Lighting Rookie...

[MWerner]

Ok, I'm about to ask the question that I'm sure has been asked a million times on this forum...

If I want a VERY simple lighting setup for some outdoor portraits, what do I need exactly? Obviously a speedlight... I'm thinking an SB-600. And of course, a lightstand - can anyone recommend a good one? Looking at B&H and Adorama, they don't look terribly expensive.
And then, I know I want an umbrella to difuse the light. Is there anything else I need to know about? Are there any other parts that I need to get or just those three peices of equipment? Somebody, please hold my hand through this. It's all Greek to me.

I'm treading into strange waters here. I've only used natural light up to this point, but I'm ready to grow a little more...

[zona5101]

Stand, umbrella and a swivel mount to hold the flash and umbrella.
You can buy these in a kit! something like this:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...lla_Mount.html
Or you can buy the components individually.

I assume the D80 has commander mode, if not you will need a pc cord or wireless triggers

[Benji]

Will these portraits all be done in the same location at about the same time of day (for instance, in your back yard in the afternoon) OR will you be traveling to other locations and shooting at various times during the day? The answer to your question depends on the answer to my above question.

I have developed a system that is nearly foolproof to getting beautiful outdoor images day in and day out (assuming it is not raining!) That system is like any system that depends on consistant results. Eliminate as many variables as possible. When I shoot outdoors, I am the one who selects where the shoot will be (if at all possible) and the time of the shoot. On occasion a client will request that I shoot at their location instead of mine, so I ask why. If they say because their green trees in their backyard are pretty, I tell them so are mine and I show them some of the shots I have done in my outdoor area, and I do everything in my power to get them to do the shoot in my area and not theirs. It works about 99% of the time. If they say because they want a shot of a building in the background or want parts of the building as a prop, or they want their horse in the image, I do the shoot in their location, but I pick the time, the I check out the location in the morning and determine where the sun is. I DO NOT want sunshine in any of my images. As I said above I want to eliminate as many variables as possible to raise my chances of getting consistantly beautiful images.

Benji

[MWerner]

Will these portraits all be done in the same location at about the same time of day (for instance, in your back yard in the afternoon) OR will you be traveling to other locations and shooting at various times during the day? The answer to your question depends on the answer to my above question.

Well, for the one project that I have in mind, prom pictures for at least 15 couples, I'll probably stay in one spot all afternoon. Depending on the area, if there are a couple of cool spots within yards of each other, I could end up picking up my gear and moving around a little with each couple. I'm actually hoping for a couple choices so that everyone's pictures can have a little variety.

Stand, umbrella and a swivel mount to hold the flash and umbrella.
You can buy these in a kit! something like this:
B&H Photo Video | Digital Cameras, Camcorders
Or you can buy the components individually.

I assume the D80 has commander mode, if not you will need a pc cord or wireless triggers

That looks pretty good! Thanks! I'm happy that getting started with lighting won't be as expensive as I thought. To be honest, I have no idea what kind of modes my D80 has... I feel like I've come so far in understanding my camera during the past couple of years, but the lighting is all new to me. Anyone care to enlighten me? What do I need to make my speedlight obey my camera?

[Nicole]

Your camera does have a built in commander mode, but you will have to remember that it requires line of sight to work. So as long as the flash is in front of you and has the sensor facing you, you're good to go. Otherwise, you could get something like the Cactus triggers which are a pretty cheap way to start.

[MWerner]

Originally Posted by Nicole

Your camera does have a built in commander mode, but you will have to remember that it requires line of sight to work. So as long as the flash is in front of you and has the sensor facing you, you're good to go. Otherwise, you could get something like the Cactus triggers which are a pretty cheap way to start.

Uuuuuuh, I'm not finding a Cactus trigger on either Adorama or B&H. Is there another name for them?

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by MWerner

Uuuuuuh, I'm not finding a Cactus trigger on either Adorama or B&H. Is there another name for them?

search for radio slaves...
Radio Slaves

Cactus will be on ebay or direct from the importer gadget infinity
Gadget Infinity

But if possible you should consider using Commander Mode with your sb600. Easy and it retains TTL exposure...and you can always go manual if you want.

[MWerner]

Ok, here's another [silly] question: Can I use an SB-600 with a Canon camera? I have Nikon now, but I could possibly switch to Canon in the not-so-distant future...

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by MWerner

Ok, here's another [silly] question: Can I use an SB-600 with a Canon camera? I have Nikon now, but I could possibly switch to Canon in the not-so-distant future...

Yes but with none of the benefits of ttl communication or wireless commander mode. It would make no sense to use it mounted on your camera because you would be all manual and lose the comm between the camera and flash. You could use it in manual mode as a remote fired by a radio trigger. For that purpose, however, it might be better to sell it and pick uo 2 (or 3) used sb-24s or similar.