Reddit reviews Neewer 16 Channel Wireless Remote FM Flash Speedlite Radio Trigger with 2.5mm PC Receiver for Flash Units with Universal Hot Shoe

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I09WHLW x 2 - Speedlights - $56

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Wireless-Speedlite-Receiver-Universal/dp/B00A47U22U - Wireless Trigger - $19

https://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-Photography-Light-Stands-Cases/dp/B001WB02Z4 - Light Stands - $29

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Professional-Universal-Speedlite-Umbrella/dp/B00JJJR7PY - x2 - Cold Shoe - $22

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0132I34K4 - Octobox - $23

https://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Premium-Shoot-Through-Translucent-Umbrella/dp/B005ODKMOC - Shoot though umbrella - $14

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-43-inch-Collapsible-Multi-Disc-Reflector/dp/B002ZIMEMW - 5 in 1 reflector - $20

That brings you for a full starting light setup that can be used for headshots and starting boudoir for $183. And you even have flexablity in there to use a 1 light setup with reflector or use 2 lights. You would want a few sandbags to keep the gear stable, but I am not including those in the price.

Now for a background setup

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E6GRHBO/ref=psdc_3444601_t1_B00MTF6ZVC

Is a good basic stand but hard to fit under your budget with the above lighting gear.

https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Studio-Collapsible-Backdrop-1-8x2-8m/dp/B00UWL02PU is also an okay starting backdrop, Grey can be turned into white or black. I will warn you that you will need a fabric steamer to get the lines out, but that is pretty much the same however you go with cloth. Another more expensive choice is to go with seamless paper, I love working with paper, but it is an ongoing expense to use it.

Now if you are going to make this her studio all the time, they make http://www.homedepot.com/p/EUCATILE-32-sq-ft-96-in-x-48-in-Hardboard-Thrifty-White-Tile-Board-HDDPTW48/205995949 that you can use to make a great background. Or to me the better option if you are going to use a room as a full time studio, paint the walls, put down hardwood or laminate, and you have a great studio setup.

At that budget, get some manual offname speedlights, and some cheap 28in umbrellas. They are far from the best things out there, but even the junk has its place, and that place is on shoestring budgets. As for backdrop, go to walmart, and pick up some queen or king size bedsheets of the walmart brand. Get one thats close to middle grey if possible. A middle grey sheet with a speed light and a color gel will become whatever color your gel is. I bought the strobist pack of gels, so my one sheet instantly becomes the whole rainbow. The reality is that $150 is a drop in the bucket of a proper studio, but there are plenty of budget ways of doing things. If you want even cheaper lighting, at the trade off of control, go to your local hardware store and pick up some of the $5 work lights that look like more like a bowl from your kitchen than a proper light. Continuous light can still be plenty useful but can be a little trickier to set up, and dealing with spill can be a pain. $2 foam core project boards make great dirt cheap reflectors and flags. You best bet at that budget is to think more DIY than "what can I buy". Try things and experiment. I have spent almost as much money at HomeDepot making my own lighting modifiers as I have on buying actual modifiers, and the results aren't really much different between my homebrew and the actual gear.

edit: Here's some links!

AmazonBasics speedlight $28 (x2, ~$60)

flash triggers, $15

two shoot-through, two silver reflectives, two gold reflectives, w/stands and carry bag $57

so that puts us at ~$135 right there

grey bedsheet $15

cheap gel kit $8

So add in tax and shipping, and there's your $150 budget plus a few bucks extra.

Now like I said you can do continuous light a little cheaper.

Here are some lights, modifiers, stands, and backdrops for $97

The key here is this is all "junk". That doesnt mean dont use it. I have a bunch of stuff from kits like these. But dont be surprised if an umbreallas silver lining separates off, or a softbox develops a tear in it. They just arnt made to the same standards as "pro" gear, but you can get just as good results with it if you take your time to learn what you are doing, and accept the downfalls of what you are buying and work around them. Work in your budget and develop your skills more. You will either pursue it further and buy better stuff later, or like me, still have the cheap off name junk because it works fine and you would rather spend money on glass than umbrellas.

Get one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Wireless-Speedlite-Receiver-Universal/dp/B00A47U22U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1458791907&sr=8-3&keywords=wireless+flash

I've been using it for a few weeks now and love it. Wifi has latency issues, but this is instant RF, way better.

No matter what kind of lens you use, it really comes down to lighting. Properly diffused lighting. I would spend the $150-200 on a pair of strobes like this and product box like this. You'll also need this to fire the speedlights. It all comes out to about $135 before shipping.

It's just a mechanical switch essentially, tied into the shutter mechanism. There could be gunk on it, or whatever parts of the shutter trip the connection may be out of whack. Someone at apug/photrio may know how to get to it. Usually it's a case of removing stuff bit by bit until you reach the shutter and removing the shutter cover. That's the point where stuff can spring out like a looney-tunes cartoon explosion, so don't turn it upside down or work the shutter with the cover off! (I'm assuming the PC port is on the shutter which is part of the lens? If the shutter's part of the body, that's another story. Shutters are usually accessible as they can need adjustment and repair and cleaning).

EDIT: if you want to shoot with strobes and not wait for a repair, you can get a cheap Chinese radio trigger set for like fifteen bucks, and shoot in very low light. Set your shutter for like 1/4 or 1/2 seconds, fire the camera and fire the test button on the slave transmitter before the shutter closes.

Taking a flash off your camera just requires a transmitter and a receiver. You can get very inexpensive ones that work pretty well for under $20. Or even just a flash cable. Then you put the flash on a clip or a stand and put it where you want it and then use as normal. (Be sure to get a transmitter that's made to work with your camera brand, since each flash mount works different)

Obviously taking any of this stuff up a wall will add danger and complexity, and a big diffuser will lower your light output and won't make much of a difference from any meaningful distance (more than 15 feet or so) but from here, you'll have to experiment and see what works for you!

Any standard hotshoe radio trigger should work.
It won't have anything like TTL, HSS or rear curtain capabilities, but they're cheap and cheerful, and work.

this sort of thing: https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Wireless-Speedlite-Receiver-Universal/dp/B00A47U22U

If you do want wireless so you can shoot further than arm's length, I have been using these. They weigh virtually nothing and work really well (provided you are ok with setting everything from the flash and not the transmitter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A47U22U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm trying to understand some things about speedlights and triggers.

What does it mean, for example, that the YN560IV has build it transmitter? I read that it can control up to 3 other flashes? Or it can just connect to a wireless trigger, like the YN560-TX, without the need of a receiver?

What are the difference in use between the trigger mentioned above and something like this:
https://www.amazon.es/gp/aw/d/B00A47U22U/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?__mk_es_ES=ÅMÅZÕÑ&qid=1522265774&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Flash+trigger&dpPl=1&dpID=51FT9BEQkDL&ref=plSrch

Can those trigger old manual speedlights?

HSS. What uses does it have? Or rather, in what situations could you need faster than 1/200 shutter when using a speedlight?

What is a slave? A flash that fires only when another does so? Aside from triggering it optically by firing another flash (is there a delay to this?), are there other options that use the same idea? If I set 2,3, or 5 speedlights, I'd have one that I receives the signal directly from camera and the rest will be slaves? Or not?

I am considering buying a light meter (specifically this one). Would I need to purchase a sync cable to connect my flash and light meter? If so would a cable like this work with this trigger system?

The AmazonBasics flash is ~$30 and is just a rebranded Neewer model. It's full manual, but if you're shooting off camera with speedlights, with the A6000 that's the only game in town anyway. (If there's a TTL wireless transmitter/receiver out there for the Sony multi-interface shoe, I'm not sure).

For stands and umbrellas, when I started off Cowboy Studio stuff was inexpensive and relatively good quality to price. I'm not sure if it's still that way, but if you're looking to keep it cheap to start with, it's not a bad way to go. Same with their wireless transmitter, but Neewer has one for $16 on Amazon right now that comes with 2 receivers.

(The one thing to keep in mind is that the hotshoe on the black A6000 is painted/coated, so the transmitter may have issues grounding, but I haven't had one of these in hand for several years, and I'm having difficulty remembering if the transmitter required a ground spot in the first place, as it's just a simple "pop the flash" affair. You should be fine though.)

So for a starter kit to learn off camera stuff, I'd say go with 2 of the AmazonBasics Flashes

This umbrella/stand kit

And the above mentioned trigger set. That's around $130 and two lights should be plenty to get you started. Maybe even consider getting some softboxes while you're at it.

Since you're just getting started with it, I wouldn't dump too much money into it for now. Those two flashes with umbrellas/soft boxes will be plenty to just get the basics down, learn the different lighting styles, and decide if shooting with flash is where you want to go.

From there, shelling out for some PocketWizards, Profoto strobes, and all the high end kit is up to you!

Honestly, I think you’ll be unhappy going cheap in the beginning. You’ll probably want to upgrade later on, so you might want to save some extra money for better equipment. But if that’s not an option right now, I totally understand!

You really can’t go wrong with the Yongnuo flashes. Check those out to see which one fits your needs and is in your price range. These triggers are pretty decent. You’ll want a nice bracket for your umbrella and flash. These stands are also fairly decent.

oh so that one wont work unfortunately, the trigger only works with godox gear.

If you just want a manual trigger just get this!
https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Wireless-Speedlite-Receiver-Universal/dp/B00A47U22U/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=flash+trigger&qid=1567609226&s=gateway&sr=8-5

The advantage of a flash with a trigger is that you can take a couple with it, click the transmitter off, and take a couple without it...

I use a flash on a very low stand for exit photos, generally - but if something wrong - for example, if I can't get into the right position to put the couple between me and the speedlight for some reason, I want to be able to click it off remotely and still get photos! Of course you can handle that with a signal to your husband to switch off that light, so you'll be fine there!

That said, there are cheap flashes that are absolutely fine. You can buy a manual only flash for $30, or one with TTL for $50-60. In addition to the 622's, which are what I use most of the time, you can also get the super cheap 'dumb' transmitters that just pass the trigger signal for under $20. If you're really not going to use this stuff again, they'd be fine.

So something like
https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Wireless-Speedlite-Receiver-Universal/dp/B00A47U22U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524622121&sr=8-3&keywords=flash+trigger

And

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Electronic-Flash-Cameras-Canon/dp/B01I09WHLW/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1524622217&sr=8-16&keywords=yongnuo+flash

That flash will actually trigger as an optical slave to any flash... so you COULD skip the trigger and just use your diffuse fill flash to trigger it while your husband holds it.

Are those great products? Nope. Would I shoot paid weddings with them? Nope. But I think there's a 95% chance they'd do what you need them to do - all for under $50.00.

If you'll use off camera flashes again... invest a little more in the YN-622c's and/or the godox flashes. But if not, cheap out and you're probably okay.

Whatever you do, make sure to get out there 10 minutes before the exit and test your setup! Sparkler exits have everything a photographer hates - bright lights, darkness, fast movement, and a narrow window of opportunity!

Also, coach your couple! Tell them to come out, kiss, move to a certain spot, stop and waive, wait for your signal to move to the end of the line... kiss again. They tend to just RUN for it and it's easy to miss the whole thing, especially if you need two seconds to adjust a setting or switch on or off a flash trigger. That's more important than the gear! The sparklers really DO give enough light to get a shot with ambient only, or ambient and a little flash fill.

Oh, and if you are using front fill, gel it warm!

Some with something like this

I can connect the pc-hh sync cable between my power pack and the receiver?

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