This flash thing has taken off some. From very humble beginnings (a pair of Yong Nuo flashes and two circular mini soft boxes “just in case”, it now boasts enough power to cover large groups or a constant production line of subjects.
It has come to the point where I need to take stock of my capabilities and what to add (if anything) from here.
Flash Units
4x Yong Nuo 560 IV’s These are the work horse units, about the same strength as the second to top units from Canon etc (GN 50+). Having 4 means I always have 2-3, with the ability to double or triple mount them in modifiers as needed. They can also act as controllers if my TX dies. Two of these and 2 brollies managed to handle a school ball where 500+ shots were taken with groups as wide as 15 people.
1x Yong Nuo TX Controller for all the YN units.
1x Yong Nuo 560 III. This unit can be slotted in to the above, but is set up (easily changed) as a slave for hair or splash light. The III’s can overheat, so I use this one more gently.
Modifiers*
I will rate the modifiers from 1 to 5 (5 being best/strongest) for softness (coverage without strong shadows) and control (control over light spill).
72” White umbrella. 5/1 Shoot Through, or Reflected. Big and heavy but the softest light by far. Needs 2-3 units to fill evenly. Great as a single light for medium groups.
2x 40” White umbrellas. 4/1 shoot through or reflected. The work horse group shot units.
43” Umbrella soft box. 4/2 reflected only.
43” Reflector/Diffuser panel. This can be used for a variety of purposes, like adding gold (warm) reflectance.
3x 33” Silver umbrella. 3/3 reflected only. A little more controlled, efficient and brilliant than the white ones.
37” Soft Box. 4/2 . This is the most controllable soft modifier, but is a relative pain to set up quickly.
24” Soft Box. 3/2, 3/4 gridded. More directional and with options (baffle/Grid), this is a creative light.
8x36” Soft Box. 3/3. A mighty pain to assemble, this one allows for angled light, like mimicking an open door or window.
7” Cone with Grids. 1/4-5. Ideal for spot lighting or selectively lighting a background with gelled colour.
Flagging foam and bag of hair bands. 1-3/1-3. Used to flag a flash head more or less, these can selectively control or snoot.
Gels (2 packs, 6x silicone holders) for colour correction or creative lighting (especially back grounds). With a grey background, I can create any colour or shade from white through to black.
Utilities
4x 8’ Neewer heavy weight light stands (actually heavy, not just “heavy duty” as all stands claim to be). The thinnest stem of these is thicker than the widest on a regular light weight stand and I confidently use then in light wind with a soft box mounted. These can also take a backdrop.
Neewer Grey Muslin 6x9 backdrop with home made pole. May get some “Kate” microfibre textured ones also.
3x 6’ Neewer light weight light stands. Good for small side lights, reflectors, travel or just in case. At a pinch they could take a muslin or microfibre backdrop..
Double, triple and single cold shoe umbrella mounts.
3x Neewer Bowens S-Mounts. These are faster mounting and much more stable than the ones above, but cannot do multiple units.
A medium sized Velbon tripod with tilt head, which can be used for any purpose.
Clamps, mini tripod, adapter threads, multi tool, mini flash light, duct tape etc.
Optionally Heavy Manfrotto tripod with Pro Master Arca Swiss head.
Various bags (1 for flash units, 1 for utilities and a $12 K-Mart duffle to carry it in). I do need a Cricket or Hockey bag for the bigger light stands.
Believe it or not, the whole lot cost less than $1000 au.
*The over zealous collecting of modifiers is simply due to curiosity and a bit of creative depth, after all this is all a bit new to me.
I feel reasonably capable now (in gear, not necessarily skill), so I tend to say yes and work out how later. Could I light 100 people evenly if four rows deep or a full stage? Yes I could. The flash units would be working pretty hard, but they could manage (the Godex as a 6th slave unit is also an option).
There is potential for stronger lights to be added (60w Godex continuous), but to be honest, the 560’s are cheap enough, that I could add a few more for a lot less than one Photopro or Godex studio unit.