Outdoor Portraiture: What Is a good starting lighting setup?

Hi Everyone,
I'm looking to start outdoor portraiture, and I'm wondering what a good starting light setup is. I'm thinking two flashes, triggers for the flashes, umbrellas and softbox. Is there anything that isn't necessary / I should add?

Thanks!

Outdoor portraits? I use natural light and a reflector. I will use an umbrella, flash, and YN622c triggers on occasion. If you're just starting out though leave the flashes at home and learn how to use natural light first.

Have a look at Lisa Holloway's work on here and online. You'll get an idea of what mastering natural light is and how powerful that knowledge can be.

great, thanks!

The problem with outdoor portraits and flash is that your camera's sync speed is probably 1/200th of a second or less, and if you want shallow depth of field shooting at 1.4-2.8, you will be way over exposed, possibly a full screen of blown out white. Natural light and a reflector is a good way to go, otherwise you will be stopping down to f11-16 and nuking your subject with flash

... or using a neutral density filter.

yes, if you want to degrade image quality use a neutral density filter

jbsg02 wrote in post #16788552
yes, if you want to degrade image quality use a neutral density filter

BS Get a good ND filter and you wont notice a lick of difference.

gonzogolf wrote in post #16788557
BS Get a good ND filter and you wont notice a lick of difference.

I was just joking, most cases you'll picture will probably be fine, I just never use them

jbsg02 wrote in post #16788591
I was just joking, most cases you'll picture will probably be fine, I just never use them

Sorry I missed the joke. But an ND filter can be a very useful tool for location work with a strobe. It allows you to work when you cant get your shutter speed slow enough to sync, or at least at apertures you would prefer to work at. A lot of people try to use HSS for speedlites or the hypersync/supersync hack for monolights to get above the camera's ordinary sync speed but both have significant drawbacks. The ND filter lets you use your lights at full power which is useful when you are battling a strong sun.

Do you guys know of any places I can find articles / other information regarding proper use of a reflector outside?

thinkerer wrote in post #16788660
Do you guys know of any places I can find articles / other information regarding proper use of a reflector outside?

Irs not very difficult. Put the subject with their back to the sun, hold the reflector so that the light coming over their shoulder kicks fill light back into the subjects face for fill. If you search adorama TV on YouTube you will find a video showing how it works.

great, i found some stuff. thanks!

Any recommendations on the best reflector setups? Do you use a stand for solo work?

Thanks!
-Brandon

nathancarter wrote in post #16788243
... or using a neutral density filter.

+1 on using an ND filter. I use a Hoya 77mm variable ND filter outdoors, it's great and doesn't noticeable ruin any image quality. HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend getting this if you'll be using flash outdoors, especially if you want to shoot with a wide aperture and get that blurry background. As mentioned, if you'll be using flash, your shutter is limited to 1/200, and if you're like me and like to shoot at the beach at f1.4 with burning bright sunlight all around, you'll need a strong ND filter and flash.

thinkerer wrote in post #16788660
Do you guys know of any places I can find articles / other information regarding proper use of a reflector outside?

I notice beginners always make the mistake of holding a reflector below the model's face. Always hold it up high and pointing down to the model, this simulates sunlight which comes up high. Get it as close to the model as possible to create softer light, go back farther for harder light.

bberg wrote in post #16827434
Any recommendations on the best reflector setups? Do you use a stand for solo work?

Thanks!
-Brandon

If you have enough assistants, I suggest getting 2 of these 5-in-1 large reflectors. One person can remove the lining and use it up high to somewhat shade the model and diffuse the direct sunlight. This alone usually creates nice lighting on the model. The other assistant can use the second reflector to bounce light back into the model. The reason i like the large reflectors is you can hold it verticle and it'll light up the entire model, instead of just her face.

I just put my flash on high speed sync when I want to use my flash in bright light and use large aperture.