basic help with lighting accessories

[Exposures]

I will be shooting a wedding in a few weeks and I'm not really familiar with all of the special lighting. I usually shoot everything outside in natural light, but I really want to expand my scope.

Can anyone make some recommendations for beginners? I'm thinking of renting a lens and some lighting accessories.

TIA

some of my work can be seen at:
exposures-photography.com

[inkista]

For on-camera flash information, try Neil van Niekerk's site. For off-camera flash, try David Hobby's Strobist website.

Basically, I'd start with one on-camera speedlight and learning to bounce with some form of TTL, then work outwards from there. That's the blue pill. The Strobist off-camera stuff is the red pill.

[candleman]

Originally Posted by inkista

That's the blue pill. The Strobist off-camera stuff is the red pill.

....
LMAO

yeah, you're 100% right.


once you take the Red pill... its a whole new world
for the sake of getting things done well on the day... i'd recommend the Blue pill, and take the red one later.

[private]

What she said!

[Exposures]

haha I guess the vote is for the red pill

I was thinking of just one of those tall flashes...I've seen some called a speed light, I think.
Can I buy a decent one without spending over $100? Or should I not waste the time and money with a cheap-o flash and rent a good one? I haven't seen any place (yet) to rent what I'm thinking of...I guess it is pretty basic.

She said she preferred no flash during the ceremony, but if I needed to flash it would be okay. It's inside, so how do I get decent pictures without a flash? I think I might need to tell her that the pictures really need the flash but I will use it conservatively since the ceremony it's self is only 30 minutes, max (at least according to her plan).

Thanks for all of the input...and the pill decoding.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Exposures

haha I guess the vote is for the red pill

Actually, not for this job. You won't have time to get to the bottom of the rabbit hole for this job, as it's coming up so quickly. That's why we're telling you blue pill now, red pill later.

I was thinking of just one of those tall flashes...I've seen some called a speed light, I think.

A speedlight is the kind of flash you attach to the camera's hotshoe. It's AA-battery powered, and small and portable. The other kind of flash/strobe is a studio light, which can either be a monobloc (where the head and power units are integrated), or you can plug multiple heads into a single power unit. Studio lights tend to require an outlet nearby, and are much bigger and more powerful. A speedlight is better for going light, portable, and untethered (which is why most wedding photographers use them), monoblocs & head/pack strobes are better for studio situations, or when you need to really blast the light.

Can I buy a decent one without spending over $100?

Not really. There are lights in that price range that you can use, but they generally have some form of compromises to them, and particularly if you need iTTL/eTTL for run'n'gun situations (e.g., weddings) in ever-changing light, you may want to rent this time out. The best thing might be to save up $200-$250, in that price range, you can probably find some better choices.

If you're shooting Canon I'd say rent a 580EXII, if you're shooting Nikon, an SB-900. And give yourself at least a couple days (if not a week) before the event to learn to use it. Flash isn't something most of us pick up easily in a short period of time.

She said she preferred no flash during the ceremony, but if I needed to flash it would be okay. It's inside, so how do I get decent pictures without a flash?

Without a flash, you'll probably have to use a "fast" lens: one with a very wide maximum aperture of at least f/2 e.g., a 50mm f/1.8. The wide max. aperture, combined with a high iso setting (800-1600) will probably let you gather enough light for a good exposure with shutter speeds high enough to avoid subject and camera shake blur.

I would recommend reading about Neil van Niekerk's black foamie thing. Bouncing may be futile in the church, but for the reception, if the ceilings aren't too high, it could save you.

[Exposures]

the blue pill is what i meant...wasn't paying attention to the color I guess.

I need to read back through and make sure I didn't miss this somewhere, but where do you recommend renting a speed flash? I have rented before through lensdepot but they don't have a speed flash (I don't think anyway).

Thanks for all of the advice. I love this little community!

[Exposures]

Would this be a good flash for the price? I know it isn't the top of the line, but I'm not there yet. I still shoot with a D40X and get the results I need.

Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash for D60 D700 D40 D300s D3 - eBay (item 200511391098 end time Aug-25-10 18:14:04 PDT)

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Exposures

the blue pill is what i meant...wasn't paying attention to the color I guess.

No need to apologize. Some of us just saw The Matrix too many times.

... where do you recommend renting a speed flash? I have rented before through lensdepot but they don't have a speed flash (I don't think anyway).

lensrentals.com rents flash equipment.

Originally Posted by Exposures

Would this be a good flash for the price? I know it isn't the top of the line, but I'm not there yet. I still shoot with a D40X and get the results I need....

The SB-600 goes for $220 new at B&H, so I'd say $150 is a good price for a used one. The main drawbacks to the SB-600 vs. the SB-900 for on-camera use are that it has less power and only swivels 270° (90° to the right, 180° to the left). For off-camera use, the main drawbacks are the lack of a PC port, no dumb optical slave mode, and no CLS command capability. It's a great basic workhorse flash, though, and it's what a lot of folks get when the SB-900 or a used SB-800 is too expensive.

You can get cheaper 3rd party flashes, but few of them are going to do CLS/iTTL as reliably, and most of the good ones are going to be in the $100-$200 price range, anyway.