Reddit mentions: The best photographic strobe lighting

Honestly, I get a lot of compliments on my food photos, but I know I still have a lot to learn. In particular, I usually do a pretty rushed job because I've just finished cooking and now I want to eat! That said:

• Make sure you have lots of light, in particular natural light. My kitchen is good for a few hours during the day, but I installed a daylight bulb in the overhead fixture to make it a little more usable for photography. (Unfortunately, the daylight bulb makes the kitchen look a little too cool in real life!) I also bought a cheap photo tent and a couple of lights on Amazon for when I'm cooking at night.
  
• You want a nice, clean plate. I don't try to get fancy with arranging things — I usually just pile it high in the center of the dish — but I'll wipe down the edges of the plate if I splatter something, and maybe sprinkle on some chopped herbs or grated cheese on top of the dish to give it some visual variety.
  
• I take most of my photos pretty close up. I should really use a macro lens, but I haven't bought one yet. Instead, I use a 35mm lens that can still focus pretty close, and then I crop in even more in Photoshop. Shooting close, especially with a large aperture on the lens (which you can only really control if you have an SLR camera), helps give very selective focus, which almost always looks good in a food shot.
  
• The food I like to cook uses a lot of vegetables and is thus pretty colorful. It's always harder when you're photographing something that's just brown! This is yet another reason to eat your veggies.
  
• Lastly, for the book, everything gets a little boost in Photoshop. Most photos don't look that great out of the camera, but just auto levels (which corrects the exposure) and a +10 to the color saturation helps a lot.

Unanswered (again) question from a previous megathread

Author /u/arguellosergio - (Permalink)

Hi Reddit,

I'm looking into buying lighting equipment to be used in crafting both, studio style portraits, and outdoor portraits/fashion shoots, but need help deciding which way to go...

I have narrowed down my possible purchases to the following:

Option A

1. Neewer Vision5 Studio Strobe I selected this because it is powered by its own battery, making it perfect for outdoor stuff.
   (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WWP2HX1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AAWX4OXQA15SW)
   
   
2. 28" Folding Beauty Dish As I'll be buying all this during an upcoming trip to the US, getting a regular BD wouldn't be convenient for me because of transportation back to my home country.
   (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014EGV2XO/ref=o.x_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ASVCIQHJ3IEV7)
   
   
3. 55" Octabox with Grid
   (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G31O5UQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER)
   
   Option B
   
   
4. 32" Wescott Rapid Box Duo with Deflector Plate I chose this because it would be portable and it would allow me to mount two speedlights instead of one for more power. Also, Wescott is, I believe, a well regarded lighting company. By also getting the Deflector Plate, the octabox effectively becomes a Beauty Dish.
   (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P5FBA54/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AHANP7RK1NKEU)
   
   I am inspired by Luke Fontana's, Emily Soto's, and Joey L's styles of lighting, so more of a one/two light scenario mainly, nothing terribly elaborate. My budget is between $400-$500.
   
   What do y'all think would be the best purchase? Feel free to offer alternatives to the options I posted, though I would love to hear your comments based on the gear I've tentatively selected.
   
   
   

Hi Reddit,

I'm looking into buying lighting equipment to be used in crafting both, studio style portraits, and outdoor portraits/fashion shoots, but need help deciding which way to go...

I have narrowed down my possible purchases to the following:

Option A

1. Neewer Vision5 Studio Strobe I selected this because it is powered by its own battery, making it perfect for outdoor stuff.
   (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WWP2HX1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AAWX4OXQA15SW)
   
   
2. 28" Folding Beauty Dish As I'll be buying all this during an upcoming trip to the US, getting a regular BD wouldn't be convenient for me because of transportation back to my home country.
   (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014EGV2XO/ref=o.x_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ASVCIQHJ3IEV7)
   
   
3. 55" Octabox with Grid
   (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G31O5UQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER)
   
   Option B
   
   
4. 32" Wescott Rapid Box Duo with Deflector Plate I chose this because it would be portable and it would allow me to mount two speedlights instead of one for more power. Also, Wescott is, I believe, a well regarded lighting company. By also getting the Deflector Plate, the octabox effectively becomes a Beauty Dish.
   (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P5FBA54/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AHANP7RK1NKEU)
   
   I am inspired by Luke Fontana's, Emily Soto's, and Joey L's styles of lighting, so more of a one/two light scenario mainly, nothing terribly elaborate. My budget is between $400-$500.
   
   What do y'all think would be the best purchase? Feel free to offer alternatives to the options I posted, though I would love to hear your comments based on the gear I've tentatively selected.
   
   
   

Honestly I would say just do a lot of research. I know you are looking for quick answers but so many things you are asking about are really just personal preference and depend greatly on the details of what you are doing. I'll answer a couple of questions based on what are the best bang for the buck items that those of us in the cash strapped hobby world use.

Questions that are easy to answer:

> Tripod with video camera mount (I'm a real dummy here in that I don't know what's available. Personally, I've got a SLIK PRO 700DX with panhead that's fine for stills but crummy for video work. What should I buy?)

http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-EI717A-Professional-Camera-Tripod/dp/B008AGMNOM/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1425530658&sr=8-12&keywords=fluid+head+tripod

That widely regarded to be one of the best budget fluid heads on the market. Put it on top of a $100 set of legs and you have a really good starting point. Although you may be best off just springing for a complete Manfrotto unit. Which exact one depends on how heavy the camera/lens combo you use. (And if you end up buying a rail system for follow focus ect.)

> Steadycam? (I don't know what you would call this but is there some sort of mount that makes it easier to do handheld video work with a DSLR? I don't know what exists)

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cameras-Photo-/625/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=FOTGA+S-450+PRO&rmvSB=true
Is in my opinion the best bang for the buck steadycam. Do some research again as a huge amount of using one is skill with balancing it and handling it.

Other thoughts: For the budget you have there is no reason to limit yourself to only using DSLRs. You really do limit yourself in a number of ways. (Overheating, audio, 30 min record times, handing) The Sony FS100 is only $2500 for the body and an absolutely great option. You can adapt almost any lens onto it. The Sony native catalog is growing.

Hey all, I'm looking at getting started with monolights for doing portraits (both indoor and outdoor) and whatnot. I really want to go with a traiditonal 3 point lighting setup, and I've been looking at this Neewer kit to get me started and practicing. I like that it has the lights, stands, and modifiers all together for what seems like a pretty reasonable price for the kit. I'm not a pro and at most I might do some freelancing or stuff for friends, so I can't justify higher level, expensive heads right now.

However, there's the issue of power for outdoor stuff. I could make my own battery packs easily enough (I'm fairly handy and pairing an inverter and a battery is simple enough), but I don't actually know how much battery I'd need for all three lights, and the way power draw works on strobes isn't super clear to me (electronics/electrical stuff was never my strongest area in my engineering coursework). Seems like I could probably do a single pack for less than $60 if I shopped around fairly carefully.

I'd love to be able to just have a single, three-outlet pack, and I don't see myself being out in the field long enough to need to be able to do hundreds of shots or anything like that any time soon (I could always just hook up multiple 12v batteries in parallel to give me more pops, anyway), but most of the packs I've seen that aren't insanely expensive (Vagabond Mini, for example) are just two; sure, easy enough to put a power splitter on an outlet, but I don't know if the thing would even produce enough power to support that, or if anything I built with, say, a 300w pure sine inverter would, either.

Obviously just having battery powered heads would make life much simpler, but even the cheapest battery powered heads I'm aware of -- Neewer's Vision 4 monolights -- would end up being around $600 for a similar kit. And of course it's complicated by the fact that I'm not even certain 300w heads would be enough for outdoors.

I could realistically do about $500 for lights + power (I could stretch that up to $600 if necessary), so I have some flexibility, but there's soooo much out there that I'm a bit overwhelmed. I'd greatly appreciate any help.

Edit: Just to note, for now I'm not worried about TTL or HSS.

Gift One- I would love a [table top lighting kit for my photography.] (http://www.amazon.com/Table-studio-lighting-5000K-daylight/dp/B002PNEDFS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=28NLV2YGYH4YR&coliid=I2F8OZQS05MT0C) I keep having to position my lighting box Mcgyver style in order to get any lighting for it and so these would be super helpful OR [the lovely Kindle case] (http://www.amazon.com/MoKo-Paperwhite-Resolution-Lifetime-Warranty/dp/B0083OZHGW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=28NLV2YGYH4YR&coliid=ISS9TYTTUS1CU) that I've been eyeing since I got my Kindle so that I can keep it protected! (Both of these items are my my highest priority wishlist)

Gift Two- If I win gift number two c'mon...gimmie ANYTHING from my speech therapy lists so that I can become a better speech therapist for my patients! I like surprises!

I <3 you both!

Ok, lets start this easy. You defenitley want paper backgrounds. Atleast white, grey and black and any of the wall mounting systems where you can hang more than one. Paper backgrounds in ca. 2,70m x 11m should cost around 50-60 $, so all in all 200$ for the paper and the mounting system.

Next you want flashes and light former. For flashes i would go with something like this :

https://www.amazon.de/Walimex-Newcomer-Studioblitz-Grau-Orange/dp/B01JOAD23I/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1537405734&sr=8-3&keywords=walimex+studioblitz

I dont know if you have the same in the US, but thats the price range you should look into. For the beginning, 3 should be enough. You want 1 strip diffuser, and than some normal softboxes (with addable grids), maybe a beauty dish and i recommend a ringlight as well.

You also need some stands, you cant do much wrong here, get some that cost atleast 50$ so they actually work, get 3 or 4 of them.

You need atleast one transmitter, depending on what flashes you get, they are pretty cheap, like 30-40$ for one.

____

If you have all that, just do a shoot or two and look what you need as well, but thats pretty much it, you should be able to do 99% with it. The biggest part is actually a paper backdrop and a simple flash. You could also use speedlights, they arent as nice to work with, but they also get the job done !

The TT860 units is the most powerfull SPEEDLIGHT they have, but they do have more powerful units available if you want them... they just don't fit on a camera. The TT860 has a LOT of punch for a speedlight, just as much as most OEM flashes if not a bit more. You SURE you need more light? OK here goes:

For example there is the AD200. You need an external trigger (like the Godox X1T) to trigger it, but it packs more punch then a speedlight. You will need a light stand or an assistant to hold this, so it may not be practical for nightclub use.

For a REALLY big punch you can get one of their studio flashes like the QT1200 II or the smaller QT600 II. These definitely require light stands or an assistant or maybe both. They are big and heavy and if you use a light modifier with them they will be gigantic. They are intended for use in a dedicated photo studio and are usually plugged in to the wall for power, but you can use them with optional external battery packs.

All the current-generation Godox flashes are compatible when it comes to wireless triggering (for TTL and HSS you need to get ones compatible with your camera. The studio ones will do TTL/HSS for all the systems which is nice), so if you can get one or two things to start (like a speedlight and a transmitter) and add more as you need them. I have two TT685s flashes and an X1S transmitter. It's never been insufficient for me. A little flash can go a LONG way, especially if your ISO is up a bit.

• Oil blotting paper! Makes a HUGE difference in reducing "shine"- I tend to pass them out before the formal photographs or especially if I'm pulling the B&G from sweaty dance floor to nighttime portraits with flash/videolight. Saves a LOT of time in post. I use these ones
  
  
• Flashes with built-in rechargeable lithium batteries and wireless receiver. Simplified a LOT for me, from prep time to setup. I love my Godox v850ii flashes!! (and because Godox is making all their stuff 100% compatible, I added a AD200 and AD600BM- both with built-in receivers- to my kit and thy all work perfectly together with one trigger on camera. Boom!)
  
  
• Manfrotto nano stands. I love my big honkin' Cheetahstands, but sometimes it's hard to fit them in a getting ready room or small venue- or take to an engagement session where we're hiking a long ways. So in those cases, I bring my fold-up Manfrotto mini stands. Perfect for holding a speedlight I intend to bounce.. and the "footprint" can be as small as 1ft! I put it right up against a corner or a table and it's out of any foot traffic.

/u/aflocka - if you can stretch your budget by $106, here's what I recommend for docs:

Camera

• [JVC GY-LS300 4K Super 35 camcorder with built-in XLRs, built-in NDs and 4K/60 output (manufacturer refurbished, with a 3 year factory warranty from JVC authorized dealer G&G technologies) - $1995] (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575034783&toolid=10001&campid=5337235943&customid=&icep_item=152314309470&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg)
  
  
• [4K/60p Atomos Ninja Inferno with extra batteries, magic arm and HDMI cable - $995] (https://www.amazon.com/Inferno-Recording-Monitor-Battery-Articulating/dp/B071F7QCPC//ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=battleforthew-20) (with the Ninja, you can record to 4K/60p Avid DNxHR, which is compatible with most Windows editing programs)
  
  
• [Kipon Baveyes Ultra 0.7x Canon EF to MFT focal reducer/adapter - $298] (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575034783&toolid=10001&campid=5337235943&customid=&icep_item=401218684268&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg) ([here] (https://youtu.be/lNW7UHluT20) is the 4K low light performance this camera/adapter setup can produce with Canon mount glass)
  
  Here is the more general 4K (and 1080p) image quality the LS300 can produce for documentaries, narrative, travel, wedding and slo-mo (please watch at 2160p and your monitor's highest resolution):
  
  Corporate/Documentary/Interview
  
  
• [Red-Wood by R2 Visuals] (https://vimeo.com/231952598) (1080p)
  
  
• [JVC LS300 Footage by samuel ortega] (https://youtu.be/PRwKL3tTLdo) (1080p)
  
  
• [Breathing In New Life by Matthew Allard ACS] (https://vimeo.com/120445118) (1080p)
  
  
• [Chicago Mosaic School by Fred Blurton Productions] (https://youtu.be/GzqEZzBBAzc) (2160p)
  
  
• [Large Format Photography - Shot on the JVC LS300 by Mattias Burling] (https://youtu.be/akzKKpr9PGA) (1440p)
  
  
• [Expo 2015 Padiglione Cina 4K JVC GY-LS300CHE by KenwoodCommunity] (https://youtu.be/rGw_0-SCPWU) (2160p)
  
  
• [KW Realty Group Experience, Anniston, Alabama by Barrett House Productions] (https://youtu.be/5fSgXSCEg9M) (1080p - audio recorded with the Azden-SGM250)
  
  
• [Indian Oaks Event Center Community Golf Course by Barrett House Productions] (https://youtu.be/CLBbyXualSs) (1080p - audio recorded with the Azden-SGM250)
  
  Short Film
  
  
• [UrbEx by Filippo Chiesa] (https://vimeo.com/200431612) (4K)
  
  Travel/Vlog
  
  
• [Japanese garden on the JVC GY LS300 by NOA NOA] (https://vimeo.com/210444350) (4K)
  
  
• [GY-LS300 4K J-Log1 "KYOTO New Year's Day" by GAIPROMOTION] (https://youtu.be/efJrfawjVw0) (2160p)
  
  
• [Slices of Tokyo in 4k (UHD) #7Days7Minutes (2016-03-14) by DarcNoodles] (https://youtu.be/VeNUcd7rmso) (2160p)
  
  
• [Bad Teinach-Zavelstein in 4K Ultra-HD by Gert Tetzner | avmediafactory] (https://vimeo.com/169087127) (4K)
  
  
• [GY LS300E Granada by Econsumo Ecarmona] (https://youtu.be/-Y6SM7B0p-4) (2160p)
  
  Wedding
  
  
• [4K Ultra HD Wedding Film - Kassandra & Ralph's Photo Shoot by Jim Merchant] (https://youtu.be/d4pILlMyFEM) (2160p)
  
  
• [Kristin & Doug's Wedding at Glen Magna Farms 4K Ultra-HD Wedding by Jim Merchant] (https://youtu.be/GdKBKd5_e2Q) (2160p - shot with LS300 and Sony AX100)
  
  Slow Motion
  
  
• [TEST Slowmotion (120 FPS) /J-log JVC GY - LS300 by Carlos Pascual Bracamonte] (https://youtu.be/aFboXo3s1JM) (1080p)
  
  
• [Songkhla Drag Party 2016 Shot with JVC LS 300 by neuvas] (https://youtu.be/VtUfjPwEbUw) (1080p)
  
  
• [GY LS300 120P SLOW MOTION by T Koba] (https://youtu.be/ufRbB61L_pU) (1080p)
  
  Lenses
  
  You're all set.
  
  Tripod
  
  
• [3Pod Orbit Carbon Fiber Tripod with the Q3 Fluid Head - $289.95] (https://www.amazon.com/3Pod-Orbit-Tripod-Cameras-Extension/dp/B01AX7X45M//ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=battleforthew-20)
  
  This tripod/head combination has a 15 lb. payload capacity and is a very good value for your money.
  
  A couple of pretty thorough reviews [here] (https://youtu.be/jbKKEU3pACw) and [here] (https://youtu.be/TvGLT4VdF3Q).
  
  Audio
  
  
• [Azden SGM-250 shotgun mic - $229] (https://www.amazon.com/Azden-SGM-250-Professional-Powered-Microphone/dp/B00XWG2YBW//ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=battleforthew-20)
  
  Lighting
  
  
• [Dracast DR-INTK-BV 3 light interview kit - $1299] (https://www.amazon.com/Dracast-DR-INTK-BV-Interview-LED500BV-LED160B/dp/B00U3LI7UG//ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=battleforthew-20)
  
  Bottom Line
  
  The JVC LS300 is the least expensive 4K/60p large sensor, interchangeable lens pro camcorder you can buy. It has the built-in NDs the GH5 lacks (and a LOG color profile is included - Panasonic makes you pay an extra $99.97 for V-LOG) - plus, it has all of the C100's pro camcorder features (sadly, the C100 is limited to 1080p and is not a good investment in 2017).
  
  With the LS300's built-in XLR inputs, there is no need for the cost or hassle of external sound recorders or preamps.
  
  With its built-in ND filters, you can avoid costly matte boxes or the hassle of screw-on NDs.
  
  For a little more than $5K, this setup is a very good value for your money.
  
  Hope this is helpful and good luck with your grant application!
  

Hello /r/Photography!

I wonder if I can turn to some professionals and camera enthusiasts for some assistance..

I am primarily a retoucher, I have been retouching for over 5 years but I have always had a problem with getting the rights to show the before and after images so I decided to get a professional camera and get into photography myself.
if you are interested my portfolio can be found here: http://www.lulielens.com

Since I have been looking at images for a long time I already know what kind of look and style I would like to get, but I am completely clueless on the topic of camera gear and equipment (though I am looking to change this).

First here are some example images I like in terms of lighting:

Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5


Here is my semi-final list. Could you equipment pros let me know if they will work properly together, or if I missed anything else you think I might need (to start with).

I have a Canon 5d mark ii with a 100mm/2.8f lens.

1. Cactus V5 Wireless Flash Trigger (2 Pack + a single for 3 total)
   
   
   
2. Reflectors - 5 in 1 Translucent, Silver, Gold, White, and Black Collapsible Round Multi Disc Light Reflector 32 INCH
   
   
   
3. Tripod - Sirui ET-1004 Aluminum Tripod with E-10 Ball Head
   
   
   
4. beauty dish option: Pro Studio Solutions EZ-Pro 32in (80cm) Beauty Dish and Softbox Combination w/ Hensel Speedring - Soft Collapsible Beauty Dish with Speedring for Bayonet Mountable Strobe, Flash and Monolights
   
   
   
5. 2x ProMaster PL400 Advanced LCD Control Studio Monolight
   
   
   
6. 250W Replacement Modeling Lamp
   
   
   
7. 2x Promaster SystemPro LS-2 Deluxe Light Stand
   
   Thank you for taking the time to help!
   
   
   

Hello. I'm not sure where to ask this so I'll just do it here hoping someone can help me out.
I'm brand new to flash photography so I'm sorry for the noobie questions but here it is. I've recently bought this kit from amazon for photoshoots inside a warehouse (for now). It came with 1 transmitter / receiver. It took me a while to find out that to be able to sync the 3 strobe lights, I had to make them face each other so that the sensor on the back would sync and trigger all of them. I was able to get the transmitter / receiver to work with 1 of the strobe lights but I would want to be able to do the same thing for all 3, have all 3 strobe lights in sync without any cables or sensors. Would this item be good enough for that purpose? Does the 3 receivers mean I can connect 1 to each of the strobe lights meaning I'm wirelessly synced to all 3 of my strobe lights?

Also, another question is, I noticed I can only go up to 1/200 when taking a picture and at a higher f-stop. What can I do so that I can take a picture at 1.8f so that the background is blurry yet lit at the same time. I'm looking to take similar pictures like this one

Any help is much appreciated!

What can I do with my mini optical slave flash? What’s the best way to set it up?

I recently had a little leftover bit of balance on an Amazon gift card I received for Christmas, so I decided to experiment and learn about flash and bought this mini dome wide slave flash from Impact. It was compact, cheap, and since I tend to shoot a lot of portraits with my Fuji X100s, I figured it could be useful.

After I received it, I started playing around with it, but quickly realized that even this simple thing has more of a learning curve than I imagined. What would be the best way to set this light up? Putting it above the camera doesn’t always seem to work, and putting it to the side is tricky. I have to use the flash on the X100s to set it off, so my instincts tell me it needs to be in front of the camera, but I don’t want the light from it bouncing back towards me. Any ideas to help a noob strobist out here, either with placement, or diffusion? Thanks!

I'm right there with you. I love CLS - when it works, which isn't nearly as often as I'd like.

Buy three PocketWizard Plus IIs, $170 each on Amazon. You'll need three for your existng setup, and unfortunately that'll put you at $500, which is just outside of your budget. However, these things last forever, and work with distances you wouldn't believe. (Up to a quarter-mile. Yes, really.) You may be able to stay under budget if you find them used - they can regularly be found on eBay and Craig's List for about $25-50 under their retail price. If you just can't afford them, you may be served by some alternate brands (or eBay knock offs), but my instructions below assume you're using PocketWizards.

Set your flashes to manual mode, set all your PocketWizards to the same channel, and set the transmit mode on each of them to "both".

Now, mount one PocketWizard on your D300's hotshoe. Forget your D200; the D300's image quality and noise performance are superior in all ways. Attach the other two PocketWizards to each of your flashes, respectively. The PocketWizards already come with the cables you need, and both your SB-800 and SB-900 have a PC sync port to make use of them. Use the port labeled "flash", not the one labelled "camera/flash". (The latter port is for triggering a camera with your pocketwizard, or for triggering the pocketwizard's send mode using the port instead of the hotshoe.)

Use a meter if you've got one, or just guess at your lighting levels and check your exposures and histograms to confirm good exposure. Try bouncing your flashes off surfaces that won't appear in the shot, for more diffuse lighting.

To answer your other question, yes; you can use pocketwizards with almost any strobe, so long as it's got a PC sync port. Many studio strobes don't, but they usually have either a 1/4" or 1/8" port that will do the job, with the right cable/adapter. (Protip: Don't spend big bucks on PocketWizard-branded cables; a $5 1/8" to 1/4" mono audio adapter from Radioshack will do the job.) For shoe-mounted flashes that lack a PC sync port, buy a hot shoe adapter with a PC sync port for about $10, and you can use them with almost any shoe-based flash on the market. You're already in manual mode with PocketWizards anyway, so why spend big bucks on your extra flashes?

Feel free to respond here if you've got any other questions on general PocketWizard use.

Okay, going to give you 3 gear lists, one with AC powered strobes, one with speed lights, and one with a wireless mini strobe.

AC powered strobes

https://www.amazon.com/Godox-Monolight-Wireless-Photography-Lighting/dp/B075HBCTYY x2 - These are your strobes - $238

https://www.amazon.com/Godox-X1T-C-Wireless-Transmitter-Camera/dp/B01DU5L7VC - Wireless transmitter, this is what fires your strobes - $46

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WGNSTE - x2 - Light Stands - $48

https://www.amazon.com/Godox-Portable-Collapsible-Speedring-Speedlite/dp/B01M5KA29C - Softbox and speed ring - $76

For a Grand Total of $408

This is a 2 light setup capable of lighting everything from a single baby to a group of people with two large softboxes for nice soft light, but cannot be used without a power outlet

Speedlight setup

https://www.amazon.com/Godox-Wireless-Speedlite-Transmitter-2xDiffuer/dp/B019MQE7R4/ - Godox TT600 Speedlights and trigger - $176

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WGNSTE - x2 - Light Stands - $48

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Collapsible-centimeters-Speedlite-Photography/dp/B075XJ8WTT x 2 - Bracket and softbox (not as big as the ones with the strobes because this is supposed to be a more portable kit) - $66

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-K-KJ17MZ104A-eneloop-Advanced-Battery/dp/B00N05RL22 - Batteries and charger - $39

Total cost $329 for a 2 speedlight kit that is super portable and rechargeable batteries and a charger. Downside to this kit is it is less power, that will be fine for inside for most things, but can easily have other things added to it as she needs more, You could add a single Studio strobe from above and use the speedlights with it, or add in more speedlights, or other lights

Mini Strobe setup

https://www.amazon.com/Godox-Speedlite-Wireless-Transmitter-MicroFiber/dp/B06WWKDYT7/ - AD200 (same power as 3 speedlights in 1 light with trigger $345

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WGNSTE - Light stand - $24

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Multifunctional-Speedlite-Carrying-Photography/dp/B00IM3W8L6 - Softbox and bracket - $42

This kit comes to $411. The upside to this kit is you get a lot of power in a single light, that is super portable and runs off a battery pack. This is my on location setup, I take a single light and a single modifier and use it for 80% of my shoots, add in a reflector and I can do 90% of my shoots. And almost 100% of on location ones. The speed lights just don't have enough power in the sun, but this does.



Now with all of that said, you can mix and match any of the Godox 2.4 ghz wireless stuff and use the same trigger for all of it. So You could have 1 studio strobe 2 speedlights and an AD200, and the same trigger will work for all of it. Starting out I used speedlights for over a year till I moved up to my AD200, and soon will move up to even more power, but can still do most of my shoots with just speedlights if i needed to.

HUGE recommend http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-EI717A-Professional-Camera-Tripod/dp/B008AGMNOM?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

It's pretty basic.. but for the price I'm a BIG fan. Well built.. super smooth.. check out videos on youtube. This thing is $70. This is a US amazon.. but I'm sure you can find it in Canada..

This is SO HELPFUL, thank you!

So based on all the advice here, I've pretty drastically changed my proposed set up. I'm now thinking of getting:

• 107" seamless white backdrop
  
  
• this kit with two strobe softboxes
  
  
• this hair light (softbox on boom)
  
  
• some sort of additional light to point at the background (I'll probably go for a cheap continuous light on this one)
  
  That will run me roughly $500.
  
  I would love to get some sort of portable light, for having some additional light for shooting on location (I'm not able to plug in anything on location), but it looks like that will run several hundred dollars, at minimum, is that right?
  

You basically have a choice, spend $50 for a Wein Safe Sync, or put that money towards a third-party flash, like a Yongnuo, and likely gain TTL ability as well.

Best way would be a Cactus receiver on each flash triggered by transmitter on the camera's hotshoe. Should work for both.

If you just have one receiver, put it on the Sunpak. Or I guess you could use the Sunpak on camera. According to this site it has a low/safe trigger voltage. If you're still dubious about voltage safety, you can make it safe with something like this.

The SB-900 can then be optically slaved to the Sunpak using the SU-4 mode.

Hello, I am a high school senior who has booked three weddings for 2018 and I really want to step my reception lighting up from just one speedlite. I was thinking of getting two AD200's and set them up at 45 degree angles facing the dance floor.

https://www.amazon.com/Godox-AD200-Cordless-Monolight-Speedlite/dp/B06X1FBC3F/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1521424897&sr=8-3&keywords=ad200

What would I use as a fill light? Would I use this adapter and then put a speedlite on top of that for a fill?
https://www.amazon.com/Godox-Wireless-Single-Transmitter-Camera/dp/B01E58Z9ZS/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1521424946&sr=1-3&keywords=godox+trigger+canon

Thank you for helping me. I just am unaware of how the best way to shoot a reception is.

I use this head. It's not absolutely fantastic, but its a good budget option. Are your legs good?

http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-EI717A-Professional-Camera-Tripod/dp/B008AGMNOM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1425696794&sr=8-5&keywords=tripod+head

And this is what I meant with rack focus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS_SBklnzFE

I just purchased 5 triggers, 2 stands, 2 umbrella mounts, and 2 Brollyboxes they look like the softlighter mentioned below. I spent about 145 total. I played with it earlier today these are straight out of the camera, if that isn't obvious hahaha.

Hey this is all "Free super saver shipping" because shipping sucks.

• Triggers X2
  
  
• Optical trigger just for shits n giggles
  
  
• Strobe mounts
  
  
• Brolly Boxes
  
  
• Light Stands

Does anyone have any recommendations for budget strobe lights? I'd prefer not to pay over $125 for one unit. This seems to be the best reviewed one I can find for the price range on amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E5L7LO8/

Or is it worth saving up a little extra to get an alien bees 400?

I'm not sure if it matters, but I'll be mainly shooting flatlays and product shots, and I'll be using it in conjunction with a large umbrella.

Hemming and hawing*

I really like my first set

I use this one. I like it.

> Neewer® 600W Photo Studio Monolight kit

Oh, I was looking at this link which is wrong I think.

This link seems like it is what OP is describing, and is a much better deal (in line with the Yongnuo speedlites).

you mean this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Cowboystudio-SYK-3-Optical-Slave-Trigger/dp/B00357PCVC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412566049&sr=8-1&keywords=slave+trigger

AD600 is $550

Godox AD600BM Bowens Mount 600Ws GN87 High Speed Sync Outdoor Flash Strobe Light with 2.4G Wireless X System, 8700mAh Battery to Provide 500 Full Power Flashes Recycle in 0.01-2.5 Second https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B2OLY7U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JUgVCbSARWTWE

Nobody who has used a semi-auto assault style rifle fitted with a bump-stock would pretend that they have any accuracy. They’re little better than a garden hose provided, of course, that a garden hose sprayed lead. If you’re a sick bastard spraying indiscrinately into a crowd, or just looking to piss away money shooting abandoned cars in the Anza-Borego I guess that they have a perverse value. As far as self-defense for a disabled person I think that they're better off with a remote activated battery powered monolight. Can’t be used against you, easy to keep the remote around your neck, and ain’t nobody going to bother you with a huge white blaze of blindness in place of their eyes.