I have a few questions... I'm looking into buying some lighting equipment to do shoots in my home. It's mainly for personal use so I don't need anything real professional, just something that'll work. And I know absolutely nothing about lighting so photo language that a 10 year old could understand would be great =)

How much wattage do I need in the light? How many lights? (I'm thinking 2-3). And are soft boxes or umbrellas or a mix the best? Continuous lighting or just flash? Any other information that may be important in deciding would be great. Thanks

Originally Posted by nillaismydog I have a few questions... I'm looking into buying some lighting equipment to do shoots in my home. It's mainly for personal use so I don't need anything real professional, just something that'll work. And I know absolutely nothing about lighting so photo language that a 10 year old could understand would be great =) How much wattage do I need in the light? How many lights? (I'm thinking 2-3). And are soft boxes or umbrellas or a mix the best? Continuous lighting or just flash? Any other information that may be important in deciding would be great. Thanks

filling out your profile, listing your camera gear would be helpful.
assuming you have a dslr of some sort, there's some basic lighting that i find very useful, very portable, and easy to come by. it's listed here on my website i hope this helps...

Originally Posted by andy filling out your profile, listing your camera gear would be helpful. assuming you have a dslr of some sort, there's some basic lighting that i find very useful, very portable, and easy to come by. it's listed here on my website i hope this helps...

I have a canon rebel xt and canon 580ex speedlight.

Originally Posted by nillaismydog I have a canon rebel xt and canon 580ex speedlight.

now, we're getting somewhere. it's good to put that info in your profile when you're seeking help from the forum, thanks.

so, you can easily have a nice three light setup by just adding a couple of canon 420ex, buy them used or whatever, or get the 430ex's. add some light stands, umbys and boom - done. portable, inexpensive, stowable, and the units all talk to each other wirelessly. link i gave you have sources.

Originally Posted by andy now, we're getting somewhere. it's good to put that info in your profile when you're seeking help from the forum, thanks. so, you can easily have a nice three light setup by just adding a couple of canon 420ex, buy them used or whatever, or get the 430ex's. add some light stands, umbys and boom - done. portable, inexpensive, stowable, and the units all talk to each other wirelessly. link i gave you have sources.

what are umbys? would it be better and cheaper to get strobes instead of more speedlights?

Originally Posted by andy filling out your profile, listing your camera gear would be helpful. assuming you have a dslr of some sort, there's some basic lighting that i find very useful, very portable, and easy to come by. it's listed here on my website i hope this helps...

Andy
Very cool and good idea...your equipment list

Never noticed it before ...very helpful


Thanks
Fred

Originally Posted by nillaismydog what are umbys? would it be better and cheaper to get strobes instead of more speedlights?

umbrellas

did you look at my link?

Originally Posted by nillaismydog what are umbys?

I believe that Andy is referring to umbrella's.

Originally Posted by nillaismydog would it be better and cheaper to get strobes instead of more speedlights?

The classic answer... "It depends..." It really depends on where you see yourself going with this. Strobes are great as they are powerful, but their main advantage is the number of different ways the light can be modified (i.e. softboxes, honey comb gribs, snoots, etc).

Speedlights have the advantage when it comes to portability... I think that in your situation it really depends where you want to go.

The speedlights will definately work and are a valid option. Here is an old post by Shay that might be helpful if you choose to use the speedlight option that Andy mentioned.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...essage=8712290

When working with multiple lights (whether they are strobes or speedlights), it would be a good idea to consider a lightmeter to ensure that you get accurate exposures.

Best of luck... If you have more questions I am sure that people here will chime in to help...

Take care,

Lee

Originally Posted by Lee Massey but their main advantage is the number of different ways the light can be modified (i.e. softboxes, honey comb gribs, snoots, etc).

good post, lee, but i want to urge that speedlights, *can* be modified, i use them with my umbrellas, softboxes, and also snoots, diffusers, and all sorts of cool things. lumiquest makes some nice stuff for flash units.

Originally Posted by nillaismydog what are umbys? would it be better and cheaper to get strobes instead of more speedlights?

I think an umby is an umbrella... something we really need today in New York! I have never seen more broken down umbrella's than I did on my way into the office this morning!!

Originally Posted by nillaismydog I have a few questions... I'm looking into buying some lighting equipment to do shoots in my home. It's mainly for personal use so I don't need anything real professional, just something that'll work. And I know absolutely nothing about lighting so photo language that a 10 year old could understand would be great =) How much wattage do I need in the light? How many lights? (I'm thinking 2-3). And are soft boxes or umbrellas or a mix the best? Continuous lighting or just flash? Any other information that may be important in deciding would be great. Thanks

http://www.designinflight.com/04July...the_cheap.html

Sorry... I didn't mean to insinuate that speedlights can't be modified... (I use my Nikon flashes with umbrellas, diffusers, Lumiquest Promax, etc). I just was stating that strobes typically have more options/versatility when it comes to light modifiers.

One other thing that I forgot to mention was recycle time. I am not sure of exact figures but I am sure that you will find that strobes recycle much faster than most flashes but whether that is important or not will depend on your shooting style and your subject.

Lee

Originally Posted by andy good post, lee, but i want to urge that speedlights, *can* be modified, i use them with my umbrellas, softboxes, and also snoots, diffusers, and all sorts of cool things. lumiquest makes some nice stuff for flash units.

Originally Posted by Lee Massey Sorry... I didn't mean to insinute that speedlights can't be modified... (I use my Nikon flashes with umbrellas, diffusers, Lumiquest Promax, etc). I just was stating that strobes typically have more options/versatility when it comes to light modifiers. One other thing that I forgot to mention was recycle time. I am not sure of exact figures but I am sure that you will find that strobes recycle much faster than most flashes but whether that is important or not will depend on your shooting style and your subject. Lee

first of all I have to say thanks to everyone for their imput. It's helping allot.

I'm leaning more towards stobes. My main subject will be my daughter. I need at least a 2/3 second recycle time. I used to work at a kids portrait studio and I loved their stuff... they had strobes wth umbrellas. I don't know much about it all though because everything was pre-programmed so all I did was crop and click. Space isn't an issue and I don't care if it's easily portable or not. I just want something that has enough power. I don't know how much wattage is enough though. And do I want continuous lighting? Is it better? What's the difference between a soft box and umbrella? does it really matter which one I go with?

Originally Posted by andy good post, lee, but i want to urge that speedlights, *can* be modified, i use them with my umbrellas, softboxes, and also snoots, diffusers, and all sorts of cool things. lumiquest makes some nice stuff for flash units.

Details? I've been meaning to pick up another flash or two to use as slaves to my SuperDG500. I wonder if 420ex, or the other sigma equivalent (whichever the first ones are)

[QUOTE=nillaismydog]I'm leaning more towards stobes. My main subject will be my daughter. I need at least a 2/3 second recycle time. I used to work at a kids portrait studio and I loved their stuff... they had strobes wth umbrellas./QUOTE]

Children can be difficult to photograph as they have lots of energy so I can understand why you want a fast recycle time...

Originally Posted by nillaismydog I don't know much about it all though because everything was pre-programmed so all I did was crop and click. Space isn't an issue and I don't care if it's easily portable or not. I just want something that has enough power. I don't know how much wattage is enough though.

You should be able to go to the websites for both the strobe and flash manufacturers and obtain their recycle time... For example, several dgrinner's here use Alien Bees. To see their recycle times go to:

http://www.alienbees.com/flash.html

and go to the bottom and click on the "Alien Bees Specs" button. The recycle times vary depending on the model from 1/2 a second up to 2 seconds. This is assuming recycling back to 100% which most of the time you probably wouldn't need 100% (which means faster recycle times).

Originally Posted by nillaismydog And do I want continuous lighting? Is it better?

Continuous lights are good because they can show you the lighting in real time, but often they are very hot (termperature wise). Strobes typically have modeling lights to help you visualize where the light will fall.

Originally Posted by nillaismydog What's the difference between a soft box and umbrella? does it really matter which one I go with?

Well... I will try to answer this. Umbrella's and softboxes typically diffuse light and modify the flash/strobe so that the light source is large. Softboxes are more efficient than umbrella's as some of the light that falls on the umbrella can scatter whereas with a softbox it is channelled forward. Another minor difference is the shape of the catchlights in the subjects eye's. It is often subjective but it matters to some people.

Sorry for the long post... I hope that helps...

Thanks,

Lee

I'd seriously check out the stuff for speedlights before the Alien Bee's setup.
Especially since you'll probably not be using it often.

Poke around the site. Both Shay and Andy post shots taken using only a
regular flash (580/420 in Canon speak) and they're always well lit and good
looking. Do some comparison.

Also, take a look at www.photoflex.com for ideas on lighting too.

Ian

Umbrellas/softboxes, lightstands, and Speedlights/external flashes are the way to go for a beginner. There is so much to learn. Start off with two (or three) flashes, and a lightstand and umbrella (or softbox) for each. You may also need

This is what you can do with a softbox.

All of these (except the icicle) are umbrella shots.

A couple more with softbox and umbrella.

Originally Posted by ScottMcLeod Details? I've been meaning to pick up another flash or two to use as slaves to my SuperDG500. I wonder if 420ex, or the other sigma equivalent (whichever the first ones are)

Have you been able to deciper the SuperDG500 Manual?
It makes no sense. It's not very helpful.
Or maybe i'm just retarded.

Originally Posted by chrisjlee Have you been able to deciper the SuperDG500 Manual? It makes no sense. It's not very helpful. Or maybe i'm just retarded.

Nope. Me either.

I've been learning by trial and error, and the flash seems to be much more user friendly than the manual to me.

Anything in particular you can't figgure out?

thanks so much to everyone... you've been a big help!