you can see that this mini-flash was easily attached to a street sign support pole using a single short ball bungie. This particular flash, the diminutive LightPix Lab's Q20, is mounted up-side-down so I can tilt the beam directly at my subject  if I can get some altitude in my placement. The flash also has a built-in proprietary remote trigger built into the detachable hotshoe, a very handy feature. 

If you use your imagination, you can visualize how two linked ball bungee cords could be used to secure a medium-sized speedlight to one of the supports for the roof of this portable stage (red arrow). You can also see that I added a dome diffuser in an effort to get some light falloff so that my subject's white jeans would not be overexposed. Since the Godox remote flash triggers allow me to adjust the flash output from the camera. I was able to adjust the output at will. Even at full power my subject is not 100% properly exposed. In retrospect, the easiest fix would be to increase the ISO setting on the camera to brighten up my subject at the cost of overexposing my background.  I may try that next time, but I was confident that all the necessary corrections could be made in post production.

This last shot was made with the flash attached to the support, and a diffusion dome in place. I was hoping to soften the edges of the shadows by a tiny bit. I also tilted the flash head up slightly to feather the light hitting my subject's white pants. This would help draw the viewer's attention to her upper torso. Also the placement of the light to my right, along with the subject's gaze toward the left side of the frame, helped to separate her silhouette from the much darker background. 

I am not really happy with the poses, but as an unofficial member of the audience I had no say on where my subject stood, or what gestures you might make with her hands. This is an enlargement of the photo at the top of the post. As I mentioned, the position of the flash to my right allowed her silhouette to be clearly defined against the dark background. While it may look like a nose-thumbing, my justification for submitting this particular shot was that her hand was recognized for what it was, and not some shapeless beige appendage floating in space. 

I think about the context of the image, and it easily carries a message of "concert on a summer's day". The attitude of the dancers suggest that they are having a good time, and San Mateo residents will recognize the baseball field's transition to a concert venue. Really, everybody appeared to be having a fun time, and that's what this event was all about.