Help Help Help what should I do??????????????

[oran]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this photography thing and love it so much. I have a canon 20d with a 580ex as my master with a 430ex shotting into an umbrella with a reflector on the other side for fill. I like to ease of being protable. I would let to but something in the place of the reflectore because I DON'T aways have someone to hold it, my son is 5 and it just dosn't work out. I was thinking and getting a canon transmitter for on top of the camera and putting the 580 on a stand or getting a portable strobe to shot into a soft box or another umbrella i'm so confused can anyone give me some ideas please.

[Longwatcher]

I recommend first getting a light stand with a flash mount and umbrella holder. this will allow you to use your 340ex with an umbrella easily.

BH has a few
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=3536

Then if that doesn't work then go one of two ways.
1. Get a transmitter, second light stand w/mount/holder and move your 580 to this.

or
2. Decide to get studio lighting, in which case I recommend looking at Alien Bees kits.

http://www.alienbees.com/packages.html

The best is a combination of digibee and background bee kits, but the digibee by itself would be my minimum starting recomendation.

Just my opinion,

[oran]

If I go with alienbee kit and still used my 580ex on the camera as a transmitter will the 580ex madter transmit to the scrobe to fire flash??????

[Jon]

The 580's wireless only works with other EX strobes. If you were to use the 580 in M mode, there wouldn't be a pre-flash so you could use normal optical slaves to fire the Bees.