Lighting Kit Recommendations.. Please?

[rachb]

I want to ask all your wonderful photographers for your recommendations on a lighting kit. There's no camera store in my area, and I am hesitant to buy something online because I don't really know the specifics of what I need. Here's what I'm working with and what I want to do:

1. 430EXII Speedlite, can be triggered from my t3i's pop-up flash. I am going to grab another flash- probably not the 530EX right now, but a cheap YN560. So am I right to assume that I need some wireless triggers to use them both because the t3i won't trigger the YN560?

2. I want some umbrellas to shoot my speedlite(s) through... do I need any special attachments to lock the speedlites to the lightstand, or if I buy a set like

CowboyStudio Photography Lighting | Studio Equipment | Studio Accessories

(220 watt mono light strobe flash umbrella kit) will it work right out of the box? I don't want a crappy set that I will outgrow in a year, but don't want to spend more than about $400 between the flash and umbrellas. So any advice is welcome... thanks!

[doctorjames]

ok, here gos..

1) I really like the YN560, I have one, I am looking to get two more. They do have an 'optical slave' trigger that will work from your pop up flash but it is a little hit and miss, plus the 'pre flash' will often make people blink at just the wrong moment, which was why I invested in some radio wireless triggers.

2) The setup the you listed has no ability to mount a speedlite/flash as far as I can see, as well as the strobe that is included in the 'lamp' unit. The flash/strobe component there has a recycle time of 5 to 7 seconds which is pretty slow and a guide number of just 30, so basically its slow and not very powerful. The umbrellas are not identical, one is a shoot through, the other the reflector which may not be a problem, but you need to be aware of that.

I would suggest putting together a package yourself, through somewhere like amazon.

The basic light stands are cheap, and can be bought in pairs or quads as well as single units.

On top of this you will need something like this:

Manfrotto 026 Lite Tite Swivel + Umbrella Adaptor: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

(this is what I have though to be honest, cheaper variants are pretty close)

And then of course some shoot through umbrellas, choosing a size which fits your budget and space.


I have always found 'starter kits' a complete waste of time in pretty much every hobby. They never have the bits ideally suited to you. They are always cheap, and usually not fit for purpose.

I hope this helps

[WooD]

The first light stands I ever bought were from Steve Kaeser, and I like them better than any I've bought since...and I have a lot of light stands.

Steve Kaeser Photographic Lighting

These are the brackets you need for mounting speedlights, and umbrellas to light stands.

Steve Kaeser Photographic Lighting

They sell umbrellas, but I've never used theirs because they dont go up to 60".

The kit you linked to would be useless. Two 110 watt lights would be like shooting in the dark.

[JFSanders]

CowboyStudio Photography Lighting | Studio Equipment | Studio Accessories

(220 watt mono light strobe flash umbrella kit) will it work right out of the box? I don't want a crappy set that I will outgrow in a year, but don't want to spend more than about $400 between the flash and umbrellas. So any advice is welcome... thanks!

This is a conundrum. While you say your budget is 400 dollars (and I believe you as it is really tough today to come up with extra money for hobbies) yet you want something that will have the capacity to grow with you as you get more skilled. This is a no can do proposition unless you look at used equipment.

If it were me and at one time it was me, I would be scouring the lists and web and yard sales. I would also put the word out to my circle and have them just do simple searches or keep an eye out as they go through their day. You never know, someone may know of an acquaintance who has a attic full of stuff they just didn't want to throw away.

But don't kid yourself about the link you put in your post. That stuff is a dead end and at best it will be a hassle finding and using the light modifiers for it.

Do like Susan and learn one light first. Then add a modifier or a reflector. There are DIY projects like the "China town special" .

[oldwolf]

This might sound stupid but what do you want to shoot with your lights?

This will help determine what you should get.

Granted, you can do lots with just speedlights but why get studio lights if you're not going to shoot in a studio or be willing to lug the gear around with a long extension cord or portable power supply?

On a side note, did you know that clicking on your website in your sig requires a user name and password?

[rachb]

Thanks so much for all the advice. I think I'm going to go with the Steve Kaeser stands... they look pretty sturdy and aren't too expensive. This will be for portrait work- I'm not looking at softboxes or continuous lighting- mainly just some umbrellas and speedlites so I can start to expand my knowledge of lighting and to practice with... I've been practicing off-camera lighting with my 430, but I'm getting sick of trying to use DIY Modifiers that aren't giving me what I'm trying to get. Mostly for fun I've been working with another photographer from DPS and he uses 2 lightstands and speedlites with umbrellas, and between those and his lighting knowledge, he creates beautiful portraits that I know I can't do with just my 430.

And my site is being redesigned so it doesn't resemble the piece of crap homemade site that I thought I could do myself.... should be up and running in the next few weeks and I will definitely be asking for some website critique on DPS

Thank you all!

[mikerob2334]

For your price range, this may be a good place to look:

Midwest Photo Exchange Strobist® Kits - STROBIST®

[ArmySoldier777]

I order most of my lighting stuff from Midwest, so I'll give a +1 to them. The prices are decent and they have a wide range of stuff. However, they get a lot of orders and they're constantly out of stock on a lot of things. I had to wait 3 weeks for a set of Cactus V5s and a new umbrella. But if you aren't under time constraints, they're a good store and have good customer service.

[inkista]

OK, this is just me. But start slow.

Don't assume that the reason this other guy is getting the shots and you aren't is because of the gear. Lighting is more about knowledge and thinking through and being the light. You can get some arresting gorgeous images with hard light as well as soft. And an umbrella can suck and seriously frustrate when it comes to spill control.

Have you tried on-camera with your 430EX II? Have you tried bouncing? Can you completely control a single on-camera flash in terms of getting the exposure you want? Can you balance flash & ambient with one flash off-camera? Learn to walk before you try to learn to fly.

It's not about the modifier. It's not about whether you've got a stand and an umbrella. You can achieve soft diffused lighting by bouncing the flash. Until you've learned those techniques, and you've hit the limits of on-camera flash (won't take long), I would really not recommend going off-camera with multiple flashes (in the same vein, I also don't recommend playing with flash until you're comfortable shooting in full M mode, because Av vs. M can really screw up the learning curve when it comes to flash by having the flash system behave quite differently). Otherwise, you might gear chase modifiers. You think you don't want a softbox now and you'll be happy with just umbrellas. Trust me when I say this will not be the case for the long.

Also, I would highly recommend playing with TTL and all the goodies it gives you (e.g., high-speed sync., remote commanding) so you'll understand what you're going to give up when you go with a YN-560 (vs., say a YN-565EX) for radio range and reliability.

Slow down a little. Think it through. Do a little more homework. That's my recommendation.

[danbaileyphoto]

Originally Posted by inkista

OK, this is just me. But start slow.

Don't assume that the reason this other guy is getting the shots and you aren't is because of the gear. Lighting is more about knowledge and thinking through and being the light. You can get some arresting gorgeous images with hard light as well as soft. And an umbrella can suck and seriously frustrate when it comes to spill control.

Have you tried on-camera with your 430EX II? Have you tried bouncing? Can you completely control a single on-camera flash in terms of getting the exposure you want? Can you balance flash & ambient with one flash off-camera? Learn to walk before you try to learn to fly.

It's not about the modifier. It's not about whether you've got a stand and an umbrella. You can achieve soft diffused lighting by bouncing the flash. Until you've learned those techniques, and you've hit the limits of on-camera flash (won't take long), I would really not recommend going off-camera with multiple flashes (in the same vein, I also don't recommend playing with flash until you're comfortable shooting in full M mode, because Av vs. M can really screw up the learning curve when it comes to flash by having the flash system behave quite differently). Otherwise, you might gear chase modifiers. You think you don't want a softbox now and you'll be happy with just umbrellas. Trust me when I say this will not be the case for the long.

Also, I would highly recommend playing with TTL and all the goodies it gives you (e.g., high-speed sync., remote commanding) so you'll understand what you're going to give up when you go with a YN-560 (vs., say a YN-565EX) for radio range and reliability.

Slow down a little. Think it through. Do a little more homework. That's my recommendation.

Very well said.