Single strobe for big animals

[Clay Coleman]

Here's one on which I hope everybody will chime in. What do you see as the advantages/disadvantages of shooting large animals with a single strobe? The single strobe is certainly easier to deal with, but doubles offer greater lighting options. What's your take? Here's a shot of a large loggerhead at the Flower Gardens in the Gulf of Mexico shot with a single strobe:
http://claycoleman.tripod.com/4d7bcd40.jpg
Clay

[dascubanut]

I personally like to see some shadows on large subjects.I feel they make a little more dramatic statement.I also have alot less trouble with backscatter with a single strobe.I started shooting with a single and of course had to have the second strobe,but the more I shoot the more I find myself turning off or turning down the power on #2.
Doug

[Jonathan Bird]

I have to admit that I am a big advocate for two strobes, although I think that they make more of a difference in macro. That being said, I always prefer the look of two strobes. I always use two, except under circumstances where there is just too much current to deal with two strobes.

Sometimes, I like to move one back a little, turn it down a stop, or put a diffuser on it to drop the output of one by a stop to get a ratio'd appearance with soft shadows. I do not like the harsh shadows of a single strobe, especially on macro and on sharks, where the pectoral fin casts a big triangular shadow on the belly from some angles.

I actually find it easier to reduce backscatter with dual strobes because you can position them further from the camera, causing the scatter to be reflected back in the direction of the strobe rather than the lens. This can only be done with two strobes because otherwise you get a very bad shadow thrown by a single strobe way off axis.

Just my $.02. Roger Steene shot a whole book of fantastic pictures with one strobe, so what do I know!

Jonathan

[Clay Coleman]

I have to admit that I am a big advocate for two strobes, although I think that they make more of a difference in macro. That being said, I always prefer the look of two strobes.
Jonathan

Hard shadows can be a problem, but the touch of a single strobe to give color to the face and eyes and a gradual blending to ambient light has always appealed to me. It seems to put the subject more "in the environment" and retains the illusion of a single source and direction of light. Of course, this only applies to subjects with an ambient background. A single strobe has never worked at all for me for macro. -Clay

[mark eaton]

I love the shadows and contrast provided by one strobe, two strobes sometimes seem to produce a 'flatter' image.

Have to say that, as I am only running one strobe.

I don't think I can link in another strobe with my setup. Unless you guys know different? Olympus CW8080 with fibre optic link to an Inon D2000.

[Daniel]

I don't think I can link in another strobe with my setup. Unless you guys know different? Olympus CW8080 with fibre optic link to an Inon D2000.

Based on what I read here (http://www.inonamerica.com/news.php?news_id=30&newscat=0) you just need to add a second cable to support a second strobe.

Cheers!
Daniel

[Sealizard]

I will ask him how he does it and report back.

Elizabeth

[Jonathan Bird]

Hard shadows can be a problem, but the touch of a single strobe to give color to the face and eyes and a gradual blending to ambient light has always appealed to me. It seems to put the subject more "in the environment" and retains the illusion of a single source and direction of light. Of course, this only applies to subjects with an ambient background. A single strobe has never worked at all for me for macro. -Clay

I agree. There are many times when I use this technique if I'm shooting something with anough ambient light. This image (below) was shot with mostly ambient light, with the sun a little behind the subject, so I used a single SB-105 at 1/4 power to just pop a little light onto the face. The fact that it was only at 1/4 power tells you that this shark was pretty close. Hard to believe but this is a 10 foot (small) white shark only a few feet from the Nikonos 15 mm lens.

http://www.jonathanbird.net/jpegs/greatwhite.jpg

[Clay Coleman]

Hmm. I don't see an image, Jonathan. -Clay

[Jonathan Bird]

Yeah, my ISP crashed a server and the site is down. They claim it will be up tonight....

[Sealizard]

... I am only running one strobe.

I don't think I can link in another strobe with my setup. Unless you guys know different? Olympus CW8080 with fibre optic link to an Inon D2000.

According to my buddy who uses 2 Inons with an Oly8080:

"My Inon D2000 strobes are connected by optical cords to the camera housing. Inon provides an attachment for the two cords so that they are mounted near the camera's flash position (actually on the housing strobe hot-shoe mount). The camera flash trips the Inon strobes, which in turn have their own sensors to detect the amount of light needed for the photo - thus called sTTL. Most of the time the exposures come out near perfect. Otherwise, one can adjust for the + and - brightness, and then take another shot. The light from the camera flash is blocked by a special film which allow enough light to trip the sensors but not lighting the subjects."

Hope this is useful.

Elizabeth

[caymaniac]

I use only a single strobe because that's all I can afford, but I've gotten some nice shots with it.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k115/caymaniac/Underwater%20Images/File0309.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k115/caymaniac/Underwater%20Images/File0393.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k115/caymaniac/Underwater%20Images/File0396.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k115/caymaniac/Underwater%20Images/File0012.jpg

[Clay Coleman]

I use only a single strobe because that's all I can afford, but I've gotten some nice shots with it.

You certainly have! -Clay