lindsey holland Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I'm about to undertake my first solo location shoot and am unsure as to the best lighting to use. I have a Nikon D70, access to an SB800 flashgun and a very very low budget. I'll be shooting outdoors, in England, in February, so the chances of good natural light are fairly slim. I've been advised to hire strobes but this is a little over budget for me. Do I really need to get strobes for the best results or could I get some kind of slave (and a stand... and a diffuser... or an umbrella)? It's for my portfolio, so I really want the best results I can get, given the restrictions. Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_madio Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Provided you are not shooting in the dark, use high ISO, large aperture, a reflector, flash for fill, and use a tripod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot_n Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I love the light in February. But, sure, you can use your flashgun with light stand, sync lead, brolly etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_earussi1 Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I am not familiar with Nikon, but do not, under any circumstances, use your flash mounted on your camera unless you want really bad pictures. Find some way to shoot it to one side (say mounted on a tripod or stand) with a reflector (foamcore) on the other. This should give you decent looking shots on a limited budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot_n Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 'do not, under any circumstances, use your flash mounted on your camera unless you want really bad pictures' Try telling that to Teller, Tillmans, Araki, Richardson etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_madio Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I disagree with Mike's statement of "do not, under any circumstances, use your flash mounted on your camera unless you want really bad pictures" in this scenario. While this does generally hold true if using the flash as your key light, on camera is probably the best position for a fill light in this situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_planta Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 here are some samples of one light portraits with a flashgun:http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1025&message=13048501 you may want to bounce the light off an umbrella or experiment with some other reflective/diffusion surface(white foamcore, a mirror, shoot thru some tracing/mylar paper) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshall_klickman Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 It's funny you mention this subject, because I had the same issue up until just earlier this morning. Your best bet given your current situation is to set up the SB-800 to be triggered wirelessly with your on-camera flash. This allows you to move your flash wherever you want without being tethered to the camra.<br> <br> For specific steps on how to set that up, see <a href="http://digital-photography- school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3221">my forum post</a> on Digital Photography School (which is an excellent resource).<br> <br> Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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