Buying my first lighting kit: flash or strobes?

Halnex · May 26, 2014

This is my first time buying a lighting kit and my budget is at 800$.

Mainly I will be using it for fashion/glamour and general portraits.
I'm using Nikon D800.

Should I go with Flash or Strobes?
Which one is more effective with portraits?

Should I be interested in a flash ring as well?
What benefits could it bring to my photos?

Thank you.

Braineack · May 26, 2014

strobes.

Halnex · May 26, 2014

How come?

I'm new to this and would love to know more about your experience with strobes vs flash.

Derrel · May 26, 2014

The modeling lights, fast recycling, and ease of attaching modifiers are the three main advantages of studio flash over portable speedlights. Being able to SEE what your lighting effects are, at all times, in real-time, is a huge advantage for the beginning lighting student. Being able to SEE what you are doing with a continuous feedback loop is a major deal, until you develop a LOT of ability with light placement.

Scatterbrained · May 26, 2014

Speedlights (generally referred to as flash) are a design aimed around portability and convenience. They are designed to be used primarily on the camera and as such are smaller, less powerful, and put out a very directional light. Strobes are designed to be used on a stand, with a large range of modifiers. They are more powerful (considerably), have better light distribution (good for use in a modifier), can hold large modifiers without any special mounting equipment, and run on A/C power rather than AA batteries. If you need more power than a speedlight but something more portable than a proper strobe, you can go with a bare bulb flash like the Godox Wistro/Cheetah 360, or the Quantum Q-Flash.

Designer · May 26, 2014

I presume you mean in-studio formal portraiture. If so, then what the others wrote is spot on.

Halnex said:
Should I be interested in a flash ring as well?

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the term "flash ring". There is a term; "ring flash" which produces a very distinct lighting effect, but if that is what you mean, then I would suggest you don't get one of those immediately. Wait until you have more photography under your belt to make sure you really want/need that particular lighting effect.

astroNikon · May 26, 2014

I have a 4 speedlight setup - key, fill, hair, background. Even though I can turn on the "modeling light" feature to see the lighting/shadows ... if I had to do it all over again I'd buy strobes - with one speedlight for those times you need an on camera flash.

Once you start researching larger modifiers you have to look at multiple flash brackets et all .. and the price & convenience quickly shoots up. So strobes. Unless you have very limited storage space.

Halnex · May 26, 2014

So everyone suggested I go for the strobes. I guess that settles it.

The only disadvantage that I can see is that I won't be able to use the strobes on an outdoor photoshoot, specially if it's at a remote location with no electricity.

This is the offer I got from my local camera shop.
- 2 strobes 400W
- 2 stands air cushion
- 2 soft-boxes
- 2 triggers

Is this good enough for my humble needs?

Stupid question, what are triggers for?

Derrel · May 26, 2014

AC-powered flashes can be powered using something like the Paul C. Buff company's "Vagabond" battery & sine wave inverter, or a similar type of unit manufacturers and sold directly world-wide by Innovatronix.

"Triggers" connect, one to the camera, and one to the flash unit, and send a signal to Fire! that coordinates the firing of the camera shutter and the flash unit; additional units besides the main or primary flash can be fired by optical slave tripper (usually built-in these days), OR by connecting additional triggering units to all additional flashes, and making sure everything is on the same channel or frequency.

Halnex · May 26, 2014

Thanks Derrel and everyone else. You're all so great and helpful.

So this is going to be my next move regarding the lighting kit.
I'm gonna get the strobes first with the full kit: 2 strobes, 2 stands, 2 softboxes and 2 triggers.

Then, in a month or so, I'll get the Magnum Speedlite MG-68TL and I'd have a complete and decent beginner kit.

table1349 · May 26, 2014

You know there is the best of both world. At a cost. At only $3,995.00 for the set of two that's a steal. :lol:

B1 Off-Camera Flash

Scatterbrained · May 26, 2014

Halnex said:
So everyone suggested I go for the strobes. I guess that settles it.

The only disadvantage that I can see is that I won't be able to use the strobes on an outdoor photoshoot, specially if it's at a remote location with no electricity.

This is the offer I got from my local camera shop.
- 2 strobes 400W
- 2 stands air cushion
- 2 soft-boxes
- 2 triggers

Is this good enough for my humble needs?

Stupid question, what are triggers for?

It's hard to tell whether or not it's a good deal if we don't know what you're getting or how much you're paying for it. If I said the dealer offered me a great deal on a car for 20k, that wouldn't really say much if you didn't know whether the deal was for an old Kia or a new Mercedes.

What kind of budget are you working with here?