Super basic portrait lighting setup?

daveminnich

Senior Member
I already have backdrops and a backdrop stand but I need to put together a basic lighting setup to take portraits of my daughter at home. I love taking pictures and she loves having her picture taken so it's a win win!

What would you guys recommend? I'm looking for a setup that's easy to set up and tear down and is fairly inexpensive.

I shoot with a D90. I have two flash units. I was thinking I could pop soft boxes on them and trigger them wirelessly maybe?


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Moab Man

Senior Member
A two light setup will absolutely work. You can always add a reflector to the mix. You could set up the lights diagonally from each other as a key light and rim. Or as a key and fill. I have plenty of light and still like the diagonal lighting arrangement.

In time you could add a third and fourth light depending on how far you want to go.

This is an image I did with a key light angled and above and the other unit as a rim light. If you don't want it so dark on the shadow side you could simply add in a reflector for very little cost.

14047235_1092584004163595_4236386903467995546_o.jpg
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Technically, you could go as simply as one light and a reflector to add some fill, but I do prefer to use [MENTION=11881]Moab Man[/MENTION]'s recommendation with two lights and have a rim light to help separate from the background.
 

cbay

Senior Member
Just to give you an idea, this is part of a list of items i purchased for lighting shots and with the exception of the triple flash head i have no regrets. Also a reflector is a great investment. I have a Raya 42" 5 in 1. Also the 8' stands are definitely more sturdy (fyi).
Hope this helps.


flash stuff 1.JPG
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
A simple $13 adjustable light stand with a single speedlite aimed at a white wall/reflector works... fired with either the Nikon's own CLS system, or even an optical slave trigger...
 

daveminnich

Senior Member
A simple $13 adjustable light stand with a single speedlite aimed at a white wall/reflector works... fired with either the Nikon's own CLS system, or even an optical slave trigger...

I can't for the life of me figure out how to use commander mode.


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WayneF

Senior Member
I already have backdrops and a backdrop stand but I need to put together a basic lighting setup to take portraits of my daughter at home. I love taking pictures and she loves having her picture taken so it's a win win!

What would you guys recommend? I'm looking for a setup that's easy to set up and tear down and is fairly inexpensive.

I shoot with a D90. I have two flash units. I was thinking I could pop soft boxes on them and trigger them wirelessly maybe?


Which two flashes? Thinking about triggering, etc.

About anything you try will put out some light. However, there really is a little more to good lighting.

The first idea is a "large" light. Like a 40" umbrella or 40" softbox is large. A bare flash works, but what makes soft portrait light is a large light, up fairly close to appear even larger. The rough idea of appearing large is that its distance from subject should be near its physical diameter.... Like a four foot umbrella at four foot distance, that will be very soft light. Four feet size at ten feet is not nearly as soft. A link about soft: Creating Soft Light from the Flash

Softboxes are very good, but they just don't mount on speedlights. You'd probably end up some dinky 8x12 inch softbox, which is larger than a bare flash, but simply is not large.

Umbrellas are great for mounting speedlights, zoomed to 24mm and located near the end of the umbrella shaft (to fill the umbrella size). Also very easy to disassemble and store. Umbrellas do suffer more room spill, but the quality is about size, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with umbrellas.

The basic idea of "lighting" is a main light, fairly close to be large, positioned about 30 to 45 degrees above and to one side of the subjects nose. This off camera position makes intentional shadows on the face, to show its curves and shape, and to avoid a flat light. But even with a large soft light, it is still a bit harsh. So we use a fill light, typically located very near the lens axis (back at the camera), to exactly fill the shadows that the lens sees, without making a new set of shadows. A link about setup: 45 degree Portrait Lighting Setup

Then all that is left is the mounting and triggering. The most simple, yet highly satisfactory method is simple optical slave triggers. These might give trouble outdoors in sunshine, but they work great in the living room. All you have to trigger is the near one (probably fill light very near the camera), and its stronger flash triggers the rest. A PC sync cord or a hot shoe cable could trigger that near one, and optical slaves on the others.

See the sig link below, Lighting section, about some mounting ideas. A link there about using Commander mode too, which could work if your flashes support it. That would allow TTL mode, to solve metering, but really, other than metering, manual flash has much good to be said for portraits.
 
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daveminnich

Senior Member
Which two flashes? Thinking about triggering, etc.

About anything you try will put out some light. However, there really is a little more to good lighting.

The first idea is a "large" light. Like a 40" umbrella or 40" softbox is large. A bare flash works, but what makes soft portrait light is a large light, up fairly close to appear even larger. The rough idea of appearing large is that its distance from subject should be near its physical diameter.... Like a four foot umbrella at four foot distance, that will be very soft light. Four feet size at ten feet is not nearly as soft. A link about soft: Creating Soft Light from the Flash

Softboxes are very good, but they just don't mount on speedlights. You'd probably end up some dinky 8x12 inch softbox, which is larger than a bare flash, but simply is not large.

Umbrellas are great for mounting speedlights, zoomed to 24mm and located near the end of the umbrella shaft (to fill the umbrella size). Also very easy to disassemble and store. Umbrellas do suffer more room spill, but the quality is about size, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with umbrellas.

The basic idea of "lighting" is a main light, fairly close to be large, positioned about 30 to 45 degrees above and to one side of the subjects nose. This off camera position makes intentional shadows on the face, to show its curves and shape, etc. But even with a large soft light, it is still a bit harsh. So we use a fill light, typically located very near the lens axis (back at the camera), to exactly fill the shadows that the lens sees, without making a new set of shadows. A link about setup: 45 degree Portrait Lighting Setup

Then all that is left is the mounting and triggering. The most simple, yet highly satisfactory method is simple optical slave triggers. These might give trouble outdoors in sunshine, but they work great in the living room. All you have to trigger is the near one (probably fill light very near the camera), and its stronger flash triggers the rest.

See the sig link below, speedlight section, about some mounting ideas.

Flashes are a Yongnuo YN565EX and a Sigma DG 530 Super


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WayneF

Senior Member
Flashes are a Yongnuo YN565EX and a Sigma DG 530 Super

I have the YN565EX, and it does support the Nikon Commander. Not familiar with the Sigma, but I doubt it does.

But the Yongnuo and I think also the Sigma have the optical slave mode, which will work great in the living room, so all you need is some umbrellas.

You can trigger both of their slaves with the camera internal flash set to Manual mode at lowest power. Lowest power will not affect your picture lighting, assuming low ISO, shutter speed near maximum sync speed (1/200 second) to exclude room ambient, and the picture exposure about f/5.6 or f/8.
A test picture at that exposure, with all flashes turned off, with only the internal flash at lowest manual power, will be very near totally black to verify it has no effect.
 

daveminnich

Senior Member
I have the YN565EX, and it does support the Nikon Commander. Not familiar with the Sigma, but I doubt it does.

But the Yongnuo and I think also the Sigma have the optical slave mode, which will work great in the living room, so all you need is some umbrellas.

You can trigger both of their slaves with the camera internal flash set to Manual mode at lowest power. Lowest power will not affect your picture lighting, assuming low ISO, shutter speed near maximum sync speed (1/200 second) to exclude room ambient, and the picture exposure about f/5.6 or f/8.
A test picture at that exposure, with all flashes turned off, with only the internal flash at lowest manual power, will be very near totally black to verify it has no effect.

I actually just remembered that the built in flash stopped working some time ago, so it looks like I'll need a trigger of some sort in order to trigger my flashes off camera.


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WayneF

Senior Member
I actually just remembered that the built in flash stopped working some time ago, so it looks like I'll need a trigger of some sort in order to trigger my flashes off camera.

Well, again, the fill light ideally is back very near the camera, so a PC sync cord or a hot shoe cord (SC-17, SC-28) would trigger that near one, and its flash will trigger the more remote one.

And of course radio triggers work too, and everyone thinks they need them, but to me, if indoors, it seems excessive overkill, with extra batteries and connections and power switches to give trouble. :)

The hot shoe cords are pretty short, and if at more than 3 or 4 feet, their coil tension tends to tip over that light stand. One stand foot should be directly under that cord. But still, it should be able to work there, if close. The idea of fill is to be very near the lens axis.
 
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Daz

Senior Member
I have both the Godox X1T system and the Yongnuo YN560 TX and I would say that I will never go back to a CLS or corded system for flash.

The triggers are far superior than using the other methods. In fact I picked my flashes around the triggers that mean they work out of the box, no setup needed and the ability to be able to change powers on top of the camera.

There is nothing worse than having a client in front of you and you have to keep pulling off the velcro front to a softbox to change powers.

All the Mark 4 and 5 Yongnuo work with the 560 and practically every flashpoint, godox, cheetah flash works with the X1t system

For a flash setup if you are thinking you will only ever use it as studio lights you cannot go wrong with 2 Mark 4 Yongnuos and trigger, in fact there is a bundle on Amazon for only £146 ...

A couple softboxes and play about :)
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Would this be a suitable kit for triggering my flash wirelessly? I can't use commander mode because my D90's built in flash doesn't fire.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1040166-REG/vello_rfw_lr_vello_freewave_fusion_lr.html

I haven't used the Vello brand triggers, but this looks like a basic manual radio trigger that will fire a single flash via radio control. You could use that radio triggered flash to trip your other flash as an optical slave ... or add a second Vello received for your second speedlight to have them both triggered via radio control. The Vello kit looks to be a straight forward kit, although I would probably go with Yonynuo https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/sear...itialSearch=yes&sts=ps&typedValue=yongnuo+602 based on my experience with their 622 series of triggers.
 

WayneF

Senior Member
Would this be a suitable kit for triggering my flash wirelessly? I can't use commander mode because my D90's built in flash doesn't fire.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1040166-REG/vello_rfw_lr_vello_freewave_fusion_lr.html


Looks like it should work. Here is another popular one closer to half price

Yongnuo RF-603N II Wireless Flash Trigger Kit RF-603II N3 B&H

This has a MC-DC2 shutter cable for the D90. The cable is NOT used in any way as a flash radio trigger, but the device can instead be used as a radio remote shutter button, then using this cable to connect to the D90 shutter button.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Looks like it should work. Here is another popular one closer to half price

Yongnuo RF-603N II Wireless Flash Trigger Kit RF-603II N3 B&H

This has a MC-DC2 shutter cable for the D90. The cable is NOT used in any way as a flash radio trigger, but the device can instead be used as a radio remote shutter button, then using this cable to connect to the D90 shutter button.

Ah yes ... use the 603s, not the 602s that I linked to above. I have not used the 602s, but have mixed in 603s when needed and that've been reliable for me.
 

richnmib

Senior Member
This soft box comes with everything you need to mount your speed light so you are not limited to umbrellas.

https://www.amazon.com/Multifunctio...qid=1489439184&sr=8-2&keywords=neewer+softbox

Adorama makes some good, inexpensive mono lights that are less expensive than some speed lights and they have kits that are very reasonably priced. I have two of this kit.

https://www.adorama.com/fplfbf120k1.html

And two of these lights.

https://www.adorama.com/fp320m.html

I use these triggers

https://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-RF-6...id=1489439626&sr=8-1&keywords=yongnuo+rf-603n
 

WayneF

Senior Member
This soft box comes with everything you need to mount your speed light so you are not limited to umbrellas.

https://www.amazon.com/Multifunctio...qid=1489439184&sr=8-2&keywords=neewer+softbox


FWIW, and in One Opinion, the softbox problem for speedlights is much more than just the awkward mounting. The problem is also the fresnel lens on the speedlight, focusing a narrow beam.

Your link says the softbox is 32x12.5x25 cm. I assume that means 32x25, and 12 cm deep.
That is only about 12x10 inches, not very large. And 5 inches deep if the head does not extend very far inside. The head is at most 5 inches from the front panel.

So the trig says the 32x25 angle from 12 cm is 106x92 degrees to fill the front fabric.

A speedlight coverage at 24mm zoom is about 80x60 degrees FX, or 58x44 degrees DX (from rear of most Nikon flash manuals, SB-910 quoted here). It is designed to cover what a 24mm lens would see.

So at most, the speedlght makes a bright spot in the center of the front panel. Kinda like a shoot-through umbrella choked up close. But we can turn it around to be a reflected umbrella, with speedlight at end of a longer shaft, and can fill the entire 45 inch fabric, to be a BIG light, for less money.

Light does come out of the small softbox, but whereas studio lights are used bare bulb in softboxes, with greater than 180 degree spread inside there, which the reflective side walls mix all up, and it comes out diffused, like a softbox.

Oops! My bad. It says 32 inches on top line, but says cm on bottom line, which I read. The angles still compute the same regardless, but it is bigger than I thought.
 
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