Beginner photographer just starting out. (well with off camera lights) Needs to wrap his head more around "lighting" and is very eager to practice with different configurations; ready to make investment.

Now, from an investment stand point, I would never buy something "to start out with", only to have to replace it in a few years with something better. I would much rather spend the money upfront and get something perhaps way above my talent for now, and learn more and more as a go along.

Here is what I have now, and what I wish to do with lights.

NOW - 50D, 430EX, L lens. I need to have an off camera light setup to do location shoots in a verity of settings. Something that can be brought to a beach at sunrise, something for wedding formals, in house portrait, creative, studio, ect.... I want something that will serve me in the future as I grow...

A co-worker said something about BOWENS for a "brand" and said they are good? But there is a sea of options.

(Here is a thought I have):

I have spent some time looking at Strobist, and it is tempting to grab a 580EX II , to have in addition to my 430EX - get 2 light stands with umbrellas, adapters, Pocket wizards, and have two "off camera" lights that I can play with... ALSO I feel that this might be a good start because I would have a 2 nice flashes for events, something VERY portable for certin shoots, ect... then as I get better with using off camera lights then I could step up to some strobes ect??

In the above I could get all that for around say.. $1,200.00 and best of all the PW's would just transfer to "better" lights in the future, and I would already have stands... right ?

I don't know.. just want to open up the dialog...

- T

Lights are like hammers: they come in various sizes and shapes, many designed for specific jobs. Studio lights are ideally suited for formal portaiture. Hot shoe flash is ideally suited for candid location shooting. The problems with trying to do candid location work with studio equipment are pretty obvious, even to someone clueless to lighting simply on the basis of logistics. But the pitfalls of trying to use hot shoe flash as a replacement for portrait lighting aren't. Ultimately if you want to do both jobs optimally you'll need both. But if your budget only allows one approach, studio or location candid, which is better? In practical terms its one you will get the most use out of.

Notwithstanding Strobist advice, it is not necessary to put two lights on two stands to get effective lighting. Using two stands makes very little sense logistically if your goal is a portable lighting solution. People who make their living shooting the most challenging candid situations, weddings, developed a far simpler approach about 40 years ago which is equally effective today: put your Master/fill flash on a bracket over the lens and use a single off camera stand. Its an approach I've used for location shooting for 35 years. During those years I've also tried everything else, but haven't found any approach which offers a better combination of results and convenience.

I've written a number of tutorials which explain how to use the Canon wireless system to best advantage which you can find by clicking the WWW button below.

To improve your lighting from where you are now with a single 430ex I would recommend:

Camera Flip Bracket: The direction of the light is the key to modeling a face in a flattering way and placing the flash over the lens is actually the most flattering angle because it minimizes distracting unflattering shadows.

OC-E3 TTL cord: Needed to raise the flash on the bracket and maintain full TTL / M remote control.

Reflection/Diffusers: See this LINK for a very effective diffuser you can make in 15 min. for $2 Make two, one for each flash.

580ex or 580exII: This will become the Master flash in your 2-flash configuration. I actually prefer the 580ex over the 580exII because the "mk 1" model has a convenient switch on the base for changing from single- to dual-flash (i.e. wireless mode = Off / Master).

One light stand: I use a converted IV stand which has five compact stable legs with casters. Its the piece of gear which makes the use of two flashes in candid situations practical.

Umbrella bracket: Used to hold the off camera flash. I usually use mine with an identical reflection-diffuser for maximum portability but it can also hold an umbrella.

36-42" White Umbrella or PhotoTek Softlighter: A wide range of lighting from soft to hard can be create with key and fill with the diffuers, but there may be some situations where you want even more diffusion. There is no need to put a huge modifier on the fill if its kept over the camera where it creates few visible shadows. No shadows? No need for diffusion.

You can get all of that and stay well under your budget. It will provide you with the tools to handle a wide range of location lighting problems. It will not solve all of them, but if you learn how to maximize those tools you'll be well equipped to figure out for yourself what else you need.

Chuck

Chuck, this is a great reply. Thank you very much.

All in all it looks like I am on the right track after all then (going with flashes for now). To your point (and mine) I need to learn more about how to get desired results using the flashes... then when the time is better jump up to the bigger guns... at least then I will be in a more knowledgeable place!

I am going to get PW's, and a 580EX, with a light stand, and umbrella.

What type of umbrella would I get the most use out of ? To start? A "reflective" or a "shoot through"?

I am going to get PW's, and a 580EX, with a light stand, and umbrella.

Look at cybersyncs http://www.alienbees.com/remotes.html

Cost much less than PWs, much smaller and come with cables "various sync cords".

^ +1

Not only are the new range of cybersyncs great value for USA made radio transmitters, but when you want to upgrade to "better" lights, AB's (or the about-to-be-released Einstein strobes) + CyberSync combo, would give you remote power control.

sharp_glass wrote:
What type of umbrella would I get the most use out of ? To start? A "reflective" or a "shoot through"?

A "convertible", actually: it's a white reflective umbrella with a black cover that, once removed, becomes a shoot-through umbrella. Photoflex's are both inexpensive and reasonably durable.