Portable Lighting Options

mehfesto2

Hello folks.

Just wondering if anyone could help me here.
Im looking for portable lighting that will help me with bandshoots etc., and I am totally ignorant to this area. I have one external flash (sb-800) and as great as it is, I feel I need a little more.

Essentially I want to be able to get those typical band shots (nicely lit subject, backdrop lit somewhat, sky nicely balanced etc.) and I was wondering what kind ofg equipment I might otherwise need.

So I'l box it up here:

1. What might I need.
2. How much are we talking usually? (budget options to high end specs)
3. What would people recommend (personal experience)
4. If it's something like a softbox etc., how are these powered?
5. Anything else I'm missing?

Thanks in advance!

dazftw

All depends on how much you want to spend.. im after spending €1260 on a full setup.. for band shoots like yourself

Incl:

3 x 800Watt lights
1 x 13' Stand & Boom Arm
1 x Beauty Dish
1 x [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]47" Octabox
1 x 37" x 60" Softbox
1 x Battery Pack(which can power up to 8 lights)
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Im new to the area myself but felt I need to buy something decent.. All the portable kits ive found have been way more than €1260 unless you want to go the diy route which I didnt to save effort..

So how much do you want to spend? :P

I dont have any of this stuff yet(in the post) so I cant comment if its good but ive been doing nothing but reading good things about them.

mehfesto2

Well I have time on my side, so I could DIY it no probs, if anyone knew of any instructions! But generally I've only about 500 at the moment.

I don't want anything too serious, but merely something to get me out of the starters block and allow me to spruce up what would otherwise be bland photoshoots.

I've seen your work - and it's incredible. Were you just using external flashes prior to ordering this stuff?

smelltheglove

I asked a similar question a couple of weeks ago. I needed to do a band shoot and couldnt use proper lighting so had to get flashes asap.

So I used 3 flashes, all different maes and standards, 2 borrowed and my own sigma. I used transmitters to fire them. You can get soft box attachments for flashes, and they are very compact and portable. I was not allowed any equipment on my location so it was easy enough to use, the lads girlfriends acted as my tripods and all worked perfect. Transmitters on ebay are around €20 flashes can be got second hand or new ranging from 100 upwards.

Eventually I'd like to go the above route but bank ba;ance does not allow so I suppose your budget would decide which set to get really.

dazftw

Just external flashes yeah, Im just hoping now I can improve some what more when I get this setup and I wouldn't call my stuff incredible but thanks

Have a google for lumedynes, I was going to pick these up before the alienbees! They can be cheap enough if you keep watching ebay.. add some softboxes and stuff and you could be sorted.. as for battery packs im not to sure on but google will tell you more than I can.

DotOrg

mehfesto2 wrote: »

Well I have time on my side, so I could DIY it no probs, if anyone knew of any instructions! But generally I've only about 500 at the moment.

I don't want anything too serious, but merely something to get me out of the starters block and allow me to spruce up what would otherwise be bland photoshoots.

I've seen your work - and it's incredible. Were you just using external flashes prior to ordering this stuff?

I've shot band portraits for about 8 years.

I now use Bowens lights and power pack but it's not cheap at all.

If you don't want a huge expense, you should buy a second flash and a wireless trigger for it. Then buy two stands with flash attachments on the top. then either pick up a couple of cheap ebay umbrellas or something like the ezybox:

http://www.lastolite.com/softboxes-for-battery-flash.php

dazftw

You can get from alienbees:

1 x 400Watt light
1 x Battery Pack

for about €400 inc shipping
+
€115 if you get caught for the full 3.9% & 21% VAT

Yes €515 is a bit much but it would be a good start so you could upgrade further down the line when you make loads of money

Get cheapo stands and stuff from ebay...