lighting fever

[Wink11]

I need to get serious about understanding exposing w/ flash. I own a sb700 and shoot w/ a Nikon D90. I would love get my exposure right and move off camera. I fancy this Impact Quickbox Softbox I saw. However, I don't know the first things about what I would need.

What kind of wires, triggers and accessories would I need to get my sb700 to fire off camera? I need to put together a wishlist. I appreciate any help...

Thanks!

[Wink11]

We'll okay...I'm excited. I need to first figure out how to fire wirelessly. But, I would like to buy a softbox for speedlights. My subjects are children and families and I would be using this outside. Any suggestions?

[VTphotog]

The light level outside, even on a moderately cloudy day, is vastly higher than indoors, so you will need pretty powerful lights to do very much. I have used fill flash for outdoor shots to help with shadows on faces, etc., but not much more than that. If you are planning outdoor portraits on sunny days, I think you would be better off using reflectors for light modification. This usually requires an assistant to make adjustments and keep the reflectors from flying away in the breeze.

brian

[Ozzie_Traveller]

G'day Wink

One of the many 'settings' needed is to get into the camera's menu and check whether 'your' model has this item buried in the menu ...



Not all SLR's have it, but many do > and you need to turn it 'on' before any external flash or trigger will be activated during exposure

As far as triggers go, I use Yongnuo flashguns & triggers - not as sophisticated as 'brand-name' items, but at 25% of the price I can get away without all the bells-and-whistles

Hope this helps a bit
Regards, Phil

[Bob Nichol]

The D90 can be put in flash commander mode and the SB700 can go in remote mode for off camera action. Just make sure the camera and flash are on the same channel and group. The built in flash must be popped up as well. Communication is by coded flash pulses. See your user guides for details.

[Wink11]

sorry I've been MIA...So much "life" going on. I'm just getting back to shooting and I'm excited about learning more about flash. I have ordered a book by Neil Van Niekerk and starting to dig into my d90's manual.

I have a stupid question I'm trying to fire wirelessly. I found the commander mode and put eveything on the right channel. However, I don't want the light from my pop-up flash on my subject. Is there a way to shut that off? I think I saw this as a response but not sure if I'm understanding it right. I'm not seeing this in the manual.


Thanks!

[Bob Nichol]

Set the built-in flash to "--" in the commander menu E2 and it won't contribute to the exposure. The flash will only fire to transmit the commands. See page 188.

[Wink11]

I need to figure some things out! Like firing my sb700 off camera through an unbrella or softbox. I've been using natural light for newborns in my livingroom. I really want to start trying some lighting using my sb700 w/ my Nikon D90...my livingroom is small. Any suggestions on what to start w/, an unbrella or softbox. What make? Someone suggested a alien bee light? I was hoping to utilize my speedlight first.


Thanks in advance.

Jen

[Bob Nichol]

Umbrellas and soft boxes call for stands which get pricy. http://www.henrys.com/12371-NIKON-LI...IT-W-CASE.aspx uses your SB-700 or other shoe flash with remote control.

Why not try flash modifiers such as Sto-Fen http://www.stofen.com/index.asp Lumiquest http://www.lumiquest.com/ or Gary Fong http://www.garyfongestore.com/ and see if you like the results without investing a lot of money. They will work off camera using the D90 commander mode.

[Wink11]

Thanks, Bob!!

I took a leap and ordered this?? Wish me luck!

http://neilvn.com/tangents/2012/05/2...ftbox-24-x-24/

Thanks for the links. I'll check em out!!