Equipment advice/recomendations

thebeginning · Jul 14, 2006

IMO Lights would be good to have, but honestly they are getting less and less important for good portrait photography. 20 years ago you had to have 5 lights and a studio to be a good portrait photographer. Nowadays, many pro photogs are moving to environmental, outdoor, and natural light portraits. You can get amazing portraits using a window and a reflector, or even just a flash (like the 550ex or 580ex for example, which can be VERY important for wedding photography also). what i'm getting at is studio lighting shouldn't be your number one priority unless you get alot of requests for it or if it is lacking in your area. It IS still good to have a strobe or two and a couple backdrops in case though, so buying one or two cheaper strobes (not quality cheap, just price...alien bees are a good idea) and a reflector would be wise to think about, either now or in the near future.

as far as lenses go, there are so many choices (as you have realized), and picking the 'right' lens really depends on your shooting style and subject matter/location. using wide lenses at weddings has become very popular, but not so much for portraiture really. there are photographers that use wide lenses for creative portraits for seniors and sometimes families, but generally not (I'm pretty sure you know what i'm talking about...PM me if you want and i'll show you some i've done that are similar). I would definitely keep a nice wide-ish prime or zoom in your hindsights at least.

the 24-70L is a good idea, especially if you're going to upgrade to full frame later on. i don't have one, but i am seriously considering purchasing one in the future. from what i've read, the range, the 2.8 max aperture, the macro abilities, and the bokeh make it a TERRIFIC wedding lens. on a cropped sensor it's a little less sexy but still great. the only problem with this lens is that it is pricey and you won't really be able to buy anything else if you got this. if you know you dont need the 24mm and are trying to go cheaper, check out the tamron 28-75 2.8. it's apparently very good and is sometimes chosen over the 24-70L by wedding pros.

85 1.8 is something you should buy in the future, definitely. it's cheap, light, quiet, fast (both the 1.8 and the focus, which is more like instant), small, sharp, and has great bokeh.

i wouldnt look into the 17-85 IS honestly...it's not good for low light (yes it has IS but at weddings subjects move alot so it won't help a ton) and it's really not that great optically. the 17-40 is a much better idea (check out the tamron 17-35 2.8-4 for a cheaper but very good alternative).

for wide fast primes the 24 1.4 and the 35 1.4 are incredible (but expensive). sigma's 20mm 1.8 is supposedly pretty good and the sigma 30mm 1.4 is great, so those are some good, cheaper alternatives. for reviews check www.fredmiranda.com/reviews and www.photozone.de .

Big Mike · Jul 14, 2006

Thanks for the input Daniel.

As for my lighting needs for portraits...I have been working outdoors and I like doing so. Natural light and a reflector are usually all you need. However, the requests I have are for baby portraits (which will hopefully grow into child and family portraits). For babies I would like to have one (maybe two) lights for portability. A reflector, a background stand and I have a great idea for an adjustable baby posing stand that I can make.

I have also been considering using Canon flash units as studio lights...as then I could also use it/them for weddings as well. Anyone currently doing this? With something like pocket wizards, this could make for a really fast and portable system. But it's not quite the same a a studio light.

Digital Matt · Jul 14, 2006

Monte Zucker does a lot of his portraiture with Canon Speedlights mounted on stands with umbrellas. You'll get great results. The only real difference is in output power. Monolights would be better for large groups or lighting large areas, especially 1600ws ones, but it doesn't sound like you'd be doing that.

I've seen many wedding photogs using Pocket wizards and tripod mounted Speedlights during receptions.

markc · Jul 14, 2006

The nice thing about high power is that you can difuse it more. But I'm one of those that's stuck with natural light for the most part.

Big Mike · Jul 14, 2006

The thing is that a Canon 580EX by itself is about as much as the kit from Alien Bee. I'd still need a stand, a mounting bracket and a modifier (umbrella or softbox).

I can see myself needing a lot of power in some situations. I do plan on shooting weddings and that will mean groups and maybe large groups. If the weather is not nice enough to do it outside...I will end up inside somewhere and having the lights will be important. I know this could be done with either studio lights or just with flash units. The flash units run on batteries, which would be a big plus in this type of situation.

I know that eventually I will (want to) end up with both a set of studio lights and at least one powerful Canon hot-shoe unit. But what to get first? :scratch:

I'm leaning toward the studio light as I already have a decently powerful hot-shoe flash.

On another note, didn't Pete say that he was going to order a set of those cheap radio slave triggers? I'd be interested to know how well those work. Pocket Wizards are quite expensive.

Digital Matt · Jul 15, 2006

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53312

There are some drawbacks to those little units, as I've been reading elsewhere on the net. A case of, "you get what you pay for". They do work though, in a pinch. I'm saving for PWs though.