What camera for make up studio

[lawrencep93]

We are using strobe lights into umbrellas (the guy knows someone from jaycar so we will get the strobes wholesale) I'll get him to wire up the strobe lights to work at the same time, but his not the brightest at wiring up hardware so anyone know how to get the strobes to go off at the same time as the flash.

[Athiril]

Originally Posted by lawrencep93

We are using strobe lights into umbrellas (the guy knows someone from jaycar so we will get the strobes wholesale) I'll get him to wire up the strobe lights to work at the same time, but his not the brightest at wiring up hardware so anyone know how to get the strobes to go off at the same time as the flash.

Something like this - http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SKY4-Optical-...item5d26be259c

Im sure there have been 'diy' circuits for these at DSE or Tandys before, well the same principle, not hotshoe based, which is probably what you want, something that doent connect via hotshoe by the sounds of it.

[ya3]

Originally Posted by lawrencep93

We are using strobe lights into umbrellas (the guy knows someone from jaycar so we will get the strobes wholesale) I'll get him to wire up the strobe lights to work at the same time, but his not the brightest at wiring up hardware so anyone know how to get the strobes to go off at the same time as the flash.

Do they sell flashes at JayCar?? Remember, photographic 'strobes' (aka. flashes) are different to regular strobe lights that you'd use as stage lighting or whatever

Studio flashes will almost always have an inbuilt optical sensor, so you just fire an on-camera flash and they'll fire automatically. They'll also have a sync socket for you to either run a sync cord from your camera to the strobe, or to plug in a wireless trigger.

[lawrencep93]

Yer the wholesaler jaycar buy from also sell photography strobe lights and umbrellas.

How does the inbuilt optical sensor work, Does the camera send a flash then open the shutter and when the shutter is open the other flashes will fire?

Looking at some lenses, what is the minimum F stop when taking photos of peoples faces, i know you want to blur the background so a lower F stop is needed, but how low as the lenses with lower F stops are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo expensive.

[lawrencep93]

bump

Just please answer what is the highest F stop I could get away with and still blur backgrounds?

[Archades]

depends on the variables of lens length etc.
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html try that to play with

[deepspring]

Originally Posted by lawrencep93

bump

Just please answer what is the highest F stop I could get away with and still blur backgrounds?

That depends...
1. Whats the distance between you and the subject/s?
2. Whats the distance between the subject/s and the background?
3. Whats the focal length of the lens?

Edit: Archades post above links a Depth Of Field calculator. I suggest you use it.

Edit: Make sure you select the closest camera model to yours in the Circle of Confusion box.

[ya3]

Originally Posted by lawrencep93

bump

Just please answer what is the highest F stop I could get away with and still blur backgrounds?

What's your background? If it's a plain white/grey backdrop (which I'd use for makeup shots) then you don't really need to worry about blurring the bg.

But to answer your question, a headshot on a 50mm lens at f/2.8 with the background at least a few metres away will give you a nice blurry background. A headshot at 50mm @ f/1.8 or thereabouts will start to blur parts of the face, which you might not want.

In layman's terms, background blurriness depends on focal length, aperture, distance to subject and distance from subject to background.

[ehor]

Originally Posted by lawrencep93

bump

Just please answer what is the highest F stop I could get away with and still blur backgrounds?

f/1.2

[ya3]

Originally Posted by ehor

f/1.2

Heh.

"So which eyelash would you like to be in focus?"

[ehor]

Originally Posted by ya3

Heh.

"So which eyelash would you like to be in focus?"

2nd from the left on the right eye lid

[lawrencep93]

Ok would I be able to get away with using a Nikon AFS 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6GVR Zoom, the background will be white. and it will be taken from about 3-4 meters away?

[ya3]

Originally Posted by lawrencep93

Ok would I be able to get away with using a Nikon AFS 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6GVR Zoom, the background will be white. and it will be taken from about 3-4 meters away?

That'll be fiiiiiine.

Just focus on your lighting. Not just the hardware, but your technique.

[lawrencep93]

What technique is good, I was thinking I standing as far back as I can putting the camera on the tripod zooming into her face and setting it off a few times.

[ya3]

Originally Posted by lawrencep93

What technique is good, I was thinking I standing as far back as I can putting the camera on the tripod zooming into her face and setting it off a few times.

By technique, I mean lighting technique. It'll make or break your image. Consider your lighting setup - how many lights, how they're modified, how they're positioned, power levels of each (ratios). Any variation will give your photo a different "look". It's not just about throwing light onto your subject any old way. Do some Googling for portrait lighting setups.

As for shooting technique, just pick up the camera and shoot No tripod. At 70mm, you'll only need to stand back a couple of metres.