w/a shots with 1 strobe-

i have just purchased the following

canon 350D
sea and sea DX350
ys 90 auto
canon 10-22mm w/a sea and sea 8" dome port
canon 60mm macro sea and sea macro port
sea and sea shutter activated focus light
ultralight arm system

I am new to DSLR and have done plenty of reading and played around with the camera on land and am happy with the results. My dilemma is. I have only 1 strobe as mentioned and am keen to get some decent w/a shots. Now do i invest in another strobe, another ys 90. or will i get decent shots if i add a magic filter to my set up i already have. If I add a magic filter would you suggest i shoot in RAW or would you suggest i shoot in RAW regardless

All thoughts welcome, cheers Stew

If you have the money, I'd get a second strobe as you'll need it with the 10-22.

You can do WA with a single strobe, but it's tricky and it does have it's limits.

Here are some links to some WA that I shot with a single strobe to give you some quickie examples:
Link one
Link two
Link three
Link 4

And, yes, always shoot RAW!

the manta shot is excellent lighting. i would be well happy with that. but then you have been taking photos for years. I am not worried about the money in investing in another strobe, my concern is that my wife will be using the rig more than me as i am into my video. she is only small and the rig might be a bit overwhelming for her to start off with. so i thought perhaps the magic filter might help compensate.

Magic filters are pretty cool but it really depends on where and what you are shooting as they are limited.

I'd say start off with a single strobe. See how it goes. Add another if you think it's worth it.

I agree... don't get the magic filter just yet - go without it, and I would try to get a second strobe instead of the filter...

Alcina's pics are great - beautiful images... but I can tell (and I'm sure she knows too) where her strobe was positioned, in most of those photos, because of subtle shadows. 2 strobes can help to eliminate shadows, with even lighting from both sides.

Definitely shoot in RAW... no question there.

Have fun the rebel XT is great. Enjoy

VERY Nice Alcina! I love the Manta!

Actually I shot with strobes and a magic filter on a couple of weeks ago. My camera was acting up and not closing the aperture to the selected setting when the picture was shot, so I figured, if I put the magic filter on I could always shoot natural light shots if the camera errored out on me again during the dive.

The results were interesting. First, if you do this, you should white balance in daylight on the surface before you start your dive because that is the light you want the camera to see when you use your strobes. I of course shot in RAW as always so I could make adjustments.

Here with the magic filter and strobes.



This is a photo my wife took with you SP-350 and a single YS-90 strobe. She puts a difuser on it to help spread the light a bit and soften it..



What I like about single strobes sometimes (and I'll even turn one of mine off) is they can create some really dramatic shadows and shows the texture more more dramatically. The challenge is when you try to light the WHOLE picture. That isn't so easy and with a 10-20mm at 10mm it will be a challenge to light much more than a small portion of the picture so get REALLY close and long strobe arms to get the strobe out and spreading the light as far as you can.

It would seem that it would be impossible for a YS 90 with it's 105 degrees of coverage to fully light up the image area from a 10mm lens.

As said, the best thing to do is let her get used to what you have before adding much more. I often times turn off one of my strobes because I want some shadow to add dimension and depth to an image. Perfectly even lighting isn't always the best lighting.

With practice you can learn where to aim one strobe effectively and shoot wide.

thanks for your input.

FWIW you won't be lighting the 10mm end of the range with a single strobe,any single strobe not just the Sea & Sea one - you'll have to selectively light your subject.

The "trick" with a single strobe is to control where the shadow hits and how deep it is. It's going to be there for all to see so you need to work to make it an integral part of the image. I've been known to boost my shadows to make them darker/richer in PP - after all, they are there and many times I see them underwater naturally.

It's all about having fun and doing what suits you - forget about pleasing others