Portrait Lighting Lesson 2: Setting up your equipment

So in the last lesson (Lesson 1), I talked about and gave some examples of inexpensive items for you to consider purchasing in order to get yourself a basic portrait lighting setup.

Today I want to go over how to assemble it all when you're ready to do your first portrait session. A lot of things in life come with instructions, but I found the Impact brand of products that is made solely for B&H tends to come with little to no instructions.

If you chose to purchase other versions of the same items i.e. a different brand, then these instructions will likely be similar but could easily change. For example, the cord that comes with the Vivitar 285HV is different than the cord for any other brand of small flash unit.

So let's get started:

Step 1: Correct the problem with the umbrella bracket.

When you first open the box to your umbrella bracket, you'll find that the two threaded screw thing-a-ma-jigs on each each end of the bracket were installed backwards (before you do this step, make sure your's were shipped backwards by referring to the third photo. If they weren't, then you can disregard this step). What I mean by this, is that if you use the bracket as it comes in the box, the adjustable elbow doesn't function properly. The elbow should be used to angle the flash head and the umbrella all at once. If you bought a different brand, look at the final photo for this step and ensure it matches. If not, you probably need to follow a similar set of steps







Step 2: Attach the umbrella bracket to the light-stand





Step 3: Expand the legs on the base of the light-stand

In case of heavy winds on an outdoor photo-shoot, you can tent stake the stand to the ground if you are on soil, or you can use sandbags if you're at the beach or on pavement - see note on image.



Step 4: Attach the umbrella to the umbrella bracket





Step 5: Attach the flash head to the umbrella bracket





Step 6: Locate and setup the flash triggering cords (PC male-to-female & Unique pointy cord that came with the Vivitar 285HV)
NOTE: SKIP THIS STEP AND GO TO STEP 7 IF YOU CHOSE THE WIRELESS ROUTE USING CYBERSYNC TRANSIMITTOR/RECEIVERS AS OPPOSED TO THE PC MALE-TO-FEMALE CORD METHOD OF FLASH TRIGGERING















Step 7: Setup the flash to trigger wirelessly with the CyberSync wireless transmitter/receivers
NOTE: ONLY DO THIS STEP IF YOU CHOSE TO GO THE WIRELESS ROUTE AS OPPOSED TO USING THE PC MALE-TO-FEMALE METHOD LISTED IN STEP 6













Step 8: Note how to use the elbow to angle your flash head and umbrella (regardless of whether you chose step 6 or 7)



Stay tuned for Portrait Lighting Lesson 3. We'll be discussing one of the most common lighting setups: 45 degree lighting.