How many watt-seconds do you need for portrait photography?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ส.ค. 2024
- What the hell is watt second and how many do you need?
In today's video I explore how many watt seconds you may need in each situation so that you can make the right choice when you're purchasing lights for your studio and on location.
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Just thank you. Those very accurate little subject are so important to explain !
Glad it was helpful!
That was fantastic. I have 2 godox AD 200s and 1 godox ad600 and they are perfect for most indoor and outdoor shooting situations! But now understanding watt seconds has brought more understanding to what I do! So I just learned that my speed lights are 76 Watts which are good for certain things!
Great to hear. Thank you so much!
Oh wow, you explained it perfectly John Gress thank you! Love the sample image of a group outdoors and yes its better to dial down the power of the source than running out of it. All the best for you and your Team as the world opens up again.
Thank you so much! Same to you and I am glad it was helpful. It sure is strange at first going back to a world without masks but it just does feel great to be back among people and not perceiving them as threats!
@@JohnGress I have to say Portable Lights have also taken a leap on how good they become making the job for Photographers like you better. Mask or no mask we all take a chance every morning when we get up and put our foot on the floor to get up, we need time to adjust and make the best of it all. Thank you John Gress for taking the time and respond to the comments.
Well explained. Thanks for the video. I also like your calm style.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for the video, John! I saw the photo at 0:29 and thought it might be cool if you could make a video about lighting (or even posing) groups. This has always been a challenge for me and perhaps for most studio photographers as well. Cheers and keep rocking mate!
Really enjoy your calm and thorough presentation. This is a great explanation of a confusing subject. Strobes, incandescent light bulbs, and audio amplifiers are marked by the power they consume, not the volume they put out. Not at all saying you are wrong here... the products are both rated and sold with a (sort of) industry standard marketing term.
This is video is a great synopsis of what is needed to photograph in different settings. 👍
Thanks James! Glad you enjoyed it! Its strange that the sell those things with the input power and not the output, but we gotta make sense out of it somehow.
I've never even heard of this! Gonna take this into my photography.. Great video 🔥
Awesome! Thank you so much!
Heck looking sharp John.
Thank you so much! I gotta dress up somewhere LOL! This is the first video with my new C70 too. 😁
Great video, thanks!
Thanks! You're welcome!
Your numbers are spot on, great information! I use a 1200 pack & head system at the lowest settings. That is 225 ws through a hazylite box and 75 ws through a 3x4 soft box with a model 3' from the lights. I meter f/10 - f/11 at ISO 50. Really, the best advice is power that can be adjusted lower. My 90's gear just cannot be set lower and that isn't ideal for a small studio. ND gels could help, but honestly, I like a lot of DOF in studio shots.
Thanks man.Even the Profoto systems back then didn’t drop below 37 watt seconds and that was painful in a beauty dish. Sometimes I find my 7ws to be too much too, but only during dusk.
Never clicked on a video so fast. Been talking about tis topic to a few photographers recently.
Oh wow! I didn't expect it to be so well received.
Hello John, thank you for the overview of the watt second topic. It is of great value to highlight the technical side of photography, such that new and seasoned photographers understand how to best utilize their equipment. With your permission, I would like to provide some clarification on the term, watt second. Watt-Second is a statement of energy as work, Watts vs. Time. Just as our electric bill is stated as KiloWatts per hour, KW/h. In the case of electronic flash, Watt-sec is the statement of the stored energy in the flash capacitor. Ex: filling a glass of water and pouring it out over a toy paddle wheel is stored energy converted to work, if the paddle wheel is connected to a generator. So, Watt-seconds of stored energy is translated into light as the energy flows through the flash tube. The higher the value of Watt-Sec's the more light emitted from the flash tube. Of greater importance, however, is the flash guide number, GN. A flash guide number is the product of flash distance to the subject (times) the f-stop. This takes into account the amount of stored energy, the reflector efficiency and the inverse square law of light fall off with distance. For a complete technical and pictorial explanation of High Speed Sync vs. shutter based flash synchronization, please view my blog article www.davidlloydphoto.com/blog/2017/5/5/cl-200x-hss-measurements. I sincerely hope this will provide greater insights into the technical and practical side of flash photography. Best regards, David Lloyd CPP (former flash engineer for Vivitar Corp.)
Thanks David. I know GN would be far more useful as WS is just an expression of input power, but unfortunately every light is marketed as WS and some even show the current WS on the LCD.
Great video. Ty.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!
Hi John,
I think it can depend on what and how you shoot also. Along with watt seconds always want to know the T0.1 flash duration of a light as well.
A lot are measure in the marketing value T0.5 which for stopping action is useless.
The studio lights I use a Godox based (Pixapro in the UK) The Storm II 400 and 600 heads. They work like speedlites and the battery powered units in that they give a shorter flash duration on lower power settings. With the 600ws heads I can get around 1/1400th sec T0.1 at around 1/4 power which affords me stopping power and output.
Generally I will always go for a higher powered light over a lower one even for the studio because I will gain ( with the right light) a shorter flash duration at an equivalent power to a lower powered light.
Not enough people consider flash duration during the purchase of a flash.
Vary valid point. Elinchrom lights are generally the same -- offering the shorter duration at minimum power. I was very skeptical that the t.1 1/250 at full power on some mid level monolights was going to cut it, but I have been quite surprised.
Great video!! Thanks
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Thanks for a very helpful video John. What are you go to 500W lights that you talk about? I recently got a set of BRX-500 lights and while it's nice to have that power, I can only go down to 31W, which is quite limiting if I want to use small modifiers up close. So it's good to have both options.
Thanks Sean. I hear your pain. The new ELC500s have become my main lights. You can dial them back to 7ws.
John, I absolutely love all of your videos. I taught myself photography during the pandemic and your videos have taught me A LOT. Do you find that for a beginner, someone who may not want to use a 7' umbrella or 5' softbox yet, that speedlights put out enough light?
Great to hear! I am guessing that the design of the flash, which puts out a narrow beam, isn't going to be broad enough to fill a modifier larger than 3 feet.
When I first started all I had was a speedlight and a shoot through umbrella, which I could use at 1/8th power, ISO 100 and f8. Then I went onto a small softbox (70cm x 100cm) which I could use at 1/8th power, ISO 200 and f8. I started to run into difficulties when I got a Glow 38" deep octa. Then I was at 1/8th power, ISO 400 and around f5.6 - 6.3. At those setting the ambient light of the room was starting to come into play. I didn't want to go any higher than 1/8th power as the recycle time was quite slow and it would eat the battery quite quickly. Hope that helps!
Thanks John for the tips. Please in an outdoor portrait photoshoot, what size of modifier & watt/sec is Ideal using speedlight flash?
Thanks! Given that they are less powerful, than studio flashes, I would guess at 75cm or so softbox and full power would be about right.
I recall you using an optical snoot for accenting in some photos. I've been meaning to ask if you are using it with flash and what power does it need to not be washed out. I acknowledge the other variables involved; distance, lense, gobo, backdrop, main lights etc... this is just a general question. BTW, thanks you for the effort you put into these tutorials.
Sure thing! Thank you! You really need a 500ws light with an LED modeling light for the optical snoot. Its hard to get it above 5.6 and a traditional bulb will cause it to melt some of the plastic parts.
Thank you very much John for yet another wonderful and informative video.
I have a question to ask about the way you have your Beauty Dish mounted (timestamp: 3:21). I always have problems with my Beauty Dish mounted horizontally on a C-stand grip arm. Gravity pulls the Dish down no matter how much I tighten the arm or the flash's holder. Your solution looks perfect, and I wanted to know what type of attachment (arm) is that?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Yes, absolutely. That is a Kupo Offset arm - amzn.to/2DlleEz
Thank you John! You’re the best! ❤️
Cool Video again John. very practical and also strategical. In My beginning i startet with way to powerful Elinchrom Flash Units. What was the problem with that, you might wonder: The Flashes of this days where not able to deliver very, very low power and for certain pictures it is important to have a wide range. As you use Elinchrom you certainly know their number system. Today in need power vom. 0.1 = 7WS up to 6.3=500WS (Elinchrom ELC500 / ELB500) per unit. Maybe the question could be extended to: "how much range in power do one needs" ..another question/aspect is the refreshing/charging times. Working with moving Athletes, Musicians, Children fast refreshing is a real issue.
The Elinchrom number/Ws system
Setting Ws
0.1 7
1.3 15
2 25
2.3 31
3.3 62.5
4.3 125
131
5.3 250
300
6 400
6.3 500
522
600
7.3 1200
8.3 2400
Thanks for the info and complements! I always get lost when I try to convert it. When I had 2400 WS profoto packs my silver beauty dish was unusable at 37.5 or 75ws, I forget when one was the minimum power output.
@@JohnGress John - another photographer from Lucerne and i - both Elinchrom customers - are wondering why you and other top photographers combine profoto flashes. Profoto is not the question mark for us, but the light shapers are. Maybe you feel like making a video about the reason(s) for the brand mix?
Thank you, this was so informative. And incredibly well-made.
Thank you so much!!
Everything you say is correct, but a couple of important points . . . Firstly, distance is key, and far more power is needed when the distance from light source to subject is greater than it should be (inverse square law). And secondly, when shooting indoors in a controlled environment with a minimum of unwanted ambient light, low power can be largely compensated simply by increasing the camera ISO setting without noticeable loss of image quality.
All true too. Maybe I should have just said buy a 500 ws strobe with a wide power range and call it a day =)
Hey John, you have recently made test for Elinchrom ONE flashes. From your experience, what will be the largest possible softboxes (octa) to use in general situations with those flashes? (for example Rotalux Octa 100cm Deep or Rotalux 135cm) Do you have any more comments to give? I consider to buy El. ONE flashes as my main lights for occasional portrait projects. Thank you for the answer and your great content!
Thank you so much! I think its probably good indoors for either of those softboxes, but its really pushing it to go larger and outside during the magic hour the 100 could work but during the day you probably need a hard reflector. th-cam.com/video/Me3d0lENpcs/w-d-xo.html
y are in my top 5 photographers
Thank you so much!!
🔥🔥🔥
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Hi, I have a question about how to aim a flash at an object and how to mix different wattage lights.
The range for the large modifier mentioned is big, for a 7ft bounce umbrella how many watts do I need to? Thanks
I am not sure what I said in the video, but I would think between 125ws and 500ws, but that really depends on the f-stop and ISO that you are using.
How many watts of continueous light does one need to capture fast movement like shutter 125 or 250?
500 or so in a softbox, but that shutter speed would probably stop basic posing but not fast movement. This video or so will explain it more in depth - th-cam.com/video/WifxpL6iqFw/w-d-xo.html
What is also important is how low you can go with power. Elinchrom has the lowest power 7Ws. This is sometimes too much if you want to use aputure f1.8 or so,even with big deep umbrella for instance. No everybody using f10 in studio.
Thats why I said if youre shooting wide open you'll need less. But its always good to have the ability to drop down or go up.
Just found your channel sir.
Welcome!
At last, clarity.
Thanks!!
My Nikon d800 I need to take full focus of object
Please any feedback on this ?
The flash-duration and recycling time differences
(even though at the same light oitput reading !!!)
- between an 600watt max flash and an 1200wat flash dialed down to match 600, same with both at 400, etc down...I think to remember that there are only disadvantages to have RX1200 over RX600
(except (obviousally) for the cases where more than 600 is needed).
I think that recycling times are strangely consistantly "much" longer with the 1200 for the same light outputs, and flash duration also.
I’m having trouble understanding but if you’re asking about ab rx600 I don’t have one to test.
@@JohnGress no it's a matter of studying their tech sheets.. I will try to find...
Is 600w enough for shooting portraits outside in a sunny day and for an out door weddings?
If you're trying to light the ceremony probably not, but for portraits you'll probably be just fine unless you're using a huge softbox. I think I shot the wedding party group portraits on my last wedding with a 500ws light in a 3' octabox, but the sun was behind them. Typically I always try to shoot portraits outside with the sun behind the subjects so that my light is the only thing lighting their face.
How many of ANYTHING do I need? MORE!
TRUE! ;)
@@JohnGress Hey, thanks for the informative and helpful video. I just found your channel recently, but all the videos of yours I've watched have been great... and INTELLIGENT! There's so much nonsense on TH-cam from newbies who are more about being trendy than useful.
Thank you so much! That’s a huge compliment!
No mention of increasing ISO with lower power strobes?
You could if you needed to, but you’re always better off shooting at 100 ISO.
I need 2 600ws for a single person full body shoot when sun is out there. Later in the evenings 1 600ws is enough. Waiting for global shutters to get cheaper.
Use guide no. - Watt sec. does not say anything about how powerful the flash are....
watt-seconds is a measure of the energy available in the capacitor.
A GN it telling you the effective power output taking in the reflector etc given in the GN specs. a WS rating is only telling you how much power the capacitors will hold. It's like comparing Horse power to 1/4 mile race times, a higher horse power should run faster, but if one is a little import and one is a pick up truck which one will get there faster with the same horse power.
You are of course not wrong and John conceded that Ws are a proxy only, but all flashes/strobes are reasonably close in their efficiency to convert the Ws into light output, so the Ws figure is usually a good proxy to use (if the manufacturer provides a realistic figure). GN specs are often not more useful because manufacturers get "creative" when measuring those figures. Speedlights are always measured at their highest zoom setting, factoring the longest zoom settting, and some even deliberately produce hot spots in the centre just to be able to claim a higher GN number.
Ole you are not completely wrong - but wrong: WS is used to describe/define of how much light a flash unit can emit with a single flash is measured in its maximum flash energy. This energy is measured in the physical unit of joules. Instead of joules, you can also say watt seconds. They are just different names for almost the same unit. (If you apply a power of 1 watt for 1 second, that is 1 watt times 1 second, this equals 1 joule of energy)..
you are as so far right, that for example Elinchrom's ELC PRO HD 500 has capacitor wich is able to provide 500WS at one burst. (when loaded and ready). WS alone does not say much about what ends up a subject or a object after passing reflector, diffusors etc..but it is a indicator for balancing and also of how big a set of flashes can successful cover.. (a diamant, a Car, a Airplane (in a hall), a horse or a Person in Studio)
@@class_a good explanation the diff/similarity between GN (Leitzahl in german language) and Ws's.
Ty Ole. . .you are right on.... GN is so much better
2400 watt/seconds.... per light source.
And you must shoot every image at an aperture of f/22 or smaller.
Why not 4800... go big or go home!
N’SYNC Speed hahaha
LOL some one read! And the bent over pose too! =P
One size doesn't fit all! Depends on what kind you're doing, where you're doing it, whats the look your going for, You want shallow DOF, you want HSS, You want f/8-f/11, you doing portraits or fashion ... Sometime 50ws all you need, sometimes multiple units of 2400 ws or more is needed. Sometimes you don't even need WS. Go study the greats... Penn, Avedon, Stern, S.Meisel, Ritts, Moon, Hiro, Karsh, Newman, etc...
Did you watch the video?