Help with lighting!?!

[Village Idiot]

All right. I will basically be shooting outdoors, along with indoors with a little bit of travelling now and again. Pretty much going to be focusing on portraits and maybe eventually more complicated stuff such as wedding and all that jazz. until I get use to them, and nature now and again. For those outdoor shots the sun is pretty harsh down here, and bright but I'm sure I can always put my back to the sun to give it more of a ambient light as well. I also tend to really like evening and night shots, so from what I'm reading off camera flash would work just as well for that, and a lot better on the back?

It's all off camera flash. Flash = strobe. Strobe = flash.

If you're talking about hot shoe speedlights, then they'll work better outdoors under cloud cover or at dawn or dusk rather than during the day under a cloudless sky with harsh, bright sun.

 

[Alistair]

All right.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I will be doing regarding that I will be shooting more than during the day. It's just waaay to hot down here for that type of work during middle of the day, really or even late afternoon.

So I take it your suggestion to go with off camera flash's instead of the mono lights? Cause even when I look through the strobist thread, that's basically what seems to used the most, along with reading online. I really do kinda have a bad back. Hehe. But if I need it, I have nothing against carrying even if it's a bit annoying sometimes.

Do you have any suggestions then what I should use for off camera flash, that I haven't posted with a budget of 600 to 800? I really perfer to keep it under 600, but if I need to I can push it to the 800.

Thanks!

 

[stevenrecords]

Get AlienBees ! They are a great budget set that a lot of people use for studio and location light sources. A lot of strobists use a Vagabond for power source. Other alternatives is to get a couple speedlights, some modifiers, and some triggers/receivers. Yongnuo has pretty good budget triggers. But speedlights are only effective outdoors in the shadows or around dusk.

Don't forget for outdoor shooting, you will need some sandbags or other weights to keep the stand from tipping in the wind.

-Rec

 

[christinacraft]

Alien Bees has some great lighting setups. I have the 1600 wt strobes but I NEVER use it this high - a 500wt strobe (or lower) is just fine.

________________________
Costa Rica Wedding Photography

 

[slate mike]

I am certainly no expert. Those that I have asked have advised me that they would want a minimum of 600ws when working in the sun. Best of luck in whatever you decide.