If, like me, you are pondering asking Santa for some lighting gear for Christmas to start putting together a home studio, check out this short video to show you what can be achieved through a very simple setup that’s very affordable.
Manny Ortiz has put together this quick piece behind-the-scenes insight into what’s possible with just a single umbrella and a comparatively cheap strobe — not too dissimilar to this video from Pye Jirsa a few days ago.
If you’re drawing up a list, don’t forget to budget for light stands. A C-stand will give you a ton of flexibility, but what might surprise you is that even a cheap C-stand could cost you more than the Godox V860 II that Ortiz uses in this video. Being able to position your lights is key to getting good results, and consider that a C-stand will offer a lot more versatility than a basic light stand. Keep in mind that you’ll also need a sandbag to stop it from falling over.
The Bowens adapter is a good shout from Ortiz, as it gives you the option to attach a vast range of modifiers which will prove useful in the future when you go on to add softboxes and more.
I have 2 Godox TT350 speedlights and a TT600 controlled via an Xpro wireless trigger all purchased December 2019 at a cost of approx £250 cheap as chips. When it all works (mechanically so to speak) it's great. However it does lack quality (what do you expect for £250). One of the TT350's has to have it's batteries removed when not in use or it will drain them even, though the unit is switched off. The Xpro wireless trigger (more worrying).sometimes just will not switch on and appears dead. What is anyone else's experience with this kit and other budget equipment of this ilk?
I have the Xpro (correction X1) transmitter and yes, I have to be careful when sliding it into my bag to not press that switch against anything as it goes in. It is way too easy to turn on/off.
I've got some TT685s that I don't use much anymore. They were good from my memory, even after being blown over on stands several times. I've since bought a set of AD200s and can't fault them, fantastic little strobes.
I do like the look of the AD200 Alex, so those two strobes used to light Kebra (yellow top), nice soft. Then Kebra lounging plenty of power output. They certainly do the job.
Hey Tony, yes I used them on both of those shots. I had 2 AD200's and used one of my speedlights for a bit of additional light where needed. I can't remember which setup I used where, but I definitely used one of the 200s inside a big parabolic soft box and the output was sufficient.
Thanks Alex I may have to go shopping.