Picking Lights For Portraits

[olds]

For Xmas, I'd like to get my wife some lighting for taking Portraits with her Canon XSI. Something entry level.

She has some backdrops and at least one reflector. She also has a Canon 580EX II flash.

Not being a photo person, I assume she needs 3 lights (to illuminate from above and both sides, reflector from below) to get proper lighting?

Can someone recommend a set?
TIA

 

[Kaido]

There are basically 2 options:

1. Flash-based lighting
2. Continuous lighting

Flash-based is like her 580EX flash - light blinks on/off. Continuous is more like a lightbulb - constantly on. For flash-based photography, you can get wireless triggers and some additional flashes, which lets her be more mobile and also gives out a ton of light. However, you can also get a pretty nice continous lighting kit for a few hundred bucks and see the lighting in realtime, instead of on a preview screen. ePhoto and Cowboy Studio are make some nice inexpensive continuous lighting kits:

http://www.ephotoinc.com/studio-light-kits.html

One of these kits might work nicely:

http://www.ephotoinc.com/professional-photo-studio-lighting-umbrella-soft-light.html

http://www.ephotoinc.com/premium-photography-studio-umbrella-softbox-lighting.html

For wireless triggers, if you want to go the flash-based route, I like Alien Bees CyberSync system:

http://www.alienbees.com/remotes.html

You can either start out with the 580EX and do single-light photography, or maybe get some cheap Canons or off-brands to supplement the system. HTH.

 

[olds]

Thanks.
Continuous is what I had in mind. I'll check the links.

 

[corkyg]

ALso, the 580EX has a built in bounce card and a wide angle diffuser lens. For portaits, continuous is better and more customizable.

 

[alkemyst]

I can't find it in my old email, but I am on a list that has low cost lighting kits at times advertized. Something in the neighborhood of $50 a light.

 

[olds]

This says strobe/flash so I assume it's flash only?
http://www.ephotoinc.com/professional-photo-studio-lighting-umbrella-soft-light.html

And this is continuous?
http://www.ephotoinc.com/2-main-lights-2-background-lights-photography-studio-lighting-digit22.html

 

[twistedlogic]

For portraits I'd advise against using continuous "hot" lighting.

They heat the studio up, cause people to squint, and are severely lacking in power.

She has everything she needs to get started. One-Light Portraits

How is she currently triggering the speedlight?

Canon's own ST-E2 wireless transmitter offers tons of controls that can be made straight from the camera. A set of non-canon wireless triggers would make the speedlight fully manual with adjustments having to be done on the flash.

 

[olds]

For portraits I'd advise against using continuous "hot" lighting.

They heat the studio up, cause people to squint, and are severely lacking in power.

She has everything she needs to get started. One-Light Portraits

How is she currently triggering the speedlight?

Canon's own ST-E2 wireless transmitter offers tons of controls that can be made straight from the camera. A set of non-canon wireless triggers would make the speedlight fully manual with adjustments having to be done on the flash.

She uses the flash mounted to the camera.

 

[corkyg]

Continuous lighting does not have to be hot or glary. (Think LEDs) Since I'm not in the business, I like to use a bounce flash or a translucent plastic diffuser over the flash.

http://www.online-digital-photography-course.com/flash-diffusers.html

 

[Jinny]

ringflash

 

[angry hampster]

She uses the flash mounted to the camera.

I *highly* recommend a set of Cybersyncs remote triggers.
http://www.alienbees.com/remotes.html

You'll need the CST and the CSRB. My fiance got me a set for Christmas and I use them on EVERY shoot now. You can also keep buying more CSRB's and use as many flashes as you want!

Pick up an air-cushioned lightstand from BH:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ght_Stand.html

..and an umbrella bracket:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...pact_3117.html



And she's good to go. Off-camera flash opens up a world of opportunities, even with just a simple speedlight.

For example, here's a shot I did the other day with just one 580ex angled from my left at about 45* to the subject:

Subject's face was shadowed as you can tell by the flare.

 

[alkemyst]

ringflash

for a portrait?

 

[angry hampster]

for a portrait?

Used frequently in fashion/makeup shoots. Not very flattering for traditional stuff though.

 

[alkemyst]

Used frequently in fashion/makeup shoots. Not very flattering for traditional stuff though.

More facials though right? IMHO a portrait is more like the photo above or a group seated...

 

[actuarial]

I had never thought of continuous lighting before, but now I'm thinking it's a great idea. What say you camera guru's on making a simple home studio with this:

http://www.ephotoinc.com/10x20-white-musline-background-stand-lighting-ki102020.html

The main purpose would be for taking studio style photos of my kids.

 

[olds]

My wife has someone coming over to help her set up her "studio". She mentioned lighting so I went with it. She doesn't want continuous light because of the heat and what she considers an injury issue dealing with hot lights.

Good thing this came up, I would have went with the continuous lighting...

 

[Kaido]

My wife has someone coming over to help her set up her "studio". He mentioned lighting so I went with it. She doesn't want continuous light because of the heat and what she considers an injury issue dealing with hot lights.

Good thing this came up, I would have went with the continuous lighting...

It depends on how you do it. Traditional continuous lighting does get hot. If you're doing filming, then your actors tend to melt. If you're just doing some quick shots, it's not too bad. The lights do get hot and most people use gloves on the heavy-duty stuff for protection. Lately, LED lighting is all the rage. Lightweight, even lighting when dimming, and no virtually no heat. Downside is they are expensive:

http://www.ephotoinc.com/3-x-dimmable-500-led-video-light-panel-professional-video-light-p3500.html

 

[finbarqs]

i always call continuous light "hot lights" or "model lights" though I know LED has totally removed the purpose of making them "hot" anymore. Something I've seen that has been used quite often is the Video Lights mounted on top of their DSLR's in weddings. Some times, they'll give you quite a bit of power, but still not as much as a strobe.

Strobes you can definitely shoot your images at low ISO while with the continuous, you might have to open up your aperture, or crank up your ISO. With Flash, your images will also generally be sharper as compared to ambient (which is a term i loosely use to describe continuous lighting). I say, get the Gary Fong lightsphere attachment for your 580ex II. go to google and search "gary fong light sphere". it's basically a tupper ware attachment to your 580ex II

 

[olds]

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Gary-Fong-Lightsphere/

 

[twistedlogic]

I've had some great success with an ABBC. Only costs $1.00 for the material, so why not.

Good thing this came up, I would have went with the continuous lighting...

Glad you changed you mind or you might have been paying twice, .

Now you have two options, studio strobes or speedlights. Each have there pros and cons, but for studio work, strobes are hard to beat. For the price of one TTL capable high end speedlight you can purchase 8X the power in a studio strobe and probably close to 32X the power of continuous lighting (being conservative).

Ultimately if budget is a concern you can pick up some manual speedlights for pretty darn cheap just to get started.

 

[Silenus]

Forget continuous lighting. She already has most of what she needs in the flash and reflector. How about just get a light stand and either a small softbox or a convertible shoot thourhg/bounce umbrella. Then you just need a way to trigger it and you could use some cheap ebay remotes to get started. This will not cost a lot and she can do a lot with just one light and a reflector. The flash will give you a lot more flexibility to run lower ISO, smaller apertures if wanted, and freezing motion.

Here are the parts you can start with:
Light Stand: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...t_2212ABH.html
Umbrella Bracket: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search...tialSearch=yes
Wescott 43" convertible white Umbrella (bounce or shoot through): http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search...tialSearch=yes

Radio triggers are your choice but if just getting started and you want to keep cost down, try some cheap ebay remotes. They work reasonably well for close distances. For right around $100 total for all the above with radio trigger you have a great starter setup. Gear can be added later for more advanced lighting setups.

 

[finbarqs]

it also depends if she decides to go out and shoot portraits alone, or with an assistant!

 

[olds]

Thanks for all the info. Can someone link me to a radio trigger for reference?
She had radio remotes for the camera itself.
TIA

 

[twistedlogic]

Can someone link me to a radio trigger for reference?

Budget?

Angry Hampster linked some cybersyncs from AlienBee already, then you have http://www.radiopopper.com/ and http://www.pocketwizard.com/, all are great brands that should work over large distances without any misfires and multiple channels to choose from.

Then there are the cheaper "ebay" triggers from Japan, the ever popular Cactus Radio trigger and the YongNuo brand that work great, just not built like a tank and limited number of channels.

Any of these mentioned will work, but in full manual mode on the flash. So you'll also want to look into getting a flash meter if you decide this route.

 

[olds]

Budget?

Angry Hampster linked some cybersyncs from AlienBee already, then you have http://www.radiopopper.com/ and http://www.pocketwizard.com/, all are great brands that should work over large distances without any misfires and multiple channels to choose from.

Then there are the cheaper "ebay" triggers from Japan, the ever popular Cactus Radio trigger and the YongNuo brand that work great, just not built like a tank and limited number of channels.

Any of these mentioned will work, but in full manual mode on the flash. So you'll also want to look into getting a flash meter if you decide this route.

I'd like to stay in right around at $200.
Thanks.