Strobe Light Kit

AlTheKiller

I hope this is the right section of the forum for this question. If not feel free to move it, delete it, or let me know.

I am wanting to get a single strobe light with power supply and light box to take out on location with me to use as fill light. However I do not know where to begin. Whats an ok brand? Is this typical for people to do? How powerful of a light set up do I need? Would I be better off getting a "nice" flash for my camera? (Nikon D80)

Any help in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

ziggy53

We need to know what you mean by "fill", i.e. what lighting conditions will you be shooting under, what ISO, etc.?

Also, will you have access to AC mains or do you want to run off of batteries?

What modifiers do you expect to use with the flash?

How large an area do you want to fill?

I will say that outdoors and in full sunlight I use a pair of 1800WS (effective) monolights in order to overpower bright sun. Fill could be done with a single 1800WS monolight. I generally use a large umbrella as reflector/modifier. The flash I use requires AC mains power, although I am "experimenting" with a pure/true sine wave inverter as a more portable power source.

If you only need a fill level of -2 EV, compared with sunlight, you could probably do with much less especially if you use a bare flash with reflector. A silver parabolic umbrella is a good compromise in light efficiency while still allowing a larger effective source.

AlTheKiller

Id like to run off of a battery pack so Id be able to use it outdoors in a field or the middle of a street or what have you. I wouldnt think I would use it in full sunlight but more in the evenings or lower light situations. Specifically for portraits and modeling situations. I try and shoot as low of an ISO as I can (normally 100 and typical max is 400)

I was thinking a large soft box as a modifier and possibly an umbrella down the line but that can change.

an example shot of what Id like to be able to do:


Golden Autumn by Ilko Allexandroff (a.k.a. sir_sky), on Flickr

its kind of a poor example but when you are just kinda randomly browsing portraiture it takes a while to find. But you can see that the subject is lit up from the front to show detail against the back ground. Had that light not been there then the subject would have been dark.

sorry for the lack of technicality in this post haha but I hope it makes sense

cbbr

Speedlights are probably your best option. I use SB-900's and SB26's (a bunch of them) - The 26's are pretty inexpensive and are very versatile. Look at the Strobist Blog for an Intro. The advantage of an SB-600/700/800/900 is that you can use TTL wirelessly with the D80 for an easy shoot.


I also use a PPCB WL-1600 w/ a Vagabond Lithium that can overpower the sun and is very portable. For the posted shot though, I would use a SB26 on a small stand in a small SB very close.

ziggy53

For a one or two shot portrait, either H&S/head shot or even full length, it's fine to use a speedlight/speedlite for fill. It can even be a bare flash for fill, because you are only "filling in" the shadows. It does not have to be that powerful because you are contributing and not overpowering the ambient.

Open shade generally requires more than deep shade, but deep shade and late-in-the-day will often require filtration to balance the ambient (not always required but generally a good idea.)

Start with a high-powered external speedlight, like an SB-900, and see if it does the trick for you.

I don't recommend a softbox for fill light because it sucks up at least 2 stops of power and, IMO, it's just not required for fill light. I will occasionally use a "scoop" modifier or an umbrella-reflector for fill, but only at close distances outdoors. (The umbrella would be separate and on a stand, of course, but still very close to the camera if it's a true fill light.)

AlTheKiller

awesome, thank you guys so much for the quick responses and information. Ill look into the SB-900s and go from there