The expectations of clients booking photographers for web based products shots has changed over the last decade. Photographers are not only expected to produce traditional two dimensional images they’re also expected to produce seamlessly rendered 360 degree views. The issue is two fold, how do you mechanically move the product in a way that is repeatable without having to climb into your set, worrying about jostling the lights and the product and having to restart the same shot over and over because you’ve bumped something. Second, once you have the captures, manually having to move through each processing program to get to the final flash file is laborious and time consuming, in a high production studio this means lost revenues.
The FOBA TURNA turntable provides high-precision, reproducible motorized rotation of the object, and is complemented by a user-friendly, intuitive control software and a highly innovative, fully automatic imaging software, which can produce up loadable flash animations in .swf format in as little as 120* seconds.
The FOBA TURNA is a modular system. With an extensive range of fittings, and platforms the TURNA can handle any of your shooting needs.
FOBA TURNA has been developed by photographers for photographers. Its brilliant functionality is enhanced by an outstanding design.
How did you become a photographer? Describe your career development?
My father was a photographer, a commercial photographer in fact. He did weddings as long as I can remember, but it was his portraits that interested me most. I sort of “tripped” into photography with all the photographic gear that surrounded me. What started as an ongoing hobby, turned very serious in high school when I was brought on to the Correspondent Staff of the Sun Sentinel, a major newspaper in the South Florida area. It was there that I saw my future, and paid keen attention to my desire to create images.
2. More specifically, was there one or more life changing moments that helped you move to the next level and become the photographer that you are now? Perhaps a big break, a perfect mentor, a movie, a mystical moment?
I had two muses from high school who from their abundance of images came an abundant flow of requests from people in their network. A network that grow to over hundred individual “models” durning my five year wedding spree. And “that” is where my creativity grew.
3. How do you learn your techniques?
The answer to that question both plain and still PRICELESS. I’ve learned virtually EVERY technique from actually making mistakes. Real mistakes that ended with me posing the questions: “Why did that happen?” and “What should I do instead?”. The latter question leads me to trial and error. Trial as in “intentionally” re-creating the mistakes (and any variance on them), and taking the time to identify the circumstances. Error as in directly avoiding the mistakes by doing perhaps the opposite when the circumstances arise once more.
In essence, my techniques come readily, easily, and successfully from a wealth of understanding “what not to do”.
4. Who are your photo heroes? Or who has inspired your career?
Easy – Patrick Demarchelier. His work is uncomplicated and beautiful. His images are achieved seemingly without effort. He seems to quickly establish a rapport with his subjects and is blessed with their best moods at the time of shooting. The end results are as minimalistic (in terms of editing) as the original state to begin with.
5. What is the worst part about doing what you do?
Editing. Yes, I could share my workflow with a retoucher, but that often means that the last hand to touch the work is not that of the original photographer. I have always questioned the merits of that. None the less, I do edit my own work, and because I dislike it so, I have developed several methods for streamlining my work flow so that I take equal to if not less time at the computer than during the actual shoot itself.
6. What is the best part?
The best part is either my actually “seeing” the image in the seconds before touching the camera, or “seeing” the reaction that the subject(s) have afterwards when showing them why I was so happy in the first place.
1. What are we going to shoot today?
Four poster images over two days for SR Perrott, Inc. who is the distributor of Miller Lite and Coors Light beers in the Daytona Beach, Florida area. The posters are promotional pieces for the 2010 Daytona 500 NASCAR event of which SR Perrott is also a sponsor.
2. How did you learn how to do what you are about to show us?
The simple answer is that I learned through years of experience. The more creative answer is that I learned through patience and the basic premise of focusing the lighting and camera on only what is important to the client, and leave the rest to the viewers imagination.
3.What tools are you using to make this image?
*Nikon D3 with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens
*Verso A4 (x1)
*Topas A2 (x2)
*Pulso G2 lampbase (x2)
*Ringflash C
*Beauty Dish with diffuser (x2)
*Para 220 Soft with Ringflash P
*RFS Transmitter
*Sekonic L-758dr lightmeter
*Gitzo Systematic tripod
*Really Right Stuff Ballhead with bracket & various plates
4. Why did you choose these tools?
Because I don’t yet own any Scoro packs! The Ringflash C was essential to give me even light coverage across the surface of the image, with emphasis on the areas that the models encompass. Also, in order to remain softly lit throughout the image area, I had to use the beauty dishes in relation to the PARA 220 Soft. The reason that I chose the PARA 220 Soft is because despite the nature of the poster, the main subjects are the models of which are on a large canvas (the NASCAR). Otherwise, I would have used a greater number of heads with P65 reflectors to compliment a single Ringflash C as my my main light.
5. What features of the equipment that you use make it easier to do your job?
The PARA 220 Soft has a distinctly wide spread of light that works favorably with wide-angle lenses. The Ringflash C is just one of my favorites as an all-in-one light source. I love the robust nature of the Verso A4 and if only by appearance & audible sounds, lends itself to establish the feel of an intense photoshoot.
6. Did you use competing products in the past? What made you change?
This could lead to short novel. Yes, I started with Norman (over a decade of use and familiarity), then moved over to the Pro-7 line of Profoto (six solid years of use), before switching vigorously to Broncolor. I really would need a great deal of time to explain the decisions and nuances as to why I switched, but to sum it up – drawing from my years of experience and knowledge, Broncolor offered a superior product, and NOT by a marginal amount.
Andre divides his time between NYC and Miami. Andre kicks off a traveling seminar series starting in the North East this month. For more information please email us at events@bronimaging.com
Bron Imaging Group has partnered with the iconic photographic team of Markus Klinko and Indrani.
The Bron Imaging Group bi-annual BIG ED photographic contest will be hosted by the power couple this spring. The theme of the contest is an intimate portrait of the girl or boy next door. The image could be a brief glimpse of an intimate moment, something that plays on the voyeuristic. Possiblythe image could be something more Rockwellian centered around a boy scout troop or a combination of the two, remember it is M&I…
The competition will run from February 1st to July 1st. Markus Klinko and Indrani will select the winners, along with a hand picked panel of stylists and magazine editors.
First prize will be a complete broncolor Mobil A2R travel kit. In addition, the winner will have the option to add a second head from the following choices, Mobilite 2 head, a Unilite head, or a Ringflash C.
Second prize will be a broncolor Minicom RFS Travel kit.
Third prize will be a California Sunbounce Micro Mini with flash bracket.
Fourth prize will be a FOBA M2 ball head with Quick Release plate.
Markus & Indrani
Markus and Indrani are featured in Bravo’s newest docu-series “Double Exposure” which follows Markus and Indrani, giving viewers a taste of all that
is fashionable, provocative and iconic in the fast-paced world of high fashion and celebrity photography. Scheduled to air early spring
2010. www.markusklinko-indrani.com
The Bron Imaging Group Educational Program
The BIG Ed Program, Bron Imaging Groups Educational program provides students, educators, and accredited institutions
with the tools and training to help promote and support excellence in photography. The program consists of discounts, training seminars, and the BIG
lecture series.
Educational Discounts for Bron imagng Group Products:
40% Off Broncolor lighting equipment, which includes all power packs, lampbases, light shapers, specialty lamps, and accessories.
20% Off California Sunbounce products and accessories.
20% Off Foba camera stands, Combitube, ball heads, shooting tables, ceiling rails, and all other Foba accessories.
20% Off Kobold lighting gear.
20% Off Sinar Photography view cameras, digital backs, lenses, and all accessories.
20% Off Visatec lighting gear. www.bronimaging.com/education
Rules
1. This photo competition is only open to students enrolled in classes working towards a degree in accredited photography programs at schools or colleges located in the United States (excluding Hawaii and Alaska). The location of the school is determined by the primary location of classes.
2. Only one entry per student is allowed.
3. Image must be provided in high-resolution. No low-resolution files will be eligible. File formats of TIFF or JPEG are acceptable. The finalist must provide a high-resolution
image.
4. The competition is sponsored by Bron Imaging Group, Markus Klinko and Indrani.
5. Bron Imaging Group shall have print and online rights to use the winning images in promotional literature, advertising, electronic media, trade show graphics, and other advertising forms along with a description of the equipment used in it’s production for a period of 24 months. Credit in the form of a by-line shall be given to the photographer.
6. Prizes will be awarded for first, second, third and fourth place. The student will be responsible for all applicable taxes, fees or surcharges.
7. By entering, the student agrees that his or her image is original and does not infringe on any third party. The
student will obtain and furnish upon request any necessary permission from any third party if a third party or their property appears in the photograph. This shall include all model release forms signed by subject or their guardian if underage.
8. By entering this contest, students release and hold harmless Bron Elektronik, Sinar, Bron Imaging Group, and Markus Klinko and Indrani, its affiliated organizations and dealers and each of their directors, officers, employees, attorneys, agents and representatives from any and all liability for injury, loss, claim, action, demand, and damage of any kind arising from or related to this contest or the prizes won.
I started taking pictures early on, around the age of 12. For both, my father and grandfather photography was a hobby. My grandfather was actually a serious amateur-film-geek. So I grew up with Super 8 and started to film occasionally on trips and family vacations when I was eleven years old. I loved the medium but wanted more control and I found that photography was the field to be in. By the time I was thirteen I bought my first camera and grated up to a Nikon FE two years later due to a school workshop. I had my first exhibition of street-portraits when I turned sixteen. I think I fell in love with being in charge and overcoming certain personnel boundaries. It was exciting!
I remember very well one of the key-moments that I had at the age of fifteen – on T.V. I was watching a documentary about Oliviero Toscani shooting and creative directing for Benetton It just made click in my guts and I knew which direction I wanted to take. Ten years later (meanwhile I had graduated from one of the best Photo/Film/Design Schools in Germany, the FH Bielefeld and had moved to Paris right afterwards) I had the pleasure to assist Toscani on a two weeklong Benetton production in the renowned PIN UP Studios. For me it was a dream coming true, just like walking on clouds. And then again very funny coincidence, another 11 years later – I hadn’t seen Oliviero for a long time, just a week before my move from Paris to New York I ran into him in a lab, we had a good laugh. Photographically he didn’t really influence me that much but I admire his game in advertising – a real psychological master: A) he’s talking the gospel B) he always knows when and how to push the right buttons. I think Toscani is a genius in his own right; he has a great sense of humor, too. Ha-ha
Well, since my college-time I was shooting little ad-jobs and worked as a photojournalist for different papers. My technical foundation as a photographer I certainly acquired from my long time as an assistant – my first job in Paris was a freelance position at Condé Nast, working on VOGUE, VOGUE HOMME and GLAMOUR productions, I worked with many of the big boys. At the beginning here in New York I free-lanced around like crazy and assisted for example Patrick Demarchelier for a couple of years. Later on I got around as a hired gun particularly because of my good knowledge of light. So make a long story short, I guess I can say without pretension that I learnt from the best.
In these times of “sometime” over-post-production I remain a strong believer of doing as much as possible “on camera” – I think the right high-standard approach and mix between old-school shooting-style and cutting edge digital technologies will bring me the best results.
If you ask me for my photo heroes, there are so many but the most important ones are certainly the following: Guy Bourdin, Chris Von Wangenheim, Helmut Newton, WeeGee, August Sander and E.J. Bellocq.
I remember having a moment back in Paris at a point when my career looked liked anything that would ever happen. My apartment in the 18th Arrondissement faced a nice backyard, the night was just about to fall and a beautiful pink moon was lighting the scene. I had one more Polaroid in my old SX70 and said to myself: “What the heck, probably it won’t work, but just try it!” In the scene was a small, brightly shining window and the little, technical voice in the back of my head started to lament: “It’s going to burn out, it’s going to burn out!” It turned out that the exposure-time was proximately 3 seconds, handhold! – and I swear to God after one second of exposure the window-light went off and I had my perfect shot, in Polaroid, unique! That was such a magical moment, almost religious. The beautiful, framed photograph hangs on the wall in my apartment, it’s my personnel, little treasure and often before a shooting when I walk by, I feel gratitude and it reminds me of the fact that talent is just a borrowed gift that needs to be taken care of. When Lady Muse shows up around the corner and is ready for a date, never second-guess, just grab her by the hand and go for it. I also try to approach every shoot almost as if it could be my last, this way there is a good chance that I’ll be fine and do great work! For me being a photographer is one of the best jobs in this world, it’s living the dream!
In Paris I shot for many years famous and not so famous American Jazz Musicians. In 2002 the Smithsonian Institution in D.C accepted right after my arrival in New York my portfolio of these photographs. I learnt a lot from these guys but most importantly I developed one very important component of my style and that is the mix of inspired improvisation and well-prepared structure. As an artist you MUST know your technique inside out/second nature so you kind of be able to “forget” it and to get loose. Let inspiration and the moment take over!
The last five years I was a member of the famous Boxing Gym GLEASON’s in Brooklyn, at the very beginning just to shoot and then to become a boxer myself and to give my take from the inside. Boxing is a great meditation and a balance to the professional photo-world. I had an exhibition during the Dumbo Art Festival in 2006 and Everlast featured my work in their Magazine in 2007. But most importantly boxing strengthened my back-bone, my stamina and it emphasized a virtue that every photographer must have in order to make it, no matter on which level he/she is: Exercise, train and never give up!
The featured fashion-story “Luxe Generation” for MR Magazine just came out. I developed the autumn 2010 men’s story with my fashion-director John Jones. We shot in studio and I used the BRONCOLOR Ring flash C. I love that light because it perfectly fits in with my other lighting techniques and helps me to keep a consistent style in my photography, an edgy look that represents my vision and makes my work recognizable. I modified the Ring flash a little bit, put a grid up-front and intensified the fall-off with black-foil paper. This is where the instinctive feel for each shot kicks in. Shooting this story just felt like a dance.
Depending on distance, the featured fashion, my frame, the angle etc. I modified the fall-off also to get away from too much uniformity. There is one feature on the Ring flash C that I like; the ten 20-Watts Halogen model-lights help tremendously with the auto-focus of the camera. In my shoot the Ring flash was powered by the SCORO AS 4, a real Formula One racing-machine, perfect for fashion if you like to go fast! Ha-ha
Thanks again to Sean Moser from Scheimpflug for the great service!
Altogether I honestly have to say that broncolor-packs are my favorite strobe-packs and this is not just some PR talk. I grew up with them back in Germany during my college-time; it was the lighting equipment we were trained on. As an assistant I loved them, because they were very reliable and that took away a lot of heat from us especially when we were shooting chrome-film. Everybody knew that we absolutely needed to be on, if not no food for the assistants or when you were on production out of town you could spend the night somewhere in a yard in the doghouse. Ha-ha
Now I am using them for my own work and I adore the precision and features of the packs. As a photographer they give me a lot of technical freedom and various options particularly in more complex lighting situations.
Do I really need to mention that broncolor is a Suisse company; I think that we shouldn’t expect anything less than the best in lighting equipment from a region that builds the world’s best watches, should we?!
This is a portrait I was commissioned to do for new clients Joanne and Fred. I always want to have the final product reflect the people’s personalities and after getting to know the two of them… they like to have fun, they’re quirky and they both love to sing and dance. They are truly in love with each other so we wanted to do something intimate, but keep it light, so we went with a fun bubble bath.
What tools are you using to make this image?
For this image, I used one Unilite with a medium softbox to light Fred and one Unilite with the Beauty Dish to light Joanne. I put a third Unilite with a softbox in front to light the bathtub and to kick a little bit more light on their faces. The two side Unilites were powered by a 2400w Verso A4 and the third bathtub Unilite was powered by a Nano A2. I shoot with Nikon and I do my post in Photoshop.
Props and setting always play a big part in my shoots. So now we needed lots of constant foam and bubbles. We rented a bubble machine for bubbles in the air and we used an air compressor rig to keep the bathtub water constantly full of foam. Joanne and Fred were in that bathtub for a good hour and they were definitely prunes by the time they got out… but they were good sports about it!
Why did you choose these tools?
For me, it was an obvious choice. I’ve always been the type of person to buy the absolute best tool for the job… and I only like to buy once. That was the reasoning behind me going with Broncolor. I knew that broncolor was the best in the industry, so it was an obvious choice. Investing in my broncolor system has blown my photography through the roof!
What features of the equipment that you use make it easier to do your job?
I love the short recycle times of my Verso A4 and Nano A2… that is critical for when I’m shooting portraits. That really allows me to just keep firing away so I know I’m not missing any great moments or expressions!
Perhaps the most common question l get asked as a photographer is “where do you get your ideas from?” Often, it’s not an easy one to answer with my usual response being locations, props and models etc. But on a recent trip
along The Great Ocean Road in Victoria Australia, a rare opportunity arose where l was given an entire series handed to me by this amazing stretch of coastline also known as the ship wrecked coast. With no real idea of what, or how l was going to create the final imagery and no models or props with me l just shot everything that caught my eye with the plan to fine tune all the elements once l returned home. Back at the studio l began processing all the shots out and planning the next stage on how l would incorporate the model, props and feel to the series. Wanting to give the images a high end fashion feel was the first step to establishing the stylistic direction l was going to take. Also the series would take on a narrative approach which would help to tie everything together with a start, middle and ending.
For the image shown here, “Salvage”, the idea was to have her finding washed up treasure from the ship wreck itself. As the treasure chest was fairly heavy, we propped it up so the model could retain an elegant and relaxed
pose to keep with the style of the shot. Lighting wise, l placed a Broncolor soft box with a diffusion panel to the side of the model and a silver umbrella to the left. Two 5ft white bounce boards were placed in front to
provide some fill to the model and treasure chest. All the elements were then brought together and combined in Photoshop to achieve the final image.
What started out as a personal series has since been picked up by a new client who we will be reshooting the entire series for a campaign launching in 2010.
Colin Anderson is a photographer specializing in conceptual and narrative based imagery. He also co-founded blendimages.com.
The new Power reflector for the Ringflash C is a light shaper with a high-gloss, slightly satined inner surface coating. With the new accessory, the typical Ringflash C light becomes harder and the light coverage angle smaller, which results in increased contrast. The new reflector is highly efficient, at 6 1/2 feet ISO 100, it produces an outstanding F 45 7/10, more than half a stop greater than the standard Ringflash.
The broncolor Ringflash C and P ve
rsions come equipped with a “heavy duty” 3200 ws quartz flash tube. Because of the rugged quartz flash tube and the powerful fan cooling, the broncolor Ringflash is ideal for us
e with the Power reflector for flash series that require high output in rapid succession.
The new reflector is primarily applied as a tool for fashion photographers but portrait and still life photographers will also enjoy adding the reflector to their tool box.
The high light yield of the Ringflash C with Power reflector, lends itself to outdoor and location shooting. The Ringflash has traditionally been used as a main light because of it’s distinctive characteristics but is becoming more popular as a secondary fill. It’s hard light even slightly removed from the camera axis, highlights the finest texture of the subject.
After running across a long-time collector of costumes from the Carnevale di Venezia (Carnival of Venice), I discovered the incredible range of hand-crafted masks. There was such emotion and personality to them, and the ornate décor conjured images of the masquerade parties they were designed for. When Hasselblad approached me to do a series of images to show off their latest camera, they left the subject matter to me. I knew instantly what I wanted to do with the project.
Photo by August Bradley
The idea further developed into the notion of layers of masks beneath the outermost masks we wear – secondary masks for those who dig deeper, or for ourselves. So makeup artist Kelsey Deenihan and hair stylist Carlos Ortiz and I developed concepts in which one mask would be coming off, only to reveal more masks in layers beneath. Or in other cases, a partial mask that melds into the face around it.
With the masks conveying a fantastical element, and the hair and decorative accessories being so vibrant, I wanted to bring the face and body into this sensational looking world with radiant lighting, but also wanted it to feel soft and organic. I was looking for strong highlights, but not glare – more of a glow as if it were coming from within.
The lighting was simple, just two heads and a bounce reflector. I used the Bron beauty dish with a Unilite and Scoro pack on the model and another head with a reflector and a grid to create the spotlight on the backdrop. The sock from the beauty dish was actually used over the background light (over the grid) to soften it, while the beauty dish itself was left bare for a bit more punch on the skin.
While a beauty dish is a very simple setup (the beauty dish high, and a bounce reflector low to fill the lower shadows), it can create a wide range of looks and requires precise placement. When working with a light source close to the subject as tends to be the case with the beauty dish, slight adjustments toward or away from the model change the effect of the light quickly. Too close and you’re blowing out the highlights and getting too sharp of a transition to the peaks. Too far and the light becomes hard and flat from the small light source.
The trick is to find the optimal balance through precision placement, it’s a matter of sculpting the light.
Broncolor is always pushing the limits in its R&D lab. This time they built a completely redesigned flash tube to match the speed and power of the Scoro power pack. The physical limitations of legacy flashtubes simply could not keep up with the extremely fast recycling Scoro power pack, firing every 0.4 seconds, or producing up to 100 flashes per minute with 1600 ws each, and 50 flashes per second at lower power settings.
The R&D team’s target was to design a flash tube which not only handles up to 50 flashes per second, but also covers the Scoro’s 10 f-stops power output range (from 3.1 ws to 3200 watt seconds), and which continuously delivers light with consistent output from flash to flash and consistent color temperature across the range of output.
The new flash tube is the result of extensive research at Bron Elektronik AG. Electrodes and metal alloys were newly adapted, new glass was selected, the gas mixture and pressure were altered and the electronics were optimized. This new development can not only flash more often and guarantee more true color, but it is also characterized by a high light output and a longer service life. For comparison: the next best competitors’ state-of-the-art today, can supply approximately 20,000 ws per minute. The broncolor flash tube can supply 90,000 w/s per minute. This additional load capacity not only ensure that you won’t be pushing your flash tubes to the limit thereby risking possible color shifts, output shifts, damage to the flash tube, or even damage to the flash head, but it also greatly enhances the service life of the tube making it last up to 5 times longer than the competition’s tubes.
The new flash tube is identifiable with a star * on the socket.
Actually it deserves at least 5 stars:
* flash sequences up to 50 flashes per second
* extremely short flash duration, up to 1/12 000 s at t0.5
* immense control range of 10 f-stops
* constant color temperature and light quantity over the entire 10 f-stops and
Technical warning: This post is really technical, but we tried to make it as readable as possible. And if you can believe it, this is actually the dumbed down version that does not address the issues of how capacitor switching or pre-flash ignition work.
We are regularly asked about broncolor’s ECTC color control technology. Photographers want to know does it work, how does it work, how to use it and when does it work. This post provides a quick overview. We can provide more advanced topics…just ask us!
Note Up Front: One thing we should point out up front is that ECTC is built into the broncolor Scoro packs. You don’t need to turn it on to make it work. In fact there is no way to turn it on of off. The only way to really modify ECTC is to activate the Scoro “speed mode.” Speed Mode shifts ECTC normal color balance to a slightly cooler flash, yet still consistent from flash to flash, color while enhancing recycling speed.
The Basics
First let’s start with the basics, in order to understand color temperature control you need to understand how a flash actually ignites. We don’t want to get too technical, but basically, the flashtube is a hermetically sealed tube that is filled with an ignitable gas. The electrical connectors on the tube connect to the power source (which is normally a strobe power pack like a broncolor Grafit A4, Scoro A4s or Profoto 7a or 8a, etc). The gas has a really high threshold or resistance to ignition. So when the power pack triggers, current flows into the tube, starts to ionize the gas [ Ionize at Wikipedia], more current flows, heats up the gas, which lowers its resistance, which allows more current to flow, which converts the gas to a plasma state, and then BOOM! The full current load from the power pack comes rushing through the tube and a burst of light happens. But that burst of light, while really short, is actually made up of a constantly changing range of colors starting out really cool and then warming up at the end of the burst of light.
Lifecycle of a flash unit:
Power pack charges the capacitors
Flash is triggered and flash head ignition begins
Capacitors unload their current to the flash tube
Gas in flash tube get ionized by the initial current allowing current flow
Heated ionized gas converts to plasma and allows the full load from the capacitors to come flowing in.
Flash discharges and displays a burst of light.
On advanced units: a “cut off” circuit will clip the gas explosion in order to control flash duration but clipping the flash curve also affects the color temperature because you lose the warm end of the curve.
Color Temperature Throughout the Duration of the Flash
To break it down a little further, when the flash ignites the light that comes out of it is not one color temperature. The color temperature changes throughout the fraction of a second of the flash. The color starts out really blue as the flash begins to discharge and then gets really red as the discharge tapers off. So an advanced flash unit that uses a cut-off circuit to control flash duration must actually pay careful attention to what part of the curve is being clipped or else the light coming out of the flash will be too blue.
On the other hand, with conventional flash units that don’t use a cut off circuit, a color temperature shift in the warmer colors can be noticed when the flash output is reduced. Part of broncolor’s secret is to manage the combination of the cut off with the balance of color throughout power range of the flash unit.
Broncolor ECTC Color Control
For over a decade broncolor has been using its own patented CTC (Color Temperature Control) process. It was revised and renamed as Enhanced Color Temperature Control (ECTC) for the latest Scoro power pack. ECTC coordinates flash voltage and flash duration. The result is consistent color temperature on every flash even at different power levels. ECTC even works in stroboscopic mode with up to 50 flashes per second; the temperature remains the same for each individual flash!
Flash Curves Without ECTC
The classical flash curve of all flash units has the following characteristics: At the beginning, “cold“ light appears in the ascending slope of the flash curve (comparable with the blue of a rainbow). With one of these simple flash units, when you lower the power to the head, the color temperature of the light becomes “warmer” (yellowish and reddish) because there is not as much blue from the initial burst at the steep part of the curve.
Note: It should be mentioned that this isn’t the only way to work without ECTC. Some high end products actually use a small preflash to try and balance out the curve. The trouble with the preflash is that it can cause ghosting or double images because the light output and flash duration will be dramatically altered creating a situation with two peaks in the curve rather than one spike.
Flash Curves with ECTC
ECTC adjusts the flash curve profile, so that the area under the flash curve or the selected amount of light, respectively, is produced with constant color temperature. Basically what you can see below is that the top line represents a head on a high power setting and the bottom line represents a head on a lower power setting. ECTC manages the output of both heads so that the total average output of light is equal in color temperature. On the top curve minimal cut off is implemented because the flash starts off with so much blue during the initial stages of the burst. On the lower powered head, less blue was introduced because of the lower power, and thus the cut off circuit can clip the red tail of the flash and provide a perfect 5500k.
Changing the Color temperature
On the Scoro, ECTC can also be used to deliberately adjust the color temperature of light in intervals of +/- 200 K. This means that you can actually go into the Scoro menu and set the color temperature that you want. You can use it to match changing ambient light or to compensate for aging yellowing softbox panels.
