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Taking pics of niece before formal dance, what toys should I get?

ProfJohn

ProfJohn

Lifer
My niece has her winter ball this Friday and I get to take pics of her and her friends all dressed up pretty.

I am wondering about what kind of toys I should get to make the photos look better.

Suggestions??

I have a Nikon d-90 with a Nikon 50mm 1.8 and a Tamron 17-50mm 2.8.
I also have the cheap Sb-400 flash.

I am thinking I should get a bigger flash such as the SB-600 with a diffuser or perhaps on of those soft box kits and stands for it.

Or I could go all out and get a nice light kit to create something really special.

I would say that $500 is my top limit and I don't want to spend that much unless I am getting something totally awesome.


Thanks 🙂
 
ProfJohn said:
My niece has her winter ball this Friday and I get to take pics of her and her friends all dressed up pretty.

I am wondering about what kind of toys I should get to make the photos look better.

Suggestions??

I have a Nikon d-90 with a Nikon 50mm 1.8 and a Tamron 17-50mm 2.8.
I also have the cheap Sb-400 flash.

I am thinking I should get a bigger flash such as the SB-600 with a diffuser or perhaps on of those soft box kits and stands for it.

Or I could go all out and get a nice light kit to create something really special.

I would say that $500 is my top limit and I don't want to spend that much unless I am getting something totally awesome.


Thanks 🙂
Click to expand...

You don't have to get a SB-600 if that's too expensive. For off-camera you don't need a flash that can do i-TTL. Any flash with manual controls will be fine.

All you need is:

-A good off-camera flash (Nikon SB-28 is a good one)...around $75-100 for one, or less if you go with a cheaper flash like a Vivitar 285HV
-A light stand...around $30
-A flash bracket for the lights stand...around $15
-A good convertible umbrella 45" or larger...$15 and up
-A hotshoe to PC adaptor with PC cable OR a wireless transmitter kit such as the YN RF602 (around $30)

The total cost of a complete kit for one flash is about $200. You can add a second flash for more customizable lighting, but one is all you *really* need at the beginning. The Nikon 50mm or your Tamron 17-50 will both work fine. You don't need an exotic lens for this kind of shot.
 
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I might add a lens in the 70 to 135 mm range might be nice to have in some situations
where you can't get close and a blurred background helps filter out extraneous objects. But that could be rented or borrowed for that one day. And since super high resolution is not always flattering in portraits when every pore present in the face gets rendered, something like filters to soften the resolution might help.

Just my two cents and I hope your niece and her friends are super happy with your hard work.
 
996GT2 said:
You don't have to get a SB-600 if that's too expensive. For off-camera you don't need a flash that can do i-TTL. Any flash with manual controls will be fine.

All you need is:

-A good off-camera flash (Nikon SB-28 is a good one)...around $75-100 for one, or less if you go with a cheaper flash like a Vivitar 285HV
-A light stand...around $30
-A flash bracket for the lights stand...around $15
-A good convertible umbrella 45" or larger...$15 and up
-A hotshoe to PC adaptor with PC cable OR a wireless transmitter kit such as the YN RF602 (around $30)

The total cost of a complete kit for one flash is about $200. You can add a second flash for more customizable lighting, but one is all you *really* need at the beginning. The Nikon 50mm or your Tamron 17-50 will both work fine. You don't need an exotic lens for this kind of shot.
Click to expand...




So....exactly what I said in two sentences? :sneaky:
 
As others have mentioned,

- You could use a longer lens. The 50mm works great for full body shots, but you have to get too close to get portraits. Plus a longer lens helps compress facial features, which is more flattering.

- Since your D90 already does wireless iTTl then I'd suggest the SB-600. With CLS you get great results with little tinkering, if you need more flash power just dial in some Flash compensation on the camera, no need to ever adjust the flash power on the speedlight itself. (Just don't forget to use FV lock so you don't get blinking eyes from the pre-flash.) Plus the SB-600 can always be used on the hot-shoe and give you a flash with TTL and swivel head for bouncing.

- Along with a stand, bracket, and light modifier, I'd suggest you get some kind of reflector to use for fill. Even a piece of cardboard with foil or a white foamboard will work great.

- Even the light stand and bracket aren't needed if you have an assistant, or as Joe McNally calls them, VAL (voice activated lightstands).
 
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