Just came across your Channel today and the way you communicate is just my style. I'm just now learning about strobes (actually what I know now is based on three of your videos so far today). I've been following an East Coast Sports Photographer and am very interested in shooting more sports portraiture. He shoots with and AD600, AD400, and 2xAD600BM (if I got that right). I've got so much to learn about beauty dishes, reflectors, softboxes, strobes...all of it. I gotta start somewhere. Thank you for your reviews and better yet - your presentation style.

@358studios

Жыл бұрын

Hi there! Thank you so much for leaving such a wonderful comment. That is what keeps me going. If you have any questions at all or would like to see a video on something, please let me know. Cheers!

Only saw one actual beauty dish here. I do wish they would stop marketing them a beauty dishes. Thanks for the videos.

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, that line is getting more and more blurred. :) Anymore I'm looking at the quality of light, that there is a center disk to ease the lighting on the face, and portability. I have a few PCB umbrellas that could almost pass for beauty dish lighting because they are so directed and the fall off is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to comment!

I have this little beauty dish for my ad200Pro. I might use it today to experiment on a young teen portrait.

@358studios

2 ай бұрын

Hi @kennypringle4580, I'm glad it helped. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it. Hey sorry about the late reply, but I would be very interested to hear about how your beauty dish worked with the AD200 Pro. By chance, did you subscribe to my channel? :) Have a great day!

Very informative!!!! Thank you so much!!!! Finally learned something new and different!!!! You have my sub!!!!

@358studios

4 ай бұрын

Hi @daviddyforever, I'm glad it helped. Thank you for taking the time to comment. So awesome! I appreciate it. Have a great day!

Thank you for sharing your demo of the different beauty dishes, I'm interested in the small beauty dish for the Godox AD200 so this was really helpful to see it in action! Thanks a for this!

@358studios

Жыл бұрын

Cool, cool. Keep in mind that the small BD is very limited. If possible. I'd go larger and with the adapter because it gives you more flexibility. If you're looking for portability, check out the Cheetah soup and rice bowl modifiers. Great quality for a good price. Cheers!

@normboarder

Жыл бұрын

@@358studios Thanks for saying that! True you had to get really close to the subject? I will def checkout those other ones.

Can also throw diffusion behind the grid to soften the effect of the "spot"

@358studios

7 ай бұрын

Hi @dinein1970, I'm glad it helped. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it. Maybe, but I would think the diffusion behind the grid just reduces the amount of light vs soften it. Reason being, you're not changing the relationship of the size of the light or distance to the subject and the light bulb is already being diffused by the beauty dish. Test it out. Try moving the light closer, adjust camera settings and watch how the edges soften. By chance, did you subscribe to my channel? :) Have a great day!

Apparently we aren’t that far from one another. I’m in El Dorado, I’d love to visit and watch you do a shoot. I’m just a one man small time photographer, I enjoy youth sports portraits.

@358studios

2 ай бұрын

Hey Kenny, we were not that far away from each other at one point. However, I have since moved to the Phoenix area and closed the Sacramento studio. I am thinking of opening the studio again in this area but for right now have to get settled in first. Once I do, you are more than welcome to join me on any of the shoots that I do. Cheers.

I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this video. Love your style and it answered all the questions that came up

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! And thank you for the nice comment. I appreciate the feedback.

I'm up to no good again! I was headed to your video on cases, and was just interested enough to go here - and something you said - which many people say - drew my attention. That is, a lot of photographers like to START with their beauty dish the same distance from the model as the width of the modifier. My question is (rather than just parrot everyone) why? Before I get started with my own experimentation, my brain says it has something to do with the breakdown of the inverse square law when you get too close (i.e. rules no longer apply because of other variables), but I was just wondering why this is the general starting point for most. Sean, love your style (of video - educational, on point, and entertaining). You've got skills! ;-) Happy Holidays. P.S. Thanks for the disco exit. NY (Latin) Hustle is one of my dances.

@358studios

7 ай бұрын

Hahahahaha. That's awesome! I love latin music and dancing. Oh, to dive into the discussion of beauty dishes. :) There's so much information out there about beauty dishes, but I have my own opinion and reasoning behind what they are doing and why I love using them as a photographer. It's my favorite modifier for portraits. Here we go! A couple of things about why I use a beauty dish. First, I want to sculpt the light. I want crisp edges to my shadows (part of the distance thing), which helps to outline cheekbones, jawbones, lips, etc, and an even spread across the subject's face. Another reason I use a beauty dish is because I really enjoy the catch light it creates in the eyes and on the lips. If used as a BD, the right height and distance, it creates a half-moon shape in the eyes, which I think gives women (and sometimes men) a more appealing and approachable look in portraits. Una mas, the falloff is extreme and naturally creates interest in your subject. Ever seen a 3/4 image with a model standing when a beauty dish is used? The light is focused on the face and falls off quickly as it travels down the body. Humans naturally focus on the lightest part of the image first before scanning the rest. The last reason that comes to mind is because the light is so focused and so easy to work with and the modifier weighs next to nothing, the beauty dish is very enjoyable and fun to use. I've always been stunned at how awesome the results are from such a simple setup. I know very little about the science behind the beauty dish, but here's my thoughts. The BD is a fancy parabolic reflector. Parabolic reflectors focus the light at an optimal point. Just like focusing a lens on your camera. Too close and it's not that great, too far away and it's not that great. Right in the middle and it's perfect! I'm not sure why, but I think of beauty dishes more as a focused beam of light, like a searchlight, than I do my other modifiers. Yes, the inverse square law is in full effect. E.g., increase the distance and get softer edges, smaller catch lights, etc... but my brain processes a BD more like a big searchlight than the way I process the light for something like a softbox. Also, because of their design, all of the beauty dishes I've used seem to have a slightly less bright area in the middle of that focused light. I assume that is the deflector plate (round metal disc in the middle) bouncing light back into the dish and creating a sort of shadow effect. I typically try to focus that portion of the light directly on my subject's forehead. If my exposure is slightly off, that helps control highlights. There are two reasons why I recommend placing your modifier at the same distance as the width of your modifier to start. Both reasons are separate from each other and used for different modifiers. For soft boxes and umbrellas, I start at this distance because I know in general what the light will do. No matter the modifier, I get reasonable wraparound lighting and a fairly soft look. From there, I experiment with moving the lights and refining the image. Just like the inverse square law, I believe when you increase the distance from 1x the width, you start to diminish the use of a modifier and move toward a pinpoint source of light. I think this has less to do with the inverse square law, and more to do with the size of the light source - think earth, sun relationship. For a beauty dish, the above is also true but in addition, I believe some manufacturers use the 1x width distance as their parabolic focal point. You'll notice that BD reacts much more to smaller changes than a larger modifier. Like a searchlight. Even moving to a distance of twice the width of the modifier can drastically change the catch lights and softness of the shadow edges. If you move further away, you'll notice the falloff isn't as pronounced, the shadow edges have all but blended in, and your catch lights look like a speedlight flash. I hope all this rambling helps. Thank you for your kind words and happy holidays to you as well.

This is 💯💯💯💯💯💯 what I needed.. thank you 😊

@358studios

Жыл бұрын

Hi @ADivaForLife, I'm glad it helped. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it. Hey, quick question if you are willing. In what way did this video help you with what you needed? Just curious, so I can continue making videos that are good for my audience. By chance, did you subscribe to my channel? :) Have a great day!

this was a great video, very detailed, told me all the information i needed

@358studios

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

Just found you and thank you ❤I just bought both products 💯💯🔥🤩

@358studios

Жыл бұрын

Great to hear. I'm glad you found the video helpful and thank you for taking the time to comment. Please let me know how it goes. Hey, by chance did you subscribe to my channel? Have a great day.

Sure size matters (btw is diameter not width) but not all BDs are created equal . Try the Mola Setti for instance. Also the Godox is much hasher

@358studios

4 жыл бұрын

Everyone is welcome to their opinion. That's what makes photography so subjective and not a formula or single solution. FYI, size matters but not in the context that I was explaining it. A light source is a light source. All things being equal, you can only change the source's distance from the subject and what you put in front of it. I shot the sample images for the GD BD very quickly, but it's very easy to soften up the source with a little more care. And it seems like B&H has the Mola for $609 vs GD $35. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong product. Strobe on!

Really useful! Thank you...

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for taking the time to comment! :)

Beautiful quality of light with that 12" beauty dish. This comparison yielded major differences in the light, though.

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Jason, yes correct... I believe in the video I mention I didn't take the time with the Godox beauty dish to do it justice. Maybe I'll do another video with just the quality of light in mind.

I’m a local photog here in El Dorado. I just came across your channel, I’ll follow my friend.👍

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Hey great to hear! If you're ever in Roseville, send me a DM.

@kennypringle4580

3 жыл бұрын

@@358studios I can be in Roseville anytime I want. It’s not far from Placerville.

Hello, helpful video! Can you recommend the best lighting for teaching online yoga classes? Looking for versatility for outdoor classes too! Thanks!

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Hi there. Thank you. I’m glad you liked the video. As for lighting. Is it just you that you want to light? If so, my less expensive and most simple tip is to use natural light. Say from a sliding glass door or large window. You can soften this light with curtain shears (very thin almost see through white curtains) over the door or window. The closer you are to the door or window the darker your background will be (although depending, maybe not much). Outdoors, I would try for a shaded area out of the full, direct sun. Be sure you set your camera’s white balance to “cloudy or shade” or you will have a blue cast to your color. You can get more complicated from there, but really if you can get either or both of these to work, why would you want to. :) Please let me know how it goes.

Love it!

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Awesome Alfredo. What did you like best? Anything you'd like to see from me next?

Hello, super nice video, can you share, what brand of backdrop do you use and the size, please.

@358studios

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Carlos Eduardo Menjívar, I'm glad it helped. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it. There are two backdrops. One is my studio wall (Sarah with dark hair) and the other is a simple gray paper backdrop roll sitting between two stands and a horizontal bar (Emma blonde hair). Here are the links: Gray paper: amzn.to/3goghMP Stands (reasonable): amzn.to/3HujAxZ Horizontal bar: amzn.to/35FEoEz Keep in mind that there is a lot of technic to background lighting. You only need one light, but the distance plays a huge roll. Please let me know how it goes and if you have any questions. By chance, did you subscribe to my channel? :) Have a great day!

Great video, thank-you!

@358studios

Жыл бұрын

Hi Valerie Macmichael, I'm glad it helped. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it. By chance, did you subscribe to my channel? :) Have a great day!

@vclmacmichael

Жыл бұрын

@@358studios hi wasn't a subscriber, but this video came up in my search for how to use gels inside a reflector haha 😄 but, I'm a subscriber now and loved your video and am now buying this product.

Very helpful...do you have a set up video for Ad200?

@358studios

2 жыл бұрын

Not yet, but working on it next.

If it doesn't have a model light how do you see the direction of the light

@358studios

5 ай бұрын

Hi @cooleypriestly7392, thank you for asking. I appreciate it. My quick solution is to take a picture and look at it. The bigger concern is the irises of your subject. Yes, a modeling light helps you "see" some of the results of your strobe, but more importantly, it closes down the irises of the subject so you get nice color in the eyes vs a black hole. Setting up the light, snapping and adjusting take a few seconds before you start firing for real. You'll get the hang of it quickly. I hope that helps. By chance, did you subscribe to my channel? :) Have a great day!

AD200pro or AD300pro which is the best Lights ?

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Hey there. thanks for asking. I'm going to do a video in the next week or so describing why I skipped over the 300 from the 200 and went straight to the 600. I own the 200 and 600. Personally, I find the 200 to be just as light and slim, just as powerful (200 to 300 is only 1/2 stop) and yet in my opinion the 200 has more versatility with speedlight benefits and strobe (with S2 bracket) benefits. That said, if you're traveling and you only do a specific type of photography (same thing every shoot), then the 300 may be the way to go, but I would still lean towards the 200. Hope that helps.

Hi sir I have godox v1 and ad 200pro. My question is if I use high speed sync on both of these, how much power do I lose? And if I buy a variable ND filter, which stop number is the best option for me to shoot at day time 2-5stop or 6-9stop? I'm interested in freewell variable nd filter. Is that filter provide me better quality for shooting backlight?

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Hi there. Thank you for taking the time to comment and ask your questions. With HSS you’re going to lose half or more of your strobe strength. Also don’t forget you’re limited in the number of shots you get before the unit overheats. As for ND filter. I’m thinking of doing a video on this but variable ND filters will start to show vignetting, which is actually called cross polarization, as you stop down. That does not happen with a single ND filter. The brand you’re choosing is good quality. With an ND filter you can shoot at standard sync speed and not use HSS but shading it from sun is important. I would start with the sunny 16 rule and work your way back to figure out how much filter you need. I am typically close to 3-4 stops for my pics. I hope this helps and thank you for taking the time to ask your questions.

@sottheaphoeurng9044

3 жыл бұрын

@@358studios that is really useful. Thanks a lot.

When photographers say that sizes of modifiers dont matter just move small ones closer, they seem to forget about the light falloff increasing by the inverse square law. So how can the effect be the same? 🤔

@358studios

Жыл бұрын

Hi Tommy, thank you for asking. I didn't get technical with the inverse square law of light, because I wanted to keep the concept simple. It seems to lose most new photographers quickly. The general design of a beauty dish is to have a focused area of light with a decent amount of fall off. It's not an exact one to one match (shadows being one) when you change your light coverage width and have to move your beauty dish closer to the model, but with headshots there are several settings you can change to mimic the larger modifier. For most shooting headshots with a small modifier, the challenge comes the background exposure. I would I choose a small modifier if I had larger and space to use it? Never :) I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any questions. Hey by the way did you subscribe to my channel? Have a great day. Cheers.

I have an old version of AD 200, not pro, would it work??

@358studios

2 жыл бұрын

Hi there. Sorry, I don't have the older version to compare. The beauty dish is a slip on, so it will work as long as you have a flash tube like the Pro. I hope that helps. :)

How are you not getting a shadow

@358studios

Жыл бұрын

Hi Steven, thank you for commenting. Please help me with your shadow question. Where are you talking about?

@stevenmeansphotography3861

Жыл бұрын

@@358studios I get a harsh shadow when when using my beauty dish so I figured it out And had to add a second light there was no way around getting a shadow with that beauty dish alone

@358studios

Жыл бұрын

Hi Steven, I just saw this. I don't know how you're set up with the BD, but maybe this will help. Because the light is so focused and falls off quickly, the BD is usually placed the same distance away from the subject as its width, and the angles are much tighter to center than a standard softbox. For me, I usually shoot center unless I'm trying to hide a flaw. Many photographers also add a fill reflector or white card to bounce light into the neck area. You have to experiment with the fill because if it's too strong it looks weird. The further away that the BD is from the subject the harder your shadow definition is going to get. If you really want to get nerdy take a look on KZread for the inverse square law of light. It seems counterintuitive to move the beauty dish closer to soften the shadows, but that's how it works. Hopefully this helps. If you have more questions please share your set up and I will do my best. Hey by the way, do you have any suggestions for future videos and have you subscribed to my channel? Cheers!

@stevenmeansphotography3861

Жыл бұрын

@@358studios ok thank you for the info

mostly a great video - but there is a big difference between a beauty dish and a softbox/octabox. they are very different things, and give quite different results. which is the point, actually. the point of a beauty dish is to give more definition and pop than a softbox. please don't name a softbox a beauty dish.....

@358studios

3 жыл бұрын

Haha... I would never. :)

IF you go small, make sure you got a c-stand at hand😅

@358studios

Жыл бұрын

Haha. I always used a c stand and always bag. 😂😂🤙🏻

@Dewabarasunderan

2 ай бұрын

​@@358studiosWell kind of defeats the purpose of the super mobile AD200, if I always need to carry an additional C-Stand and sandbag.