Lighting for beginning photographer

[Designer]

I've never heard of this method before- sounds great tho.

Yes, it is great. What we're suggesting is that you learn flash by getting it off your camera.

Yes, it will work on top of your camera just like any old-timey kind of flash attachment, but when the flash comes from the direction of the camera, the light will be "flat", meaning it will not "model" (show contours) of your subject.

When the viewer can see faces and all parts of the faces (nose, cheeks, eye contours, etc.) the photograph looks more natural, just as we see it in real life.

There must be some kind of connection between your camera and the flash, either by a cable, or RF transceivers, or if the flash is in "slave mode". Personally, I like to use RF transceivers because it doesn't matter where I am, or how I'm holding the camera, the transceivers will fire the flash at the correct time.

Tirediron has listed some typical accessories that you can use to get the flash off the camera and still make it go. His selections are mostly from the lower end of the price range because beginner photographers are aghast at how much the top end components will cost, and often just forget doing any of it. By purchasing the lower end, you're not completely shocked, and when (if) you find some limitations with the cheaper gear (I dunno, wear out, maybe?) then you can start looking at more expensive gear.

The light stand holds the bracket. The bracket holds both the flash and an umbrella. The transceivers make it go.

 

[decyjohn]

Many beginning photographers believe that studio-quality lighting kits are only necessary or affordable for professional photographers. Fortunately, with recent developments in production and manufacture, that belief is simply not true. Now, even amateur photographers can buy a basic studio lighting kit for relatively little money, which helps increase the quality of all shots. In addition, portable kits are also available so photographers never have to lose control over a photo’s lighting.

 

[Village Idiot]

Bees are expensive for what you get. The Einstein is a better purchase for the money, but I'd imagine that even a B800 might be much for shooting a newborn. You'll probably have to crank it way down. That makes a speedlight type flash more ideal since it is lower power, but then you have the disadvantages of running on batteries, not modeling light, and different attachments.

 

[nf1]

The first thing as @tirediron pointed out is to learn light and especially one light setup. For this you usually need light stand, umbrella / softbox, bracket (either for the umbrella or the softbox), you also need a background support system and a backdrop. You can check my post for Home Studio Setup where I go in more details about what you need and why you need it.