Best umbrella/lighting kit to buy at a decent price?

[GreggObst]

"TTL giveth, the bright sun taketh away..."

TTL is great and it does save you a ton of time if you are in rapidly changing situations but it's not foolproof. Know that going in and be prepared to switch to manual when TTL has hung you out to dry because you have gotten yourself out in the very direct sunlight and the TTL signal can't do it's thing. This doesn't happen all the time but it WILL happen to you at some point and most likely right when you are outside on the church steps and the bride is throwing that bouquet and the sun says "no" to your TTL. It never hurts to know all your manual settings first even on a TTL capable flash.