What im working with

[cccott3]

I am working on setting up a small home studio. I just wanted to post a pic of what I have to work with and see if anyone has any tips for me. The two light on stands have umbrellas (white on one side and silver on the other). They were given to me and I have no clue what kind they are? Probably cheapy crap so should I use them or not?

I used the seamless paper tutorial that someone posted for ideas. I have my roll clamped, two sheets of tileboard down and two bifold doors that I am going to paint white.

The other flash I have is a sb-700 that in the pic is on my camera. I would like to take it off but I dont know what I need to do that yet.

I really cant spend too much more money at this time so any tips for me on the best way to use what I already have?

 

[Derrel]

Well, use what you have. The lights on stands look like "slave flashes" that trigger when another flash unit is fired. That generic "type" of flash unit normally has a household lightbulb-style, screw-in base, that threads into a lamp socket, and is powered by AC wall current. The Morris Company has made and sold such flashes for over 40 years now; the advantage is that a flash unit that is small,low cost, and slave-operated, can be bought for a low price and then just screwed into a clamp-on shop light, a torchier lamp, a table lamp, or whatever.

I was looking at the Adorama web site last week,and I noticed they had a 4-pack of these flash units, plus a modeling lamp, for a REALLY affordable price, as replacements for a light called the TD3 or TD5 Spider Light, I think it was.

 

[cccott3]

I took a few pics with this set up of a stuffed animal just to see and it's definitely not the effect I want I'm really thinking I need more or better lights. What would me the most affordable way to go?

 

[Village Idiot]

I took a few pics with this set up of a stuffed animal just to see and it's definitely not the effect I want I'm really thinking I need more or better lights. What would me the most affordable way to go?

What's your budget? You can spend $300 to $10,000 on three lights.

 

[cccott3]

About $300

 

[KmH]

It looks like the lights you have are constant lights, not strobe lights (flash)?

If so, they also don't look powerful enough (at least equivelent to 500 watts)

The umbrella is of a size that is really only useful for head shots of 1 person at a time.

Flashpoint 320M Portrait Wedding Monolight Kit, with Two 320 Monolights,9.5' Stands,Umbrellas, Snoot and Carrying Case

 

[radiorickm]

I agree that the lights you have are probably "slave" lights. They probably produce about 80w/s.

SINCE that is what you have, I really think it would be a good learning experience for you to work with them for a while.
They are not adjustable output lights, but you can MOVE them around to control levels.

You already said it's not what you wanted, but this would be a good time to learn to make what you want with your most cooperative model/stuffed animal.

Then, when you move on to more/bigger strobes, you will be miles ahead on the learning curve.

I started out just like you. I ended up purchasing some strobes from a shop here is the US (Steve Keaser). Although I personally love doing natural light outdoor photography, it is nice to have the capability to go indoors for the "formal" picture types as needede.

You seem to be off to a really good start. You have an idea what you want, so GO FOR IT!

 

[MLeeK]

The lights you have are incredibly weak output. They range from about 20WPS to 50WPS. That's less than the cheap, disposable strobes. The reflective umbrella will diminish that light by a lot, so essentially you have VERY little light to work with. They are nice to have as "disposable" shove anywhere lights, but you will probably find they aren't enough light for many needs.
For the speedlight off camera you'll need a mount, stand and depending on the Nikon setup you may need a trigger and receiver. That should fix most of your power problems.
I would probably add in a good basic strobe or two and use those things you have as hair and background lights. They're just weak all around.
Flashpoint puts out a good set of strobes that were very well reviewed that will put out considerably more light than those even with just a 150wps strobe. They will last you a VERY long time and be much more of an INVESTMENT than what you have.
The kit with a softbox runs $144 each. You can trigger them by either sync cord, optically using your speedlight or with a trigger set. FP320SB2 Flashpoint II 320M Monolight Kit, 150 Watt Second, One Monolight Kit with 9.5' Black Light Stand and 24" x 36" Softbox
If your budget is $300 I'd go with 2 of those. MUCH improvement over what you have. You can trigger optically for now or with the sync cord. When you have an additional $30 buy a basic trigger/receiver set. RRS4 Flashpoint 4 Channel, A/C Radio Remote Control Set, with Transmitter and Receiver, Range of 90'. Plugs into the A/C Cord of the Monolight.
You can get a receiver to go with that trigger set to fire your speedlight off camera A22R Flashpoint Radio Remote 4 Channel Receiver Only
That trigger will mount on a standard tripod screw mount, then your speedlgiht on top of it.
OR...
You could go with one flashpoint kit up there $144
One trigger set with the speedlight mount $30 A22R Flashpoint Radio Remote 4 Channel Receiver Only
A light stand for your speedlight $25 5012 JTL 700 7.5' Lightstand, 3 Section, Black Anodized Base with 2 Chrome Risers.
Umbrella light stand adapter $20 SMA1000 Photek SMA-1000 Shoe Mount Umbrella/Light Stand Adapter
An umbrella of choice ($8 to ?)
Your trigger set will trigger the speedlight which will in turn optically trigger every other light you have. Total $230
You will have a lot of flexibility if that's the way you go.
OR
There are a bout a million different options, but they REALLY depend on you and what you want to accomplish and what your style is!

 

[shootermcgavin]

If you want to go a really cheap route until you save up for more I would go as cheap as possible and then get the good stuff slowly. Here's a tutorial but I'm sure there are many more, it's just light and if the extra heat won't matter because you aren't doing a ton of work in the beginning why waste your money on low end budget junk that still costs a couple hundred more because it is for "photography". At the end of the day it's just light. You won't get ahead using all your money on the best stuff to get the same results.

 

[cccott3]

Thank you so much for taking the time to link all if that!!! I will be looking into these options. I was able to put my sb-700 on the tripod that came with my camera I just don't know how to make it fire because it didn't come with a manual. Looks like i will be printing the thing today 164 pages! And now I know why the other lights were doing nothing... They are junk lol!

I also want you all to know I really appreciate all of your advise! I understand all of the repeated questions can be annoying but i have learned SO much from the people on this forum

 

[Village Idiot]

If you want to go a really cheap route until you save up for more I would go as cheap as possible and then get the good stuff slowly. Here's a tutorial but I'm sure there are many more, it's just light and if the extra heat won't matter because you aren't doing a ton of work in the beginning why waste your money on low end budget junk that still costs a couple hundred more because it is for "photography". At the end of the day it's just light. You won't get ahead using all your money on the best stuff to get the same results.

Apparently Adorama's Flash Point lights are a great deal for the price and not "low end budget junk"

 

[shootermcgavin]

If you want to go a really cheap route until you save up for more I would go as cheap as possible and then get the good stuff slowly. Here's a tutorial but I'm sure there are many more, it's just light and if the extra heat won't matter because you aren't doing a ton of work in the beginning why waste your money on low end budget junk that still costs a couple hundred more because it is for "photography". At the end of the day it's just light. You won't get ahead using all your money on the best stuff to get the same results.

Apparently Adorama's Flash Point lights are a great deal for the price and not "low end budget junk"

Still talking about a huge difference in pricing. The Op said they couldn't spend that much more money so I presented the cheapest option. I've seen good tutorials online that have a total of about $75 in lighting that produce great looking portraits(2 at 45 and one backdrop light). The alternative is paying 3-4 times that for 1 light source...

 

[Village Idiot]

If you want to go a really cheap route until you save up for more I would go as cheap as possible and then get the good stuff slowly. Here's a tutorial but I'm sure there are many more, it's just light and if the extra heat won't matter because you aren't doing a ton of work in the beginning why waste your money on low end budget junk that still costs a couple hundred more because it is for "photography". At the end of the day it's just light. You won't get ahead using all your money on the best stuff to get the same results.

Apparently Adorama's Flash Point lights are a great deal for the price and not "low end budget junk"

Still talking about a huge difference in pricing. The Op said they couldn't spend that much more money so I presented the cheapest option. I've seen good tutorials online that have a total of about $75 in lighting that produce great looking portraits(2 at 45 and one backdrop light). The alternative is paying 3-4 times that for 1 light source...

OP said their budget was $300. That's for something that they'll be able to use for quite a while. When they want to experiment with a softbox or a beauty dish, those work lights are going to become about useless, no to mention trying to mix lights with differing color temps. Why waste a part of their budget now instead of buying a monolight and learning how to light with an actual flash?

 

[cccott3]

Im Pretty sure I have read every post in this forum that has to do with lighting and I still don't know what I should get! I would like 3 lights I already have the nikon sb-700. I can spend $500. What would you get?

 

[MTVision]

Im Pretty sure I have read every post in this forum that has to do with lighting and I still don't know what I should get! I would like 3 lights I already have the nikon sb-700. I can spend $500. What would you get?

Have you checked out strobist.com?

They have some recommendations for some cheaper (than sb700) flashes.