Strobist studio setups good enough?

ecphoto · Jun 23, 2012

I just started doing some research on strobist lighting. From what I've read and seen it looks like it gives studio like results with portability and low cost options.

Does anyone here shoot that way ?

I can get a set of radio triggers, light stands, two manual flashes for about 150. Its not a lasting setup I'm sure, but it helps in my small apartment and I'm just trying to experiment. I have my 430ex ii for ttl on camera stuff.

Any tips or pros / cons to this approach?

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kylehess10 · Jun 23, 2012

I use the cheap route and never even bothered upgrading ever since I first got into lighting a couple years ago. All of my portrait photos on my website were taken with basic Nikon SB600's and the triggers, stands, umbrellas, softbox, etc etc almost all came from China on eBay to save money.
I also did it to just experiment in lighting for the first time and I've never looked back - definitely recommended to give it your first shot using the low cost route. There's nothing to lose and you can always upgrade in the future if your budget allows you too and if it's the approach you want to take with your photography skills.

RSpears · Jun 23, 2012

If I were shooting out of an apartment, I'd probably just do the speedlight strobist approach completely. Myself, I use both studio strobes (Alien Bees) and speedlights (LumoPro) when I shoot on locations without power.

c.cloudwalker · Jun 23, 2012

I'm surprised you only have 2 responses. It seems it wasn't so long ago that the strobist way was the cat's meow. My thought all along was and is that it is BS. Simply put, one does not need more than one (1) hot-shoe flash per body owned. If you need more than that it probably means it is time to look into strobes.

Let's take a look at this rationally. Some strobes are no more expensive than flashes. Of course, you can get off brands for cheaper than the strobes. But then you're going to need bags full of them to approach the same power. And you're going to need special brackets to fit all those flashes on top of a stand. Frankly, it makes not one bit of sense to me.

The big deal discussed by most strobist fans is the portability. But that is also BS. Batteries are made for strobes if you are really going to shoot in the wilds. Most people never will. I've shot in a lot of third world countries where electricity was not available everywhere and I used a flash or two. I've also shot in first world countries where electricity was not available because it was some weird place and we carried banks of batteries to draw power from.

I once shot a documentary in Paris (the city of lights) and had to carry about 200 lbs of batteries 75 feet underground for my lighting needs. Believe it or not, we had electric cables running all through the area we were shooting in. But we weren't about to try and tap into them, risking shutting down even a 10th of the city :lol:

Carrying gear is part of the job. If you are not willing to do it, go find another job. Or another hobby.

The cheap way to learn is the next argument. Not a very good one since flashes do not have modelling lights. Modelling lights save you a lot of time when setting up. It may be true that you don't need to shoot a bunch of Polaraids today but you still need to check your set up. And when you are setting up blind, you are going to waste a bunch of time.

There are so many reasons that the strobist way is ridiculous, I'm not going to list them all here obviously. If I wanted to write a book about this, I wouldn't do it here.

Just think rationally.

Mike_E · Jun 23, 2012

The quickest way for a photographer to go broke is to to try and save money on gear. You wind up paying for something three or four times and then have to store a lot of junk that you never use and can't bear to part with.

Hobbytog · Jun 23, 2012

Hi

I use two speedlights (430EX II & Sigma EF530 Super) with my 600D. I have a set of Yongnuo radio triggers, brollys and reflectors. This set up is very portable and and the lighting is more than adequate for a head and shoulders shoot.

Filipebr · Jun 23, 2012

I work in "strobist" mode. Never had problems, of course i'm nowhere near as good as some members here. But to me, lighting is ......adding light? Portability truly is big for me, not that I'm those hardcore fans that will defend it to death, I just feel that what matters is lighting the shot and having a few small strobes can get the job done in MANY cases. I don't understand the hate for people who use small flashes to be honest?

rballard1076 · Jun 28, 2012

It's all a matter of how much power you need. I've got a set of cheap strobes+soft box/umbrella, and a 580exii/430ex setup respectively. I love using both setups, and can see when each would be necessary. I will admit, if you are doing portraits, clients might be less impressed (even if the results are good) if you have a set of flash units stuck on some stands, and not the typical studio setup.

These points of been made already, but thought I'd reiterate on them.

Just an fyi too, my flash units cost about double what my studio lights cost, so they're definitely not the cheapest route in this case.

morganza · Jun 29, 2012

kylehess10 said:
I use the cheap route and never even bothered upgrading ever since I first got into lighting a couple years ago. All of my portrait photos on my website were taken with basic Nikon SB600's and the triggers, stands, umbrellas, softbox, etc etc almost all came from China on eBay to save money.
I also did it to just experiment in lighting for the first time and I've never looked back - definitely recommended to give it your first shot using the low cost route. There's nothing to lose and you can always upgrade in the future if your budget allows you too and if it's the approach you want to take with your photography skills.

That's quite smart to be honest.

Big Mike · Jun 29, 2012

The problem that I've found, with the cheap/off-brand flashes, is that they don't recycle fast enough. They may be alright when the batteries are fresh and/or when you use them at a low power setting....but when you're shooting and you see the pose/expression you've been waiting for, you don't want to have to be waiting for the flash to recycle every time.

When I only had one studio strobe, I tried to use flash units for fill & background lights...and it was terrible. The strobe is ready to go in a fraction of a second, and I had to wait on the others.

That's why I have a full set of strobes. Of course, I do still use off-camera flash units from time to time...depending on the requirements of the shoot that I'm on.

ecphoto · Jul 4, 2012

Big Mike said:
The problem that I've found, with the cheap/off-brand flashes, is that they don't recycle fast enough. They may be alright when the batteries are fresh and/or when you use them at a low power setting....but when you're shooting and you see the pose/expression you've been waiting for, you don't want to have to be waiting for the flash to recycle every time.

When I only had one studio strobe, I tried to use flash units for fill & background lights...and it was terrible. The strobe is ready to go in a fraction of a second, and I had to wait on the others.

That's why I have a full set of strobes. Of course, I do still use off-camera flash units from time to time...depending on the requirements of the shoot that I'm on.

Linkdelight.com has some studio strobes for as little as 40 bucks so about as much as one of those cheapo flashes.

Its a 180w strobe, but I'm just starting to learn studio portraiture. What do you think Mike? You've never given me bad advice.

Tee · Jul 4, 2012

I'm not Mike and my advice is sometimes suspicious

but I'll add that buyer beware of cheap studio strobes. Things such as color balance and durability can have you pulling your hair out and make you realize you should've saved for a quality set-up. My personal opinion is strobes are like selecting a camera body- you're investing in a system and not just a singular piece of gear.

With regards to the strobist approach, it's really a matter of its intended usage. The portability and ease are great and can come in handy in a pinch.

LShooter · Jul 4, 2012

There are a few pros that use nothing but speedlights. Search youtube or check out kelbytraining for some neat info. Strobist.com of course too. The biggeest thing I've found is that outdoor, trying to balance or overpower sunlight requires multiple speedlights vs one good strobe. In low light or indoors speedlights work great.