Lighting set up

[Smolt]

This might not be the right place to post this but I am really confused about a lighting set up.

I want to set something small to take pictures of my daughter in my basement. I have a 430ex flash hooked up to my Rebel right now.

I dont' want to spend a ton of money... I have tried to make some cheapo setups that I have found on STrobist but I guess I dont' have the knowledge to make them look good.

Down to the questions - any suggestions for a fairly inexpensive set up?
-Since I already have 1 flash could I use it as a slave and get maybe 1 cheaper flash, and then another flash to use as the slave driver unit (whatever that is actually called)? Would I be better off to buy a cheap lighting set up?

How would I configure this? Any information would be helpful and I thank you in advance!

Are you suppposed to put lighting behind a white backdrop?

Ya lots of questions Thanks again for any help.

[zona5101]

I don’t want to spend a ton of money... I have tried to make some cheapo setups that I have found on Strobist but I guess I don’t have the knowledge to make them look good.

Like what? Maybe we can help move that effort along?

Since I already have 1 flash could I use it as a slave and get maybe 1 cheaper flash, and then another flash to use as the slave driver unit (whatever that is actually called)? Would I be better off to buy a cheap lighting set up?

First you can do a lot with a single light and a reflector.
Least expensive path would be another shoe mount flash and a trigger of some sort. Optical triggers are generally the least expensive. You will still probably want some lighting modifiers such as umbrellas, a light stand and an umbrella bracket.

Are you supposed to put lighting behind a white backdrop?

You can if the backdrop is translucent but generally the backdrop is lit from the front.

[RexK_Cozumel]

Originally Posted by Smolt

Down to the questions - any suggestions for a fairly inexpensive set up?

If you want to go studio strobe level I would recommend you check out Alienbees Their performance is not quite as good as the high end brands like Profoto or Elinchrom or Hensel but they are only a fraction of the price. Otherwise you can just get another speedlight or two and some modifiers and some wireless triggers.

Originally Posted by Smolt

-Since I already have 1 flash could I use it as a slave and get maybe 1 cheaper flash, and then another flash to use as the slave driver unit (whatever that is actually called)?

Yes that is an option. You could always get another couple speedlights and use them as slave units with a master to retain iTTL but then you are limited to optical triggering. Might be better to use wireless radio triggers instead. Of course that would mean that you have to adjust your power levels manually unless you buy the expensive Pocketwizard TTL or Radiopoppers.

Originally Posted by Smolt

Would I be better off to buy a cheap lighting set up?

really depends on what you need and your style of shooting.

Originally Posted by Smolt

How would I configure this? Any information would be helpful and I thank you in advance!

Anyway you want. Depends on what you are trying to achieve really. I would recommend you picking up a copy of Light Science and Magic and learning how to see light.

Originally Posted by Smolt

Are you supposed to put lighting behind a white backdrop?

You can if you want to. Not necessary however.

[Smolt]

I had my camera mounted flash and then those cheap clamp lights you can buy at home depot or lowes with a daylight bulb in them and diffused through a white sheet.


- so you think another shoe mount flash and a trigger is all I would need for good results? If I had this set up how would I need to position it to say... just take a picture of my daughter on the floor in front of a drop...

One flash camera left with umbrella and one on my camera ? or both off?

I am pretty confused! Thanks for all of your help.

I went to the local camera store and they were not much help at all... just kept trying to sell me a big constant light kit.

[Smolt]

Rex, thanks for the book recommendation! I am going to order that today!

Can I ask what optical triggering is?
Also - to have a slave set up would i have to buy the next step up flash that has slave capabilities or is their some other way to do this?

[RexK_Cozumel]

Originally Posted by Smolt

Rex, thanks for the book recommendation! I am going to order that today!

Can I ask what optical triggering is?

Optical triggers will tell a flash to fire when it sees a flash of light. This means that it requires line of sight. Also they don't work as well in sunny conditions nor will they work at long distances. Radio triggers use radio waves to transmit the fire command which means that they work through walls around corners and at long range.

Originally Posted by Smolt

Also - to have a slave set up would i have to buy the next step up flash that has slave capabilities or is their some other way to do this?

It depends on what you want to do. You can just get a cheap flash and an optical trigger then you use one flash to trigger the other. However you lose TTL this way. If you want to retain TTL I am pretty sure you need a 580exII but I am not a Canon user so don't quote me on that.

I've done quite a few baby, family, and portrait shoots. You can use one light and get good results, but I prefer to use 2...sometimes three.

Light stands:
LumoPro LP604 5-Section 6ft Stand
Small, lightweight, and very portable

Umbrellas:
Westcott 45" Optical White Satin Umbrella
Best light diffuser for the money

Wireless triggers:
Wireless flash trigger Set PT-04 TM 4 Chann 2 receivers - eBay (item 280389705248 end time Mar-24-10 04:18:09 PDT)
These work great.

Can't give a good recommendation for a cheap flash, because I only have 580exIIs and 430exIIs. I know there's a few Yonguo's that the strobist group recommends (look at the strobist flickr group) that are under $80.

For backdrops, you can pick up a backdrop holder for about $140 or so from most places. I prefer white paper as a backdrop (about $50 for a big roll) and black (cheap curtains from Wal-mart work well). Recently I've used black paper too, and really like the results (3 flashes were used in this shot...one at camera right with umbrella, one behind with orange gel, and one to the upper left as a hair-light that accidently spilled on the cheek...also had a reflector to the left):

[Swisstony10]

Originally Posted by RexK_Cozumel

It depends on what you want to do. You can just get a cheap flash and an optical trigger then you use one flash to trigger the other. However you lose TTL this way. If you want to retain TTL I am pretty sure you need a 580exII but I am not a Canon user so don't quote me on that.

Rex is pretty much right there (I'm a Canon user) - you can use a 580EXII to control other 580s and 430s, or you can get Canon's ST-E2 controller (which isn't cheap) to control your 430 off-camera - it uses Infra-red, exactly the same way as the 580EXII controls other speedlights, but it's just a controller, and has no flash. It does give you full ETTL control over the flash though - so will an off-camera ETTL cord of course (stupidly expensive from Canon, super-cheap on Ebay!) although that won't let you get the flash quite so far away from the camera.

You really don't have to go high-budget. If you do some research into lighting (the book Light: Science and Magic is a REALLY good start), and get a couple of versatile modifiers - a couple of brollies, and a reflector or two, you can actually get pretty good results using a single light.

Russ.

[Smolt]

Would the ETTL cord go from the camera to each of the flashes? Would this keep me from buying the 580 right away? I am "chomping at the bit" with no cash here

[Smolt]

Photobooth guy-
thanks for the great info! I am going to check those items out today!