Still life experiment with Gary Fong PowerGrid, Fuji XF 35mm lens, and Yongnuo remote with Nikon flash on a Fuji X-T1

For some time now  I have been exploring the idea of doing some product still life images with a very simple set up using the equivalent of a 35mm lens close up with a wide open aperture. I decided on the Fuji 23mm lens with a Nikon 5T close-up lens on it. For the light I chose a single Nikon flash with a Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible Snoot With PowerGrid on it to provide a single, spot light source.  Remote triggering of the flash from my Fuji X-T1 was provided by a Yongnuo RF-603NII-N1 wireless remote.

I like using a wide angle lens in close because it gives a very natural perspective to the object. Renently, I have been considering trying out a Fuji X100T for this very reason. The idea is to have a very quick and easy to set up system for doing occasional object stills without a lot of fuss.

The Gary Fong Powergrid adapter provides a very narrow beam for dramatic lighting effects, and coupled with a camera flash, the lighting system couldn't be any simpler.

My basic mini studio kit for this set up: A Fuji X-T1 with 23mm lens and Nikon 5T 1.5x close up filter, a Nikon SB-900, Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible Snoot with PowerGrid,  and a set of Yongnuo RF-603NII-N1 wireless remotes. 

For all of these shots the flash was sitting on its side off to the left and positioned to glance off the face of the subject. Exposure was f/1.4-f/2.

For this shot the Nikon SB-900 with PowerGrid was placed directly above the subject for a spotlight effect. The shutter was left open a bit to allow a little of the ambient light onto the table surface. Power on the flash had to be turned all the way down to achieve a fairly open aperture of f/3.2. 

The Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible Snoot With PowerGrid can be ordered from:

BH-Photo    Adorama   Amazon

The Yongnuo RF-603NII-N1 wireless remote can be ordered from:

BH-Photo    Amazon