PhotoWalkPro

I really love my Lastolite Hot Shoe Ezy-box for portable lighting scenarios.  It creates a beautiful, soft light using just an off-camera flash like the Nikon SB-600 or 900.  The only problem is that it can be a little pricey at about $154 for the 24×24 version, especially for the beginner that wants to experiment with using off-camera flash but doesn’t want to spend a fortune.  This doesn’t mean that there aren’t solutions available for a lot less money.  Consider the basic shoot-thru umbrella.  For a relatively small investment you can have an incredibly portable and beautiful light source for great on-location portraits.  Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to start shooting with your flash off-camera.

The Gear -

The first order of business is the umbrella.  You can drop a lot of cash on umbrellas but to get all the functionality you will need, you only need to spend about $30.  I use a Photoflex convertible umbrella that has a black covering for shooting with the umbrella in a reflective mode.  The black backing quickly removes for shooting through the translucent white interior.  The other nice thing about this umbrella is that you can leave the black backing partially attached to act as a gobo, or light blocker, for controlling the light.

The second little piece of gear  you will need is a simple Shoe Mount Multiclamp.  This clamp serves three purposes.  First, it allows you to attach your hot shoe mounted flash to your light stand.  Second, it also lets you add your umbrella to the stand and adjust the distance of the umbrella to the flash.  The third, and what I believe is the most important function of the clamp is the ability it gives you to angle your light towards your subject.  This means that you can place your light at any height and be assured that it will throw the light in the direction that you want.  You can usually find these highly useful clamps for less than $20.

The other main component for the off camera lighting system is the light stand.  You can use pretty much any light stand you want but I prefer to use a 10′ stand.  I find it just gives me more options, especially if I want to place the light up high.  The average light stand is only about 7′ tall so having 3 extra feet is worth the few extra dollars.

How you trip your flash unit will depend greatly on what type of camera and flash system you have.  If you are using one of the latest Nikon cameras that has a pop-up flash, there is a good chance that it will act as a commander for your off-camera flash.  Canon has just come out with this same feature on their 7D.  Other wireless options include using a wireless IR adapter like Canon’s STE2 or Nikon’s SU-800 speedlight commander.  These are not cheap options though as each costs between $215 to $250 respectively.

Another option is the use of a transceiver like the Pocket Wizard.  The Pocket Wizard has been a staple of the studio and location photographer for years.  Because it uses RF (radio frequency) instead of IR (infrared), it can work without a line of sight.  The problem once again is the price.  At about $350 for a pair, it’s not exactly what I would call a budget solution.

If you are looking for a very inexpensive wireless solution you could check out the Opteka OP-4C.  I haven’t used one before but it appears to be a very simple 4-channel wireless transmitter/receiver for hot shoe flash systems.  The system will not work in TTL mode and the range is not nearly as great as a Pocket Wizard but it should work from close in distances and is a real bargain at about $30.

Your least expensive option would be to use a sync cord from your camera to the flash.  You will need to consult your camera manual to determine whether or not your camera has a sync cord plug.  If not, you will need to get an adapter that fits in your hot shoe and allows you to plug in the sync cord and trip the flash.

Wrap Up -

The bottom line is that for around $90 you can get some pretty professional looking results from your simple camera flash gun and an umbrella.  If you want even more information on how to improve the look of your images by using an off camera flash system, check out the Strobist website.  Specifically, you should read the Lighting 101 page to get up to speed on all the gear and techniques needed to achieve great results.

Related posts:

1. The SB-800 Flash – Get Them If You Can
2. A New Edition to My Camera Family – The Lumix LX3
3. Inside My Camera Backpack
4. I want to buy a DSLR, which camera should I buy?
5. Elinchrom Takes Things Up a Notch

This entry was posted on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 12:02 am and is filed under Camera Gear, Portraits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.