Complete noob question....

Dave450

Dave450

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....ok thank you for putting up with this idiotic question :nuts:

I have a baby on the way pretty soon, and wanted to wonder into this area of photography, purely for myself and family, but want to get the best shots I possibly can. I like wildlife and sports, so this is completely new.

Taking away budgets etc, for a living room setup what is the best way to go for lighting? Flashes and softboxes? types of flashes? flashguns? lencarta jobbies? or full on lights?

I really have no clue, and whatever I read just confuses me :bang:

Your help is greatly appreciated :thumbs:
 
To start with, dont go 'full on' with anything.

Do you already have a flashgun? If so, which one?
 
Kris said:
To start with, dont go 'full on' with anything.

Do you already have a flashgun? If so, which one?
Click to expand...

I have one jessops 360D flashgun - so its a start but nothing magical. I've been happily bouncing off walls and ceilings for a while, just want to take it to the next stage. Do I stick with flash or go continuous?
 
Can your gun be set in manual (i.e., full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 etc)?

If it can, then it will be fine.

Get a stand (£12), a brolly (£4), brolly adapter (£8) and a radio trigger (£25). £50 all in.

After that, the only other thing you need is to improve the thing between your ears by practising, and you cant buy that.

But you can view this website for free...

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html
 
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^^^ sounds good to me. You can't go wrong there, whatever else you might want to do in the future. Flash/brolly and a reflector is a very potent combo, in the right hands ;)

You can also do a lot by bouncing, or ambient window light (overcast or north facing) with a reflector is also pretty good :thumbs:

There's nothing special about babies in equipment terms, but if you want to use this as an opportunity to get started in a general way with a little home studio, then think about a two-head kit from Lencarta/Bowens/Elinchrom, about £300-500 upwards.

Place to go is the Focus show at the NEC shortly, 6-9 March. It's all there :)
 
Yeah, good point, a 42" silver/white reflector (£10) should have been added to my list.
 
Kris & Richard, many thanks for your opinions, I shall digest and investigate. Thank you.
 
I was about to post a similar question myself, so found all of the above really useful.

Are the lighting kits off *bay sufficient for a few home pics of the kids too?
 
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