recommended lighting setup?

gpphotosgpphotos Registered Users Posts: 266 Major grins
edited March 23, 2007 in Accessories
hey folks.

im currently researching what i'm going to buy for a studio / on-site lighting setup. I'm gonna run down what i'm planning, please let me know if there is any misinformation.

I'll be shooting with an SB-800 and 2 SB-600's. I'm pretty sure that i can use the sb-800 on camera in commander mode and have it fire off the 600's remotely.

what im not sure of is what kind of umbrellas or softboxes to buy. What are the pros and cons of each? should I mix it up (1 of each)? should i pick up a reflector? i've never seen one in use really so im not exactly sure what i'd use it for heh.

my real cup of tea is doing on-site portraits, outdoors, which limits the need for lighting, but some would be nice. at the very least i need to get the flash off camera and softened somehow.

any recommendations? thanks guys :thumb

Comments

  • quarkquark Registered Users Posts: 510 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2007
    I asked a related question a while back. This was a thread I later found that helped quite a bit.

    http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=11771
    heather dillon photography - Pacific Northwest Portraits and Places
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  • gpphotosgpphotos Registered Users Posts: 266 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2007
    thanks. that thread was very helpful
  • Manfr3dManfr3d Registered Users Posts: 2,008 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2007
    for a portable portrait setup I use two sb-24 mounted on
    hama univesal adapter which are mounted on a simple
    lightstands with spigot mounts. then I have a white
    shoot through and a siver bounce in umbrella. they
    dont need to measure more than 48 inches or 1m.

    Add to that a wireless triggering system (two recievers
    for the flashes and one send for the camer) either
    from ebay for 50$ or buy 3 pocketwizzards Plus II
    each about 180$. You'll loose any autoflash feature
    and will learn quite abbit about light and how to
    manualy light your scene (which is a good thing).

    If you have a radio triggered system you can put
    the flashes behind walls etc. which will broaden
    your creative potential quite a bit. I'd recommend
    it if you dont just want to do the simple people in
    front of studiobackground shots.

    There are some really good tips and techniques
    on the strobist blog site about on site lighting
    with a portable setup.

    strobist.blogspot.com
    “To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk.”
    ― Edward Weston
  • cmasoncmason Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2007
    Spend some time over on http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/

    The entire site is for folks doing lighting via speedlights.

    Read the "Lighting 101" doc, it has recommendations for umbrellas, etc
    Photos
  • Manfr3dManfr3d Registered Users Posts: 2,008 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2007
    cmason wrote:
    Spend some time over on http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/

    The entire site is for folks doing lighting via speedlights.

    Read the "Lighting 101" doc, it has recommendations for umbrellas, etc

    Thats what I just said 2 minutes ago :D
    “To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk.”
    ― Edward Weston
  • gpphotosgpphotos Registered Users Posts: 266 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2007
    awesome, thanks for the links guys!
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