o4Komodo

iTrader: (2)

Hello all (and happy holidays)!

I've been takings shots with the Canon XT for about a year and a half now, or so... Been using the same kit lens from the day I got the camera.
I do not think that I will upgrade lens just yet as I'm still learning (I don't shoot often nor do I mess around with the camera often). However... I am interested in getting some lighting as all of my shots have been taken at night.

I do not know a whole lot on external lighting so I was hoping some of you could help me with the basics.
I'm also going to be taking an "Introduction To Photography" class for fun--and to help improve my shots.

I've seen a local sale for:
Creative Light Recessed Front Softbox (product # 100802) - it is 1'x4' (30x120cm)
with
Elinchrom-compatible speedring (Creative Light 100830)
I'm most likely going to purchase the set-up as it is relatively inexpensive.

Any of you have a recomendation on what else I should get with the set-up?
Here are some of my shots (all used with the lighting around me):

All of these have been edited [some light editing]







I'm not the greatest in editing either. Here you can see where I messed up the skintones.





This is my shot about a year ago, which is what my shot would sort of come out now (my more recent shots have more color to them)
Before

And what happened after heavy editing.
After

Dan Martin

Nice work on your photos! It's clear you've picked up the hobby and are running with it now.

The softbox is just a light modifier, it doesn't have a light in it. It's really nothing more than a rectangular umbrella structure with two panels of white diffusion fabric that give a nice soft light. A lot of softbox manufacturers design their boxes to be universal, so you need to buy a speed ring adapter to mount the softbox on your strobe. In this case, you'd need to buy an Elinchrom studio strobe to complete the kit.

Most people start out with regular hotshoe flash units and move them off-camera on to light stands with some form of remote trigger. They're much smaller and lighter than a studio strobe and they're battery powered for easy portability. Plus, you can always throw one in your hotshoe and do the on-camera thing for parties and casual shooting.

Studio strobes are much more powerful but they need to be plugged in to 120v. If you're shooting on location, they make big battery packs that use a motorcycle battery and a special type of AC inverter, but those packs are 20+ pounds so they're not the most portable. Their added power comes in handy for shooting cars though because it takes a lot of power to light up one of those big softboxes, or you can shoot from farther away and get more of the landscape in the frame without having to clone out a bunch of lighting equipment.

Before you buy anything, take a read through the Strobist Lighting 101 tutorials to get a better understanding of what off-camera lighting is all about: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

o4Komodo

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the help (and comments)

I was interested in the soft box set up because I thought I could use it outdoors without a 120v power source.

Thanks for the link to that one blog. I've read two pages of it when I first woke up this morning and it's very informative.

With the advice you gave and information from the site...
I think I'll pass on the soft box and invest in a good speed-lite with stands (and maybe umbrella).

Dan Martin

Ya, that's the way I'd recommend going. Keep it simple at first because there's a bit of a learning curve.

If you want to do some more reading on the subject of lighting, you should pick up "Light: Science & Magic" http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/...and+magic%2527
It's best to get your lighting setup first then get the book, because you'll want to try the examples they provide to really understand what's going on. You'll learn a ton in the process though.

o4Komodo

iTrader: (2)

Sweet. I got a $50 gift card from chapters/indigo as well... Looks like I get to use it on somethind I'd actually read.