I just came from your godox MS300 lighting video and i do think e need some help with lighting. For cake smash sessions I am currently operating out if a home studio. For lighting I'm currently operating with window light and a godox V850ii and i use a Neewer umbrella to bounce more light into my scene (so not direct flash) Obviously I need to get kote lighting to help my photos so.... Do I go with the MS300 or the AD600? What would be a good sized soft box to get? And where would I position the light and then the flash? Do both the MS300 or the AD600 have continuous light? Do I ise continuous light or essentially two flashes on the same trigger? Hopefully that makes sense
Rebecca, Thanks for the great questions and yes it all totally made sense. The first thing we need to do is pick out your light. The MS300 is a great budget friendly light that would work if you're planning on only shooting in the studio. So if you're only ever going to shoot smash cake photography inside, then grab 3 of them and you should be just fine. But I shoot a ton of families, senior portraits, headshots and smash cake, outdoors and for that the MS300 just won't do. First off it has no battery so you can't use it outside. Second, while it's powerful enough for shooting indoors, it is no match for the midday sun. It simply doesn't have enough power to overpower or match the sunlight on bright days. Third it doesn't have high speed sync. Meaning your camera will only synchronize with your flash at shutter speeds lower than 1/200th of a second. With the ad600 or flashpoint evolve 600 (same lights sold under two different names) it has high speed sync allowing you to use shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th of a second. This makes getting a proper exposure on sunny much easier. That's why I went with the Evolve 600 with high speed sync over the MS300. it's a bit more but well worth it. As for light modifiers, the first one is a 7 foot umbrella for smash cake. It's big size is perfect for mimicking the window light you're already used to shooting with. Plus it gives off some really soft light. Then if you plan on doing any portraits like headshots, high school seniors, or small families outdoors, you will need a 35in softbox. One that collapses and is easy to travel with. Now as far as your trigger is concerned you can control a ton of flashes at the same time with one of those. It has 5 groups A through E and you can put an unlimited number of flashes in each group. The best part is that your trigger can control both godox and flashpoint flashes together at the same time. Last but not least let's talk constant lights. None of the lights we mentioned here today are constant lights. The all have a modeling light that could be used as a constant light, but it would be the same as trying to light a picture with a table lamp. The modeling light is just there to help your camera find focus in dark environments. But to be honest I don't think constant lights are the best way to go for portraits or smash cake. The higher powered constant lights are really expensive and not very practical. The more budget friendly ones tend to be under powered, especially if you want to make the light softer with any light modifiers. The modifiers really gobble up the light. So there's my two cents. I hope I answered all of questions. If not, feel free to reach out again. :) Here are the links to all of the items I mentioned: Flashpoint Evolve 600 - amzn.to/3wQDovx (this is the same light as the Godox ad600 but this one comes with a free travel case and a reflector dish) Godox MS300 Flash - amzn.to/3OtRVmh Impact 7' Parabolic Umbrella amzn.to/3uDRpeL 7-Foot Parabolic Umbrella Front Diffuser amzn.to/3T16WPl 35 in Softbox with grid- amzn.to/4bK9LLi Have a great night, Daniel
@rebeccaallen7342 When it comes to lighting, being able to light your set in sections gives you the most flexibility and creative control. Usually, you would need a main light, a fill light for the shadows, and a hair light. Lighting in this way gives you a three-dimensional look to the photos. It's why some photos look more professional than others. But if space is limited, just get the one light and the seven foot umbrella. That one light will be enough to serve as the main light and spill some nice light on the background. Don't worry about the 7 foot size because you will be running the width of the umbrella up and down (floor to ceili, g), not side to side (wall to wall). I use that same light set up when I photograph infants, and I am shooting in a space that is 12x14. But if space is really, really tight, here's what you do. Put your set along the back wall and then hang white seamless paper in the corners of the room that are behind where you will be when taking the photos. Then take your light, set it about 3-4 ft away from the corner, and point the head into the corner. You've just created a huge light source out of the corner and didn't take up a lot of floor space. The goal is to make your light as big as possible because the larger the light, the softer and more flattering it will be. I hope this helps, Daniel
Can you tell me that about lightening? Is it white light necessary for the cake smash session? If we use warm light then it doesn't give right tone of picture. Guide me please.
You can use either light from a flash which tends to be daylight balanced or you can use light bulbs. Then it's just simple matter of telling your camera what color light you're using and the camera will correct for it. Check your your camera manual on how to adjust your white balance. The thing you never want to do with color temperature is mix it. So don't use a flash on one side and light bulbs on another. Your camera can only adjust for one color of light at a time. I hope that helps! Thanks for the great question, Daniel
Hi this is a great video to learn about lighting, thank you. Would you recommend the AD200 flash for parabolic umbrellas? Also, do you have any video of lenses? I am planning on buying a portrait lens but don't know which one to get. I am looking for one that I can use in studio and outdoors :) TIA
Sofi, If you want to use a larger umbrella like a 5 or 7 ft then I would not recommend the ad200. It has enough power to fill it ( just barely) but the recycle time when you use the ad200 on full power is very slow and battery life becomes a problem. We don't currently have a video up on lenses but after portrait season is over we will be posting more content and I will add that to the list of great video ideas. For indoor and outdoor portraits I swear by the 70-200 4.0 or 2.8. It's the lens I use on just about every shoot It's not cheap and it's not great for small spaces but when you zoom in even the ugliest backgrounds are turned into blurry works of art.
I just came from your godox MS300 lighting video and i do think e need some help with lighting.
For cake smash sessions I am currently operating out if a home studio. For lighting I'm currently operating with window light and a godox V850ii and i use a Neewer umbrella to bounce more light into my scene (so not direct flash)
Obviously I need to get kote lighting to help my photos so....
Do I go with the MS300 or the AD600?
What would be a good sized soft box to get?
And where would I position the light and then the flash? Do both the MS300 or the AD600 have continuous light? Do I ise continuous light or essentially two flashes on the same trigger? Hopefully that makes sense
Rebecca,
Thanks for the great questions and yes it all totally made sense.
The first thing we need to do is pick out your light. The MS300 is a great budget friendly light that would work if you're planning on only shooting in the studio. So if you're only ever going to shoot smash cake photography inside, then grab 3 of them and you should be just fine.
But I shoot a ton of families, senior portraits, headshots and smash cake, outdoors and for that the MS300 just won't do. First off it has no battery so you can't use it outside. Second, while it's powerful enough for shooting indoors, it is no match for the midday sun. It simply doesn't have enough power to overpower or match the sunlight on bright days. Third it doesn't have high speed sync. Meaning your camera will only synchronize with your flash at shutter speeds lower than 1/200th of a second. With the ad600 or flashpoint evolve 600 (same lights sold under two different names) it has high speed sync allowing you to use shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th of a second. This makes getting a proper exposure on sunny much easier.
That's why I went with the Evolve 600 with high speed sync over the MS300. it's a bit more but well worth it.
As for light modifiers, the first one is a 7 foot umbrella for smash cake. It's big size is perfect for mimicking the window light you're already used to shooting with. Plus it gives off some really soft light.
Then if you plan on doing any portraits like headshots, high school seniors, or small families outdoors, you will need a 35in softbox. One that collapses and is easy to travel with.
Now as far as your trigger is concerned you can control a ton of flashes at the same time with one of those. It has 5 groups A through E and you can put an unlimited number of flashes in each group. The best part is that your trigger can control both godox and flashpoint flashes together at the same time.
Last but not least let's talk constant lights. None of the lights we mentioned here today are constant lights. The all have a modeling light that could be used as a constant light, but it would be the same as trying to light a picture with a table lamp. The modeling light is just there to help your camera find focus in dark environments.
But to be honest I don't think constant lights are the best way to go for portraits or smash cake. The higher powered constant lights are really expensive and not very practical. The more budget friendly ones tend to be under powered, especially if you want to make the light softer with any light modifiers. The modifiers really gobble up the light.
So there's my two cents. I hope I answered all of questions. If not, feel free to reach out again. :)
Here are the links to all of the items I mentioned:
Flashpoint Evolve 600 - amzn.to/3wQDovx
(this is the same light as the Godox ad600 but this one comes with a free travel case and a reflector dish)
Godox MS300 Flash - amzn.to/3OtRVmh
Impact 7' Parabolic Umbrella amzn.to/3uDRpeL
7-Foot Parabolic Umbrella Front Diffuser amzn.to/3T16WPl
35 in Softbox with grid- amzn.to/4bK9LLi
Have a great night,
Daniel
In what spots would I need 3 lights? I don't have a very big space so I'm not sure where I would put 3 and the 7' umbrellas
@rebeccaallen7342 When it comes to lighting, being able to light your set in sections gives you the most flexibility and creative control. Usually, you would need a main light, a fill light for the shadows, and a hair light. Lighting in this way gives you a three-dimensional look to the photos. It's why some photos look more professional than others. But if space is limited, just get the one light and the seven foot umbrella. That one light will be enough to serve as the main light and spill some nice light on the background.
Don't worry about the 7 foot size because you will be running the width of the umbrella up and down (floor to ceili, g), not side to side (wall to wall). I use that same light set up when I photograph infants, and I am shooting in a space that is 12x14.
But if space is really, really tight, here's what you do. Put your set along the back wall and then hang white seamless paper in the corners of the room that are behind where you will be when taking the photos. Then take your light, set it about 3-4 ft away from the corner, and point the head into the corner.
You've just created a huge light source out of the corner and didn't take up a lot of floor space. The goal is to make your light as big as possible because the larger the light, the softer and more flattering it will be.
I hope this helps,
Daniel
Can you tell me that about lightening?
Is it white light necessary for the cake smash session? If we use warm light then it doesn't give right tone of picture. Guide me please.
You can use either light from a flash which tends to be daylight balanced or you can use light bulbs. Then it's just simple matter of telling your camera what color light you're using and the camera will correct for it. Check your your camera manual on how to adjust your white balance. The thing you never want to do with color temperature is mix it. So don't use a flash on one side and light bulbs on another. Your camera can only adjust for one color of light at a time.
I hope that helps!
Thanks for the great question,
Daniel
Hi this is a great video to learn about lighting, thank you. Would you recommend the AD200 flash for parabolic umbrellas? Also, do you have any video of lenses? I am planning on buying a portrait lens but don't know which one to get. I am looking for one that I can use in studio and outdoors :) TIA
Sofi,
If you want to use a larger umbrella like a 5 or 7 ft then I would not recommend the ad200. It has enough power to fill it ( just barely) but the recycle time when you use the ad200 on full power is very slow and battery life becomes a problem.
We don't currently have a video up on lenses but after portrait season is over we will be posting more content and I will add that to the list of great video ideas. For indoor and outdoor portraits I swear by the 70-200 4.0 or 2.8. It's the lens I use on just about every shoot It's not cheap and it's not great for small spaces but when you zoom in even the ugliest backgrounds are turned into blurry works of art.
Your location please