Portrait of Bill Pearce - Metropolitan Fire Brigade, South Melbourne.
Canon 5DmkII 1/40s @ f/6.3 ISO200, EF16-35mm L II f/2.8 @ 16mm. Two off camera speedlites (manual) - one camera left (unmodified) and one camera right (red gel & Honl grid).
strobist
I just received a set of new Pixel King E-TTL radio triggers and I must say am very impressed. I purchased transmitter/receiver pair from eBay for about AUD$150: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PIXEL-KING-E-TTL-Wireless-Flash-Trigger-CANON-F369-/150659391128?pt=AU_Flashes&hash=item2313ffde98
I set them up with my Canon 5D mark II and 580exII speedlites. The E-TTL works really well and supports A,B & C groups in normal & high speed sync. Second curtain sync dent work and group ratios are not supported making the use of multiple speedlites less than ideal for creative work. One other odd thing is the hotshot on top of the transmitter doesn't function, so you can't use an on-camera fill flash with this setup. BUT...manual mode is awesome! You can use the 3 groups and set individual power settings and zoom settings for each group all from the back of the 5DmkII menu system. This is fantastic when using the Westcott soft box that normally requires a wrestling match to change a power/zoom setting on the speedlite inside. You can swap between E-TTL & manual from the camera as well - everything plays along.
These units use a radio frequency of 2.4Ghz and so don't suffer the issues that the Pocket Wizards have with interference when using 580ExII speedlites.
A USB connection is supported to allow firmware upgrades, so I am hoping the E-TTL group ratio aspect will be fixed in time.
[caption id="attachment_210" align="alignnone" width="458" caption="Pixel King E-TTL radio trigger for Canon flash 580EXII"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_209" align="alignnone" width="458" caption="Pixel King E-TTL radio trigger with canon 580EXII attached"][/caption]
High key portrait using speedlights in studio.
Canon 5DmkII 1/160sec @ f/8 ISO100 EF24-70mm L f/2.8 @ 70mm Strobist: 2 x Nikon SB-24 with 33cm shoot through umbrella aimed at rear wall camera left and right. Black gobo flagging both umbrellas from subject (1/2 power). Canon 580exII in 28" Westcott Apollo softbox up and camera left (1/2 power).
Thanks to Zack Arias for his fantastic tutorial in seamless shooting (old, but still great). Thanks to Andy - Lightenupandshoot.com - subtle skin retouching using his new upside down method.
For studio portrait setup of white seamless background this set-by-step discussion, from Zack Arias, is the best and most useful tutorial I have found on the net. It's a few years old (2008), but is no less relevant now.
White Seamless Tutorial :: Part 1 :: Gear & Space
White Seamless Tutorial :: Part 2 :: Setting Lights & Exposure
White Seamless Tutorial :: Part 2b :: Full Length With OneLight
White Seamless Tutorial :: Part 3 :: From White To Black
White Seamless Tutorial :: Part 4 :: Simple Changes In Post Production
White Seamless Tutorial :: Part 5 :: Wrap up, Questions, & Contest!
I have been following Andy & Mikey on Lightenupandshoot.com - love this! I managed to get an old Nikon SB-24 on eBay for $65 to add to my Canon 580exII (and very old Nissin 360TW from my 20 year old Minolta film camera). Following the lead, I found a local distributor of Westcott gear Image Melbourne and purchased a 28" Soft box and a shoot through umbrella. I also purchased a set of the Yongnuo triggers from Hong Kong via eBay and put the whole lot to work.
Heres the setup: Canon 5DmkII 1/100s @ f/2.8 ISO100 EF24-70mm L f/2.8 @ 34mm Strobist Info: 580exII in 28" Westcott softbox upper right (manual 1/8 power). Nikon SB-24 in refective umbrella as fill on right (manual 1/16 power). Nissin 360TW at rear facing up (manual 1/4 power) with red gel.All triggered with Yongnuo RF-602's.