Ringflash C Experimenting with www.broncolor.com and without shadow 2 Ringflash C Ringflash C - Orchestrating reflections and shadows more deliberately and spontaneously. The light of a Ringflash is known for its very uniform – at best slight- ly centre oriented – fill. Honeycomb grids allow the lighting angle to be directed more accurately. As a re- sult, illumination similar to a spot- light is achieved while retaining the typical shadowless characteristics the Ringflash is known for. The angle of the Ringflash C can be adjusted independently from the camera, all- owing more flexibility for directing light to the area where accentuation is desired. 3 Ringflash C Light characteristics When using a Ringflash, the light source is evenly distributed around Make it shine Make and very close to the lens. Light without shadows is the result. With one exception: If a background is not illuminated with additional (natural or artificial) light, shadow contours may appear around the object or model. These shadows are larger when the object is farther Fill in perfectly away from the background. You can see these shadows and the influence of the distance very clearly in the pictures of the chairs (p. 12). Use the Ringflash differently 4 Ringflash C How To – Make it shine In the following photograph the shadow contours cannot be seen be- cause the background is illuminated by natural daylight. A Ringflash is a very hard light. This is why shiny materials take on a beau- tiful glow. In this shot, the Ringflash C makes silk look like silk (Softer or even diffused light might make silk look like cotton.) As mentioned earlier, the light of a Ringflash comes from very close to the optical axis. This is what makes a Ringflash a fantastic fill light! 5 Ringflash C How To – Fill in perfectly The first photograph is illuminated with backlights only - and a Ring- flash C without grids as a fill. The Ringflash C is filtered to be slightly blueish. The example of “three-dimensional posing” shows the model with his arms in front of his body. A standard fill such as a softbox would still cre- ate dark core shadows in this shot. When using a Ringflash C as a fill, even the most concealed parts of the picture are still illuminated, and the eyes have a sharp highlight. 6 Ringflash C How To – Use the Ringflash differently When shooting stills or taking pho- tographs of people, the Ringflash C is the perfect choice to ensure abso- lutely nothing stays in the dark. In this shot of a narrow car interior, a Ringflash C is used as basic illu- mination while a second Ringflash C provides an effect light from under the driver’s seat. A few softboxes add accents to the light. If parts of the object are very shiny, small but high- ly reflective areas may appear. 7 Ringflash C The radiant glow of skin or dress ma- terial which results from a Ringflash is not always desirable for a product shot. Most of the time reflections like these are small and easy to remove in postproduction. A drawing of the setup would be too complex. However, the behind the scene shot on the right indicates how the shoot was prepared. The Ringflash with the camera is in the trunk, softboxes direct light through the roof and the windscreen, and there is an effect light (Ringflash and Litestick) under the front seats. 8 Ringflash C Earlier how-to’s 9 Ringflash C Earlier how-to’s 10 Ringflash C Earlier how-to’s 11 Ringflash C Technical Data & Compatibility The Ringflash C is fully compati- ble with all broncolor power packs. There is no modelling light when using it on a Move 1200L. Ringflash C | 32.462.XX • Halogen modelling light 200 W • A honeycomb set (3 pieces) is available for Ringflash C • High-strength UV-coated flash tube (3200 J) • Powerful fan cooling and integrated UV-filter • Operation possible on all mains power supplies worldwide Flash energy max. 3200 J Modelling light (230 V) 200 W halogen: 10 × 20 W / 24 V 1 6 F-stop at 2 m (6 ½ ft), 100 ISO 45 /10 (3200 J) with soft reflector: 45 /10 (3200 J) Cooling stabilised with 2 fans Dimensions with support (Ø×h×d) 23,1 × 28,6 × 18 cm (9,1 × 11,3 × 7,1“) Weight with cable 5 m (16 ft) 2,7 kg (6 lbs) 12 Ringflash C Accessories – Honeycomb grid for Ringflash C Honeycomb grid | 33.219.00 Set of 3 pieces (fine, medium, coarse) Honeycomb grid No grids Medium grids Narrow grids 13 Ringflash C Accessories – Power reflector for Ringflash C As the standard reflector has the shape of a short tube, some light is bounced back to the flash tube. The power reflector directs this light towards the object or model and increases the light output by about 60 percent (2/3 of an f-stop). Power reflector Honeycomb grids are also avail- able for the power reflector. Power reflector | 33.125.00 Slightly satiny inner surface coating Honeycomb grid | 33.189.00 Set of 3 pieces (fine, medium, coarse) Honeycomb grid for power reflector 14 Ringflash C Accessories – Soft Reflector & Beauty Reflector for Ringflash C The Beauty Reflector has a white coating and the Soft Reflector a silver coating. Both versions slightly enlarge the source of light. This softens the light some- Soft reflector what and reduces shine (e.g., on oily skin). The Beauty Reflector’s white surface also diffuses more light than the silver-coated Soft Reflector. Soft reflector | 33.123.00 Silver inside coating incl. UV-coated protect- ing glass Beauty reflector | 33.124.00 White inside coating incl. UV-coated protect- Beauty reflector ing glass .