At present I have a Canon 300D and a 580EX II flash with a standard lens, it came with the kit for portrait photography.
I would like to get some advice on the best lens to use for taking pictures (portrait) of my two girls. With some advice on what sort of background to use (indoors) and lighting for indoor use. there are so many items for ale that its hard to know what is best to get.
Some of my friends have new babies and we would also be using the set up to take pictures of them. I am sure that with the right equipemnt and help from you guys we can save the hassle of a trip to boots for the photos to be done!
Many thanks in advance.
You can use almost any lens that's got the right focal length for portrait photography, as you generally will want to soften the shots afterwards anyway. The lens you have will probably work just fine.
Off-camera lighting is best for portraits, at least two, and as many as four light sources (which can be flashes, windows, reflectors, lights...) The main issue is the "colour temperature" of the lights- if the 580 has a mode to control multiple lights, then I'd probably advise getting a couple more with some light stands and umberellas and maybe a softbox for the key light.
Generally, you want at least two "main" lights, your "key" which is the one set to the brightest and coming in at a 45 degree angle and up high like the sun is. Then from the other side of the camera, closer to the lens axis, you "fill" light which will help fill in the shadows. I normally have my fill lower than my key to catch the shadows under the nose. Depending on the ratio you want, the fill light should be set to put out less light than the key, how much less depends on the look you want shadow-wise. You can also vary the distance to reduce the light's power by moving it back twice as far to get half as much light, or a combination of these.
The third/fourth options are background and hair lights to light the background and hair- generally with some sort of light modifier to stop the hair light from spilling its light out past the hair (with flashes, you can use index cards, with strobes you'll want barn doors and/or grids.)
The further the subject is from the background the better- high key portraits use a white background and the background light helps to blast out the texture of the background. You can use sheets or muslins on background stands if you wish.
If you can't use some sort of internal flash trigger, you'll have to buy one for each flash that isn't the key, and you'll want a cord or one for the key with some sort of trigger (IR or radio) for the key light as you'll want all your lights off camera.
The strobist site mentioned by jlcharles is *great* for information on using flashes. If you think you want to get more "serious" then getting a stobe kit will give you more options on modifiers like softboxes, snoots, umbrellas, and the like. I'm not sure what good low-priced kits there are in the UK. "Hot" lights, like work lights used for video or construction aren't a good choice unless you have no other option. It's easier to see the results immediately versus even studio strobes with a modeling light, but they get hot (fire/injury hazard) and they'll dilate the pupils of your subjects pretty harshly over modeling lamps on studio strobes. With flashes, modeling is more difficult. A flash meter will help, but I find with digital it's not that difficult to just shoot a few test frames, especially if you're shooting tethered to a computer where you can view the results and measure the levels quickly.
Once you get a good setup, experiment with short side and broad side lighting to see what works best for your subjects, and then start working on poses. It's not that difficult to get started, and it can be a lot of fun.
White foam core that's sold in art stores for art projects makes a great reflector if you want to use it instead of an additional light, or to put it on the floor to reflect up to fill in some shadows and it's very inexpensive. Stands to hold reflectors are expensive, but useful if you find yourself using them often. I'd say though that two more lights and you'd have a very good base for portraiture. Three would give more options, but I tend to use my flash gun in the studio in flash trigger mode when I need a fourth light.
Hopefully some of this is helpful.
