Is this kit appropriate for a total beginner who wants to use it for portrait setups? My camera doesnt have a strobe setup
1623942
Yes it could be... be sure you research exactly what you want before you buy. You may need different items if you are going to be indoor only vs. wanting to take these outside. Overall, as a beginner you could probably make this work in almost any situation because it's decent performance, light weight and quite portable.
939834
I take a lot of photos indoors and this works well. You might have to experiment a bit with angles to avoid shadows from the flash but it's pretty easy to manage once you try a few shots. I would also suggest using a free online photo editor if you are just starting out with photography. PicMonkey is free, easy to use, and can really help clean up photos, as well as boost colors, sharpness, etc. You can crop, lighten, add frames, etc.
1699233
Can Be - The GN for this flash is relatively low since it's designed for close up work, within a foot or two. However, it's probably fine as a fill light or if you're in the habit of using a 50mm lens or wider as a portrait lens. Personally I like shooting portraits with focal lengths greater than 100mm and using at least a couple of lights at an angle and not directly head-on. For glamor lighting (head on lighting) I use an A-B ringflash with w/ 32inch softbox, I don't use this for portraits but for specific fashion shoots and clothing designers.
1329880
Nice kit, if all you ever want is head on lighting. I like the ability to dim it, but that said you can always easily add gels to the light box. I prefer the lightbox because I can place them where ever I need to achieve the effect I want, then I'm free to go where ever I need with the camera. Its all down to preference and the results desired. If I wasn't on a budget I'd buy the Dimmab just for the hell of it and so that I had it there to play with if the need arose, but I'd still have to have my light boxes.
1526727
I wouldn't recommend this kit, the Wide Angle Lens won't do its job (U'll see black shadows covering the 4 corners of the frame) and the Lens Hood simply didn't fit in (SX40HS) I threw the entire kit without checking the filters nor the Close up Lenses. Sorry for my late reply.
619826
this kit came with a manual of sorts. search online. i have some speedlight courses coming up, lighting is as complicated as lightroom/photoshop/photoghrapy, etc.hope that helped
111692
I am strictly an amateur/casual photographer but I've had pretty good results in all lighting situations. I mostly use the preset modes.
1994170
I think it's a good starter kit just to get u going. The lense you probably won't need though.
1434328
Yes! All of the above...this is a great kit for the beginner. I have taken over 5000+ shots of my 10 mth old daughter and I am still amazed by the quality of this DSLR,granted I am an amateur. I would recommend it for sure!
513846
Its on the front so aiming might be kinda hard , umm just make sure you have the proper lighting and it will get the job done. No flash either so yeah lighting is important.
1699234
No, its not good for portrait shots. You do not want lighting blasting into the face of a subject. Lighting should come from a 45 degree angle to the subjects face.
369371
Its pretty decent for portraiture, but for event shooting, i'd go with either reflections off the walls or a diffuser. When using the softbox, you just have to make sure its not going all flimsy on you and that the leather isnt blocking any of the flash (Have the soft box erect as possible)
72576
The kit I bought was a transmitter and a receiver but I don't know if this is it. You'll need an RP cube if you want to hook it to a camera strobe.
525783
If you're a beginner or novice, you need to buy a Rebel and spend all your money buying professional grade L series lenses. I would say that since this camera has NO auto mode, this is probably a very bad option for a beginner given the other options. It'll take you 2 - 3 years before you're good enough to even touch the options this camera has to offer. If you're a beginner, I don't know how the hell you're spending $7000 on a camera with no knowledge about how photography works. This isn't like buying a Lamborghini where you can just sit in the seat and show off your car by pressing the gas pedal. Photography is like painting, where buying all the horsehair brushes, oil mixtures, and professional canvas stock doesn't get you anywhere if you can't even make brush strokes properly.
2092112
It would work well for a beginner but you still need to learn correct angles etc. it would be fine if you combined it with youtube videos. Maintaining a correct angle consistently takes practice. Don't forget the honing oil.
1418176
Hey, I think you would be trying to exceed the limits of your flash, maybe the smaller softlighter would be good for portraits with the flash you have. Or double up on flashes, I use 3-4 yongnuo flashes with this item. Depending on what camera you have you may need something to trigger the flash, you can search for flash triggers, you need receivers and transmitters, the cheap ones work fine if you don't need e/ttl, or you can use a TTL cord. Hope this helps
731680
They are pretty decent for the price. More than powerful for the price. You don't need 3 to do portraits; you can do a portrait with 1 light. It just depends what look you are trying to get.