Headshots for Publication...any new equipment needed?

[masdog]

Hi everyone. I was recently granted the opportunity to do head shots for my college's sports media guides. They used to be done by the Sports Information Director, but a new one was hired who knows nothing about photography and he asked me to help him out with this task.

I am rather new to taking portraits. The equipment that I currently have, and would use for this task, is a Canon 350D and a Sigma 24-105 f/2.8-4.0 lens. If I need to use a flash, I would consider using the built-in one on my camera body.

Is there anything else I should consider? Would I be better off buying an external flash? If so, would a Canon 420EX be a good choice (money is tight right now)?

[SmartWombat]

If you can't borrow some lights and stands from the theatre, yes an external flash will be useful.
But if you can pick the location, and have a good sized window, you may find reflectors a cheaper solution to getting a good light on the subject.

[another view]

Have you used the built-in flash with that lens? I'd guess that it has a pretty big diameter barrel and it might block part of the frame from the flash - especially with a lens hood. Something to try to see if this is even an option.

The world of lighting can get pretty complicated quickly - but if you can shoot these outside, maybe with a fill flash, you should get pretty nice results.

[masdog]

Thank you, AV and SW, for your replies. I plan on shooting most of these outdoors since I will be taking the headshots before the competitions. I wish I had more time to arrange this and possibly get the money to get a better flash, but I was given this opportunity on Friday.