Because my blood pressure was too low, I just wandered through Allen's
question and 41 replies on this subject.
I have seldom seen such a mess of miscommunication. The first few posts
were quite clear to me, and possibly to Allen, but within a short while,
responses to earlier posts were arriving after Allen's responses to
other earlier posts - so he was mis-connecting responses to the posts of
his to which they were responses.
This lead him to actually believe that Chuck was recommending exactly
the opposite of what he was actually recommending. By then, Allen is
getting confused and frustrated and showing the first signs of real upset:
"If I have 20 people, each expressing their recommentations and
opinions, 10 are for door #1, 4 are for door #2 and 1 is for door #3,
how do I win? Going with any door will offend the others for the 2
remaining ones. I am in a loose loose situation. I have to make a
decision. Who do I offend then?
I propose to you a simple idea in responding to Allen's questions and
the ensuing threads. Make no assumptions about pronoun references and
take no prior posts for granted. In doing so, the idea is to make each
post complete in itself. That may sound like a lot of trouble, but look
at the mess not doing it results in.
Allen, you have gotten twisted around. The advise posted all agrees on
all important points. Everyone here who posted in this thread agrees
with each other on the following points.
- The lights you originally proposed using are unsuitable.
- Buying, trying out and returning a tool unsuitable for the task
doesn't move the learning forward.
- You need far less than 600 w-s of flash power for even a good sized
room, let alone the one you don't actually describe, but keep referring
to as small.
- Starting small, with a couple of flash devices, either AC powered
studio strobes like the Alien Bees or simple battery powered units
designed for hot shoe mount, but mounted and triggered remotely from
the camera (by light or radio slaves) and a diffusing device or two,
soft box or umbrella, is much cheaper and will allow you to learn enough
to find out what the next step for you should be.
- Such a simple and inexpensive set-up is also sufficient for good results.
------------------------------------------------
Finally, I see that nobody has responded to Allen's expressed
uncertainty that he can put together elements of a studio flash set-up
so that it works properly:
"I can get some very secure stands easily. Putting it all together makes
me feel that I will get it all wrong and fail. I don't handle that well."
This illuminates his original choice of a packaged solution with
instructions included.
It is also a pretty direct request for responses more directly attuned
to his honestly expressed strengths and weaknesses.
So Allen, One solution might be to find a local student photographer who
does studio work and would assist you with the actual physical set-up
and connections for a modest price.
Other folks, I am not much of a flash user and have never done studio
lighting work, so I can't help here. How about coming up with a list or
two of explicit items that would work together to do what Allen wants?
Clarity and simplicity in the list and the eventual use would be
beneficial. What seems simple to you is not to someone with no prior
background.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
Oops, I see six further posts on the subject made while I was writing,
which may or may not clear things up.
Moose
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