Newbie with a dumb question

Just started into photography like 6 months ago and now interested in taking more then just pictures out side i want to take professional looking pictures of something from watches to portraits of people i was looking all over bh photo but don't know what kind of strobe lighting to get i already have a EX430II. im compleatly lost when it comes to lighting something like this http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Mercury_Umbrell​a_Kit.html

or should i just get a EX530II and set that up with my EX430II

ahh i dont know what will work with my camera im just so lost

start here... read

http://strobist.blogsp​ot.com/2006/03/lightin​g-101.html

wait on buying the equipment for a little, you'll only end up replacing it sooner than you think

You're good with the 430 II. You can get off camera light with just a off camera cord. You can also modify the flash with various other modifiers to make it act more like a big strobe.

A great Canon specific book to pick up is the Speedliter's Handbook by Syl Arena. He takes you from novice to advanced over the course of the book. You can also find more information for free at www.speedliting.com - Syl has a Canon specific gear section to get you started.

Also check out Strobist.com. David Hobby is the man and the lighting 101 section is an amazing start.

There is a difference between 'illumination' and 'good lighting'. Speedlights are good for illumination. It takes pre-visualizing with your own eyes (without wasting time shooting and chimping experimentation) if you want to achieve good lighting, and that takes a light (studio flash) with modelling lights. So ultimately you need to determine which of the two you will be content to achieve...a passable job, or making your subject look good to the maxiumum degree (whether a person or a product).

jdotuk wrote in post #12080622
You're good with the 430 II. You can get off camera light with just a off camera cord. You can also modify the flash with various other modifiers to make it act more like a big strobe.

A great Canon specific book to pick up is the Speedliter's Handbook by Syl Arena. He takes you from novice to advanced over the course of the book. You can also find more information for free at www.speedliting.com - Syl has a Canon specific gear section to get you started.

Also check out Strobist.com. David Hobby is the man and the lighting 101 section is an amazing start.

+1
Keep playing with your 430EX II and shoot! shoot! & shoot!. Honestly my very first light modifier was a piece of white foam board ($4). I've taken a few shots of my watch using just the the board and I've gotten some pretty decent results with it, but eventually out grew it. Now I have a 40+" 5-in-1 reflector and also starting to out grow that. 2 years later, i'm ready to move on to off camera flash. There are plenty of things you can do with just 1 speedlite and modifiers.

Here are those photos I shot. There is very slight PP work on both. There is mirror effect PP on the Swiss Army watch. IMO they're not too bad for just a foam board.

In fact. I could use some C.C. on them.

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Using the 7D you can already use your 430EX II wirelessly off camera. I have a 60D and 430EX and shoot flash exclusively off camera (sometimes with the flash hand-held during political events). I've tested the combination outdoors on a sunny day in the snow, and the 430EX flashes every time up to 25-30 feet away as long as its sensor is pointed towards the pop-up flash on the camera. So you're all set to do lots of experimentation, which will help you decide what additional flash you need. In my case, I will be purchasing a new 430EX II next month so that I can work on two-flash off-camera lighting using variable A:B ratios.

+1 on strobist.blogspot.com and the speed lighting by sly Arena, very informative stuff. The only regret I have is I should have just waited for the cactus v5 instead of getting a rf602. But it still works.

HughR wrote in post #12083386
Using the 7D you can already use your 430EX II wirelessly off camera. I have a 60D and 430EX and shoot flash exclusively off camera (sometimes with the flash hand-held during political events). I've tested the combination outdoors on a sunny day in the snow, and the 430EX flashes every time up to 25-30 feet away as long as its sensor is pointed towards the pop-up flash on the camera. So you're all set to do lots of experimentation, which will help you decide what additional flash you need. In my case, I will be purchasing a new 430EX II next month so that I can work on two-flash off-camera lighting using variable A:B ratios.

How do you set this up

Read this
http://www.digital-photography-school.com …irelessly-with-a-canon-7d
It explains it.

dedsen wrote in post #12087206
Read this
http://www.digital-photography-school.com …irelessly-with-a-canon-7d
It explains it.

Also watch this video: http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=iKYDFHYZg3o

You can also go to Canon's 7D learning center web site at:

http://www.usa.canon.c​om …ArticleAct&arti​cleID=3167

It has many useful videos on the 7D, and video #15 deals with wireless flash.