Planning to buy my first lighting equipments HELP PLS

tigidig4x · Jan 26, 2014

Hi guys, i plan to buy 1 reflector and lighting umbrella...

Question is, i only have 1 flash, it is canon speedlite 320 EX II..Would this flash be enough for an umbrella and reflector? I want to start my portraits with lights, i researched alot about it, im pretty confident that i would know how to use my lighting umbrella and reflector and im really excited to get my hands on it.. just please tell me if that items would be enough as an entry level portrait photographer... Thanks guys!

DGMPhotography · Jan 26, 2014

tigidig4x said:
Hi guys, i plan to buy 1 reflector and lighting umbrella...

Question is, i only have 1 flash, it is canon speedlite 320 EX II..Would this flash be enough for an umbrella and reflector? I want to start my portraits with lights, i researched alot about it, im pretty confident that i would know how to use my lighting umbrella and reflector and im really excited to get my hands on it.. just please tell me if that items would be enough as an entry level portrait photographer... Thanks guys!

Heck yeah it's enough. Any light is better than no light. Generally it's one flash (speed light) per umbrella and there will be more than enough light to reflect.

Of course, eventually, you're going to realize that you want to add another one, two, or three lights. I'm currently wanting to upgrade to 3. Just learn your way up! Good luck!

tirediron · Jan 26, 2014

What DGM said! With a GN of 79, that will give you almost f8 at 10', so shooting with your lights 5-6 away and allowing for the ~1 stop drop from the umbrella, you're still going to be at f8 or so, which is an ideal portraiture aperture. And yes, sadly, this will begin a whole new round of GAS*.

*Gear Acquisition Syndrome

tigidig4x · Jan 27, 2014

Heck yeah it's enough. Any light is better than no light. Generally it's one flash (speed light) per umbrella and there will be more than enough light to reflect.

Of course, eventually, you're going to realize that you want to add another one, two, or three lights. I'm currently wanting to upgrade to 3. Just learn your way up! Good luck!

What DGM said! With a GN of 79, that will give you almost f8 at 10', so shooting with your lights 5-6 away and allowing for the ~1 stop drop from the umbrella, you're still going to be at f8 or so, which is an ideal portraiture aperture. And yes, sadly, this will begin a whole new round of GAS*.

Thank you! Im confident now, and im sure ill work my way up to more lights! Also some additional questions, if ever i would add more lights, what are the most cheap but effective speedlites out there? Because this canon speedlite is too expensive for me...

Another question, does portraiture really require high apertures? Im wondering...... Wouldnt it be nice to have a decent background blur? Sorry i really dont understand all the concepts of using flash in portraits as i have only studied the most basic requirements of knowledge to start my portraiture with flash.... Please clarify thanks so much guys!!!!! =)

tirediron · Jan 27, 2014

The Yongnuo brand of speedlights are well regarded consumer units, but of you are seriously interested in portraiture, you will likely want to invest in studio lights which are much more versatile and a better bang for the buck than speedlights.

There are times when you do want a very shallow DoF, but you almost always want the head in sharp focus. F8 is a good aperture for that, since normally the background isn't a factor.

Designer · Jan 27, 2014

tigidig4x said:
Another question, does portraiture really require high apertures? Im wondering...... Wouldnt it be nice to have a decent background blur? Sorry i really dont understand all the concepts of using flash in portraits as i have only studied the most basic requirements of knowledge to start my portraiture with flash.... Please clarify thanks so much guys!!!!! =)

One aim in portraiture is to make sure the subject is in focus. Using your lens somewhat stopped down increases the depth of field, so to minimize areas that are out of focus. Blurring the background is a nice touch, particularly for outdoors informal portraits. In a studio, one would hopefully have a neutral backdrop so being in or out of focus is probably not very important. Furthermore, with proper subject-to-background spacing, the background focus will not be an issue.

tigidig4x · Jan 28, 2014

The Yongnuo brand of speedlights are well regarded consumer units, but of you are seriously interested in portraiture, you will likely want to invest in studio lights which are much more versatile and a better bang for the buck than speedlights.

There are times when you do want a very shallow DoF, but you almost always want the head in sharp focus. F8 is a good aperture for that, since normally the background isn't a factor.

well, i still don't have plans for shooting in a studio, since im beginning to learn, i think i would just do outdoors... Question, is shooting outdoors enough for my equipments? Let's say i shot around 8am - 11 am, or 4pm and onwards, would it be nice?

One aim in portraiture is to make sure the subject is in focus. Using your lens somewhat stopped down increases the depth of field, so to minimize areas that are out of focus. Blurring the background is a nice touch, particularly for outdoors informal portraits. In a studio, one would hopefully have a neutral backdrop so being in or out of focus is probably not very important. Furthermore, with proper subject-to-background spacing, the background focus will not be an issue.

Okay, thanks i understand it now.... =)

tirediron · Jan 28, 2014

Actually, shooting indoors is MUCH easier; in fact easiest of all would be shooting in a room with no ambient light whatsoever since that would allow you to control ALL of the light. You can do a lot outside on a nice day with just a reflector, but shooting indoors is easier since you don't have to worry about what the sun and clouds are doing, where shadows are falling, squinting eyes, etc.

tigidig4x · Jan 29, 2014

tirediron said:
Actually, shooting indoors is MUCH easier; in fact easiest of all would be shooting in a room with no ambient light whatsoever since that would allow you to control ALL of the light. You can do a lot outside on a nice day with just a reflector, but shooting indoors is easier since you don't have to worry about what the sun and clouds are doing, where shadows are falling, squinting eyes, etc.

Yup, i can shoot indoors but not in my "own" location... Also, maybe if shooting in direct sun is difficult, maybe i could try to shoot in the shade or shoot when the sun goes down atleast? Damn! I'm really excited to try my ideas in mind using those equipments! Thank you so much for your help!!!!!