cheap lighting setup

[godek]

I want to get off brand flash but not sure which cheap brand is the best for nikon. Any suggestions?

I have a promaster systempro qlight 250. I was curious can you attach a softbox or a beauty dish to this? Is it okay to use the light without the umbrella for a different lighting effect?

Is one light, flash and reflectors enough for a beginner for studio if they don't have a whole lot of money?

 

[ac12]

Yes, you can start with one flash.
But you have to get and study the books on how to get the most out of ONE light source. Use reflectors and screens, and PRACTICE.
In a way, a single light is similar to shooting by a window. By the window, you only have the one light source, the sun through the window.
You WILL run into limitations of using just one light source. But you have to learn to accept them, and work around them. There is only so much that you can do with reflectors. Reflectors and screens will need stands $$, or friends to hold them for you.

If you are tight on cash, you do not have to buy expensive flashes.
Go to the "strobist" page and read up on how to use less expensive flashes. Then you can afford to get multiple lower cost flashes. This is the route that I went, even before reading the strobist page.
But if you want to use the Nikon CLS system, then you need to get a flash that supports it. Not the old non-CLS flashes, like I use.

You can use any flash with or without a light modifier. The look of the lighting will change based on what modifier you use or not use. Which modifier to use, or not use, depends on what look YOU want. Again, read the books and practice with the various light modifiers to see what they do.

 

[espresso2x]

Working with manual flash off camera it's possible to buy very cheap, used strobes. There's lots of them in thrift stores. I've got several old vivitars that work fine on all my digital cameras but it's advisable to check trigger voltages.

 

[godek]

Yes, you can start with one flash.
But you have to get and study the books on how to get the most out of ONE light source. Use reflectors and screens, and PRACTICE.
In a way, a single light is similar to shooting by a window. By the window, you only have the one light source, the sun through the window.
You WILL run into limitations of using just one light source. But you have to learn to accept them, and work around them. There is only so much that you can do with reflectors. Reflectors and screens will need stands $$, or friends to hold them for you.

If you are tight on cash, you do not have to buy expensive flashes.
Go to the "strobist" page and read up on how to use less expensive flashes. Then you can afford to get multiple lower cost flashes. This is the route that I went, even before reading the strobist page.
But if you want to use the Nikon CLS system, then you need to get a flash that supports it. Not the old non-CLS flashes, like I use.

You can use any flash with or without a light modifier. The look of the lighting will change based on what modifier you use or not use. Which modifier to use, or not use, depends on what look YOU want. Again, read the books and practice with the various light modifiers to see what they do.

What books do you recommend? I got a book on flash from Bryan Peterson and several other books on studio lighting.