Railfan Technology > Night Photography?

I recently picked up another flash, and i have the triggers and tripods for them. i tried them a few times but I cannot seem to figure out how to angle the flashes/set them up correctly, with one flash i can do alright but with two it seems as if most of the light is always off frame if i move the flashes over most of the light is lost. Would someone who is proficient in strobing/flashing be able to assist me in my new endeavor?

Brandon Hughes
Sheffield Lake, OH
Brandon.H.Photography

Brandon,

How many flashes do you have total? If you have less than 5 flashes, it will make it difficult to get even lighting of moving trains. Try also a higher ISO 800 with the flashes combine it with 2.8 or 3.5 f stop at 200 or 250 for the settings.

CSXCOPHOTOGRAPHER

Separate your flashes by at least 25 ft. If they are aimed at your subject area and your subject is in the frame, then so will the light from the flash. Like the other poster said use a high ISO like 800. It takes practice.

RWJ

bhphotography Wrote:
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> I recently picked up another flash, and i have the
> triggers and tripods for them. i tried them a few
> times but I cannot seem to figure out how to angle
> the flashes/set them up correctly, with one flash
> i can do alright but with two it seems as if most
> of the light is always off frame if i move the
> flashes over most of the light is lost. Would
> someone who is proficient in strobing/flashing be
> able to assist me in my new endeavor?

TO member Sean Hoyden is your guy to get info on night photography using flashes ... if you're willing to try natural night lighting ... TO member"cimascrambler" on the western board has perfected the art of using lunar lighting for night photography

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/15 13:53 by Out_Of_Service.

bhphotography Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I recently picked up another flash, and i have the
> triggers and tripods for them. i tried them a few
> times but I cannot seem to figure out how to angle
> the flashes/set them up correctly, with one flash
> i can do alright but with two it seems as if most
> of the light is always off frame if i move the
> flashes over most of the light is lost. Would
> someone who is proficient in strobing/flashing be
> able to assist me in my new endeavor?

Brandon,

It largely depends on what type of equipment you're using. If you're using smaller speedlights vs larger strobe/moonlight system the shooting conditions are going to be a great deal different between the two types of systems. Also, what type of camera body are you using? Cameras can see much better than you might think, but there's a balancing act between minimizing the amount of light you need for exposure and the ability of the camera to capture the image without excessive noise and hot pixels.

Lots of people disagree, but I'm here to tell you, speedlights is the way EVERYONE who wants to do railroad night photography should go. You'll be far less likely to annoy crews, and find a great deal more flexibility in your lighting arrangements. Off Camera Flash (OCF) is most definitely not about output power, it's how you use the power you have, as efficiently as you can.

Alien Bees and similar strobe systems are just fine if you're working with cooperative subjects such as scenic outfits and smaller railroads that don't mind the attention. Class 1's on the other hand, you should definitely tread lightly.

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Or look for a fast food or other lighting. Sorry, I don't do the lighting thing but another facet that you might use with a small setup like two lights is using some existing light to help you out. The other point I think not mentioned and again I don't do strobes is looking for safe suitable locations where you can set up your lights properly. And of course I assume you are doing test flashes. Another place to look is articles on lighting in general like studio lighting. How distance from subject, angles etc affect your outcome, ie how moving your light cuts the affect of the light..

a couple more
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3619271

Bob Jordan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/15 15:51 by robj.

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Having shot with Sean for a night shot here in Castle Rock ( http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3582889,3582889#msg-3582889 ) I can attest that small strobes work terrific, we used a total of 8 (Sean brought 5, I had 3) and I feel that number did a great job... I also think that we could have gotten by with 7.... but that still leaves at least 4 more sets I need to get (flash, trigger, stand)... but agree that Sean's advise is excellent!

One thing is it takes LOTS of practice. It's like learning to shoot all over again. Really you get ONE shot, so planning to get it just right takes practice. It's kinda like our forefathers with the 4x5 Graflex film cameras getting "The Shot". In today's world with motor drives taking twenty shots and picking "The Shot" is easy for daylight action shots. But in Night Photography you have to go back to the "old days" where you only get one shot! Practice, Practice, Practice.

P.S. It takes time to set up your equipment. You can't come flying in to a screeching halt jumping out and shooting. You need to set up test and wait. Hopefully you do know something is coming soon. Get everything set and do a few test shots, then fire!

Here are a couple shots I've done recently:
1: A BNSF unit on NS Train 135 leaving Asheville Yard in NC westbound through the "River Arts District". I didn't really have enough flashes set up as I was short on time to set up. But it didn't come out too bad. The orange came out nice against the dark background.

2: Eastbound NS train at Old Fort NC. I had a flash on the other side of the tracks on the end of the Station plus several on the side I was on. This train was going slow as it had just come down the mountain from Ridgecrest.

I still have a lot to learn. It takes practice.
Mike

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