Buying a light for portraits..

Trev Rich

Trev Rich

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Trev
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I would love to get into portrait work but I really cant afford a studio type set up..
What I would like is to get one light/flash and a reflector..
Am I looking at spending a fortune or are there cheaper options?
 
how much have you got to spend?
 
Trev Rich said:
well.. nothing at the moment.. :LOL::LOL:
but am looking at around spending only £100 ish...
I just want a very basic starting point for portraits.
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Portraits of what Trev?

Babies, kids, teens, mature, pets, groups???

It makes a difference if you know what you want to shoot as help can be offered based on the subject/style

Put if this way, £100 is sod all these days for a flash outfit, so you'll have to make compromises. Flash is more expensive than tungsten (bulb) lighting. Tungsten is fine (and easier to learn on) for subjects that won't move about much - basically (quite a few moons ago) I started with an Anglepoise lamp taking pics of my mates & my mum!

For our camera club print viewing we use 2 huge floodlights that someone got from Aldi/Netto or the like for less than £20

For a very low budget, I'd suggest you start off with tungsten lighting if suitable for your space/subject - you will have to open a window though, as it will get warm

HTH

DD
 
Thanks diddy..
photos of my kids and wife to start... just want to learn without forking out loads before realising that "it's just not my bag baby yeah!!"
Hmmm will go with the tungsten definately...
what sort of shutter speed will I have to drop down to? I dont want to have to go so low that the subjects have to try and keep really still.
 
Trev Rich said:
I dont want to have to go so low that the subjects have to try and keep really still.
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Why? Could be fun! That's how the Victorians did it, got the wife n kids to sit still AND shut-up for minutes at a time :LOL:

The current vogue on portraits (individuals ones at least) is to place emphasis on the eyes almost solely, hence using a wide aperture is common as the Depth of Field is then shallow and even from the ears sharp focus may be minimal

Wide apertures give faster shutter speeds, which helps with tungsten lighting

The more powerful the tungsten light (see if you can put a 'dimmer' on it to alter its brightness) the faster the shutter speed

So with f4 or less, and 250w or more you should be fine anyway - if not, next is to up the ISO to perhaps 400

Trial n error I'm afraid, but with digital it's much easier compared to the film days

Also, don't forget that you may have windows in your house? Positioning them close to a window with a reflector on the other side can work well too

Just remember to shoot all in raw so you don't have to worry about WB settings

DD
 
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