What do I need???

Photos de l'amour · Apr 22, 2010

I have a Nikon d5000 with the 18-55mm, 55-200mm and 35mm. For shooting boudoir and maternity and my kids outside once in while what do I need. Could you describe or point me in the right direction to find the difference between lighting. Like the SB-600 I read about or just lights on a stand. Are the lights on the stands flashes or just lights?

Please help me. I tried to search but am not really finding what I need to know. I am sorry if it is here somewhere and I have overlooked it.

ghpham · Apr 22, 2010

You can learn about lighting on this site:

Strobist

For kids, I think the lens you have are fine. You may want to consider the 50mm f/1.8 as it is a pretty good portrait lens.

KmH · Apr 22, 2010

What you need depends on what it is you are trying to accomplish.

There are continuous lights and there are strobe lights. Strbed light has several advantages over continuous lighting.

Continuous light s are pretty self explainatory, you turn them on and they stay until you turn them off. They get hot and can burn a person.

There are a couple of versions of strobe lights (also known as flash). Most dSLR cameras have one built-in that pops up for use.

There are strobe light versions that mount on the camera's hot shoe and are also known as speedlights. They are more powerful than the pop up flash. Speedlights can be used off the camera and can be mounted in a large number of ways though putting them on a light stand is the most common. Frequently they are used with light modifiers like snoots, flags, umbrellas, diffusers, bounce cards, etc. They are very portable and are battery powered.

There are monoblock (also known as studio strobes) strobe lights that are usually mounted on a light stand. They are even more powerful than speedlights but generally must be plugged into a wall outlet for power. There are battery power systems available for location use. Studio lighting is also used with light modifiers of various types and sizes.