Studio lighting

[1000DUser]

Hello everyone i've just been introduced to studio lighting and think its a very interesting, jumping straight to the point. is a fill flash better or using a reflector better? and then use the extra speedlight to use as a backgroud to eleminate the shadow? because if i use a speedlight for a fill flash then ill pretty much have to get another one for the backgroud right?


Also, those cheap transmiters on Ebay, is it better using those or just using a 580EXii and 2 x 430EX? thank you!

 

[Big Mike]

It's not really a matter of 'better'...it's just as matter of what works for you....and the more talented and creative you are, the more able you will be to 'make things work'.

You can use either a flash or a reflector for fill, which one is more appropriate, will depend on the the specific details of your situation.

As for triggering the flash...again, it's not a black & white issue.
If you go with the Canon units, you can use their proprietary wireless system. This system gives you E-TTL (auto flash metering) functionality. It allows you to set the ratio between flash groups, all from the master unit.
It works well, but it's has it's limitations. Because it uses light pulses for communication, they don't communicate well outdoors in bright light and/or when they don't have line-of-sight. They should work just fine in a studio though.
Radio triggers, on the other hand, usually communicate very well...and the expensive ones have a range up to 1600 feet. Most of them (all the cheap ones) don't give you E-TTL though, so you have to have the camera in manual mode and the flash in manual mode, which means you have to figure out and set the flash power on your own (flash meter comes in very handy). One big benefit is that if you are going this route, you don't need to use expensive flash units like the 430 or 580. You can use much cheaper units.

 

[1000DUser]

Thank you so much for you reply, but if i dont use expensive units like 580 and 430, i dont seem to know any other flash units that can play the trasmitter role. like my nissin di622 cant transmite and has no PC hole in it. also if i dont use E-TTL, and without a light meter, is it very hard to get the correct settings?

 

[1000DUser]

Also somethin i saw while reading through, do i needa set the camera mode to M also? or only the flash mode?
so lets say i've found a cheaper route to go with studio lighting equiqment or manual units without ETT-L which you proposed would be much cheaper, then all i needa do is get a light meter ?

 

[Big Mike]

HERE is a cheap flash unit and HERE is another one, not as cheap, but was made with this type of shooting in mind, and has several triggering options.

If you go with the cheaper flash units...then you don't need to worry about which one is a 'Master' because you will use the radio trigger on the camera. You can use cheaper 'off-brand' units, like the Nissin, in the Canon system...if you want to. I don't know much about them, or how well they will work.

But either way, if the flash doesn't have a sync port, there are other ways to fire it. For example, the cheap radio triggers (Cactus, for example) have a hotshoe on the reciever unit...so you just mount the flash onto that.

Another way is to use a hotshoe adapter, like THESE.

 

[Big Mike]

And yes, if you go with the cheap flashes & trigger, you will need to put the camera into M mode and probably the flashes into M mode.

It's actually not that hard to figure out what settings you'll need...especially with digital...and especially once you understand how it all works. Still, a flash meter is a great tool to have.

Another thing to consider, if you are mainly using this in a studio...is that you may want actual studio lights and not just hot-shoe flashes. Studio lights plug into AC power, so you don't have to worry about batteries. They are typically a good deal more powerful than flash units and the good ones recycle pretty quickly compared to flash units. Also, most studio strobes have built in modeling lights, which can make things easier for you.

 

[1000DUser]

alright, also is 180Watts studio light enough? like the JINBEI SPRITE 180, not sure if you heard of it , people say its a good begginers kit. also if i dont get flash meter and just try out the apeture 1by1 or guess it also okay? thanks for your response. btw do studio lights use a trasmitter also or just PC cables?

 

[Village Idiot]

Hello everyone i've just been introduced to studio lighting

Please answer one question first. What is studio lighting?

You're talking about Canon speedlights and they're generally not regarded as studio lights. Generally people use mono lights or pack and head systems for their studios as they have more power and generally better modifiers to play with.

Are you talking about lighting in general, or actual studio lighting with large mono lights or pack and head systems?

 

[Village Idiot]

alright, also is 180Watts studio light enough? like the JINBEI SPRITE 180, not sure if you heard of it , people say its a good begginers kit. also if i dont get flash meter and just try out the apeture 1by1 or guess it also okay? thanks for your response. btw do studio lights use a trasmitter also or just PC cables?

Where are you located?

Don't buy super cheap. If you're on a budget, check out Alien Bee lights, Calumet Genesis or Elinchrom D lites. You'll probably want at least around 200w/s a light. I use 320 w/s and 640 w/s mono lights.

Most mono lights come with an optical trigger that will fire the lights when another flash, like your on camera flash, is fired. Most all mono light should have a sync port that you can plug in a pc cable or a receiver. If a mono light would for some reason not even have a sync port, I'd skip it all together.

Radio triggers take cables that plug from the receiver to the light. You can purchase which ever type of cable you need to fill this role, be it a 3.5mm to 1/4" or 3.5mm to pc.

So look at getting a quality entry level studio light if you're on a budget and go from there. Also, the below site might be of help. The lighting tutorials are done around small speedlights, but the techniques can be adapted to larger lights.

Strobist: Lighting 101

 

[1000DUser]

so better off getting studio lights than going with speed lights? and also just out of curiousity, when you get your 1st set of studio lightings, are they actually very difficult to set up? like having to sync it with your camera and all?

 

[LearnMyShot]

If you want to get some experience in lighting before spending a lot of money, check out my website LearnMyShot - Photography Tutorials, Tips, Techniques & How To Videos I hope that helps!