Looking for a cheap way to get into studio photography

[Gigi]

I've only had my DSLR (Nikon D40) for a few months now, but I would like to try studio photography such as portraits, stills with lightboxes, etc. I am obviously by no means a professional, so I don't want to spend too much getting the equipment. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this the most economical way? For example, building my own props, using regular household items (old bedsheet for backgrounds, alternative lighting sources, etc.)? I realize that I will not be getting professional results, but I just want to try it out. Thanks.

[craftsman]

The most expensive thing you will need is proper lightning. The quickest method is to do the Nikon wireless CLS - no wires, TTL metering, and relatively cheap flashes. You will still need some lightning stands but you can use a couple of cheap tripods if needed.

If you get some light domes (or if you get some SB-800 which come with light domes), you should do okay.

You could get some older manual flashes (SB-24/5/6/8s are pretty cheap) and hook up an optical slave units or use wires. Unfortunately, you will also need a flash meter (a fancier light meter) to measure the output of the flashes when they fire.

[v_tofu]

one website to rule them all: www.strobist.com


click on the lighting 101 and on assignments.. some really good ideas for cheap

[sfu_engineer]

one website to rule them all: www.strobist.com


click on the lighting 101 and on assignments.. some really good ideas for cheap

+1 for Strobist.

The best way to get into studio photography without paying lots of money for equipment is to do outdoor studio photography!

Strobist is a great way to start and it teaches you lots about what you need to learn about light. Basically you will need to purchase flashes (old Nikon manual ones will do fine $50-80 used), lightstands, umbrellas, and possibly wireless triggers.

I buy a lot of old equipment from www.adorama.com used and it is great!

Finally if you want to see what outdoor studio photography can accomplish you need only to see some of these awesome tutorial videos:

http://bertstephani.com/blog/?cat=4

[bob0]

i bought a couple of light stands + umbrellas off ebay for about $20....but shipping was like $30...haha

that combined with gadget infinity triggers ($30-40)

and a couple of vivitar 285s (about $100 each)

that's probably not the cheapest...but it's down there...you could try replacing the vivitars with sb-28s

if you dont want strobes...i also saw on ebay they had light kits...pretty much just a lightbulb behind an umbrella on a lightstand... this will be your cheapest way of doing it

[CSAgent]

i bought a couple of light stands + umbrellas off ebay for about $20....but shipping was like $30...haha

that combined with gadget infinity triggers ($30-40)

and a couple of vivitar 285s (about $100 each)

that's probably not the cheapest...but it's down there...you could try replacing the vivitars with sb-28s

if you dont want strobes...i also saw on ebay they had light kits...pretty much just a lightbulb behind an umbrella on a lightstand... this will be your cheapest way of doing it

Got any extra triggers? I want a set but havent had time to order, the shipping times kill me!

[bob0]

Got any extra triggers? I want a set but havent had time to order, the shipping times kill me!

sorry, didnt order any spare ones... shipping didnt take too long...i think it took about a week?

[eelfliw]

Learn to use the custom white balance function on your digital camera. This will allow you to use common household lamps as lighting source (assuming all the bulbs are of similar color temperature).

[Gigi]

Thanks for the advice and the link to Strobist. Do you guys have any recommendations re: legit Ebay sellers of used equipment?

[sfu_engineer]

Good deals here for Nikon flashes (best for off camera flash as all come with standard PC sync sockets). I bought all mine here:

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=itemlist&cat1=Used&cat2=Nikon%20Auto%20Focus&cat3=Flashes