Flash starter

What budget have you got?

And is this for hard professional or occasional amateur use?

What budget have you got?

And is this for hard professional or occasional amateur use?

Amature

And your budget?

A few speedlights would be the obvious thing for outdoor use, but AFAIK nobody does a 'kit' built around speedlights. You'd have to buy the component parts separately.

What other requirements do you have? For example: Are you comfortable with manual exposure, or do you need TTL control?

Im comfortable with manual exposure. Budget Im looking under $400. Thanks for your help! So, could you suggest a few items that would would go well together?

Thanks!

Whats a good flash lighting kit that includes remote flash / stands thats good for a 5d Mii? This would be for outdoor portrait photography. . . Im comfortable with manual exposure. Budget Im looking under $400. . . could you suggest a few items that would go well together?

I think you are going to get best value for money with third party brands, for examples: Yongnuo, Godox, Neewer. I have not used any of these brands, so I cannot recommend any.

Noted that you mention outdoor portrait photography, in this case you will likely be using the Flash as Fill Light, and therefore a powerful Flash is better, indicated by bigger Guide Number (‘GN’). Note that Guide Numbers are usually specified at ISO100, but check that because sometimes the ‘specs’ are distorted so you must be sure that you compare like with like.

As Rodeo Joe mentioned I am not aware of any “kits” for “Speedlites” – but how many Speedlite do you think that you need? I shoot a lot of outdoor portraiture and I usually use only one Speedlite and I don’t usually use a stand – I do however use the Speedlite Off Camera.

I am not suggesting that your requirements are the same as mine – but I am suggesting that if you provide a bit more detail about the outcomes that you wish to achieve you might get advice which will save you money and/or provide a better Flash Lighting Kit than you presently reckon that you require: these comments are based on the facts that the question is posted in Beginner Questions Forum and considering the possibility that some assumptions or inaccuracies might have been made for you to conclude that you need “flash lighting kit” and that you understand exactly what is required to be “comfortable with manual exposure” i.e. I think that Rodeo Joe’s question was about using the Flash, manually.

WW

For outdoor use you need substantial stands - lightweight ones will blow over in a breeze if you use any sort of reflector or diffuser. Even then you might need guy-lines or weights (sand or water bags) to stabilise the stands.

10ft stands are generally more strongly built than shorter ones, even if you don't need the height.

You'll also need tilt/swivel adaptors to fit speedlights to the stands. Avoid plastic adaptors, they'll sooner or later drop an expensive speedlight and modifier onto the ground.

As William said, the number of lights needed can vary from just one for basic fill, to almost any number for night portraits.

The cheapest (new) speedlights I can recommend are YongNuo YN560 iiis. The latest versions of these have built-in radio trigger receivers compatible with the same company's RF-603 transceivers. However, apart from remote triggering, you'll get no exposure or flash automation at all. You'll need to set the flash power manually according to calculation, test exposures or flashmeter readings.

If you want TTL flash automation you'll need to spend more on speedlights compatible with your camera. However, I can't recommend ones that work using optical communication between flashes. They're totally unreliable in bright daylight.

If you need more power than speedlights can provide, you'll be pushed to get it within your budget. A single monolight and portable battery pack can easily eat up $400.

As for modifiers; that's really down to personal choice. A simple white umbrella can be used for basic fill or a soft key light. And bare flashes are excellent for use as hairlights or 'kickers'.

Give us a clue as to what sort of look and time of day you're aiming for.