Single EX430 lighting setup (for now).

maybeshewill · Mar 20, 2012

Hey everyone.. I'm interested in setting up a basic studio photography space. I'm wondering how I can best take advantage of my current gear (a single EX430), and what I should get to get the most out of it?

I was thinking maybe a white umbrella for the EX430, a reflector and stand for it so it can sit on and reflect the other side. I will be using a white background for now.

Any hints/tips you've picked up along the way would be great! I'm not sure exactly how good light I can get with a single EX430 setup, but I'm determined to make it work and get somewhat decent results

tirediron · Mar 20, 2012

I would say that the single most useful item you can buy would be a wireless radio trigger so that you can use your flash off-camera without the limitations of the e-TTL. Once you have that, THEN go for the stand and umbrella.

maybeshewill · Mar 20, 2012

tirediron said:
I would say that the single most useful item you can buy would be a wireless radio trigger so that you can use your flash off-camera without the limitations of the e-TTL. Once you have that, THEN go for the stand and umbrella.

Thanks for the tip. I've read about this, but how exactly do they work?

KmH · Mar 20, 2012

You put the radio transmitter on the camera's hot shoe and the radio receiver on the foot of the speedlite.

StudioHut 4 channel Wireless Radio Hot Shoe Flash Trigger Kit for Canon EOS, Nikon, Olympus & Pentax Flashes with 2 Receivers

That kit lets you use 1 of 4 radio channels, in case there are other photographers around using radio transmitters. Your transmitter and receiver are set to the same channel with a couple of switches on each. However that kit does not acommodate eTTL. It only works with manual control.

The nice things about a radio triggering system is it is not limited to line-of-sight, and it has a lot more range than IR, optical, or wired triggering systems.

scorpion_tyr · Mar 20, 2012

What camera body do you have? I know with a 60D you can wirelessly control the flash with just the camera. Other models I'm pretty sure work the same way are the T3i and the 7D... probably others at the higher end as well. You can also get some cheaper slave flashes that will fire when they see the 430 fire.

maybeshewill · Mar 21, 2012

scorpion_tyr said:
What camera body do you have? I know with a 60D you can wirelessly control the flash with just the camera. Other models I'm pretty sure work the same way are the T3i and the 7D... probably others at the higher end as well. You can also get some cheaper slave flashes that will fire when they see the 430 fire.

Really? I have a 600D (t3i), so that would be awesome if it works that way and I don't have to fork out more cash for a controller. Any tips on how to set this up?