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Why Godox is succeeding where Yongnuo failed

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The flash market used to be rather simple. You go to one company for speedlights, usually your camera manufacturer or a specialist brand like Metz. Then, you go to another company, such as Bowens and Elinchrom, for strobes when you needed more power. The strobe market stayed largely stable, but then Yongnuo came along and upset the speedlight scene quite drastically.

Last night, as I was in bed, browsing Facebook on my iPad, as you do, I ran across a post over on Flash Havoc. Described as “something of an open letter to Yongnuo”, I thought it seemed to hit the mark pretty well on many points. So, here’s some of my own thoughts.

Why a white backdrop is the only portrait background you’ll ever need

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I often see people asking what colour they should paint their new studio, or what backdrop should they get. My advice, if you only have to pick one, is to get white. Always. White is the most versatile background you could use for portraits. My reasoning is simple. You can turn white into any colour you choose.

In this video, Malaysian photographer Andrew Boey with the assistance of his model, Demi, shows us how to send a white backdrop to complete blackness. It’s actually a pretty simple process when it’s broken down into the basic steps.

First impressions of the Godox XPro – The ultimate flash trigger?

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A few days ago I received the new XPro trigger from Godox. Designed to overcome some issues with the X1T and XT32 triggers, the XPro has received a warm reception so far online since the initial announcement. But how well does it really work? And does it eliminate the issues of the previous triggers?

While I didn’t have many issues with the X1T myself, my answer is a pretty resounding yes. The XT32-inspired design is wonderful, eliminating some of the ergonomic issues of the X1T. It also has that great big LCD with a lot more buttons, which makes workflow a breeze.

How to create low key Rembrandt light portraits in the studio

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Rembrandt had a wonderful way of simulating light in his paintings. So much so, that there’s a whole photography lighting technique named after him. Not surprisingly, Rembrandt lighting. It’s characterised by a small triangle of light under the subject’s eye on the shadow side of the face. It’s typical of how Rembrandt painted his subjects.

This video from Jay P Morgan shows us how we can get a Rembrandt style lighting setup in a low key portrait. With the help of a couple of young ladies, a pomeranian and a chicken, we see how the shot is built up to provide a classic look with a modern twist.

How to fire your strobes 3 different ways and when to use each one

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All the time, I see new flash and strobe owners ask “How do I fire these things?, which isn’t an unreasonable question. For speedlights, it’s fairly straightforward. You buy the one that fits your camera’s hotshoe, slide it on, and beyond that you read the manual to figure out what all the different functions do. But what if you want to get it off your camera, or you’re using studio strobes?

In this video, Jay P Morgan shows us the three main ways to fire flashes with your camera. It’s fairly simple to do using either a sync cable, optical slave or radio slave. But each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Not all methods suit all circumstances. So, it’s good to know and understand all three, and when might suit a certain situation best.

How to turn your male subjects from doofy to dapper in three simple steps

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We often hear that “lighting is everything”, and to a point it is. But when it comes to portraits, so is the posing of your subject. It doesn’t matter how great your light is. If the pose isn’t flattering, your subject’s not going to look great.

In this minute long photography tips video from the guys at SLR Lounge, we see how directing our subject gives a very different look. Nothing has changed with the camera or the lighting. It’s all about the mood and the pose. And it’s just three simple steps that can be done in a few seconds.

Photonicz is a Strobe/LED hybrid that can take a splash and keep working

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So, this is an interesting, if rather unusual idea. Photonicz is an LED based strobe (a world’s first, apparently) designed to offer the advantages of both strobes, and modern LED technology. Lots of power, lightweight, portable power through V-Mount batteries, weather sealed… It sounds ideal. But, it does kind of just look like a giant heatsink with an LCD bolted on.

The product is currently being funded through Kickstarter where they say they’re ready to start tooling and production. On paper, they look quite impressive. They boast flash durations as fast as 1/50,000th of a second, with up to 30 pops per second at full power. Full power, they claim, is the equivalent of a 2500Ws traditional strobe. It also offers high speed sync for a whole bunch of camera brands.

The first review of the Godox A1 mobile phone flash trigger is out, and it looks quite good

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The Godox A1 has been much talked about since it was announced not too long ago. A flash trigger that could fire speedlights and real strobes… on your phone? They even did a fancy iPhone studio shoot to show off its capabilities. Then it went on pre-order. Many people thought “What’s the point? Why spend so much money on lights to use your phone?”.

They’re right, of course, but for me the big draw is behind the scenes photos. If my lights are already set up at a shoot, it takes no time at all to whip out my phone and grab a shot for Instagram. Some hate the idea of the A1, some love it. But how well does it really perform? This review from photographer Rob Hall goes pretty in depth into the Godox A1 feature set as well as some of its drawbacks.

5 classic portrait lighting mistakes and how to avoid them

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In this article I am going to highlight 5 key things that I see portrait photographers doing that I consider to be ‘in need of improvement’ and although there are no hard-and-fast rules to photography, try to think of it as being similar to an instrument being slightly out of tune or a meal that’s perhaps a little too salty. These are glaringly obvious errors to the well informed but may not be so obvious to those who are just starting out.

I’ll also just say that photography is a subjective field and just like any other art form there is going to be people who agree and disagree with what I class as ‘mistakes’. History lecturers for example, will teach us that the Berlin wall fell in 1989, mathematicians will tell us that 2 + 2 = 4. These are what we refer to as facts but in our world of the arts we aren’t quite so strictly governed and it isn’t quite as simple.

Specs and more info released as the Godox A1 mobile flash trigger goes on pre-order

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The Godox A1 flash trigger for mobile devices is now available for pre-order. The price actually isn’t that bad, either. It’s about where I was hoping it would be, but lower than I expected. At $69.90, it is a little more expensive pricey than the X1T for DSLRs & Mirrorless cameras. But, the A1 does also include a built in flash and continuous light.

First up, the good news is that the Godox A1 going to be compatible with both Android and iPhone. The bad news is, Android users will have to wait a little while. The Godox A1 is now available to preorder, and the GodoxPhoto app is already available in the Apple App Store. And, unlike the previously seen screenshots, it’s been translated into English.

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