After packing up the car and for the first time bringing my relatively new studio gear “on location” to a friend’s house portraits this past weekend, I realized I picked up quite a bit of gear rather quickly.
So, short of snapping a shot of the full trunk of our SUV on Sunday, I thought I’d fire off a quick list of what we used instead.
The Gear
Most of this stuff was either picked up either on Amazon or Adorama over the past 8 weeks or so…
- 2x – Westcott 750 Photo Basics 7.0-Foot Light Stand
- 2x – Westcott Metal Adjustable Shoe Mount
- 1x – Westcott 2021 60in. Optical White Satin with Removable Black Cover
- 1x – Westcott 32″ White Satin Umbrella with Removable Black Cover
- 1x – Westcott Background Support System
- 1x – Westcott Photo Basics #700 Background Carry Case
- 1x – Westcott Masterpiece Muslin Sheet Background, 10′ x 12′, Storm Clouds
- 1x – Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter for Canon 580EX II, 430EX, 430EX II Speedlites
- 2x – Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
- 1x – Flashpoint 32″ 5-in-1 Collapsible Disc Reflector, Translucent, White, Black, Silver & Soft Gold.
Boy, my back hurts just thinking about carry all of that stuff. Sure makes shooting landscapes in Maui with nothing but a tripod and a circular polarizer seem like traveling light. 😉
Anyway, I already had one Speedlite 480EX II and the ST-E2 wireless transmitter from back in ’09, but I only recently picked up that 2nd unit on eBay last month. I had initially tried shooting portraits with just the flash, the transmitter and a Sno-Cap diffuser when we were up in Wisconsin last month, but it just wasn’t working for me. After visiting a camera store in Green Bay while we were on our trip, I walked away thinking I’d do better with more toys gear.
What’s Next?
Well, I kinda jumped into the umbrella’s first because I already had an existing flash unit to use off-camera and the price was right to just try-and-see. Now that I’m starting to get hooked on these types of shoots (who’da thunk, right?) I certainly want to try to bump up to a softbox and maybe continuous lighting like a Spiderlite or something.
Seeing that there’s not exactly a ton of room in our condo right now, and that I just dropped some coin on some serious glass, and the fact that we’re leaving for Maui in five weeks, I think all of that will likely wait for awhile. I’m certainly happy with what I have now and the type of results I’ve been getting – for my beginner level, anyway. I keep learning more each time I set this stuff up to shoot with and the more time I spend reading, and that’s really the best things for me right now.
Practice, practice, practice.
Why Now?
It’s kinda ironic that it hasn’t even been two years since I wrote about my thoughts on never shooting portraits and not stepping out of my comfort zone shooting landscapes and the night sky. Now, given the birth of our first child at the end of last year and a self appointed duty to capture all of these great memories being created all around us, it’s just flowing out all at once and I’m enjoying the ride on all of this momentum.
I guess becoming a father has driven me to become a better photographer – or at least a more well-rounded one, to start with. What was once reserved for vacations and shooting the occasional hockey game is now becoming part of my daily life. I have to admit, that’s pretty exciting, and I know the possibilities are truly endless. Nice!
But I Digress
Hmmm, all that from just wanting to list out the studio gear I’ve been using lately. Oh well, sort of a two-for-one blog post special today.
As always, thanks for reading. 🙂
– Kris