Beauty and the Nude” workshops in the Virgin Is-
lands, you’ll see I bring two of these bad-boy Octa
Sunhazes with me for all to use, especially for those
infinite-edge pool shots at sunset.
Novelty Units. The novelty ring flash units
being introduced today are usually built from plastic
and can’t deliver 1000 “real” watt-seconds or more
of power. Beware of the “effective” watt-second
claims; it is a marketing ploy that suggests the units
pack more power than they do in reality. The man-
ufacturers will have you believing you can get an
aperture of f/11 or better outdoors, but they fail to
stress that you’ll have to place your subject eight
feet or less from the unit to achieve these results.
Your models will hate you for this punishment as
they walk away seeing “white donuts” from the
flash unit. Manufacturers also claim that the units
feature^1 / 10 -stop accuracy for adjusting the flash out-
put, but they don’t tell you that the “accuracy” is
based on your feel and touch—there are no verifi-
able clicks, audio, LED displays, etc., to prove your
accuracy, and^1 / 10 of an f-stop needs some type of
verification—no human hand can be that accurate
with the sliding bar these novelty units incorporate.
Always research something before you purchase it
and make informed, not impulsive, purchases.
Things to Consider When Purchasing a Ring Flash Unit.
Flash Unit.Weight.If a unit is heavy and you’re
shooting with the camera attached to it, it will be
difficult to ensure steady operation. It’s very important that the unit be as
lightweight as possible to prevent camera shake and hand fatigue.
Use of a tripod with a camera attached to the ring flash will limit your
movements and reduce portability, often at the cost of sacrificed shots. Placing
a ring flash on a light stand with the camera unattached is preferred. With
lighter units, you can attach the camera to the ring flash camera bracket and
move about more freely then when attached to a tripod. This is personal
choice. As a photojournalist, I prefer shooting freely to being tied to a tripod.
Don’t be fooled by novelty units with easily breakable plastic housings that
are usually larger than the more ruggedly built professional units.
42 LIGHTING FOR GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
FACING PAGE—While conducting a workshop with Arny Freytag,
Playboy’s top photographer, Arny suggested we illuminate the
hot tub in this penthouse suite with blue gels. We wanted the
Las Vegas lights in the background, so we waited until nightfall
to photograph model Eleya. I had two Hensel Integra 500 Pro
Plus lights fitted with a 7-inch metal reflectors and 20-degree
grids, both behind the model and pointed into the water. Each
grid was covered with a Rosco blue gel. Due to space restric-
tions and safety when working around water, the lights were
placed high, hence the blue spill light on the model. The main
light was a Hensel Integra 500 Pro Plus monolight fitted with
a Hensel 22-inch beauty dish. The final image was postpro-
duced using Nik Software’s Bleach Bypass and Glamour Glow
filters. (CAMERA:Canon EOS 5D fitted with a Canon 70 –200mm
f/2.8L IS USM lens. SETTINGS:105mm effective focal length,^1 / 8
second shutter speed, f/6.3, white balance at 6000K, ISO 400)