Advice for a beginner with portrait lighting

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mercurius

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I am looking to improve my portrait photography and would be grateful for some advice.

I have a Nikon D90 and a Speedlight SB-600 flash. Without spending a load of dosh which I don't have at the moment (made redundant in December), what else do I need to make a significant difference to the quality of the portraits that I take?

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.
 
You'll need to get that flash off camera if you can (cable or wireless triggers). Then you need to soften it, so a softbox. Depending on your budget, you can get a small softbox to fit over the flashgun, or if you can stretch to it, a stand and larger softbox for speedlites. Yoiu can end up spending a lot of dosh....really depends what your budget is. I've heard some people have made their own diffusers out of plastic milk cartons which are quite effective, so that won't cost you much.
 
Always check on ebay, They always have great bargains if you are patient. I picked up a few light stands for like £3/5 each. Also a 33" shoot through umbrella is cheap but effective. As far as triggers go I use the yongnuo set.

Not sure if i'm allowed to put this here, but this place has some really good articles for making your own light diffusers.

http://www.diyphotography.net/

Most important, is not the kit, but the knowledge about portrait theory that makes good portraits.
 
Hi domino1999: thanks for replying. I know nothing, so would be grateful if you could explain what you put the Speedlite on if it's not on the camera. Can you fit it to a tripod?


Hi ohjin22: thanks for your help. What would you use the umbrella for and why do you need a trigger? Any suggestions for websites / articles on portrait theory?
 
Cheap lightstand + cheap hotshoe + cheap radio triggers + brolly.

Brollies give out great light and are great for beginning with off-camera flash.

For example; (Make sure you get radio triggers specific to your camera.)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photography-Light-professional-studio-photolamps/dp/B0011363NS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331367328&sr=8-1

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flash-Gun-Holder-Mount-Bracket-Brolly-Fitting-Aluminium-Made-Heavy-Duty-/120842359214?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c22c411ae#ht_2188wt_1110

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24-PRO-STUDIO-FLASH-BROLLY-UMBRELLA-BLACK-WHITE-/120434559767?pt=UK_Photography_StudioEquipment_RL&hash=item1c0a758b17#ht_2987wt_1110

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Remote-Flash-Trigger-RF602-Nikon-D3-D700-D200-D90-COOLPIX8400-SB-800-SB-900-/260866742256?pt=UK_Photography_Slaves_Trigger_Systems&hash=item3cbcde97f0
 
Marcus Geezer: many thanks for your very practical and helpful response. One quick question: why do you recommend a brolly as opposed to say a softbox?

Thanks,

mercurius
 
Most umbrellas can be used to shoot through, reflect from and flag (prevent light from hitting things you don't want it to) so some people prefer these.

To learn everything you need to know on the subject from one of the masters, get yourself over to strobist.com and look at the Lighting 101 section.

Watch out though, you might get hooked on it!!:thumbs:
 
Also umbrellas are usually cheaper than softboxes ;)
 
Umbrellas are a bit more portable than softboxes as well.
Light and shadows are softer with umbrellas.
You tend to find softboxes are for 3/4 shoots, whereas umbrellas can do full body.
Triggers are great for getting your speedlight off camera which is great controlling the light and feel of the photo.
+1 for Strobist.com

Also check out Zack Arias and Bert Stephani. They have some great dvds on lighting in general and single speed light use.
Look into posing techniques, and body language.
 
Last edited:
mercurius said:
Marcus Geezer: many thanks for your very practical and helpful response. One quick question: why do you recommend a brolly as opposed to say a softbox?

Thanks,

mercurius
Click to expand...

I never got on with strobist softboxes, but loved brollies. Good cheap starter and versatile, with so much to learn about them.

Taken using a speedlite in a white reflector brolly. Sometimes simple set-ups are best.


Mum by Marcus Charter, on Flickr
 
Off camera flash is definitely the best route to improving portrait photography.

However, you can also get better results with the flash in the hotshoe and 'bouncing' the light off the roof or a wall, this makes the light falling on your subject much softer, almost like an umbrella or soft box would. Bouncing off a wall will give a direction to the light, but make sure it's a neutral shade or you will have some weird colour casts.

If bouncing off the roof you can use the fill card on the SB600 to lift the shadows in the eyes a bit, or even better get a reflector like a piece of white paper somewhere under the model's chin.

To get the flash off-camera you can buy a dedicated light-stand to hold the flash and any modifiers (umbrellas, softboxes), or you can use it bare without any extra kit and just put it on a table or shelf pointing at your model. You try and soften the light by shooting through some paper or a shower curtain or a white sheet or anything else you can find.

You should be able to trigger the SB600 off-camera without buying extra triggers by setting it to slave mode and using your camera's menus to set the built-in flash as the commander. You can then experiment with the ratios of your main light (SB600) and your fill light (Built-in).

Best thing is you already have everything you need to try the stuff I've mentioned above, no extra £££ required.
 
Marcus Geezer said:
I never got on with strobist softboxes, but loved brollies. Good cheap starter and versatile, with so much to learn about them.

Taken using a speedlite in a white reflector brolly. Sometimes simple set-ups are best.


Mum by Marcus Charter, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Marcus Geezer: that's a stunning portrait of your mum. I'm very impressed with what can be done with a brolly - and of course, your ability to take the picture! Thanks for your advice.
 
spudey said:
Off camera flash is definitely the best route to improving portrait photography.

However, you can also get better results with the flash in the hotshoe and 'bouncing' the light off the roof or a wall, this makes the light falling on your subject much softer, almost like an umbrella or soft box would. Bouncing off a wall will give a direction to the light, but make sure it's a neutral shade or you will have some weird colour casts.

If bouncing off the roof you can use the fill card on the SB600 to lift the shadows in the eyes a bit, or even better get a reflector like a piece of white paper somewhere under the model's chin.

To get the flash off-camera you can buy a dedicated light-stand to hold the flash and any modifiers (umbrellas, softboxes), or you can use it bare without any extra kit and just put it on a table or shelf pointing at your model. You try and soften the light by shooting through some paper or a shower curtain or a white sheet or anything else you can find.

You should be able to trigger the SB600 off-camera without buying extra triggers by setting it to slave mode and using your camera's menus to set the built-in flash as the commander. You can then experiment with the ratios of your main light (SB600) and your fill light (Built-in).

Best thing is you already have everything you need to try the stuff I've mentioned above, no extra £££ required.
Click to expand...

Spudey: thank you very much for your very practical and helpful advice. It sounds as though I ought to be able to make do with what I've already got. That's quite enough to be experimenting based on your suggestions.
 
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