New to outdoor lighting... advise please

[Photog82]

I'm not sure if I would be able to use this or not, I've seen some photos here and else where - where the use of external lighting sources are used for portraits.

For outside portraits I've been using my 580EXII flash the light the subject and it's been during the day. Some times it's enough and sometimes it's not. I've seen some photos of such as this one and would like to do something similar. I can't tell if they are using a flash, external light or a flash light.

I was thinking about this as it seems like a decent starter pack:
http://www.adorama.com/FP620MPWK.htm...ck-to-top-link

Can I achieve that look with a flash or should I use a monolight?

[jrw]

For the shot of the player sitting in the field that is definitely a more powerful light source than your flash.
To get some excellent online tutorials with sample shots and explanations I would recommend Tangents by Neill Van Neikirk. An excellent resource for on and off camera lighting.
The Strobist remains a stellar site as well for learning how to work with lighting, with an emphasis on flash units.
Not able to comment on the starter pack you link to as I have no experience with it whatsoever.

[peety3]

That starter kit (probably) requires you to come up with a way to trigger them, which will add cost. I'd also caution you that like anything else, you get what you pay for, and I wouldn't expect the stands, umbrellas, or case to last long at all. The lightheads might not be consistent in color temperature, might be noisy, etc. Regardless, it could be a reasonable place to start.

[Sean Setters]

I'd highly recommend checking out David Hobby's (The Strobist's) Lighting 101 series.

Notes:

1) Indoor portrait could have easily been captured using off-camera shoe-mount flashes. It was likely reflected into a white umbrella or diffused by a small softbox (something like the Lastolite Ezybox). It's impossible to tell for sure because the photographer has selectively darkened areas of the image that would have originally been affected by light spill.

2) The outdoor portrait was likely captured using a monolight. However, that image has also been edited heavily to make the lighting ratios appear greater than what they were at the time of capture (noticeable on the periphery of the frame).

3) The "beginner" kit you linked to does not include a way to power the lights. They would require the purchase of an accessory - a DC battery pack - for use outdoors if an AC plug is not within power cord reach.

[Photog82]

Thank you for the sites, I have been reading them. I'm starting to lean towards to Einstein 640- will that mount to a standard Manfrotto tripod? I have an extra one that I could use for this. It doesn't come with a battery?

[Sean Setters]

An Einstein won't attach directly to a tripod without a stud adapter. I'd strongly recommend picking up a good light stand. Century Stands (C-Stands) are ultimately the best choice, but they can be somewhat bulky to transport. One of my favorite light stands is the Matthews Maxi Kit Steel Stand. I own four of them and use them all the time with both monolights and shoe-mount flashes. They're compact enough to easily fit in my trunk, extend to 9 1/2 feet, and are built like tanks. You'll also want to pick up some sandbags if/when shooting outside. No matter how sturdy your light stand is, a decent sized modifier can easily cause the light stand to tip over.


The Einstein does not come with a battery. They're designed to be plugged into an AC outlet. However, PCB makes Pure Sine Wave inverters (the Vagabond series) which serve as battery packs for his monolights.

[Photog82]

I'm looking at his umbrellas. I've read about the silver umbrellas and the white but I'd like to see examples. I'd be using this inside and out but am unsure of what to use. What's the difference between the umbrella and a softbox? I am planning on photographing someone for a magazine cover and they will be outside possibly with un-even light on their face.

I know that I can use the Einstein as a flash, but can I have the light stay on constantly?

[Photog82]

In addition to my other questions, if I wanted to control the Einstein wirelessly, I would use the Cyber Commander, but what if I need to trigger a Canon flash at the same time?

[Sean Setters]

Then you could use a Cybersync CSRB or CSRB+ receiver connected (via miniphone cable) to a Female Hotshoe with Miniphone Jack which fits on your flash's hot shoe.

It would look something like this:

[peety3]

I'm looking at his umbrellas. I've read about the silver umbrellas and the white but I'd like to see examples. I'd be using this inside and out but am unsure of what to use. What's the difference between the umbrella and a softbox? I am planning on photographing someone for a magazine cover and they will be outside possibly with un-even light on their face.

I know that I can use the Einstein as a flash, but can I have the light stay on constantly?

Studio flashes are, well, flashes. Many have modeling lights (incandescent or LED bulbs) that illuminate between shots so you can see the angle and dangle of your light, but they are nowhere as bright as the flash. If you want continuous light, you'd need to shop for continuous light, and those are either going to be [power-thirsty, hot, and moderately priced] or [power-moderate, warm, and ridiculously priced].

An umbrella can either reflect the light back (in a shoot-back umbrella) or diffuse the light (in a shoot-through umbrella), providing essentially one chance to broaden the apparent size of your light. A softbox has a silvered interior on what would be the black material from face to opening, and one or more translucent inserts that allow some of the light through but reflect some of the light back in random angles. Frankly, now that I have a softbox, I'm in love with the light quality, and my umbrellas are collecting dust unless I need a broad fill.