What should I save for next?

<p>Hi guys, looking for a little advice......</p>

<p>I'm an amateur with limited funds for new equipment. At the moment I have: D90, 18-105 kit lens, 50mm f/1.8 D, 70-210mm AF (circa 1990 from my film days) plus a collection of very old manual flashes, and some continuous lighting bits & bobs in the loft.</p>

<p>I'm a bit of a generalist, but recently have really got into portraiture. So far I've used window/skylight light at home, but I'd really like to get to grips with flash so I can take similar portraits without being at the mercy of ambient light. Example attached.</p>

<p>I'm not terribly happy with the quality of portraits from the zooms, and find their limited speed restrictive. I use the 50mm almost exclusively, but am limited in what I can achieve compositionally.</p>

<p>Ultimately, I'd like to be able to take really good portraits of friends, family and their children in locations other than my skylight/window lit kitchen (i.e. their own homes). I get good feedback from friends and I can see potential for a bit of additional income at some point in the future.</p>

<p>So, my question is; is to worth buying a decent Nikon flash gun for the camera (e.g. SB600 or SB900), or should I just go straight for a starter studio kit? Perhaps I'd be better off investing in lenses (e.g 35mm f/1.8 and/or 85mm f/1.8) and sticking to window light?</p>

<p>Bearing in mind that I will probably only be able to afford one purchase this year; what would you guys recommend?</p>

<p>Thanks<br>

Chris</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>One on-camera flash gun will not produce good results like your example here. You need to get the flash off the camera. If you are willing to do some research, have some DIY skills, and are willing to sacrifice some convienence, there are many options for cheap setups. Start with Strobist.com and see a description of my setup here: <a href="../photography-lighting-equipment-techniques-forum/00Y7lm">http://www.photo.net/photography-lighting-equipment-techniques-forum/00Y7lm</a>.</p>

 

<p>I would go cheap and stretch your money the best possible</p>

<p>So IMHO you should buy some lampstands, umbrella-adapters, and some umbrella's</p>

<p>Sure, I shoot Nikon CLS with PW TT5's nowadays, and with a SB 600 or SB 900 (although the SB 800 is a very good alternative) you can do TTL. But with some older flashes and some cheapo optical flash triggers (didn't mention those, sorry)<br>

http://dpanswers.com/content/optical_flash.php<br>

you can come a long way when you shoot inside. Personally I used to shoot that way with a couple of Metz flashes long before it was called 'Strobist'</p>

<p>You will have to buy the hardware mentioned at some time anyway, and the quality of the light will be far superior to that of an oncamera flash.</p>

<p>Also since with a digital camera you can easily check the light/set up before taking the final pictures, IMHO it's an easy choice</p>

<p> </p>

<blockquote>

<p>I'm not terribly happy with the quality of portraits from the zooms</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br />Then you have the wrong zooms. I shoot everything from casual portraits to magazine covers with a pair of zoom lenses and don't have any problems.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>buying a decent Nikon flash gun for the camera (e.g. SB600 or SB900), or should I just go straight for a starter studio kit</p>

</blockquote>

<p>In contrast to what was said above, I shoot portraits with an on-camera flash regularly. You just have to modify the light - bounce, diffuse, something - and you can get good portraits. I also shoot with studio equipment, but it either has to be static or it takes some time to set up. It really depends on how you're going to be shooting.</p>

<p>Here's a typical non-studio setup shot for me, zoom and on-camera.</p>

<p><Center><img src="http://spirer.com/images/amandak.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="525" /><br>

<em>Amanda</em></center></p>

<p>Thanks Guys.</p>

<p>You inspired me to go up into the loft where eventually I found: an old Jessops brand flash gun, a lighting stand, a cheap remote trigger, and a Micro Apollo "softbox".</p>

<p>Took the attached a minute ago - won't win any awards, but at least I can get enough light onto the subject; which is a start. Now to get stuck into Lighting 101 and see where that takes me.</p>

<p>Jeff - That picture is fabulous, and a useful reminder not to get too bedazzled by equipment!<br>

I don't have a problem with zooms generally; but mine are consumer f/3.5 f/4 units. I like employing shallow DOF and I haven't been able to get the effect I want with the working distances at home. I also find the light levels inside are such that I have to push up the ISO to unacceptable levels (this at least could be fixed with flash). I have taken some lovely portraits (particularly candids) with the long end of both zooms outside.</p>

<p>Thanks for taking the time to respond.</p>

<p>Chris</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>That's a good start, Chris. Bear in mind that the direction of light is very important, regardless of whether it is a 60-inch softbox or a little hot-shoe flash. Directional light gives you modelling and depth. Jeff's shot is a good illustration. A single on-camera flash can yield great results.<br>

I have a few older older portraits here: http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=502200 - all taken with natural light, reflector or on-camera flash bounced from ceilings, walls, etc.</p>

<p>One investment that can give you many options and relatively cheaply is a reflector. I got my 5-in-1 for about 20 dollars on eBay.</p>

<p>The best investments I've made to improve my portraits are actually books. I've invested a lot of money in proving that more equipment doesn't automatically make better portraits :).</p>

<p>It would be helpful to anyone providing advice if you had some examples of portraits you'd like to recreate. Depending on the number of people, and the type of shot (tight headshot, head and shoulders, full length, multiple people etc) that you need to light, recommended equipment might change.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Michael</p>

<p>I like getting in tight, but would want some flexibility. Could see myself taking head shoulders portraits of children/adults or small groups (1 or 2 children or a couple).</p>

<p>I particularly like high and low key monochrome pics. This sort of thing:<br>

<a href="../photo/12678832">http://www.photo.net/photo/12678832</a><br>

<a href="../photo/11407694">http://www.photo.net/photo/11407694</a><br>

<a href="../photo/10852132">http://www.photo.net/photo/10852132</a><br>

<a href="../photo/12266370">http://www.photo.net/photo/12266370</a></p>

<p>Have started reading Lighting 101, but my cheap Jessops flash fails the minimum requirement. There is no power adjustment (other than moving it further away!), and the trigger I have is optical, so I have to fire the camera's built in flash.</p>

<p>For the moment I'm going to keep reading. I like this site: <a href="http://www.professionalphotography101.com/">http://www.professionalphotography101.com/</a></p>

<p>Thanks for taking the time to respond.</p>

<p>Chris</p>

<p>I have 3 SB-XXXs but lately they stay in the closet and I bring only my camera. It's very satisfying and more fun to leave the lights and stands at home and just work with natural light. If you force yourself to work with natural light it will get easier. Also you can do amazing things with a 5 in 1 reflector that costs $20, you just need someone to hold it. In any case, you can't go wrong with buying an SB-700 or 900 if you don't already have a flash. </p>