Danger of really bright flash lighting on people

[jbenedict]

What can happen? Permanent eye damage. And that opens you up to criminal charges or a law suit.

And, besides that, someone is going to get their eyes roasted out the back of their head....

[Patrick13]

I know, try it on yourself first a few times and see

[brighamr]

Firstly an apology

I seem to a riled a few people on this forum
but... I was asking for facts from people who might of done this sort of thing or knew about it (thanks for the link Michael)

secondly don't worry

I am a lighting professional for over 35 years now and know a few things
indeed I have shot lots of macro eyes at very high frame rates with flash and contiuous lighting
using neck braces and drops in the eye to relax the sitter administered by an optician

LF is my hobby not my trade

I have tried this lighting setup on myself to no avail


the reason i am using slow film and 8x10 at f22 and the light directly over camera is because that is the look i am after
I could and have used an Aero Ektar wide open on tri-x and leave the shutter open for 60seconds with ambient light
I could and do use an iPhone if i just what to take a picture which is much esker but I,m not doing this for easy

I do things to lesson the impact on the sitter such as I shooting outside in bright broad daylight and not in total darkness so there is not so much strain on the eyes
the light I am using is a soft box with a 3'x2' hard perspex front and the tubes are UV coated
the heat from the flash is not really noticeable and the pop is over after the picture has happened
I do demonstrate the lighting before so nobody has a heart attack from the shock

so anyway if anybody has any opinions on how to better achieve what I.m trying to do I'd be interested

thanks

robin

[Brian C. Miller]

Robin, I have a similar project to yours. Ilford Direct Positive, awful f-stop, etc. The soft box is a basic problem, as it's going to suck up lots of light all by itself. You could use Megaflash flashbulbs in the softbox. Or you'll just have to use a different lighting pattern. Have you thought about using a beauty light?

For my project, since I initially can't get film to size, I'm using Ilford Direct Positive. However, I'm looking at a starting f/stop of at least 75. With that paper, there really isn't enough flash power economically obtainable, so I'm going with the posing chair, and just wait for sunny days.

[brighamr]

hi brian

what are you shooting that you need a base of f75
I've had some luck flashing the paper to get another stop or two but at the cost of the blacks
I've already got he flash gear so meggaflash bulbs are an expensive option
I have also tried with a hard dish reflector but that really is scary

have you seen imago 1:1 studio
they use a softbox as key and use direct positive
also Richard learoyd shoots cibachrome in camera at 1:1
they both must be using massive lighting

robin

[Brian C. Miller]

I'm doing 4x macro with an f/15 lens, so wide open it's f/75 to start, down to f/320. And of course, ISO 3.

When Dennis Manarchy's Vanishing Cultures project failed on Kickstarter, I decided that it was something anybody could do. Process lenses aren't that rare, and if I couldn't find one, then I'd get one of Reinhold Schable's Wollaston meniscus lenses. So now I'm in the process of getting things up and running. At some point I'll be able to use film instead of paper.

[Sheldon N]

You should ask Jason Greenberg Motamedi (a member here) about this topic. He's does portraits with strobe and daguerreotypes and I think is using close to 10k watt seconds through a beauty dish up close to his subject to get sufficient exposure. He described the flash as sort of like getting slapped in the face, but not too bad.

The danger from the mercury is probably worse.

[Amedeus]

Off topic but couldn't resist ... who is still selling Ilford Direct Positive on rolls ?

Robin, I have a similar project to yours. Ilford Direct Positive, awful f-stop, etc. The soft box is a basic problem, as it's going to suck up lots of light all by itself. You could use Megaflash flashbulbs in the softbox. Or you'll just have to use a different lighting pattern. Have you thought about using a beauty light?

For my project, since I initially can't get film to size, I'm using Ilford Direct Positive. However, I'm looking at a starting f/stop of at least 75. With that paper, there really isn't enough flash power economically obtainable, so I'm going with the posing chair, and just wait for sunny days.

[Brian C. Miller]

Off topic but couldn't resist ... who is still selling Ilford Direct Positive on rolls ?

I bought the last 50" roll in the US from B&H.

[Amedeus]

Thanks Brian ...

I bought the last 50" roll in the US from B&H.