markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Just looking for a way to learn and improve portrait photography. Never did a setup before. I have beautiful teenage grand-kids who love being photographed. Thought it would be fun for them and a learning for me. It's not for a greeting card, ....
Thanks for the response.
Mark

Paul Buckhiester Loc: Columbus, GA USA

There are some great classes on CreativeLive and Lynda.com. Highly recommended.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Thanks Paul. I just subscribed to Kelbyone, via the suggestion from Bruce and viewed his series on One Light Photography. It was excellent. Other Uhhers have been very forthcoming and provided tons of links for learning. I've bookmarked them in a new folder. UHH is terrific - such a wealth of expertise and information!!
Mark

Mark

ballsafire Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

Mark, you are not going into the photo business!? -- I think you have more than enough equipment to take nice portraits and I'm sure that you know how to do this already. A few ideas such as having the subject(s) close their eyes and counting to "three" to open them is a great idea and to make sure that you have the white balance set right according to environment. Use your white 3' reflector by having one of the kids hold it correctly (also the flashes)….and set up your equipment in that small bedroom (having window(s) or not) so you can find the right light to photograph these kids by experimenting -- forget the reading of books for now. You should use a tripod (which isn't mentioned in your list) but hand held would do the trick too. Yes, you are intimidated by the topic but that is good-- as you will do a good job on the pictures; have these kids participate in helping you take these pictures and have fun communicating with them. Also move out of the house and take a bunch of outdoor photos! Everything is going to wind up alright!!

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Thanks for the suggestions and vote of confidence. I'll give it a shot and set up the flash on my tripod. I may have to purchase a mount for the tripod. It will take some ingenuity. Used to have a little of that!! LOL
Mark

canon Lee

Hi Mark.. Lighting is important. To spread the light evenly you could "bounce" off the ceiling. The 580ex are ok. To get better results you will need to get some mono lights. Now you are talking lots of money for just one shoot. I suggest a background. you can purchase a "seamless paper" 8' wide roll, extending the paper on the floor as well. I suggest "gray" as the seamless color. For portrait work its best to have a solid color and not use a distracting room. Have the kids dressed colorfully. 3 kids in the front row and 2 in the back. Experiment with using the light from a window . good luck..

CO

I see that you have the Canon 600RT flash. I'm not very familiar with Canon but I think it has radio triggering built in. You could buy the Canon ST-E3-RT transmitter and have off-camera radio triggering. Put the flash on a swivel umbrella bracket on a light stand so you can adjust its angle.

LiamRowan Loc: Michigan

Lots of good lighting suggestions here. Consider an alternative -- all or almost all natural.

This image was shot with the subject sitting a couple feet from a large southern exposure window with a black muslin cloth draped on furniture behind him. There was some white florescent light in the room, which would affected his left side. Had there not been enough room light for that left side ( facing away from the window), I would have used a white reflector (poster board, 5 in 1 reflector, etc.) to reflect the window light on his left side.

The major disadvantage here is that if you want to shoot at wider apertures (f11), there won't be enough light unless you have an unusually large window with a lot of light streaming in.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

The Canon 600RT is a great flash and does have a radio built in.

Don't buy another receiver for it!!!
Yongnou makes a transmitter that is supposed to be compatible if you can't afford the Canon ST-E3-RT. Yongnuo E3-RT $83.


Strobist is a good place for learning- check the Lighting 101 site HERE
Facebook has a couple of good places as well Learning to Light and Off Camera Flash and Posing .

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

What does Mark do to control and the 580EX? The E3-RT solution only works for the 600RT as far as I know.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Missed that the OP has the 580EX (580EX...II?)- I was too jealous of himhaving a 600 EX-RT (I'm a Nikon guy but my best friend shoots Canon).
The 600 EX RT is backwards compatible with the older, optical ST-E2 transmitter which should work with the 580 EXII- not sure about the 580 non-II , but it is line of sight, or at least has diminished sensitivity if not direct. (I've used my Nikon SU-800 IR trigger in full sun and it also has triggered speedlights around corners inside buildings - not sure how the Canon compares)
Canon sells the ST-E2 new for over $200, the link to a used one at KEH HERE is under $80 and a copy made by Yongnuo ST-E2 sold for about $100 if you could find one. I think it tested better than the Canon- more powerful, rotating head and used AA batteries.

One also could use the 580EX with a dumb optical slave to fire with the RT unit but I've read there are caveats to them and not all will work due to a voltage issue of some kind.
HERE is one article I found about that.
I believe THIS is one slave they recommend but the main flash has to be used on manual to eliminate the pre-flash. Manual power would be more consistent anyway, so that's not usually an issue.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The 622C-TX had some range issues, but otherwise in this situation may be the best solution for Mark. It will trigger both speedlights and allow for iTTL control.

I am still using RF602s and a dozen manual Sunpak speedlights I've accumulated through the years. I learned manual strobe setup in studio, and use that knowledge to work with speedlights in the field - old habits die hard I guess.