@jcourtial wrote:
Hi, sorry to jump on the thread but I'm in the exact situation from Karim. 6D and wanting to do interior photography.
Now I've bought 2 YN560 III to start with and light stands, gels, umbrellas. But what I can't get my head around is how do I the transmitter / commander thing.
What do I need to buy to be able to control the settings of each flash from my camera?
I want to take it slowly so don't need TTL to start with, but would like to make sure I dont have to go and change the settings of each flash individually all the time.
Not sure what you mean by "interior photography"...
If you are referring to doing small product shots indoors, such as tabletop studio work, or perhaps tight portraits... 2 190GN flashes will work fine but are about the bare minimum, especially if bounced out of umbrellas or shot through diffusers.
If you are thinking you'll light up a large room, it's nowhere near enough light with two 190GN flashes.
For portraits on location, I use a modest, portable lighting kit of five 320WS monolights... Usually bounced out of umbrellas, sometimes shot through diffusers. My "main light" is actually two of the monolights ganged up into one umbrella: 640WS. I nearly always use a third monolight as a fill on the side opposite the main light, then often use a fourth monolight on a boom as a hair light and/or background light, sometimes the fifth as well. This is far, far more light than you'll get out of a pair of 190GN portable flashes, but is still just barely adequate light for full length portraiture from about 10 or 15 feet away.
I also have three Canon 550EX and three 580EX II flashes (each of which is roughly 190GN) that I use for a variety of other things. Even if I were to use both the monolights and the flashes, I don't think I'd have enough to adequatly light up a very large interior space.
In other words, with just two 190GN flashes you really don't have anywhere near enough flashes to light up an architectural interior much larger than a closet or small bathroom... particularly if bouncing those flashes out of an umbrella (you "lose" roughly half the light when using an umbrella... because you're increasing the distance, spreading the light more, and some of it is being absorbed as well).
Check out a friend of mine's architectural interiors at http://luhnphoto.com/architecture/ Jeff is one of the best in the business!. The trick he accomplishes so well is artificially lighting the scene beautifully, while still managing to make it look natural and inviting. I seem to recall the shot of the interior with the piano took five or six hours to set up and uses some 25 or more light sources of several types, each very carefully placed and balance with each other. This includes replacing each of any existing bulbs, such as those in ceiling recesses and the chandelier in that room, with special bulbs that match the color temp of his broader lighting. At least this particular shot wasn't also trying to balance with exterior light. That was always a real pain with film... it's still extra work, but now much easier with digital post-processing. You can see how well he manages indoor/outdoor balance in some of the other examples he has online.
I don't use any Yongnuo stuff, including the YN560 III, but understand it's a manual flash... not TTL (actually ETTL in Canon lingo). This means that the camera cannot meter the light and automatically reduce or increase the flash exposure as needed (the way it can with all Canon EX and other ETTL-capable flashes). Yes, it appears a YN602 or YN603C unit can trigger it.... but you'd have to go to each flash unit to set or change it's output power or zoom level. Apparently a YN560-TX is a slightly more sophisticated controller unit. It's not TTL/ETTL either, but you can remotely set or change the output power and zoom of as many as six different groups of flashes (each group can be one or more flashes, apparently). It also seems to be usable as a simple trigger with YN602 or 603 modules that are being used to fire other brands of flashes and/or studio strobes/monolights.
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Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & EXPOSUREMANAGER
