On location portraits
georgia.henry wrote: I have a need to do much of my portrait photography on location. So my goal is to keep the lighting easy to carry and efficient. I use a simple three light set-up with light weight reflectors and light weight stands. And a good camera with not too many bells and whistles, as too many features are an invitation to mistakes. Still, even though I try to keep it light, I end up dragging what seems to be tons of equipment around.
Comments and suggestions would be appreciated.
Which of the thousands of possible combinations do you want?
I'd go with speedlights. They can be used on location pretty easily and are light to carry. I've used the quite a few times for on location stuff and got pretty good results:
Wedding Sunset by adrianevans , on Flickr
I also recommend this book:
www.amazon.com/Hot-Shoe-Diaries-Light-Flashes/dp/0321580141
As for a camera, choose a brand.
It all depends on your budget really. I shoot Nikon and I think their flash system is great. But for pure portraits a Canon 5D classic (2nd hand) is a good start. Above that a Nikon D700 or a Canon 5DII are both great. The Nikon is a better allround camera (especially for weddings/sports because of it's more advanced AF system). The 5DII is great for portraits and landscapes (because of it's higher MP count 21MP vs 12MP).Keep in mind that 21MP though about double the "pixels" of the 12MP Nikons, it's NOT double the image size. That's a common misconception. To double the image size of 12MP you'd need a 48MP camera (you have to quadruple the pixel count to get double the size). 21MP is 12x1.75 so it's about 40% bigger.
12MP to 21MP is noticeable in larger prints though, but it really depends on how large you wanna print.
As you can tell it produces a pleasing portrait. I shot this in the brides' living room with two speedlights and my backdrop. It's a simple system and an affordable one for most folks in the portrait biz.
Remember to engage brain before putting mouth in gear
Rob Huelsman Sr.
My Facebook www.facebook.com/ImaginACTIONPhotography
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