on camera flash: hi people once again i need your advice please i need to get a on camera flash for my canon 60d for portrait work i have been looking but there are so many to choose...

Joelbarton87 Loc: Hereford u.k

hi people once again i need your advice please i need to get a on camera flash for my canon 60d for portrait work i have been looking but there are so many to choose from and so many different features.
max budget of £250-£300
any personal recomendations ?
thanks
joe

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Ok you don't need to spand £250-300 unless you want to, do you want to.

I use flash every day, I have a Metz 45 CL-4 digital, £700 with quantum battery and connectors, BUT........

For daily use I use a METZ 44 AF1

Combined with a Stofen diffuser this is ideal for portrait work.

Do not underestimate the non canon/nikon guns, Metz has been the choice of Pros for as long as they have existed.

I also use Sunpak.

Sunpak have been producing good guns for longer than I have been into photoghraphy, I use a Sunpak PZ42X, and in fact the first gun I bought 35 years ago a Sunpak autozoom 4000 is still in use to this day with my Nikkormat FTn

NOTE AND MOST IMPORTANT

IGNORE what most photographers do, you will see them on TV shooting in crowds, the STOFEN diffusers are made to be used at an angle of 45 degrees NOT pointing ditectly AT the subject.

I also suggest lumiquest

Watch the video here

http://www.jackthehat.co.uk/flash-modifiers-stofen-c-4_27.html

This is a small supplier with SUPERB service and I am NOT connected with them

Weddingguy Loc: British Columbia - Canada

Joelbarton87 wrote:

hi people once again i need your advice please i need to get a on camera flash for my canon 60d for portrait work i have been looking but there are so many to choose from and so many different features.
max budget of £250-£300
any personal recomendations ?
thanks
joe

Firstly, let me suggest that "on-camera" flash is NOT what you want for portraiture. You absolutely, definitely, must get the light coming from a different direction than from the camera.

Off camera flash is quite simple, and actually can be much cheaper to set up for than good, on-camera, Nikon or Canon flash gun. A pair of remote flash radio triggers can be purchased for $40.00 to $500.00 and can be used safely with any hotshoe flash gun of any make or power. (you have to careful about plugging older flash units into your delicate camera circuitry)

Add an inexpensive light stand, shoot through umbrella and a reflector . . watch a few You tube videos on "one-light portraiture" and you are ready to create beautiful portraits. Sekonic and Pocket Wizard web sites offer wonderful video training for lighting.

Just please . . . keep the flash OFF the camera :thumbup:

PS . . . both Stofen and Lumiquest are a total waste of time for portraits, and have very limited applications.

Joelbarton87 Loc: Hereford u.k

I'm am doing lifestyle portraits so not sure lugging a lighting rig around would be practical

haroldross Loc: Walthill, Nebraska

As has already been mentioned, go with an inexpensive flash trigger set and add a few inexpensive flash units. The only recommendation I have for the flash units, is to make sure you can set the output on them.

Experiment with positioning the flash units along with varying the output on them. When I started flash photography, my first goal was to set 3 flash units up so there was next to no shadow. This is not really what you want but after I got that figured out, the next step was to control the shadows. This took a lot of practice but digital 'film' is cheap.

There are a number of discussions on UHH that address the subject of flash photography.

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Weddingguy wrote:

quote=Joelbarton87 hi people once again i need yo... (show quote)

I beg to differ, I know of no wedding photographer who does not shoot with on or near camera flash, I also shoot portraits, and portraits can be anything from head and sholder to full length, at events with my Metz 45 CL-4 digital and Stofen.

Whilst I fully agree that in a home/studeo setup it can (not always) be better for lighting, it depends on the effect and on camera can be part of the tudio setup too.

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

What should be asked is what type of portrait is being undertaken.

Casual, wedding, street can not be done with light stands

Joelbarton87 Loc: Hereford u.k

JR1 wrote:

What should be asked is what type of portrait is being undertaken.

Casual, wedding, street can not be done with light stands

Lifestyle portrait photography
Joe

Weddingguy Loc: British Columbia - Canada

JR1 wrote:

quote=Weddingguy quote=Joelbarton87 hi people on... (show quote)

Sorry . . . I thought you were talking about professional portraiture, not snapshots in the street.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

What you need is a VALS.

(voice activated light stand- otherwise known as an assistant)

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Actually that is an insult, I am a photographer and have never taken a snapshot, David Bailey would love this comment as would these

Read this

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2011/09/10-famous-street-photography-quotes-you-must-know/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cunningham_(photographer)

And to be honest your comment is silly, as you clearly saw the £250 limit.

Weddingguy Loc: British Columbia - Canada

JR1 wrote:

Actually that is an insult, I am a photographer and have never taken a snapshot, David Bailey would love this comment as would these

Read this

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2011/09/10-famous-street-photography-quotes-you-must-know/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cunningham_(photographer)

And to be honest your comment is silly, as you clearly saw the £250 limit.

On ebay here's how you could accomplish the equipment I suggested:

Light stand $17.00 -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/656-200cm-Light-Stand-Tripod-for-Photo-Video-Lighting-SCP-0059-/221114768369?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337b779bf1

Flash gun - Bower - $58.00
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bower-SFD728C-E-TTL-Canon-Dedicated-Flash-Gun-/140622560283?pt=Digital_Camera_Flashes&hash=item20bdc1fc1b

Radio triggers - $17.00 -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PT-16NE-16-Channels-Wireless-Radio-Flash-Trigger-SET-with-2-Receivers-/110962572134?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d5e27b66

5 in 1 collapsible reflectors - $18.00
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110cm-43-5-in-1-Multi-collapsible-photo-reflector-disc-/250847549569?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a67add881

Total cost in US dollars $110.00

That leaves over $140.00 for frieght and incidentals. Not silly at all and that is US dollars which is far less than British pounds.

Weddingguy Loc: British Columbia - Canada

JR1 wrote:

Actually that is an insult, I am a photographer and have never taken a snapshot, David Bailey would love this comment as would these

Read this

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2011/09/10-famous-street-photography-quotes-you-must-know/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cunningham_(photographer)

And to be honest your comment is silly, as you clearly saw the £250 limit.

Candid and street photography are NOT portraiture. They can be done without flash or external lighting which is not what the OP indicated that he was interested in. His request was for flash for portraits.

sbesaw Loc: Boston

Joelbarton87 wrote:

hi people once again i need your advice please i need to get a on camera flash for my canon 60d for portrait work i have been looking but there are so many to choose from and so many different features.
max budget of £250-£300
any personal recomendations ?
thanks
joe

Book: "On-Camera Flash, Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography" by Neil van Niekerk

madcapmagishion

Joelbarton87 wrote:

JR1 wrote:

What should be asked is what type of portrait is being undertaken.

Casual, wedding, street can not be done with light stands

Lifestyle portrait photography
Joe

What exactly is "Lifestyle portrait photography" anyway?