Jay P. Morgan of the Slanted Lens has recently created an image for Dynalite that is being used in their advertising. The concept for the image was to showcase a lot of motion, and the Dynalite Baja's motion stopping power. As part of the project Jay has created a behind the scenes instructional video that explains what it takes to properly freeze motion and action when working with studio lighting.
The video breaks down the setup and lighting for the image Jay P. Morgan created and goes on to explain exactly why each light was used. Furthermore, Jay makes sure to explain his three crucial factors in freezing action when using strobes:
- Shoot at peak action
- Choose the highest shutter speed you can
- Set your strobes to low power
One important thing to note about the last point is that not all strobes are designed the same way. The Dynalite Baja strobes used in the video are an IGBT design which ensures short flash duration at lower power. Please check the design of your studio strobes to understand how their specific t1 time is dstributed.
[via SLRLounge]
Excellent piece. However, I think your comment that the Einstein units increase flash duration with lowering power is absolutely incorrect. Specifically in the "Action" mode, the duration goes from around 1/500 sec. at full power to 1/13000 at minimum power.
Interesting how Jay singles out the Einstein and gets his facts wrong about lower power settings increasing flash duration.