CharleyL Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Best introduction to artificial light photography | |
Yes, start with one light, then add a reflector later. You can do a lot with the one light and a reflector. The reflector can even be a piece of white foam core board from Walmart or the stationery store, and you will learn a lot from the experimental or real photos that you take with this setup. There are many books and even Youtube videos on using just one light for portrait photography. You don't need a lot of equipment to get started, although most YouTube videos are now becoming commercial and pushing new photo gear. Avoid buying more than the one photo light, a shoot through white umbrella and a reflector, until you have become very good with just these and your camera. If you buy more without learning the basics, you will likely never really learn the basics and waste a lot of money in the process.
Then maybe it will be time for the second speedlite and shoot through umbrella. Again, learn this combination before going further. There are times when you will find the second light unnecessary, but using both and your reflector will help you learn proper lighting and what these lights can and cannot do. Most portrait photography can be done well if you only have this much equipment.
Yes, adding more will help you learn more, but take your time and learn 1 and 2 light setups and how light works before buying anything else, except maybe a backdrop and stand, but use walls, doors, bushes, etc. in the beginning. They are free to use and you don't even need to pack and unpack them.
An off camera speedlite and a white shoot through umbrella mounted on a light stand can be a great way to start learning lighting for photography. Learning by doing gives you solid knowledge that will stay with you. The reflector can later be used to reflect some of the first light to light the other side of the face and neck at a slightly lower level. With practice you will learn a lot from this.
If you can't get anyone to pose for you, a mannequin head and wig are cheap, but one with facial features, like a nose helps. Attach it to a light stand and practice. Try different lighting and head positions. Notice the shadows and where they fall. Notice the excessively bright spots and learn to position the light(s) to get the result that you are looking for.
For a little more money you can buy a 1/2 mannequin. Place it on a stool or stand and practice away.
I ended up buying a full standing flesh colored mannequin from Amazon, because my wife lasted 5 minutes posing for me and wouldn't come back. At the time, this mannequin was the cheapest that they had that size. She is plastic, made by Yaheetech, and quite real looking. She has glass eyes, so the catchlights of my flash show well in them. Her hair came from the Halloween section of Walmart and clothes from the local thrift stores. For about $110 total, I have a full standing dressed mannequin that never complains about "too long holding poses", she never takes breaks, and is amazingly beautiful in my photos whenever I want to try a new lighting idea. I could have bought a male mannequin, but she is much nicer to look at. She is not as good as a human though, because she is non-bending, although her head rotates, waist turns, and arms move forward and back, but no facial expressions except for the one that she came with. But she has been "The perfect model" for my photography lighting experiments. She lives in my equipment closet, and I put her to work whenever I want to try out new lighting ideas and no one is here or willing to pose for me.
Charley
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