Studio Lights..portable and affordable

[Cassandra Kenny]

Hey everyone, After shooting my son's cake smash photos indoors and some newborn photos earlier in July, I realized how important my flash was to use. When the flash was angled just right, the shots were wonderful. However, even with a flash, I can still get shadows. I am now looking for some portable studio lights that I can take on the go to client's homes or use as studio lights at home too. I am still building my kit list, but lights is probably my next important purchase. Any suggestions and affordability is key too. Thanks.

 

[astroNikon]

define affordability ?

were you only using the popup flash?
or something more such as a OffCameraFlash on a bracket with a diffuser or something ?

 

[Cassandra Kenny]

Oh no, not just the pop up flash. I definitely realized what a good "detachable" speed light (Nikon) was capable of. And affordability...anything within a couple hundred dollars?

 

[SnappingShark]

Alien bees are pretty affordable - although to go "on location" somewhere you'll need the battery packs and they're about as expensive as the lights

 

[Braineack]

adorama's flashpoint series is even more pretty affordable. battery pack needs depends on if location has outlets or not


but you can buy them with a battery pack: Flashpoint M Series

 

[tirediron]

Is it because of the shadows that you're looking at studio lighting, or because you need more light, or?

 

[astroNikon]

just make sure you DO NOT buy a continuous CFL (twisty light bulb) light system no matter how cheap or big of "package" it seems you'll get.

 

[table1349]

Before you spend any money read this first. Strobist: Welcome to Strobist.

 

[Scatterbrained]

Hey everyone, After shooting my son's cake smash photos indoors and some newborn photos earlier in July, I realized how important my flash was to use. When the flash was angled just right, the shots were wonderful. However, even with a flash, I can still get shadows. I am now looking for some portable studio lights that I can take on the go to client's homes or use as studio lights at home too. I am still building my kit list, but lights is probably my next important purchase. Any suggestions and affordability is key too. Thanks.

I'm going to go a slightly different route here. First, remember that shadows define the shape, without them the subject is flat. You want directional lighting, and the shadows it provides. With that in mind, and knowing that you have a speedlight already, I'd recommend you purchase Neil Van Neikerks book "On Camera Flash Techniques for Wedding Photographers". It's the go to book for bounce flash technique. As an example, here are some images taken indoors with bounced on camera flash:
Princess Ariel: Akershush Restaurant by tltichy, on Flickr
Natasha: Mermaid Makeover at The Pirates League by tltichy, on Flickr
Amelia, Natasha, and Cinderella by tltichy, on Flickr

Each of these were lit with on camera bounced flash. No modifiers.

You could also look at getting a stand and an umbrella or two and getting your speedlight off the camera. This will give you some time to work with off camera lighting while getting a feel for what your wants and needs will actually be. If you get a quality stand it will be something you can use for a long time, with speedlights or monolights. The same goes for the umbrella. Shoot through and bounce umbrellas are an inexpensive, quick way to get experience with light modifiers.


As far as separate strobes are concerned, there are different factors to take into account. Are you looking primarily to be portable? If so some of the bare bulb flash units might be more to your liking as they are essentially a cross between the portability of a speedlight and the power of a monolight. They don't handle the larger, heavier light modifiers though. So no six foot octabox. As far as monolights go, it has been pointed out that PCB Alien Bees are affordable, and reliable. The flashpoint system from Adorama also has some solid budget monolights. For outdoor work you'll still need a battery pack of some sort however, but that's the case for a vast majority of lights. There are lights with built in battery packs, but they start just under a grand. Not really something I'd consider affordable, especially when you add the cost of light modifiers, triggers, stands, etc. that you'll be needing as well.

 

[randymckown]

I have multiple types of lights that I take depending on the exact situation. I will say that I prefer to take speed lights over strobes when possible .. my reason is purely related to setup and teardown time spent on location and of course they take up less room in transport. This allows me to create complex multi-light setups without my entire backseat being filled with bulky studio strobe cases .. instead I have more room for other things I might need ... like softboxes, stands, reflectors, backgrounds, etc.

If budget is a concern, you can't beat the price/quality of yongnuo speed lights. You can pick up 3-4 powerful lights plus a complete wireless setup ( triggers + LCD Commander) for about what you would spend on one really nice Nikon/Canon Speedlight. The Nikon or Canon might have a couple extra bells n whistles but I'll take 4 average lights to shoot with over 1 slightly better light any day. Not saying that the Yongnuo don't have all the bells n whistles .. they have super cheap basic models and more advanced models .. that are still pretty dang affordable.

I actually sold off my Nikon SB-900 & 800's a couple years ago and switched completely to the Yongnuo system.

For actual studio strobes I've always leaned more to Photogenic & Profoto .. but I will say that I have a set of Fotodiox strobes that I bought more than a decade ago for fairly cheap and the things are still kicking. They're collecting dust somewhere at the moment with some other semi-forgotten gear LOL but if I needed them I have no doubt they'd fire every time. You might want to take a look at their website and see what deals you can find.

Regardless of if you are going with a speed light or studio strobe setup ... soft boxes are going to be a big help. Smaller boxes fine-tune the scene and big ones flood it with soft light. I have a 64" octagon soft box that I love for just about everything. Then I will mix in other soft boxes as need but some of my favs are 12"x64" strips, snoots and smaller 36" octagons.

Just as important as the lights and boxes --- reflectors. I don't always buy the name brand reflectors either. I buy the cheap knock-offs from overseas if it's something I'm using outdoors. Because when your outside .. a white reflector is a white reflector and odds are I'm going to tear it up anyway from shoving it up into trees and everything else you can imagine. It's good to have a variety but my most used reflector is a white/gold 4'x6' .. it's huge so it kicks lots of soft light or it can become a massive shade source when needed. The only problem is holding it above your head on a windy day -- think ginormous kite LOL -- it will blow you away.

My advice .. get some speed lights, some reflectors and practice on bouncing that light where you need it. That will help you tremendously with those shadows. Then start adding some soft boxes when you can invest more.

 

[Cassandra Kenny]

Is it because of the shadows that you're looking at studio lighting, or because you need more light, or?

Is it because of the shadows that you're looking at studio lighting, or because you need more light, or?

I assume studio lights would help with the shadows and yes my main concern

 

[Cassandra Kenny]

Hey everyone, After shooting my son's cake smash photos indoors and some newborn photos earlier in July, I realized how important my flash was to use. When the flash was angled just right, the shots were wonderful. However, even with a flash, I can still get shadows. I am now looking for some portable studio lights that I can take on the go to client's homes or use as studio lights at home too. I am still building my kit list, but lights is probably my next important purchase. Any suggestions and affordability is key too. Thanks.

I'm going to go a slightly different route here. First, remember that shadows define the shape, without them the subject is flat. You want directional lighting, and the shadows it provides. With that in mind, and knowing that you have a speedlight already, I'd recommend you purchase Neil Van Neikerks book "On Camera Flash Techniques for Wedding Photographers". It's the go to book for bounce flash technique. As an example, here are some images taken indoors with bounced on camera flash:
Princess Ariel: Akershush Restaurant by tltichy, on Flickr
Natasha: Mermaid Makeover at The Pirates League by tltichy, on Flickr
Amelia, Natasha, and Cinderella by tltichy, on Flickr

Each of these were lit with on camera bounced flash. No modifiers.

You could also look at getting a stand and an umbrella or two and getting your speedlight off the camera. This will give you some time to work with off camera lighting while getting a feel for what your wants and needs will actually be. If you get a quality stand it will be something you can use for a long time, with speedlights or monolights. The same goes for the umbrella. Shoot through and bounce umbrellas are an inexpensive, quick way to get experience with light modifiers.


As far as separate strobes are concerned, there are different factors to take into account. Are you looking primarily to be portable? If so some of the bare bulb flash units might be more to your liking as they are essentially a cross between the portability of a speedlight and the power of a monolight. They don't handle the larger, heavier light modifiers though. So no six foot octabox. As far as monolights go, it has been pointed out that PCB Alien Bees are affordable, and reliable. The flashpoint system from Adorama also has some solid budget monolights. For outdoor work you'll still need a battery pack of some sort however, but that's the case for a vast majority of lights. There are lights with built in battery packs, but they start just under a grand. Not really something I'd consider affordable, especially when you add the cost of light modifiers, triggers, stands, etc. that you'll be needing as well.

Great advice. I agree. I think I had umbrellas in mind too. I'm more of a natural light photographer and use my speed light quite well. I wasn't really sure if I should be purchasing any different lights for when I do work indoors or for weddings.

 

[Cassandra Kenny]

Is it because of the shadows that you're looking at studio lighting, or because you need more light, or?

Is it because of the shadows that you're looking at studio lighting, or because you need more light, or?

I assume studio lights would help with the shadows and yes my main concern

and maybe umbrellas would be a great compliment to my speed light rather than any other sort of light system.

 

[Cassandra Kenny]

I have multiple types of lights that I take depending on the exact situation. I will say that I prefer to take speed lights over strobes when possible .. my reason is purely related to setup and teardown time spent on location and of course they take up less room in transport. This allows me to create complex multi-light setups without my entire backseat being filled with bulky studio strobe cases .. instead I have more room for other things I might need ... like softboxes, stands, reflectors, backgrounds, etc.

If budget is a concern, you can't beat the price/quality of yongnuo speed lights. You can pick up 3-4 powerful lights plus a complete wireless setup ( triggers + LCD Commander) for about what you would spend on one really nice Nikon/Canon Speedlight. The Nikon or Canon might have a couple extra bells n whistles but I'll take 4 average lights to shoot with over 1 slightly better light any day. Not saying that the Yongnuo don't have all the bells n whistles .. they have super cheap basic models and more advanced models .. that are still pretty dang affordable.

I actually sold off my Nikon SB-900 & 800's a couple years ago and switched completely to the Yongnuo system.

For actual studio strobes I've always leaned more to Photogenic & Profoto .. but I will say that I have a set of Fotodiox strobes that I bought more than a decade ago for fairly cheap and the things are still kicking. They're collecting dust somewhere at the moment with some other semi-forgotten gear LOL but if I needed them I have no doubt they'd fire every time. You might want to take a look at their website and see what deals you can find.

Regardless of if you are going with a speed light or studio strobe setup ... soft boxes are going to be a big help. Smaller boxes fine-tune the scene and big ones flood it with soft light. I have a 64" octagon soft box that I love for just about everything. Then I will mix in other soft boxes as need but some of my favs are 12"x64" strips, snoots and smaller 36" octagons.

Just as important as the lights and boxes --- reflectors. I don't always buy the name brand reflectors either. I buy the cheap knock-offs from overseas if it's something I'm using outdoors. Because when your outside .. a white reflector is a white reflector and odds are I'm going to tear it up anyway from shoving it up into trees and everything else you can imagine. It's good to have a variety but my most used reflector is a white/gold 4'x6' .. it's huge so it kicks lots of soft light or it can become a massive shade source when needed. The only problem is holding it above your head on a windy day -- think ginormous kite LOL -- it will blow you away.

My advice .. get some speed lights, some reflectors and practice on bouncing that light where you need it. That will help you tremendously with those shadows. Then start adding some soft boxes when you can invest more.

I have a great speed light so I think I need to be looking into reflectors. New at using lights and all so learning as I go. I realize bouncing the light just right is all you need most times. Do you recommend reflectors?

 

[astroNikon]

on another note
If you move around a lot and having a fixed set up doesn't work, such as "event" type work.
I use this bracket which allows me to flip the camera horizontal/vertical without moving the speedlight. The speedlight is moved away from the camera a bit ==> 310900

and I also use a reflector like this on the speedlight, on the flash bracket ==> Flash Pocket Bouncer for Nikon SB910 SB900 SB700 SB400 SB300 SB600 SB28 SB24 ++

I can also grab the speedlight and handhold it if I wish.

remember, as above stated a couple times. You don't want to eliminate all shadows as that makes the image lose the "3D" look and everything looks flat. Plus you'll probably wash out the details with too much light. Adding light as "FILL" is the key (from the strobist site mentioned above) ==> Strobist: Lighting 101: Balancing Flash and Ambient, Pt 1

I like speedlights too for the above mentioned reasons. But if you want to start using the larger modifiers you have to get a specific bracket (which is costly). Then if you need more light you use more speedlights on a multi-speedlight bracket (even more money). So there is a low cost threshold of speedlights versus lower end strobes. It all comes down to how much portability you want.

Also, other than just shoot-through umbrellas, there are also bounce umbrellas ==> Westcott 7' Parabolic Umbrella (White / Black) 4634 B&H Photo
and then "brollys" which have a diffuser over the bounce umbrella ==> Westcott Umbrella Diffuser for Parabolic Umbrella 4631D B&H

edit: I use much cheaper brollies than above ==> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DM83KO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

But as mentioned, as soon as you want to use softboxes, it seems to be cheaper to just go to strobes. Be careful of the strobe to softbox "mount" as it may limit your choices.

edit: I also use a set of reflectors like this ==> Photography 32x48" 5in1 Light Mulit Collapsible Portable Photo Reflector80x120cm