Umbrella Kit
A look at what is currently available on eBay
Are speedlite umbrella kits worth it?
I don't have real studio lights yet, but I am planning on buying them later this year. I have been shooting with models and portraits. I own one speedlite right now that I shoot off camera with the Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 and I sometimes borrow my roommates speedlite to fire on camera. He is purchasing a PW Flex TT5 so I could shoot both speedlites off camera. I am wondering if the speedlite umbrella and stand kits sold at camera stores are a worthy investment to get even softer, more even light. I plan on buying my own second speedlite as well so I don't have to borrow equipment and I am trying to look for the best solutions. My thought is the speedlite solution is much more portable for taking shots in nature and on trips. Please let me know if you think the umbrella kits are a worthy investment?
Thanks in advance.
Yes definitely - all my lighting is currently speedlight based & I do both studio & location shooting. I use Nikon SB units and Yongnuo flashes, all controlled with RF-602's.
Yongnuo's are excellent fully manually adjustable speedlight costing around £40 on eBay. RF-602's are around £46 for 1 transmitter & 2 receivers.
It's not expensive to add umbrellas/softboxes to your kit. Lightstands are around £11 each and a 'brolly bracket' or umbrella hotshoe adapter is around £15. This fits your speedlight to a lightstand and has a hole for an umbrella. An umbrella will cost you from £15 to around £25 depending on size. I have a 32" shoot through and a 60" combination shoot through/reflective.
An Ezyfold softbox will set you back about £43.
The only thing I would say is that softboxes & umbrellas act like sails outdoors on windy days so make sure you weight down lightstands or have an assistant (VAL - vocie activated lightstand, lol!) around.
Here's some sample shots;
24" softbox cam right
http://www.flickr.com/photos/deepbluephotography/4299561477/in/set-72157605751543769/
24" softbox cam Left, 60" umbrella cam right;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/deepbluephotography/4300561876/in/set-72157605751543769/
Edit: The Rogus Flash Benders mentinoed below won't give you a very soft light source. The softness of the light depends on its size relative to the subject - the bigger the source the softer the light. A 10"x7" reflector won't give you any softness as you're not shooting through a diffusion panel.
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February 7th, 2006 in
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