FourSquare 48″ using an Elinchrom Head compared to Speedlights

FourSquare 48″ using an Elinchrom Head compared to Speedlights

Foursquare 48" with both an elinchrom head and a pair of Nikon Speedlights

My former assistant Ted Pruess was recently in the studio when we were working with the 48″ FourSquare bank. Ted is living and working in Chicagoas a fine art photographer. If you have a moment you should take a look at what he does. http://www.preussphotography.com/

These images are just showing a comparison between a “studio” strobe by Elinchrom and a couple of speed lights by Nikon (SB 910). These are straight out of camera no retouching or fiddling with. I think it shows that you can do some really nice work without having all the big gear. Traveling light has become the necessity with the airlines becoming stricter with carry on or lack thereof. Its easier to check a case that may be thirty pounds rather than checking a huge one topping out at max weight. Either way you pay. With the new designs coming out from ProFoto, Elinchrom and Godox rethinking lighting has become a necessity. If you are traveling less is more. I think that this is pretty telling. How most of photography is being used today I think you could easily make a case for traveling light.

Image #1 On Left

ISO 100

Key Light:

FourSquare 48″ (FSK48 with shortened poles to fit a Chimera Speedring) and a Elinchrom A4 head on a 101 pack, power set to 1/4 +0.7

Background Light:

Elinchrom A4 head on a 101 pack, power set to 1/8. Deep reflector with diffusion fabric over the face.

Image #2 On Right

ISO 200

Key Light:

FourSquare 48″ (FSK48) Two SB-900 Speed lights, Zoom set to 35mm, power set to 1/4 +0.7 on each.

Background Light:

SB-900 with a Rogue grid with diffusion fabric, power set to 1/32 +0.7

 

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Overall picture of the set up. View 1

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Set up, View 2

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You can shorten the poles to work on a regular chimera speed ring. You can order shortened poles by contacting FourSquare or Lightware at 303-744-0202.

The shortened poles work on any of the FourSquare Banks, not just this 48″.

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Lights pointing to the left side of background

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View looking into the background lights.

MF1217 with B2

MF1217 with B2

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Sometimes you just have to show how you do things so you can pass it on. I have here a MF1217 with a B2 Profoto Kit. I have modified the heads using FourSquare Mini Mounts so that they are easily useable in a FourSquare Block and Box. I also have a couple of Manfrotto 026 stand adapters so that I can use umbrella, FourSquare box or a bare head. This kit is easy carry on size no problems local or international. The heads are corded to the small power pack giving you plenty of length to move around.

The beauty is just how compact you can make it and carry on the plane. I could have stuffed more but it would not have been as pretty. Great things come in small packages.

Belkin Rockstar Sync Cord Splitter

Belkin Rockstar Sync Cord Splitter

Image of a belkin rockstar and four nikon flash speed lights

 

belkin rockstart and canon flashes

 

Thinking outside of the box again … this little device is used to share your  music with friends. It also works great as a trigger hub for  speed lights in a FourSquare box (or your box of choice).  We used only one radio receiver and the Belkin hub.  It worked exactly as expected, great at taking the signal and sending it out to the attached speed lights be it Nikon or Canon or whoever. Using this with optical slaves that have a PC connection, is terrific way to use “old” Canon flashes that did not have a PC connection.

I found this on Amazon for only fourteen dollars. They call it a Belkin RockStar 5-Way headphone splitter. I have been using a custom made splitter, this is a little more funky, but the price savings is great!!!!!

 

Mounting the new style Flex TT5 using Mini Mounts

Mounting the new style Flex TT5 using Mini Mounts

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This tip comes from Peter Lockley formerly at Clarkson Creative here in Denver. He expressed interest in the FourSquare when I was teaching a lighting workshop.

He was able to solve the mounting issue, without swivels, by changing the relationship of how the Mini Mount, Flex and Flash are all mounted together.

He had the time to think “outside” the box and fiddle with the units to come up with this solution. It saved him the cost of the swivels and he sees no difference in performance.

I think it is pretty nifty myself. It does limit some of the other options available with the swivel but this is also saving some money. My hat goes off to Peter for coming up with this solution.

For those of you who don’t know, Clarkson Creative are the folks who run the Summit Series Workshops. These are the finest workshops that I have been personally involved. Give Chris a call or sign up for their new lighting workshop coming up.

 Going on twenty years strong, I highly suggest you check these workshops out.