Talk to me about flashing!

[Nixon]

I have a problem, I want to get my tackle out and start flashing! But i don't know where to start or which direction to head.
I have been perusing you tube reading the books and webs and all I seem to be doing is confusing myself and going in full circles.

I am a hobbyist looking to learn and enjoy different types of photography, currently shooting wildlife, travel and street, but want to focus on Toy and Lego shots and general indoor shooting when the weather is grim (Manchester based so pretty much always) but also wanting good portraits and head shots with a plan to learn modeling and glamour / Instagram type stuff, indoor and outdoor.

So far I have gathered that studio strobes are best, but complex and expensive and at my current level and plans not necessary, but I am unsure if I need to be looking at continuous lighting, on camera flash or off camera flash ... then soft boxes and grids. I suspect a lot will be playing and trial and error while building kit and tools to find the looks I want, but need somewhere to start.

Can anyone recommend an good books or resources, I have a few books but are light "technically" on the details and more "generalist".

Kit wise I have a Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105 ART F4, 50mm 1.8, and 70-200 F2.8

What can you recommend or guide kit wise is best for my needs, budget is .. as cheap as is reasonable at this stage, I want kit that's going to work, but an SB5000 is out of the question until I know what I am doing and what I need. I'm not above used kit however can be partial to a bit of GAS from time to time.

I am looking at this kit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neewer-VK7...ash&qid=1552859442&s=specialty-aps-sns&sr=8-3 with a https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IM6LKQM/ref=twister_B078BCDYZS?_encoding=UTF8&th=1 and stand to give me the ability to use off camera flash and on camera flash, both hard and soft. Is this a good direction or am I off the mark?

Thanks
Nixon

 

[Garry Edwards]

Speedlights, of the type you linked to, are perfectly usable and some people do use them for studio work, but they are far from ideal for many reasons, not least of which are
1. No modelling lamp
2. Low power
3. Built in reflector limits the effectiveness and range of the light modifiers that actually do the work of creating and shaping light - a lot of people, especially beginners, think that lighting is all about having enough of it, but it's actually about creating the right light (and the right shadows) in the right places
4. Slow recycling

Again, a lot of beginners seem to think that continuous lighting is a solution, it's poor for most subjects and hopeless for live subjects.

You can't beat mains powered studio flashes for studio use and they are neither complex or expensive, prices have fallen dramatically in the last few years.

As for recommending books, as you might expect I'm happy to recommend my latest one Please see https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/free-lighting-e-book.689037/
which is available from Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.

 

[Carter64]

I have a couple of Godox DE300's, and an old, crotchety, temperamental (but still working!) Lencarta Ultra 600 Pro. The two DE300's get used most. They're going for about £70 each. They take Bowens fit modifiers, so plently of choice. The cost ratchets up by around £50 if you go for the radio trigger/controller and two receivers, but IMO, it's worth it for the convenience of being able to independently change the power of each head from the top of the camera, rather than stretching up or easing around in a small space!
I'd avoid "lightweight" stands. Cheap, but unstable. Especially when you stick even a moderately sized modifier on the head.
I've just bought Garry's book, and liking it Gavin Hoey on Youtube I think is also worth a look.

 

[riddell]

Gary gets it spot on.

However if you browse around the internet for a while you are going to see that lots of 'photographers' are insisting that that continuous or speedlights are the way to go. Its widely talked out, but it really is a case of the blind leading the blind and is based on the fact that those two options are cheap and with very little skill can produce a reasonable image a fair chunk of the time, but not always.

As a hobbyist on a budget, I'd say secondhand studio strobes are the way to go. If you go for one of the popular brands like Elinchrom / Bowens then there are a ton of cheap 3rd party accessories out there which are not bad at all.

Bowens went bankrupt a while ago and there is a lot cheap kit dumped out there and the budget Elinchrom d-lites are actually excellent lights.

 

[juggler]

So far I have gathered that studio strobes are best, but complex and expensive

Not necessarily so. IME studio strobes are simpler than bells-and-whistles speedlites, cheaper - by the time you've factored in adaptors, brackets and the like - and much easier to learn with.

the budget Elinchrom d-lites are actually excellent lights.

Second hand Elinchroms are cheap but replacement tubes are expensive compared to other brands.

but also wanting good portraits and head shots with a plan to learn modeling and glamour / Instagram type stuff, indoor and outdoor.

I reckon.. your best bet is to get some studio time under your belt before buying too much kit. Find a group shoot, a workshop, some tuition or whatever. PurplePort is your friend..

 

[Garry Edwards]

Personally I would be wary of Bowens, recent ones are good but as far as I know there's no guarantee that either parts or repairers will be available in the future.

Elinchrome - good make but I feel that the brand may have a fight on it's hands because of Chinese competition, so again there is potential for risk. The go to brand right now is Godox, when bought from a reputable bricks and mortar business like lencarta. Good products (mostly) and with an excellent radio trigger / remote control system.

Group studio sessions can be disappointing as a learning experience, with them often being an example of the blind leading the blind, and sadly that's also true of far too many expensive training courses.

All that you actually need is an understanding of how light works and why - which of course my book explains - and after that it's basically just practice and experimentation.

 

[simonbarker]

Second hand Elinchroms are cheap but replacement tubes are expensive compared to other brands.

£60 inc doesn't seem so bad? I wouldn't expect a long life out of a D-lite even though I do have a few ancient units, wouldn't say no at the right price used anyway. Every engineer I've spoken to hates them though and the last one I handled went up in a puff of magic smoke so I'm not much of a fan either.

Personally I would be wary of Bowens, recent ones are good but as far as I know there's no guarantee that either parts or repairers will be available in the future.

The right time to buy was after the liquidation, there was a bunch of cheap XMT/XMS units floating about mostly from the people who cleared out the main Bowens factory. They are built by Godox so I would expect them to be about as reliable as an AD600 but I think if you're going to invest in a system it makes more sense to go with one that has future plans, something I seriously doubt of Bowens and I'm beginning to doubt of Elinchrom/TFC.

 

[juggler]

£60 inc doesn't seem so bad?

Ah.. my experience was £110 for a BRX500 tube. D-lite's may be cheaper.
For £110 I could nearly buy a Lencarta Smartflash.

Group studio sessions can be disappointing as a learning experience

True, but if you treat them as an to the world of studio photography, glamour stuff in particular, rather than a tutorial then they're (a) cheap and (b) useful, and will give the OP a insight in to some of the sort of kit he might want to consider buying.

 

[simonbarker]

Ah.. my experience was £110 for a BRX500 tube. D-lite's may be cheaper.
For £110 I could nearly buy a Lencarta Smartflash.

Yup the tube for the BRX/Quadra A is relatively expensive but I don't think many beginners would start with a BRX given it's £400+ but on the bright side if they do they're unlikely to wear out a good flash tube in any reasonable space of time.

 

[gregtphotography]

Nixon, your subject matter isn't going to require a lot of power, or fast recycle rates. Speedlites will get you started and are flexible when you expand. Look at the work of Joe McNally, the speedlite king. Check out The Strobist blog. Go through the info David introduces there and you will be on your way.