As regular readers here know, you can use speedlights for cool edgy shots that look photoshopped. Like these, taken today at my 5-day course at the Niagara School of Imaging at Brock University:

Those shots need you to take your time setting up, because you need equipment. But it can be simple equipment. like:

1. Two lightstands with four speedlights driven by Pocketwizards: one right, one left, slightly behind the model. No modifiers.
2. A lightstand with one speedlight, driven by Pocketwizard, behind the photographer. No modifiers.
3. A pocketwizard on the camera to drive it all.
4. You set your camera to ambient minus 1-2 stops, eg 200 ISO, 1/250th second, f/16.
5. You set the speedlights to whatever power level you need to achieve f/16.

Like this:

Of course you need the brackets and cables and ball heads that are needed to connect the equipment together. But that is not rocket science.

Have a go – or come take one of my courses. Flash is wonderful light!