Portable Flash Portraits

[604Shooter]

I've always been interested in doing portraits but I dont have the money for studio style lights. I've been looking at silver umbrellas for my two flashes, do you think that this would produce quality light for portraits.

and if possible could you post examples of portraits with a similar style setup?

Thanks
Nate

[poloman]

It wouldn't hurt though then you'll start investing in stands etc. etc. etc. At that point, I think you might be better off with studio lights.
One very inexpensive thing that can make a huge difference in you work outdoors during the day is a reflector or two. You can even use a piece of foam board or white cardboard.

[604Shooter]

my only problem with getting studio strobes is that they very portable and also they always need a large power source.

[poloman]

A pair of Alien Bee strobes with the vagabond power supply isn't very much to carry. Unless your climbing a mountain.:)

[604Shooter]

When a power pack is introduced in addition to 2 strobes it gets alittle pricey for me considering im 16 and have no job

[bieber]

Just go the Strobist (http://www.strobist.com) way; multiple small strobes with Pocket Wizards on light stands, with umbrellas and such

[FlashZebra]

What two flash units do you already have (make and model)?

That is where we need to start.

Enjoy! Lon

[604Shooter]

I have a sunpak 383 and a very old sunpak auto 26dx, im considering buying a newer flash to replace the old 26dx. I've been very consistently reading the strobist blog for the past year, and that is were my idea for the umbrellas came from but im concerned about having enough power and a good enough quality(softness) of light to take good indoor and outdoor portraits.

[FlashZebra]

For off camera manual flash the 383 is a great start.

I am not familiar with the 26dx. Is there any sort of sync port and can you set manual power levels? Does it have about the same power as the 383?

I am just trying to understand what you have in order to formulate a reasonable approach.

Does your 26DX look like this on the back, with manual power levels:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sunpak-Auto-26DX-flash-with-module-for-Olympus-cameras_W0QQitemZ260133428777QQihZ016QQcategoryZ48 549QQcmdZViewItem

If so you are in good shape.

You will need (the low cost approach):

A couple of umbrella adapters (also called umbrella swivels)
You can start out using a couple of your tripods as lightstands, later you can get a couple of real light stands.
A couple of white umbrellas (for pics of humans, white is likely better than silver)
A PC based optical slave for the 383 (to plug into the short cord that comes with the 383(
A hotshoe to sync adapter for the Sunpak 26DX (if it does not have a sync port)
A 5M or 15 foot cord to run from your camera to the hotshoe sync adapter on the 26DX
A camera hotshoe to PC adapter for you 350XT so you can plug in a sync cord.

With careful shopping you should be able to get all this for about $125.00 or so.

Enjoy! Lon

[604Shooter]

thats exactly what i have, except for mine is for canon( the one on ebay) and there are no sync ports. currently im just using an optical trigger for that and an ebay wireless trigger for the 383.also i think the guide number is 120

also remember that im on a pretty tight budget right now( like $250-300 maximum)

[FlashZebra]

thats exactly what i have, except for mine is for canon( the one on ebay) and there are no sync ports. currently im just using an optical trigger for that and an ebay wireless trigger for the 383.also i think the guide number is 120
Well it looks like you are set except for a couple of umbrella adapters, and a couple of umbrellas.

This should be about $75.00 or so.

Enjoy! Lon

[604Shooter]

Well the order i had planned out was:

2xImpact umbrella adapters
2xImpact 8' Light stands
2xWescott soft silver 45" umbrellas

TOTAL=$137

Do you think that white umbrellas will provide enough light for outdoor portraits?

Also do you think that they should be shoot throughs or bounce umbrellas

[Tareq]

Why don't you buy Alienbees, and about power, use AC plugs, no need for power packs for a while unless you go outdoor or on location for shooting.

[604Shooter]

The thing is that i want to go outdoors and on location, so then the alien bees get too expensive.

[Tareq]

The thing is that i want to go outdoors and on location, so then the alien bees get too expensive.

I see.
Get 2x 580EX then and you will be all done.

[604Shooter]

if you read earilier in the thread Tareq you would have seen that i already have 2 flashes and im looking for the best diffusion for them. Sorry if you were confused.

[dan_cam]

The 2 umbrellas, stands, etc that you mentioned should do what you need just fine. If you've already got the setup to trigger the flashes, then no problem.

I'd recommend not getting translucent umbrellas as you'll lose some flash power, which sounds like a concern. You also may like to experiment with diffusing the flash (although this will slightly reduce light also) if you're looking for softer light. I believe that you can get umbrellas that convert between translucent and fully reflective, so that may be an option if you're worried about it.

You don't want light to be too soft for portraits anyway. If you eliminate shadows, the model won't look quite right. The idea is to keep shadows, but use the second flash to bring up the detail in the shadows.

If you don't have a way of triggering the flashes off camera, for wireless on the cheap, I settled on getting an ebay transmitter and receiver and then using a Wein peanut to trigger the 2nd flash.

[Tony-S]

My friend, I have you covered. :)

You have the exact flash that I do; the wonderful Sunpak Auto 26DX. It sounds to me like you have one of the old auto shoe modules, such as those sold for the A-series of Canon film cameras (A-1, AE-1, etc.). This module does not have a sync port on it, but it is easily removed and can be replaced with the STD-1D module (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/52878-REG/Sunpak_1042_STD_1D_Dedicated_Module.html) (US$22) which comes with a sync port and a 6" coiled PC to mini-plug adapter. You also need a PC extension cord, and I use the Sunpak 15' (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/52945-REG/Sunpak_1794_PC_Male_to_PC.html) one ($10). Finally, with the Rebel XT you need to add a PC connector, and I think this one (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/89979-REG/Hama_HA6951_Hot_Shoe_Adapter_1.html) ($15) will work for you (but hope that others with the XT will verify). That will get you using your 26DX.

I also have the 60" Softliter II (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/109114-REG/Photek_SL6000S_Softliter_II_with_7mm.html) ($89) and the Impact Digital Flash kit (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/425220-REG/Impact_DFUMK_Digital_Flash_Umbrella_Mount.html) ($99) with two 32" umbrellas, two stands and two flash adapters. All these items would be less than US$250, but you probably won't need the the second 32" umbrella.

The photo below was done with my 26DX on manual (half-power) using the Softliter II. The Softliter II is much, much better than the umbrellas. One flash pointing into the 60" umbrella with the white diffuser covering it.