Outdoor Lighting Suggestions

NOJ75

NOJ75

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Jon
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Hi guys,

As many of you know what you are doing on here (a lot more than me anyway) what kit would you suggest for outdoor lighting for a beginner?
i.e I would like to take some kit that is easily portable (able to carry?), ease to use but gives good light in a given situation.

Any recommendations on an ideal little "must have"?

Thanks very much in advance.

Jon
 
To me, portable = strobes/flashguns and not heads with batteries... The usual suggestion for that is to check out the Strobist blog and look at David's equipment suggestions.
A strobe, light stand & adapters, reflector plus radio triggers will cover the basics - then you have lots of choice on what light modifier to go for (simplest choices are reflective or shoot-thru brolly or if you have some more cash, a softbox).
 
Thanks Pete. I have a 4 light strobe studio with a number of umbrellas, 2 large soft boxes and two reflectors.
I thought that maybe the reflectors, a decent flash with one of those mini softboxes attached to it?

Or is that not a good call?
 
It's mainly portraiture outside. My wife is getting into it. If she is asked to shoot outside lighting would obviously make for a better photo.
 
NOJ75 said:
It's mainly portraiture outside. My wife is getting into it. If she is asked to shoot outside lighting would obviously make for a better photo.
Click to expand...


For portability I think a shoot through umbrella is the way to go, westcott make a 43 inch colapsable that will fit in a large pocket. You don't have to worry about the light bouncing out the back as much when outdoors and a shoot through gets your light closer to the subject.

Team that up with an umbrella bracket that will take a hotshoe flash on top and a small stand and you have the option of using the flash with or without umbrella.

BUT if its often windy where you are a softbox might be a better option.

I prefer radio triggers for off camera flash and you can pick up decent ones cheaper if you don't want TTL for control. Pocket wizard do full TTL radios now, but you might not need that anyway. Of course a speedlight on the camera can trigger your off camera flash and this works well if you want a bit of fill from the camera position.

If you need more power that the nikon/canon speedlights offer, quantum make some good gear, I like the T5D-R for OCF.

A decent reflector and a diffuser is also really handy. My favourite is the lastolite tri-grips because you can even hold with one hand and shoot with the other in a pinch.
 
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NOJ75 said:
Thanks Pete. I have a 4 light strobe studio with a number of umbrellas, 2 large soft boxes and two reflectors.
Click to expand...

Ha! I misjudged that reply then! Sorry, I'm using the iPhone app and it's sometimes hard to gauge someone's experience without the extra user info the web forum gives.

Outdoor needs similar kit to indoor but maybe fewer lights (for portability), speedlites instead of strobe heads (lighter & takes batteries) and radio triggers instead of cables (if that's what you use).
Sounds like you've got most of the kit you'd want already so it might be best if you test some of it outside?
 
Thanks guys. I am going to have to get a decent off camera flash and radio trigger. Sounds like the way ahead to me.
Can you point me to a reasonably priced one that could do the job. There are so many I get confused :)
 
For my outdoor/location work I use Canon 580s with RF-604 triggers and have an assortment of portable light boxes, brollies and reflector. I can fire multiple flash units at the same time (no E-TTL, manual Only) and the system works very well. Very light and portable. The triggers I use are very reliable and headly miss a beat plus will give me the range I need.
 
Thank you for that :)

What's E-TTL?
 
Big brollies in the slightest of breezes cost lots of money in repairs. Luckily my former employer picked up the bill!

Note to self: No brollies on windy days!!!

LOL
 
garryg163 said:
Big brollies in the slightest of breezes cost lots of money in repairs. Luckily my former employer picked up the bill!

Note to self: No brollies on windy days!!!

LOL
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Lol. Too bad for me I don't get paid for it. Just a serious hobby at the moment that is consuming mine and my wife's lives more each day (and the bank balance) :)
 
If you are completely comfortable with manual ONLY flash I can recommend the Yongnuo YN-460 II. Great versatility in power and quick recycle times. Only downfall is it doesn't have a zoom function. Not a swinger for me as you can use a mod to restrict the flash spread. Approximate £40 from eBay.
 
Docj0nes said:
If you are completely comfortable with manual ONLY flash I can recommend the Yongnuo YN-460 II. Great versatility in power and quick recycle times. Only downfall is it doesn't have a zoom function. Not a swinger for me as you can use a mod to restrict the flash spread. Approximate £40 from eBay.
Click to expand...

+1
 
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