Beginner's lighting. What do you want to know?

[Village Idiot]

basically i need something mobile, because i found myself taking pictures outdoors for cars and models, and i dont have a studio

Smaller speed lights generally use AA batteries but don't provide the power. Studio strobes generally need power like from plugging them into an outlet. You can buy batteries though. The speed light setup might not give you the power you need, but it'll be a bit cheaper if you put your kit together right.

 

[rein]

with that being said, aside from a gas powered generator, what are my other options for portable electricity

 

[Miaow]

Here's a question I was wondering about recently (I couldnt see this in any other post in this but I did scan through quickly cause so many posts etc)

How far away will an inbuilt flash effectively light a subject - ie say a bird in a tree etc...

 

[Village Idiot]

with that being said, aside from a gas powered generator, what are my other options for portable electricity

Batteries. www.alienbees.com sells a battery that will power a studio strobe (AC is it?) and will their Alien Bee B800 320w/s strobe 1200 times at full power. That's three of their strobes at full power getting 400 shots or four at 300 (if you can put four on that is, not exactly sure). If you turn the power down even more, then you'll get more shots.

It's not as portable as you'll have to have extension cords and your strobes will always be tethered to a battery. You'll have a lot more power.

Are you doing paid work?

 

[Village Idiot]

Here's a question I was wondering about recently (I couldnt see this in any other post in this but I did scan through quickly cause so many posts etc)

How far away will an inbuilt flash effectively light a subject - ie say a bird in a tree etc...

Depends on the camera. I think Canon's pop up flashes have a guide number of around 40'. That means at ISO 100 and f/1, it could light up a subject at 40'. Seeing as how your fastest lens most likely isn't a f/1, you're looking at more along the lines of 15' at f/2.8, I believe.

 

[Miaow]

Depends on the camera. I think Canon's pop up flashes have a guide number of around 40'. That means at ISO 100 and f/1, it could light up a subject at 40'. Seeing as how your fastest lens most likely isn't a f/1, you're looking at more along the lines of 15' at f/2.8, I believe.

Thanks for the info

 

[rdompor]

Hey guys, great thread!

I've been thinking about buying a strobe for myself. I've been shooting with a sunpak 383 for a while and I've played with a 430EX off camera on numerous occasions and I really want to get the power of a studio strobe light.

I was thinking about something very simple to get me started. A strobe head on a stand with an umbrella to reflect or shoot through. I plan on triggering it with a long PC cord since wireless seems to be either expensive or unreliable. I have also been considering a battery pack because I find that the most interesting places to shoot are away from some kind of outlet (although I would still like to keep the option of using an outlet when one is available).

I've seen kits on B&H for around $300 - $400 which is pretty much what my price range is unless someone can possibly list a few things for me to consider. What do you guys think about this kit? Is it worth it? I can't really afford much more than this since I am but a lowly college student.


Any help is really appreciated. Thank you.

 

[rein]

Batteries. www.alienbees.com sells a battery that will power a studio strobe (AC is it?) and will their Alien Bee B800 320w/s strobe 1200 times at full power. That's three of their strobes at full power getting 400 shots or four at 300 (if you can put four on that is, not exactly sure). If you turn the power down even more, then you'll get more shots.

It's not as portable as you'll have to have extension cords and your strobes will always be tethered to a battery. You'll have a lot more power.

Are you doing paid work?

thanks for the info.

right now i dont get paid, but since im already somewhat in the industry, im trying to build my name into it, right now i am just doing shots for friends, i am not planning to go career with my photography, just maybe another source of income whenever possible and its another hobby that i just love so much, wether i make money with it or not.

 

[Village Idiot]

Hey guys, great thread!

I've been thinking about buying a strobe for myself. I've been shooting with a sunpak 383 for a while and I've played with a 430EX off camera on numerous occasions and I really want to get the power of a studio strobe light.

I was thinking about something very simple to get me started. A strobe head on a stand with an umbrella to reflect or shoot through. I plan on triggering it with a long PC cord since wireless seems to be either expensive or unreliable. I have also been considering a battery pack because I find that the most interesting places to shoot are away from some kind of outlet (although I would still like to keep the option of using an outlet when one is available).

I've seen kits on B&H for around $300 - $400 which is pretty much what my price range is unless someone can possibly list a few things for me to consider. What do you guys think about this kit? Is it worth it? I can't really afford much more than this since I am but a lowly college student.


Any help is really appreciated. Thank you.

It depends on what brand you're looking at. As much as I hate to push a product unless I'm sure of it, here's a good starter setup for one light.

http://alienbees.com/beginner.html

Alien Bees are very good budget studio lights. That setup above comes with light stand, umbrella, and travel case for $358.

Elinchrom makes a good entry level kit that's a little more expensive, but is more consistent on power output and supposedly on color temp as well.

 

[rdompor]

It depends on what brand you're looking at. As much as I hate to push a product unless I'm sure of it, here's a good starter setup for one light.

http://alienbees.com/beginner.html

Alien Bees are very good budget studio lights. That setup above comes with light stand, umbrella, and travel case for $358.

Elinchrom makes a good entry level kit that's a little more expensive, but is more consistent on power output and supposedly on color temp as well.

What are the advantages of studio lights vs. speedlights like canon's EX's? The speedlights seem way more portable and versatile. Do you think that a nice setup can be had at cost?

 

[LynziMarie]

I just found a great book on Lighting that I think will help all of us beginners, I've skimmed through it and it has alot of info

Lighting
David Prakel
(includes film and digital)
I found it at Barnes and Noble for $25... it's a good little book!

 

[Village Idiot]

What are the advantages of studio lights vs. speedlights like canon's EX's? The speedlights seem way more portable and versatile. Do you think that a nice setup can be had at cost?

Studio lights = more power. The Alien Bee I listed is 320w/s. Most standard speedlights are about 60w/s. When I was shooting yesterday, I had my AB B800 at about 1/16 to get an even lighting ratio with my speed lights that were all at full power or close to it.

If you went all manual flashes you could get something like this.

3x Sunpak 383 = $240
3x Cheap lightstands = $60
2x Shoot through umbrella = $40
3x umbrella adapters = $45

$385 for your lights.

Another $60 if you go with cheap Cactus/e-bay radio triggers and you're in business. Those aren't the most reliable triggers in the world, but they work. For something more reliable to trigger three flashes, you're looking at close to $400.

 

[Early]

It's basically firing your light past your subject instead of directly at your subject. It's used a lot in portrature but can be used for any application. It's supposed to create a softer light on the subject as it falls across them.

Found this link. It has diagrams that explain it better.
http://www.studiostyles.net/wp/archives/92

I'll have to try that and then compare. Thanks.

 

[mamarazzi_hrd]

Hi, newb here!!! I have a Nikon D40x with a SB600 Speedlight. I usually just take all my photos with flash using trial and error since I am so new to the flash thing.

When I try to meter using my flash (TTL), the reading shows the same as it does without the flash....that my photo will be very underexposed. But when I take it with my flash, the exposure is fine. Am I doing something wrong? Do you not watch the exposure meter when using a flash?

I hope my question made since and that I don't sound like a total goob.....

 

[Village Idiot]

Hi, newb here!!! I have a Nikon D40x with a SB600 Speedlight. I usually just take all my photos with flash using trial and error since I am so new to the flash thing.

When I try to meter using my flash (TTL), the reading shows the same as it does without the flash....that my photo will be very underexposed. But when I take it with my flash, the exposure is fine. Am I doing something wrong? Do you not watch the exposure meter when using a flash?

I hope my question made since and that I don't sound like a total goob.....

Your in camera meter meters ambient regardless of what's connected to it. As long as you have the Flash Exposure Sorrection (FEC) set for the scene, the flash will fire based off of several things like aperture and focal length of the lens. Shutter speed has not a lot to do with flash photography unless you start talking about sync speeds.

So if you were to expose properly via the in camera meter and use the flash, you'd get a photo with everything exposed correctly and then a correct exposure from the flash as well.