There is now a plethora of Fong products to choose from based on your needs as a photographer, The Whale Tail, Lightsphere I, II (Clear or Frosted) and the Puffer to name a few. I’ve tested several Fong products in the field namely the Lightspheres and The Whale Tail.
The Whale Tail upon inspection looks like a basic light modifier but it is one of the more complex of all Fong products. Its super powers include high modulation, the ability to accept colored gels, compartmental bounce cards and a creative mounting system. The Whale Tail is seemingly the most versatile of the Fong products I’ve tested.
The Lightsphere products have inverted domes that snap into place, which creates the softening effect we photographers crave. The inverted dome can be shot on or off the Sphere. If you use the Sphere with the dome on it intensifies the light a bit more, dome off is going to give you a softer light as more light escapes the dome bouncing off the ceiling.
Product: Lightsphere II- Clear, with snap-on inverted dome.
The Fong Spheres were ideally designed for wedding and journalist photographers but they perform pretty well shooting basic table top also. I suggest you tap into your creative powers when using the Gary Fong products, which in my opinion are useful and must have tools in any gadget bag.
Table top example shots:
Left: direct flash, right: w/ Lightsphere II
Left: direct flash, right: w/ Lightsphere II
Tip: When shooting a wedding or event it would be a good idea to observe
the ceiling color and distance. Ideally you want a white or close to
white ceiling to bounce off of, a dark colored ceiling isn’t going to
reflect much light if any. If you have the convenience to take a couple
of sample images, do it. Play around with the positioning of your bounce
flash to get the desired effect you want.
~ Michael Reese
I have been wanting to get Gary Fong lighting accesory for my flash. Specifically, the whale tale. I am not very "tech" savvy, is it user friendly? I want to use it for portrait photography.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the article.
It's a piece of plastic, so you really don't need to be too "tech savvy". The Whale Tale is more complicated than the other G.F. accessories however, as it has the most movable parts and extra accessories to go with it. The systems come with a great DVD that if you watch it, goes over how to properly use them and gives a little tutorial. I also would suggest spending an afternoon and doing test shots and experimenting. After that, you'll be a pro! You may want to take a look at the Gary Fong website to figure out which one is best for you. Most of the products are being used in wedding & photojournalism photography, and although most of them do a very similar thing, the results have slight variations. See the Part II of this post to see more photo (portrait) examples. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but the shots on the right just look underexposed... Not really "softened"...
ReplyDeleteBingo....just under exposed. Mine is in a box somewhere.
ReplyDelete