Tag Archives: comparison images

Ezybox Hotshoe in action

Posted by gerard.maas on May 2, 2007 9 comments

Last weekend I had some time to do work some more with the Ezybox Hotshoe. Here’s a sample of what can be achieved with it.

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Portrait taken with Ezybox
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Natural light
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setup: Ezybox Hotshoe ‘charged’ with a 580EX on a standard Manfrotto light stand

This image illustrates few important points of using the Ezybox Hotshoe:

- Color Temperature – using a flash as main light provides us with a consistent color temperature of about 5500oK, the shadow where the girl is placed is actually much colder, which is visible on comparison image on the right. The portrait is much pleasing with the neutral-warm tones

- Light Control The light of the moment was quite harsh, coming slightly from the back and leaving most of the face in shadow. The Ezybox+580EX were used as main light. This was achieved in this case by decreasing the ambient exposure by 1 stop and using the flash without exposure compensation

- Portability Sorry to state the obvious but it’s really nice to have creative control over the light in the middle of the garden

The flash was used in automatic exposure mode (E-TTL) triggered by the controlled wireless ST-E2 on the camera.

is this info useful to you? Drop me a line with comments or questions. A more detailed review on handling the Ezybox Hotshoe is coming. If you have questions, now is the moment. – Gerard

Ezybox Hotshoe in the nature

Posted by gerard.maas on March 4, 2007 None comments

This is a small test I did while walking in the woods. It was a rainy day and the natural light was very soft but totally unidirectional, revealing little structure in this mushroom. A perfect opportunity to try the Ezybox Hotshoe I was carrying with me during the walk.

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Ezybox Hotshoe on the side
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Direct flash on camera
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Natural diffused light

The enhancing effect of the Ezybox on the image is evident. The light is very soft when compared to the bare flash on the camera, while the directionality reveals structure and creates a more three dimensional image of the mushroom.

I held the flash in position improvising with a stick of wood as ‘flash stand’. The flash was a Canon 580EX controlled wireless from the camera with a ST-E2 Wireless controller. The lateral placement of the Ezybox allows the line of sight between the controller on camera and the slaved flash on the Exzybox hotshoe mount.

Few minutes after the Ezybox was packed down and we could continue with the walk before the rain got us.

812 This is an image of the setup showing the Ezybox hotshoe clamped down with a piece of wood in the stand socket. A little bit of creativity avoid carrying too much equipment around

I’m still trying out the possibilities of this practical flash difusser. I’ll keep reporting my findings…

Bouncing Around

Posted by gerard.maas on January 23, 2007 None comments

Making great flash photos

Achieving great photos using flash is not an area where only professionals are allowed. Using simple techniques to control and enhance the quality of light produced by your speedlite will allow you to create great images, far from the red eyes and washed out look usually associated with flash photography.

read more >>>

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Backlight

Posted by gerard.maas on November 27, 2006 None comments

Outline effect

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To create this image, we used a Lastolite Ezybox fitted with a speedlite and we masked the middle of it with black velvet cardboard. The composition was placed in the blacked out area. The diffused light coming from the sides of the softbox enter the transparent surfaces at an angle, creating an outline effect on the coloured water and glass jars.

The speedlite was used in E-TTL mode, and was triggered using a ST-E2 on the EOS10D. We used a EF 100 f/2.8 Macro lens to take the image. For this technique, it’s very important to use a hood, to avoid flare from the side light.

Use a hood

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To achieve a great backlight effect, the light source will be behind or almost behind the lens. In this case, it’s the natural light from the sun is enhancing the colours of this cactus rose leaf and flowers. We include here an image made with the same setup, but removed the hood from the EF 100f/2.8 macro lens to show the effect of flare on the image.

Focal Lenghts and Picture Styles

Posted by gerard.maas on November 22, 2006 None comments

Focal Lenght

Certainly one critical decision point in any photography is the lens to be used. While it’s actually distance which determines the perspective on a subject, a focal lenght of a lens will allow you to play with that distance to achieve the desired perspective and composition.

This is a small comparison of four focal lenghts on a portrait of Anne Sophie.

Thanks to Anne Sophie for being such a great model!

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17mm [EF 17-40 f/4L] 50mm [EF 50mm f/1.8 MK1]
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100mm [EF 100 f/2.8 Macro] 200mm [EF 70-200 f/4 L]

All images were exposed: 160/f5.6 ISO 200 using the quite unstable natural light (fast passing clouds) combined with a very reliable speedlite 580EX diffused with a portable Lastolite Ezybox

Picture Styles

A new feature in the latests EOS Digital SLR’s. The Picture Styles allows you to tune the response of the sensor for specifical rendition of tonalities. It’s the digital equivalent of choosing different films like de saturated Velvia or the subtle Portra.

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Standard Neutral Portrait