Tool Talk

With Lightware's FourSquare system I can mount four remote Speedlights on a bracket that fits nicely in a 30-inch softbox and get increased light output, greater exposure flexibility and a soft, pleasing light. Photo of me at work by my colleague, Frank Seipp.

For Carey, her guitar and the bar background I wanted soft, flattering light. I fired an SB-900 into a 36-inch umbrella as the key light on Carey, a second SB-900 with a Honl Speed Snoot to light the cherry red guitar and a third, on a stool in the back, to add a bit of fill to the bar. I added a 1/4-inch Honl Speed Grid with a red gel to the third Speedlight to send a nice stream of complementary red light to the front of the bar and the floor. D3S, AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G ED.

I met Nick "Batso" Maccharoli through his work with an animal rescue group. I placed my lights to tell you something about him: he's tough, but amazingly generous of spirit. For his face I used an SB-900 with a 1/8-inch Honl Speed Grid from a high angle. For his shoulders and chest, a second SB-900, fitted with a 1/4-inch Honl grid, was placed towards the front of his body. An SB-600 added rim light from behind to create separation between the background and his shoulder and head. Light from a third SB-900 fired through a Honl Speed Snoot to strike his left hand. D3X, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D IF.

A Lightware FourSquare system that allows me to put four SB-900 Speedlights into a softbox provided the soft light I wanted. With SD-9 power packs connected to each SB-900, I was able to achieve more than enough light to make the exposure at the aperture and shutter speed—f/5.6, 1/160 second—I wanted. A simple approach that wrapped nice soft light around my subject. D300S, AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G.

A soft white Lastolite 36-inch umbrella. I used a similar setup to add a key light to Carey.

Lighting expert David Honl developed a series of light-shaping tools that are must-haves for many Speedlight shooters. These Honl Speed Grids—a 1/4-inch on the SB-900 and an 1/8-inch—limit the spread of light coming from the flash, producing a more direct, yet still wide, hit of light.

The Honl five-inch Shorty Speed Snoot. Along with an eight-inch version, it's perfect for defining light in a specific area of the frame. In the photograph of Batso, I used the eight-incher to strike only his left hand.

With Lightware's FourSquare system I can mount four remote Speedlights on a bracket that fits nicely in a 30-inch softbox and get increased light output, greater exposure flexibility and a soft, pleasing light. Photo of me at work by my colleague, Frank Seipp.