Gearing up for portaits

In preparation for some upcoming portrait work, I’ve decided to invest in some additional portrait-friendly gear. Specifically, I wanted to (1) get my flash off camera and (2) add a short focal length lens to my portrait kit. Because I’m relatively new to the portrait game, I’m looking for high quality without high cost.

I have occasionally used my (admittedly ancient) Canon 420EX flash and a shoot-through umbrella for stock photo work; however, when I tried to apply this system to some indoor portrait work, it failed… literally. Somewhere between home and location, my sync cord/hot shoe connections decided to stop working. Even if I had been able to fire the flash, I realized that the sync cords would have really limited my ability to move around my subjects. So, I’ve decided to go with a wireless system and the RadioPoppers JrX basic kit looks like a great starting point. Because the 420EX does not have a built in PC port, I turned to Flash Zebra for a receiver to flash connection. I contacted Lon at FlashZebra and was quickly guided to the proper hot shoe sync adaptor for my Canon flash.

Prior to a trip to Alaska a few years ago, I purchased two of the lenses from my long-time wish list – the Canon 100 mm f/2.8 macro and the Canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS zoom. I love these lenses and have used each of them as portrait lenses. However, the time has come to add a shorter focal length lens and the Canon 50 mm f/1.8 lens seems to fit the bill.

I spent a lot of time researching equipment and, in making my choices, I relied heavily on great posts such as the following:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2009/08/radiopopper-jrx-questions-and-answers.html

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-50mm-f-1.8-II-Lens-Review.aspx

I’m looking forward to posting results soon! I’d love to hear about your experiences with the RadioPopper system and/or the Canon 50 mm f/1.8 lens.

Technorati Tags: portrait, radiopopper, 50mm, photography

Tweet This Post

Kitten Hatching

Tweet This Post