As I promised in my last article, I will create a list of equipment, that is
1. cheap to get
2. worth the money
3. enough to set a first foot into strobing

Please be aware that this is only my personal experience, I do not have a real long term experience or the chance to compare equipment. I bought this stuff after reading through dozens of forums, and now I want to share my personal experiences from the viewpoint of a flash beginner.

When I started to look around for strobist equipment, I had the following things in mind:

• I dont want to spend more than 250€
• I want the studio to be transportable, to take it to Shooting trips
• I want to have the chance to create both, soft and harsh lighting scenes

So, with these things in my head, I started searching.

I created the following list:

• Flash
• Lightstand
• Umbrella (1 reflected AND 1 shoot-through)
• Umbrella bracket to put flash and umbrella on lightstand
• Rechargable batteries for the flash
• Wireless Flash Trigger

Flash

I began with looking around for a flash.
A fellow photographer told me to get a canon flash, because they are really reliable and of a good quality.
After informing about the different speedlites Canon offers, I decided to go with the 430EX or 430 EX II.
A new 430EX II would have been 250€ alone, so not affordable for my budget.
I looked around some second hand sites, and finally got a Canon 430 EX for 140€.
It looked practically new, was working perfectly and since the only differences to the II version seems to be a louder working sound and a bit more plastic than the II version, I decided it would be the right decision.

Lightstands & Umbrella

After looking around on ebay, I decided to go with the cheapest offers for the first three positions of my list.

2x 70cm white shoot through umbrellas for 12,99 €
1x 84cm reflected umbrella for 9,99 €
2x aluminium lightstand that goes up to 230cm for 14,99 €
1x umbrella bracket for 12,99 €

Batteries

For the batteries I got a tip from a fellow strobist guy.
Since flashes need a lot of energy to reduce recycling time, you should not use the cheapest batteries available.
The suggestion I got (which was also proofed right by many internet and forum reviews) was to buy
Sanyo Eneloop Batteries.
I bought 8 of the 2000 mAh ones for 14,59 €.

Wireless Triggers

Then I had to decide what triggers to use.
The definitely best ones are the Pocket Wizards, but they are about 380€ for a pack with one transmitter and one receiver. Not possible.

After the pocket wizards, reliability and building quality take a big step downwards (from what I have read). Good thing is, so does the price.
A fellow photographer recommended the Yongnuo pack, a no name producer that offers his stuff on ebay but that somehow sounded like really cheap and shitty to me.
I decided to go with the Cactus V4 set including one transmitter and one receiver, that you can get for 39,99$ on Gadgetinfinity.com.
They ship from Hong Kong (shipping is 6$), and that took about 2 weeks, but when the triggers arrived the whole packaging and design looks pretty neat and qualitative.

Summary

 

Good price for a complete studio beginner set, isnt it?

Here is what the equipment looks like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my last article I already showed some example shots, here are some more:

I like the setup, and it all fits into one small bag that I can easily carry around with me a whole day.
After using the equipment for about 3 weeks now, I am quite happy with it.

The only thing I was a bit unsatisfied with was the Trigger Set.
The Cactus Triggers were really unreliable when using them for the first times.
On good days they would only miss firing at every second shot. On bad days I would shoot 5 frames without the flash being interested at all.

This almost made me regret buying all that stuff.

After getting in contact with the customer service of Gadgetinfinity.com, its much better now.
They gave me some suggestions how to improve the reliability of the Cactus Triggers e.g. by changing the frequency, playing with different settings of the screw that connects Flash and Receiver and some other points on the list.

Now the Set really works reliable and flashing is a big fun.

I already got used to taking my lighting stuff with me when doing UrbEx trips, and I am using it more and more often with more and more satisfiying results. I can hardly imagine going back to not having any flash with me at all.

So, if you always thought about starting to “light”, then this setup is a good first step.
Its relatively cheap, light, compact and nevertheless versatile and good for images of all kinds.

If you are not fully convinced now, keep an eye on my flickr updates, I will surely publish many more strobist shots in the next weeks, months and years. If there are additional questions, feel free to contact me via the contact page or through the comments on this page.

Good bye and good light!

Yours

Crazy Ivory

After about two weeks of not posting anything, I am now back at writing and publishing.

In the last days I used my time with getting into the world of lighting.
As I wrote in my last article, I now own a one flash studio, and since this is a completely new field of photography to me, I want to use it as much as I can.

To start with, here are some of the shots that I took over the last days using my flash setup.

These shots are nothing really artistically worthful, but when you start to learn something new you have to play around and IMO best is to start small. Without an unleashed flash, these shots wouldnt have been possible, and I feel like the quality of light let these look a good bit better than they would without. That makes me happy.
Step by Step.

I really like the possibilities that light gives me, even though I think I will always prefer natural light over artificial.
Flash is awesome for portrait shooting, but this is something that I only want to learn for “science” but that will hardly ever be something I am really passionate about.
I think I will rather use it in Urban Exploration, where you normally simply have to be lucky about the light.

While a exploring a new location in the past, the light has often been the deciding factor whether a location is awesome or horrible.
Many things simply look like nothing in dull light but are amazing with a nice ray of sunlight on it.

Either a good motive has awesome light or not, its simply about being there at the right time. I had to let go some incredible motives due to bad or no light in the past, and I would be more than happy if this would not happen ever again.

In Urban Exploration its almost always about natural light.
Sure, you can help the light using flashlights or flashes, but some lighting situations are so special, almost magical, that you cannot copy this by lighting the scene yourself.
You, dont believe me? Here are some samples that proof that:

• 
• 
• 
• 

You can only shoot as far as sunlight goes, and in many cases the light is pretty plain and soft, no hard shadows or neat effects.
I love that I now have the chance to influence my light, and to create scenes that I could only dream of until now.

But its tough, very tough to learn IMHO.
Like certainly 90% of the people who learn to flash, I use Strobist.com for learning. Its an awesome resource, and perfect for a beginner like me.
If you dont know it yet, I cannot recommend going there enough.
But be aware, lighting is a huge think to learn, complicated and frustrating.
If you challenge the light it will strike you down by simply not working as you want it to.
But if you make it to get shot that looks awesome and that wouldnt have been possible without the flash, its all worth it.

I believe unleashed flashes are powerful tools, that will really help me improve my vision and my photography.
In the next article, I will finally publish the full list of material I am using, and my personal review after 2 weeks of using it.

So, keep following, not only if you are thinking about getting your own studio as well.

Yours

Crazy Ivory

 

As I promised in my last article, I will create a list of equipment, that is
1. cheap to get
2. worth the money
3. enough to set a first foot into strobing

Please be aware that this is only my personal experience, I do not have a real long term experience or the chance to compare equipment. I bought this stuff after reading through dozens of forums, and now I want to share my personal experiences from the viewpoint of a flash beginner.

When I started to look around for strobist equipment, I had the following things in mind:

• I dont want to spend more than 250€
• I want the studio to be transportable, to take it to Shooting trips
• I want to have the chance to create both, soft and harsh lighting scenes

So, with these things in my head, I started searching.

I created the following list:

• Flash
• Lightstand
• Umbrella (1 reflected AND 1 shoot-through)
• Umbrella bracket to put flash and umbrella on lightstand
• Rechargable batteries for the flash
• Wireless Flash Trigger

Flash

I began with looking around for a flash.
A fellow photographer told me to get a canon flash, because they are really reliable and of a good quality.
After informing about the different speedlites Canon offers, I decided to go with the 430EX or 430 EX II.
A new 430EX II would have been 250€ alone, so not affordable for my budget.
I looked around some second hand sites, and finally got a Canon 430 EX for 140€.
It looked practically new, was working perfectly and since the only differences to the II version seems to be a louder working sound and a bit more plastic than the II version, I decided it would be the right decision.

Lightstands & Umbrella

After looking around on ebay, I decided to go with the cheapest offers for the first three positions of my list.

2x 70cm white shoot through umbrellas for 12,99 €
1x 84cm reflected umbrella for 9,99 €
2x aluminium lightstand that goes up to 230cm for 14,99 €
1x umbrella bracket for 12,99 €

Batteries

For the batteries I got a tip from a fellow strobist guy.
Since flashes need a lot of energy to reduce recycling time, you should not use the cheapest batteries available.
The suggestion I got (which was also proofed right by many internet and forum reviews) was to buy
Sanyo Eneloop Batteries.
I bought 8 of the 2000 mAh ones for 14,59 €.

Wireless Triggers

Then I had to decide what triggers to use.
The definitely best ones are the Pocket Wizards, but they are about 380€ for a pack with one transmitter and one receiver. Not possible.

After the pocket wizards, reliability and building quality take a big step downwards (from what I have read). Good thing is, so does the price.
A fellow photographer recommended the Yongnuo pack, a no name producer that offers his stuff on ebay but that somehow sounded like really cheap and shitty to me.
I decided to go with the Cactus V4 set including one transmitter and one receiver, that you can get for 39,99$ on Gadgetinfinity.com.
They ship from Hong Kong (shipping is 6$), and that took about 2 weeks, but when the triggers arrived the whole packaging and design looks pretty neat and qualitative.

Summary

 

Good price for a complete studio beginner set, isnt it?

Here is what the equipment looks like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my last article I already showed some example shots, here are some more:

I like the setup, and it all fits into one small bag that I can easily carry around with me a whole day.
After using the equipment for about 3 weeks now, I am quite happy with it.

The only thing I was a bit unsatisfied with was the Trigger Set.
The Cactus Triggers were really unreliable when using them for the first times.
On good days they would only miss firing at every second shot. On bad days I would shoot 5 frames without the flash being interested at all.

This almost made me regret buying all that stuff.

After getting in contact with the customer service of Gadgetinfinity.com, its much better now.
They gave me some suggestions how to improve the reliability of the Cactus Triggers e.g. by changing the frequency, playing with different settings of the screw that connects Flash and Receiver and some other points on the list.

Now the Set really works reliable and flashing is a big fun.

I already got used to taking my lighting stuff with me when doing UrbEx trips, and I am using it more and more often with more and more satisfiying results. I can hardly imagine going back to not having any flash with me at all.

So, if you always thought about starting to “light”, then this setup is a good first step.
Its relatively cheap, light, compact and nevertheless versatile and good for images of all kinds.

If you are not fully convinced now, keep an eye on my flickr updates, I will surely publish many more strobist shots in the next weeks, months and years. If there are additional questions, feel free to contact me via the contact page or through the comments on this page.

Good bye and good light!

Yours

Crazy Ivory

After about two weeks of not posting anything, I am now back at writing and publishing.

In the last days I used my time with getting into the world of lighting.
As I wrote in my last article, I now own a one flash studio, and since this is a completely new field of photography to me, I want to use it as much as I can.

To start with, here are some of the shots that I took over the last days using my flash setup.

These shots are nothing really artistically worthful, but when you start to learn something new you have to play around and IMO best is to start small. Without an unleashed flash, these shots wouldnt have been possible, and I feel like the quality of light let these look a good bit better than they would without. That makes me happy.
Step by Step.

I really like the possibilities that light gives me, even though I think I will always prefer natural light over artificial.
Flash is awesome for portrait shooting, but this is something that I only want to learn for “science” but that will hardly ever be something I am really passionate about.
I think I will rather use it in Urban Exploration, where you normally simply have to be lucky about the light.

While a exploring a new location in the past, the light has often been the deciding factor whether a location is awesome or horrible.
Many things simply look like nothing in dull light but are amazing with a nice ray of sunlight on it.

Either a good motive has awesome light or not, its simply about being there at the right time. I had to let go some incredible motives due to bad or no light in the past, and I would be more than happy if this would not happen ever again.

In Urban Exploration its almost always about natural light.
Sure, you can help the light using flashlights or flashes, but some lighting situations are so special, almost magical, that you cannot copy this by lighting the scene yourself.
You, dont believe me? Here are some samples that proof that:

• 
• 
• 
• 

You can only shoot as far as sunlight goes, and in many cases the light is pretty plain and soft, no hard shadows or neat effects.
I love that I now have the chance to influence my light, and to create scenes that I could only dream of until now.

But its tough, very tough to learn IMHO.
Like certainly 90% of the people who learn to flash, I use Strobist.com for learning. Its an awesome resource, and perfect for a beginner like me.
If you dont know it yet, I cannot recommend going there enough.
But be aware, lighting is a huge think to learn, complicated and frustrating.
If you challenge the light it will strike you down by simply not working as you want it to.
But if you make it to get shot that looks awesome and that wouldnt have been possible without the flash, its all worth it.

I believe unleashed flashes are powerful tools, that will really help me improve my vision and my photography.
In the next article, I will finally publish the full list of material I am using, and my personal review after 2 weeks of using it.

So, keep following, not only if you are thinking about getting your own studio as well.

Yours

Crazy Ivory

 

In the past 3 1/2 years of my photography I have hardly used any lighting equipment in my shots.
Beside a handful exceptions I always relied on sunlight and artificial lighting sources that were already present at the shooting location. This was my reality for several reasons:

1. I do not know anything about flashing and was not interested in learning it neither.
2. I do not own any flashing equipment, mostly because I always thought it would be much to expensive.
3. I love natural light, I love the atmosphere it creates. I did never miss a flash besides a few exceptions.

Reason 1 and 3 are still true, but I recently learned that 2 is not always true.
Of course money is always absolutely subjective, thats why I am only talking about my personal view.

I always believed that a small one-flash photo studio would at least cost 600€ or more, thats why I never seriously thought about getting such a system.

A friend of mine recently proofed me wrong by telling me about flash prices, and the thought, once placed in my head, started to develop. Shortly after I found myself searching through forums, ebay and different online photography recources to find out what is the best equipment to start flashing for cheap.
My personal limit was 250€ that I did not want to exceed.

So I made a list of the equipment I would need, summed everything up to reassure me that it would be less than 250€ and ordered all this.

Up until now nothing of all this has arrived, so I cannot show result shots or rate the stuff. I only wanted to keep you posted about this.
As soon as the stuff is here I will of course inform you.
So if a “Home Photography Studio for under 250 Euro” sounds good to you, visit my blog again in the next few weeks.
The easiest way to not miss it is to subscribe to my FEED and receive all new Articles and Updates.

See you Guys!

Yours

Crazy Ivory