use sb600 wirelessly from a d3100 and questions about portrait phortography

[msp1488]

hello

straight to the point , i just got an sb600 and need to use it off body , im not to familiar with these trigger things , how do they work and what do you guys recommend for a guy on a budget !

also im getting into portrait photography because i want to expand my skills. can any one fill me in with how unbrellas work and so on ? reflectors and stuff and what i should learn to pull of good looking photos with these items !!

any way thank you in advance for any input and advice its much appreciated !

 

[Twisted_Pixel]

I'm in a similar boat, D5000, 35mm 1.8 and an SB600.
Went and bought myself a transmitter/receiver set from Calumet yesterday (approx £50). Tried to find a link on their site for you, but its not appearing.

Have been playing around with it, which has definitely increased my urge to get more off camera lighting equipment.

Hopefully you will get more feedback in regards to specific questions.

 

[PhillyPhoton]

I have seen these recomended on the site, cheap alternative to pocket wizards. also is a V5 out now. Read a review where someone set his flashes up across a parking lot and they fired, so they seem pretty reliable.

Gadget Infinity :: Digital Camera :: Flash Trigger :: Wireless Trigger :: Cactus Wireless Flash Trigger Set V4

 

[msp1488]

thanks for the info , i searched and not to familiar with most of the terms but not dumb to understand with some exposure lol ,i tried a currency converter and figured this was the one you bought
Calumet Four-Channel Radio Flash Trigger Kit with LED Readout

its just around my price range of what i have left to spend is this the one you bought ? how much fun have you had with it and how efficient has it been

both seem good ill look into them

thank you both

 

[cnutco]

Pocket Wizards radios

 

[Marc-Etienne]

If you really are on a tight budget, you can get this . I got a set it works to a normal range (10-20ft), nothing fancy! It's built cheap so when I want to set my heavy flash on it, I usually take my off camera cord and set the flash on it and put the receiver at the other hand of the cord. Otherwise, the fragile receiver tends to bend way too much for me :er:. Don't get me wrong, I got this because I don't use it often but wanted a way to trigger my flash wireless for dirt cheap, but you pay for what you get. It triggers but won't survive extensive use!!!

 

[KmH]

Those like Marc-Etienne linked to tend to break there where the mount attaches to the side of the receiver. The receiver body fails.

I use these at up to 100 feet from the camera, around corners, in other rooms, etc.

I also like them because I can mount 2 speedlights doubleing the amount of light.

There are optical (infrared, IR) as well as radio triggers. Optical triggers are limited by line-of-site issues and don't work very well in direct sunlight because the IR the Sun produces overwhelms them. Optical also has limted range.

Umbrellas can be used in bounce mode or in shoot-through modes. Placing the umbrella close to the subject is best done in shoot-through mode. some umbrellas are convertable and can be used in either mode.

Many portrait photographers prefer using softboxes over umbrellas and there is an in between type that, often called a brolly box that has attributes of both umbrellas and softboxes.

The "and so on" - "and what i [sic] should learn to pull of good looking photos with these items !!" part would require writing you a book.

Budget? Anywhere from $300 to $20,000+.

 

[msp1488]

well my budget is lower then 300 , and im thinking of investing in reflectors and a trigger receiver combo this week