Because You Asked - My Photography Setup

[Mr Jon]

I get regular PMs in regards to how i'm taking my photos, so I figure I just lay it out here for you all.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D MKII / Canon EOS 20D
Flash System: 2x Canon 580EXII 2x Yongnuo YN460 Strobe



I have 2 cheap lighting stands to hold my strobes up. The strobes are mounted using $8 flash umbrella holders. Inserted are 2 $6 eBay special umbrellas to bounce the strobes back to cast a diffused light on my subject. The flashes are fired by a wireless base that attaches to the flash units in my umbrellas. This allows me to wonder around at different angles to get consistent lighting. As you can see I've laid down a thick piece of white mounting board on the ground to serve as my backdrop. You can purchase them in all sorts of different colors, but I primarily use white or black. Don't have any cardboard or foam core? Just use a big white sheet or blanket instead.

Pictures from this day. I've just snapped a bunch of various pictures from this setup when I had it laid out. I didn't pay as much attention to the lighting and post production work on it mainly because I just wanted to take some quick and dirty shots. These pictures below come from the 2 strobe setup pictured above which is what I typically use. Depending on the situation I might include one more, but its usually a 1 or 2 light setup also depending on my laziness at that particular time.



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[FOX_111]

Good setup. Simple and effective.

If anyone want to do something similar without a elaborate DSLR setup, try to aim a lot of your house light at a white sealing and wall. Turn off you camera flash and use the apropriate white ballance (usually thungsten or fluressant). If you have enough light bouncing from the ceiling and wall, you should be able to get rid of most of the shadows.

It won't be as soft as with umbrellas, but it will work.

[Mr Jon]

Absolutely, that's another great way to do it. Before my SLR days I made a reflector that angled up towards the ceiling out of tinfoil and cardboard and crudely attached it to my point and shoot camera. I then switched it to manual settings to open up the aperture and extend the shutter speed to make maximum use of my light. Using a tripod in this situation is also highly recommended. But by bouncing lighting off a white ceiling makes for a nice soft even distribution of light on your subject. Remember if you're ceiling is covered or if you have tungsten or fluorescent lights like FOX mentioned, switch to the appropriate white balance setting to avoid orange, green or blue color casts.

[Hawkeye_CJMC]

Definitely nice setup. I'll have to give that a try (I have similar gear, but I'm very jealous of your 5D, I only have a Rebel XTi but it's still a great camera).

Keep up the awesome photos!