p.1 #1 · environmental portraiture lighting - sb900 or other solutions?
Hello
I've moved into 'people photography' and have done a couple of shoots with models. (see my flickr site). I initially bought some studio lights and backdrop but found all that stuff just got in the way - I work full time and didn't appreciate how invovled it is to tinker with all that 'stuff'. Plus it gets in the way of every day life and makes the wife annoyed.
So, I decided to go down the path of outdoor photography. Currently I rely on doing thorough scouting of location (2 trips), shoot in the late afternoon and have 1 reflector with a stand (I don't have an assistant). However, I've got a SB-900 and thinking of adding it to my arsenal as an off camera flash, bouncing off an umbrella. I'm wondering how useful the SB-900 if used in this manner?
For a wireless solution I'm thinking of purchasing the FlexTT5 and MiniTT1 and using the reflector as the fill. Would this set up suffice for outdoor portraiture and full body shots? Sure it depends on the precise settings, but I want to know how much flexibility I'd generally have. I can't afford to buy a 600w flash head and battery pack at this point.
p.1 #2 · environmental portraiture lighting - sb900 or other solutions?
I shoot Canon, rather than Nikon, but the principle is the same; used correctly, a Speedlite/Speedlight can increase your opportunites for creating a pleasing photograph. That's why you'll rarely find a wedding or event photographer who doesn't carry one or more of them to every shoot. They're compact, light weight, don't need cords running all over the place, etc.
I'd start with on-camera/bounced flash first, and then move to off-camera flash after getting comfortable with on-camera; you'll save some money by not needing the radio links while you're getting your feet wet.
p.1 #4 · environmental portraiture lighting - sb900 or other solutions?
Brian pointed you in the right direction. I'd suggest a couple of other accessories that will get your flash off camera without a large expense. Buy a 9 foot coiled TTL Remote Cord. You can get one for less than $50 US. You could also get a 24"x24" speedlight softbox. With the cord, the softbox, your flash and stand you could have a very effective kit for less than $100 additional expenditure.
Now comes the hard part, deciding when you need to use a flash and how to seamlessly incorporate the flash with ambient light.
p.1 #5 · environmental portraiture lighting - sb900 or other solutions?
Brian pointed you in the right direction. I'd suggest a couple of other accessories that will get your flash off camera without a large expense. Buy a 9 foot coiled TTL Remote Cord. You can get one for less than $50 US. You could also get a 24"x24" speedlight softbox. With the cord, the softbox, your flash and stand you could have a very effective kit for less than $100 additional expenditure.
Now comes the hard part, deciding when you need to use a flash and how to seamlessly incorporate the flash with ambient light. You need to find a patient model and schedule a shoot for the right time of day and experiment.
p.1 #6 · environmental portraiture lighting - sb900 or other solutions?
dmacmillan wrote:
...Buy a 9 foot coiled TTL Remote Cord. You can get one for less than $50 US.
I'll second that.
ETTL/iTTL cords are very handy, and Nikon even offers one with a built-in Autofocus Assist Beam on the end that sits on the camera. (I wish Canon had that!)
I have a short coiled cord that I use when my flash is on a bracket (which is most of the time), and a 24-foot straight cord for when I'm using the flash on a stand with an umbrella, softbox, or beauty dish. (See the long cord below.)
