What's a decent lighting kit for getting started with portraits?

Question

I've done mostly nature photography up to this point but later this month a friend is having a birthday and she just had a daughter so I wanted to take some father/daughter portraits.

So now I'm looking for a lighting kit I can use with my D80 which doesn't break the bank.

Answer 1

I'm going to recommend slightly less than half of what @cmason suggested: One light, one umbrella, one light stand. See also the Strobist starving student kit. You can get an SB-600 and then have wireless control over your camera for not much more.

The reason I recommend one light over two is that it works just fine for a lot of portraiture. (Check out the excellent Q&As tagged with lighting basics; most of the techniques are based around only one light). Make no mistakes, having two (or more) lights gives you more flexibility than just one. However, you are looking to "not break the bank", and so starting out simple seems advisable. You might also want to get somewhat different components as you upgrade over time: a different make of flash, a soft box vs an umbrella, a different stand, a different triggering system, etc.

Also, I don't think a super clamp is strictly necessary. I definitely wouldn't get one instead of a light stand. Again, it's worth having once you're ready to spend more for more flexibility. (Don't forget though that you'll need an umbrella/hot shoe adapter for your light stand.)

Answer 2

To start out I would recommend you get a single unit like a SB600 with light stand, clamp and either an umbrella or a soft box or both. What I would definitely also add is a reflector which will give you a lot of possibilities over just using a single light. A reflector is a lot cheaper than a second light but can be set up to provide fill light. A good reflector is also very useful when shooting in ambient light. Overall I would advise you get kit that gives you the most possibilities with minimum outlay at first, you can get the more specialised pieces later on. A single light and a reflector will give you the most possibilities for the minimum outlay.

Answer 3

Just a brief thought that came to me reading all the answers: everyone is recommending an SB (or more). Nikon's SBs cost really too much (even used) to be mentioned as the only choice for a simple starting kit.

Other reputable brands (Metz or Lumopro would be my choice, but also Nissin and Sigma have nice products) actually make comparable hot-shoe strobes of very good quality for 1/2 or 1/3 of the money. I'm not talking 50$ chinese stuff that comes from ebay in a pink package.

SBs (except the minimalist SB-400 we're not interested in to the purpose of off camera lighting in this context) are excellent, well built, powerful, durable; you get what you pay for. I just wanted to note there's some good strobes out there one should consider when building a kit on a budget.

Answer 4

Two SB600s or an SB800+SB600, two Impact 42" umbrella's, 2 clamps, two light stands. Put your D80 on Commander mode, and have fun.

Answer 5

You might find this video useful in determining how to approach your project of adding lights. They use both Canon and Nikon equipment, but they are budget conscious and show a range of options. A benefit to using the Nikon lights is that they exchange more information with your camera giving you a bit more creative freedom and the ability to adapt more rapidly to changing situations. Manual lights require you to make more adjustments as subjects move around or you reset the shot.

Answer 6

Off-camera flash kits suggested in other answers will give you great results if you have time and space to set them up.

However, if you are looking for more ad-hoc and less intrusive photography or a more minimalistic kit, I'd suggest the setup I already briefly described in another answer:

• a TTL flash with tilting and swiveling head, either SB-600/SB-800 or a third-party alternative
• CTO (or CTS) gel to correct flash color to same color temperature as ambient tungsten lamps
• something like Neil van Niekirk's black foamie thing
• stuff for fixing the gel and foamie to flash, e.g. a hairband (I use velcro strips)
• batteries and spare batteries for the flash

Usage of such a kit is based on bouncing the light off ceiling or wall. For a less flat, directional light, make sure the bounce area is on your side, not directly above you. Wrap the foamie thing around flash head so that direct light does not reach neither your subject nor anyone else's eyes.