Off Camera Lighting

[petechappell]

Hi---I am new to Cambridge---I shoot mostly Residential Real Estate---Nikon D300, SB800 flash, wide angle lens and ACDSee for editing--I have been looking at a lot of images on other web sites which has led to researching off camera lighting, infraed or radio triggers, speedlights or larger (Alien Bees, etc.), Lightroom or Photoshop or ACDSee, etc---some of the images some of these guys produce are just AMAZING, however I have made a pretty good living just with what I have---should I stay with what I know or push the balloon to get better and enhance my client list?

[bambleweeney]

You've always got to push the balloon right You could always add another SB800 at a price but wireless may be cheaper and more effective. I use an SB600 for simple off the camera flash, when I want more I use a wireless transmitter (Yongnuo) and receivers for the SB600 and an SB25 I picked up reasonably cheaply. About 100Euros for the flash and wireless. Wireless has a greater range but you're better off setting the flashes to manual and fine tuning them. You could for example mount a flash outside a window/door and simulate sunlight streaming through or create saleable ambience by balancing flash to create mood. Set white balance and use gels on the flashes and you can place warm/cool light just where you want. I took some shots of an abbey for a book and some publicity shots for a gite earlier this year and found the whole setup invaluable. Once you've used it a few times guesstimating flash output isn't that tricky.
Never used ACDSee so can't comment. Lightroom and Photoshop work nicely together though and the combination of software and flash can make an outhouse look like a palace

[Colin Southern]

Hi Pater,

Welcome to CiC - it's great to have you with us.

I think you're asking a question that only you can answer. If it were me, I'd be wanting to improve; both from the self-satisfaction AND additional income angles.

Perhaps you'd like to post a few shots that we can take a look at? I don't shoot a lot of interiours; the last ones were a couple of years ago, and for those I used a couple of Canon 580EX II with lightsphere's attached.

He's one such example ...

[petechappell]

I realized after I said all that that I need to answer my own question---Colin, I am going to try to send you a couple of pics for your opinion

[Colin Southern]

I realized after I said all that that I need to answer my own question---Colin, I am going to try to send you a couple of pics for your opinion

Hi Pete,

Just post them here, so we can all contribute (and benefit)