Any ideas? Portable flash solution to shoot 2 people inside

M

Mustard shots

Suspended / Banned
Messages
130
Name
Peter
Edit My Images
Yes
A friend has asked me to take some pics for their website - it'll be a freebie so I can't invest in loads of kit.

The brief - they have borrowed a nice hall, there's two of them, and they will want a number of poses - full length, head and shoulders, on their own and together.

I have an SB800 and am keen to experiment with off camera flash. I've seen Flash in the Pan's kit which fits my budget! (Previously getting a bit scared by lastolite setups)

Do you think I can get away with one of flash in the pan's 60cm softboxes + the biggest stand I can find, or do you think I'd be better off getting another flash and 2 softboxes or maybe shoot through umbrellas and use the money I saved to get a diffuser/reflector or two? The articles I've seen seem to charge off on buying as much kit as poss, and I just can't afford to do that yet, but I'd like to do some nice shots obviously.

Any thoughts on minimal shoot kit much appreciated!

Cheers

Pete
 
My plan would be:

1x double golden/silver sided ebay reflector (5-in-1 are rubbish) and something to hold it
1x large shoot through umbrella + stand

I would also want another flash for background or hairlight, but you could try to make the use of windows, etc.

If you want all white background for full length shots then it may be more complicated. But you don't have to, I think
 
Depending on the poses, one softbox and flash should be enough. The thing about the light is that if they are together, you can light them pretty much the same. The further one person is from the light, the less light they will receive - so darker.

What sort of background are they looking for?

The flash you have is plenty powerful enough. A stand (doensn't need to be too high) and agood sized softbox should be all you need. You could switch the box for the brolly if you want to save money. The brolly is just a little more difficult to control the light as it spreads in all directions rather than a softbox that produces a more directional light.

If you've not used flash much, then you may struggle but it seems like a good opportunity to practice - I struggle with flash. I understand the basics but can never seem to get it quite ther way I want. Getting there though.!!!

Edit - A reflector as noted above is also a good idea - If you have an assistant they can hold it and if not a stand would be a good investment. I have a 5 in 1 and actually think it's quite good although I do seem to use gold/silver most often. So up to you what you go for. FITP would help you out I'm sure.

Good luck.
 
I have the 24" lastolite hilite and really need to use it more! It's a decent size for a small OCF unit.
 
Ok, I'm going to order the 24" softbox from FITP along with the silver/gold reflector. I've just picked up another flash which should arrive at the week-end, so I've got a background/rimlight or something to bounce off a reflector if I'm feeling brave. Is it worth getting a diffuser as well or is this just throwing money down the drain that'll never be used again. I've never used one so not really sure what the advantage is.

Thanks again

Pete
 
Take your tripod if you want more options, light and shoot the two of them separately then it's a two second masking job to combine them after. You can do a lot with two flashes though.

ruvor said:
So you're going to end up paying for gear to do some free shots?
right.
Click to expand...

I spent about 10 grand before anyone paid me to take a photo, better than rocking up to a paid job with a load of gear you've never used before.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top