Strobe beginners question

[hus]

Out of boredom I was scanning ebay and ended up buying a flash trigger and 2 recievers.
If l set up a triangle setup where the flash on the left and right and the subject in front.
My question is would the camera do the metering on its own when l take a shot (shutter on flash sync speed) or do l need a light meter to manually work out the settings.

I really should keep away from ebay

[I @ M]

Unless the trigger and receivers you bought from ebay support wireless ttl metering in conjunction with your flash heads and camera you will need to buy a meter and go down the full manual route. Either that or experiment with lots and lots of shots and get the metering right via the camera lcd and histogram.
Buying a meter and working fully manual isn't as daunting ( just more expense ) as it sounds and also avoids the inconsistent results that ttl can sometimes bring.

[mercho]

Out of boredom I was scanning ebay and ended up buying a flash trigger and 2 recievers.
If l set up a triangle setup where the flash on the left and right and the subject in front.
My question is would the camera do the metering on its own when l take a shot (shutter on flash sync speed) or do l need a light meter to manually work out the settings.

I really should keep away from ebay

Unless the Trigger and receiver are Ettl compatible (which i doubt as they are from ebay ), you are going to have to set up the flashes manually...

http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ is a great resource.. I am only new to this world of off camera lighting as well, and have learn't a ton from there

EDIT: Beaten by Andrew... :P

[hus]

Thanks guys looks like l have opened a can of worms for myself, more learning to do and another purchase involving a light meter.

[kiwi]

Lol, probably

Just a tip, just start with one very simple light just off camera axis and go from there


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[hus]

Thanks again but expect more questions about light meters next ;-)

[hus]

Wise advice, I better take small steps from now on but expect questions about light meters once I am geared up

[kiwi]

Thanks again but expect more questions about light meters next ;-)

You should not need a light meter to start with


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[maccaroneski]

You should not need a light meter to start with

Or at any point I would argue - it is digital after all, so test shots and your histogram become your light meter.

[kiwi]

Id disagree with that a little, I do find one handy when you are working with multiple lights and ratios in a studio setting

[Bax]

I've been working without a light meter, granted my shots have not been of people yet. But it only takes a few shots to get the exposures right.

Just get yourself a process, think through the shot. The most important thing imo to think about is what do you want to happen with ambient. Underexposed? Completely Black - or balanced.

Once you have that you can usually work out the rest with trial and error.

[hus]

it is digital after all, so test shots and your histogram become your light meter.

Just recently I have switched on histogram view on my shots so it seems I am on the right track, only once did l get tricked into thinking my shots were coming out fine when I wasn't using flash during an indoor sports shoot only to fine them all underexposed once I downloaded them to the computer. If l knew about histograms back then it could have been avoided, but better late than never

[JazzXP]

Just recently I have switched on histogram view on my shots so it seems I am on the right track, only once did l get tricked into thinking my shots were coming out fine when I wasn't using flash during an indoor sports shoot only to fine them all underexposed once I downloaded them to the computer. If l knew about histograms back then it could have been avoided, but better late than never

Never trust the LCD on the back, but I have found that if I turn the brightness setting right down, it gets much closer to how it should be.

[maccaroneski]

Id disagree with that a little, I do find one handy when you are working with multiple lights and ratios in a studio setting

I think just like the flash itself, I will argue against them until I know how to use one

[oldfart]

I think just like the flash itself, I will argue against them until I know how to use one

In a multi light studio situation it's not unusual to meter the main light(s) at say f/8 Hair light at f/5.6 and ascent lights at f/11. A light meter is pretty much the only way to achieve this without significant stuffing around.

[hus]

Never trust the LCD on the back, but I have found that if I turn the brightness setting right down, it gets much closer to how it should be.

I tried this but found I always turned it up

[hus]

Back again and today got the el-cheapo triggers to play with, as advised early on the thread I went all manual and used the histogram as a light meter, after 3 test shots looks like I pretty much nailed how to get it right ( in my opinion ) the flashes were just placed randomly (one on the floor and other on the couch) and on one shot I bounced the main flash. The flash units I used were Canon 390ex and a sigma st430.
Looks like I can save the money and use it on other things rather than a light meter.
The pictures are as it came out of the camera no processing other than resize, how do they look ?

[nexus]

Back again and today got the el-cheapo triggers to play with, as advised early on the thread I went all manual and used the histogram as a light meter, after 3 test shots looks like I pretty much nailed how to get it right ( in my opinion ) the flashes were just placed randomly (one on the floor and other on the couch) and on one shot I bounced the main flash. The flash units I used were Canon 390ex and a sigma st430.
Looks like I can save the money and use it on other things rather than a light meter.
The pictures are as it came out of the camera no processing other than resize, how do they look ?

Usually hard light with the associated hard shadows is quite hard (no pun intended) to get right IMHO. Perhaps trying to position your lights to soften the shadows around him especially in the 2nd shot.

[MrJorge]

I haven't played with my flash a lot. But you might want to try pointing those flash heads at the roof and bouncing the light down. Instead of pointing the flash directly at the subject.

This way you'll get less harsh lighting and strong shadows and get more "fill" light rather than direct, front on light.

[hus]

Cool will give that a go