questions about lighting

lilmomma

I'm new to photography and I am trying to learn as much as I can. I love this site and have learned a TON, however one thing I am really confused is about lighting. I hear terms all the time but I don't know what is what and what the difference is between all them.

Can someone offer a basic explanation of the types of lighting and what the differences are?

1. Strobe
2. Hot Shoe
3. Off Camera flash
4. Mounted flash (is this the same as off camera flash)
5. Umbrella
6. diffusers
7. softbox

Any other ones I might have left out?

thanks!

aktse

lilmomma wrote:

I'm new to photography and I am trying to learn as much as I can. I love this site and have learned a TON, however one thing I am really confused is about lighting. I hear terms all the time but I don't know what is what and what the difference is between all them.

Can someone offer a basic explanation of the types of lighting and what the differences are?

1. Strobe
2. Hot Shoe
3. Off Camera flash
4. Mounted flash (is this the same as off camera flash)
5. Umbrella
6. diffusers
7. softbox

Any other ones I might have left out?

thanks!

The answers and many more can be found in the lighting 101 section on strobist

Qarik

lilmomma wrote:

I'm new to photography and I am trying to learn as much as I can. I love this site and have learned a TON, however one thing I am really confused is about lighting. I hear terms all the time but I don't know what is what and what the difference is between all them.

Can someone offer a basic explanation of the types of lighting and what the differences are?

1. Strobe
2. Hot Shoe
3. Off Camera flash
4. Mounted flash (is this the same as off camera flash)
5. Umbrella
6. diffusers
7. softbox

Any other ones I might have left out?

thanks!

1) a strobe is a flash. most of the time they are the one syou see mounted on a camera. sometimes you will here a baout studio strobe is which can not be mounted on a camera. these are more powerful, less receylcing time, and more expensive then the camera strobe.
2) hot shoe is the the shoe on the caera that the the flash sits in
3) off camera flash is simply a strobe that is used "off camera" using a wire or infra red or radio signal to trigger.
4) a flash that sit on your camera hotshoe
5) is an umbrella that you use in conjunction with strobes to direct and soften the light
6)diffusers..any device that attaches to a strobe that "diffuses", soften, the light
7)softbox a diffuser similar to an umbrella but enclosed the strobe in a box to soften/direct the light

lilmomma

Thank you both! With the simplified answers I now can go to the strobist website and understand it more in depth. Again thanks for taking the time to answer my question.