D3100 flash/lighting

akhi

akhi

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Benjamin
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Flash/lighting for D3100
Hello, how's everyone enjoying the weather?
Right, let's get straight to the point. I'm an amature, that's no secret. I've tried doing a few photos for my friends and I've noticed they lack a lot of.... you know.. looking good?

I think having some sort of lighting is always a good place to start (before I start investing in glass). Would you recommend I buy a good flashgun to stick on my cam or some actual lights first? I wouldn't really want to spend more then £200 to start with if possible. Keep in mind I really am an amature, but I'd like to think in a year or so I will have progressed quite a bit so hopefully whatever I purchase now won't be completely irrelevant by the time I can actually take a decent shot.

The main thing I shoot is portraits (like 99.8% of the time) so if you could please try and help by recommending me something that fits my situation I would really appreciate it. I was thinking of one of the nikon flashguns? But like I said, I know almost nothing.

Thanks a lot guys and girl, it's really appreciated.
 
Jessops 360afd. Just bought one and very pleased with it. Easy to use, works off camera and gives good results. Also a bargain at £80!! Can't go wrong really.
 
Price sounds very reasonable to me, cheers mate going to take a look at it now. What are the obvious differences between that and for example a SB-600 which is over twice the price. I'm going to hopefully be doing some event photography (in nightclubs) - will both be suitable for that?
 
To be honest I didn't really look at the Nikon guns as they were out if my price range. I'm sure there are plenty of people on here that can tell you what they're like though. I mainly looked at the Jessops and Nissin models as they seemed to fit the bill for what I wanted. Lots of people seem to recommend Younogo flashes too. Might be worth a look?
 
Just took a look and there seems to be so many options out there, problem is I don't understand 90% of the tech jargon so it's hard for me to see if it'll be worth the investment of one closer to the £200 mark or not. Or even if there's some sort of lighting setup people would recommend for my situation.
 
I've got a yongnuo YN467. It's fully auto, and works with my D3100 a treat. £50, love it. :)
 
I've got Yongnou flashes too for my D3100; the 467 for on camera use and I pair it with a 560 for off camera lighting with a pair of umbrellas. For the price they're well worth it, just make sure you have some decent batteries (I went on someone else's recommendations and got some Eneloops).
 
If you're serious about portraits, you will want some studio lights eventually. But you need to look at a twin-head kit and that's £300 upwards (Lencarta).

However, you can do a heck of a lot with just one light, a hot-shoe gun, learning to use it on-camera, with accessories, and also on a stand with a brolly and reflector.

If you only have one gun, get a good one, not one of the basic jobbies. One that does high speed FP sync, like the SB600 - cheap ones don't. You will need it for fill-in flash outdoors. Basically, get the best Nikon gun you can afford - you will not regret it. If you want additional guns, that's the time to get the cheapy jobbies and they will work fine with it. It will also work with studio lights, as and when.
 
At the absolute budget end, Interfit is probably the best choice, but check out Lencarta.

Not knowing what it is you want to do, or how you want to go about it, the combination of just one studio head (eg Lancarta SmartFlash) and a hot-shoe gun added as a background or effect light, gets a lot of things done.

The advantage of having a hot-shot gun, preferably a good one (Nikon) but a cheapie if you must (Nissin Di622 Mk2), is that it is so useful in so many other ways - in the studio or outside. Check out Strobist 101 http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/11/lighting-101-now-available-in-pdf.html to get a feel for what's what. I'll just say that modern flash systems are amazingly capable and will both enhance your picture taking and expand it in all sorts of new creative ways - if you put in the effort to learn how to use it.
 
Thanks Hoppy I'll take a read now. I posted this same thread on another forum and have had a good discussion with some posters there, I think I'm going to buy a flash gun first and then when money allows by another light with an umbrella and a background so that I can set it up to take "studio" style pictures by using that separate light and the flash gun as you suggested. In the mean time I can use the flash gun for outside portraits and in night clubs etc which should be fun.

Just a quick question if you wouldn't mind as you seem quite clued up, is it worth me spending a bit of extra money and getting the sb700 rather then the 600? As I learn more about strobing/photography in general I don't want to feel that the extra £50 I saved made me have to upgrade and use the 600 as a slave.
 
akhi said:
Thanks Hoppy I'll take a read now. I posted this same thread on another forum and have had a good discussion with some posters there, I think I'm going to buy a flash gun first and then when money allows by another light with an umbrella and a background so that I can set it up to take "studio" style pictures by using that separate light and the flash gun as you suggested. In the mean time I can use the flash gun for outside portraits and in night clubs etc which should be fun.

Just a quick question if you wouldn't mind as you seem quite clued up, is it worth me spending a bit of extra money and getting the sb700 rather then the 600? As I learn more about strobing/photography in general I don't want to feel that the extra £50 I saved made me have to upgrade and use the 600 as a slave.
Click to expand...

If funds are limited, that's the way I'd go :thumbs: A good hot-shoe gun can do so much, including working as a studio light. Not ideal in that situation (slow recycle, no modelling light compared to custom studio lights) but perfectly functional - push the ISO or reduce the f/number so you can reduce the power and get faster recycle. Get a cheap Konig stand, shoot-through brolly and RF-602 trigger from Amazon and you're away for £50-60. You've already got a reflector, brilliant - that's all you need to get started. Very often, less is more with lighting ;)

I'm no expert on Nikon guns - post a question in the lighting section here re the different models. Just get the best gun you can afford, it will be your main work-horse and add the cheapy ones later for multi-remote set ups. Get one that does high speed FP sync, second/rear curtain sync (may be a camera function, not sure with Nikon), and as much power as possible - you'll need it for bouncing and HSS work.

And get this book - The Hot Shoe Diaries by Joe McNally, £14 Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hot-Shoe-Di...0141/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309955917&sr=8-1 It's a great read and full of inpsirational strobist images and techniques. You'll be amazed, and he uses Nikon :)
 
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