READ THIS ONE- Studio Photography

Andrew,
   I've been doing this for several years now... here is what you do.
First determine the effective aperture of your camera. For my 4x5 mine
is about F-256 and for my converted Hasselblad it is about F-140. Get
yourself a flash meter and get your strobes close to your subject.
Ideally if you can get your meter to read F-45 you are doing good. This
whole bit about doubling your number of flashes to add an extra stop is
nonsense. Everytime that you flash the strobes you add an extra stop of
light. Lets say that I set up my lights and get a meter reading of F-45.
 Lets count: F-45, F-60, F-90, F-128 That equals 4. So to get
sufficient exposure you need to pop your flash 4 times. Just to be on
the safe side do it 5 to add a little extra density and account for
reciprocity. It really is that simple. With my Hasselblad my exposure
times are about 4 pops of the flash and with my 4x5 they run around 9.
   
Another trick, if you are shooting black and white, is to use Tmax 400
speed film. Tmax has significantly less reciprocity failure than other
black and white films. I've noticed that I get better negative density
with Tmax than with any other black and white film.

To pop the strobes, just push the button on the flash meter. If you
don't have a free hand, you can fire the strobes by putting a peice of
metal (like a paper clip) in direct contact with the sync cord. I rigged
up a firing mechanism using two clothes pins, a paper clip and some gaff
tape. (if you are interested in gaff tape, check the messages over the
past couple of weeks!) What you do is tape everything together so that
when you squeeze the clothes pin it moves the paper clip into direct
contact with the inside of the sync cord. If you rig it just right, you
can fire your strobes by merely tapping it with your foot. Kinda hard to
explain... you will just have to give it a try.

                Levi
Received on Mon Nov 20 19:41:57 2000