Ocasional lighting required. Advice please
Discussion
It looks like I will be asked to do some ocasional photography for my wife and my parents - in - law
My wife will need children's clothes shot. Most have a white trim to the edge and have cotton or toweling bodys. These will either be direct on a background or to be cut out
My P-I-L will need room shots and close up food shots for their hotel.
My q is lighting. I have a 40D with a 550 flash.
As this will be infrequent, I want to make it as easy as I can to use and remember how to use!
Should I get flash, with soft boxes etc or go down the continuous route, again through soft boxes?
My wife will need children's clothes shot. Most have a white trim to the edge and have cotton or toweling bodys. These will either be direct on a background or to be cut out
My P-I-L will need room shots and close up food shots for their hotel.
My q is lighting. I have a 40D with a 550 flash.
As this will be infrequent, I want to make it as easy as I can to use and remember how to use!
Should I get flash, with soft boxes etc or go down the continuous route, again through soft boxes?
OK so this post should hopefully get you started.
If its just for the occasional use, buy up a few cheap speed-lights from eBay (2-3).
Soft boxes aren't necessary for 70% of the work I do, umbrellas work just as effectively and are much cheaper. The only major differences between the two are the spread of light, how controllable it is and how diffuse the light will be. If you were going to do it frequently then soft boxes and studio lights are the way to go but a one off... save yourself some money and you'll still be able to produce great shots with some careful positioning.
To sync the flashes use your 550ex as the master and set all the others to slave. This should work fine for inside buildings, outside it can sometimes fail due to the sun.
Food is one of the hardest things you can do photographically!!! Just remember one thing, just because it looks good and edible in real life, won't translate through the camera. By the time i'm finished with some of my food shots it would probably put you in hospital if you ate it e.g. WD-40 spray is great for giving a glaze to meat dishes
Hope this helps and all the best!
Graeme
If its just for the occasional use, buy up a few cheap speed-lights from eBay (2-3).
Soft boxes aren't necessary for 70% of the work I do, umbrellas work just as effectively and are much cheaper. The only major differences between the two are the spread of light, how controllable it is and how diffuse the light will be. If you were going to do it frequently then soft boxes and studio lights are the way to go but a one off... save yourself some money and you'll still be able to produce great shots with some careful positioning.
To sync the flashes use your 550ex as the master and set all the others to slave. This should work fine for inside buildings, outside it can sometimes fail due to the sun.
Food is one of the hardest things you can do photographically!!! Just remember one thing, just because it looks good and edible in real life, won't translate through the camera. By the time i'm finished with some of my food shots it would probably put you in hospital if you ate it e.g. WD-40 spray is great for giving a glaze to meat dishes
Hope this helps and all the best!
Graeme
One of those cheap n'cheerful £200 3 head kits off ebay would breeze that.
Having said that, I'd think ambient and a tripod/long exposure might also work for a fair amount of what you're thinking - s'not going anywhere in most cases
Ebay link: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/540W-STUDIO-Flash-Lighting-S...
Having said that, I'd think ambient and a tripod/long exposure might also work for a fair amount of what you're thinking - s'not going anywhere in most cases
Ebay link: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/540W-STUDIO-Flash-Lighting-S...
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