Lighting equipment

[Crimsonandwhite]

I have a softbox and I am looking to step up my equipment. My question is two fold.

1) What website is repetuable and trust worthy on lighting equipment that is also affordable.

2) What kind of kit would you guys recommend. I've been looking at stuff on Amazon but I haven't seen anything that made me jump.

Thanks

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[JerryPH]

1. The forum sponsors... B&H and/or Adorama.

2. I just ordered a 28" and 50" set of softboxes... very reasonable from B&H and the shipping is unusually fast. I was expecting 2-3 weeks (as per their site annotation), and it will be here in less than 5 days.

P.S. - Don't buy softboxes "just because"... before buying anything, know WHY you want or need any piece of equipment.

[tsaraleksi]

What kind of lighting are you currently using and what sort of things are you interested in adding?

[gryphonslair99]

1. The forum sponsors... B&H and/or Adorama.

2. I just ordered a 28" and 50" set of softboxes... very reasonable from B&H and the shipping is unusually fast. I was expecting 2-3 weeks (as per their site annotation), and it will be here in less than 5 days.

P.S. - Don't buy softboxes "just because"... before buying anything, know WHY you want or need any piece of equipment.

You know Jerry, it's guys like you that caused the whole downturn in the economy. Geeze Jerry, haven't you heard of discretionary spending? We have to get the consumer to turn loose of some of those savings!!!

Seriously, JerryPH is right, figure out what you need and buy the gear that suits those needs. Better than having an expensive junk closet.

[Crimsonandwhite]

Ok, I hear you guys. With that said, I don't know jack about lighting. Like I said I have a single softbox and I love the moody one sided lighting I get from it, but I would like to step up to a real lighting set up for full portrait shots. With that said, I am self taught and I do much better with getting something and just figuring it out, posting shots on here and then taking the critque to adjust what I am doing. With all that said, I know I should probably go to lighting school, but that just isnt in the cards for me right now, so I am looking for suggestions on a first time set up for a nice warm lighting setup. Which kinds of lights are the easiest to start with? I know I need a hair light, its something I need to seperate my subject from the background. I know I also could use a background lighting set up. I know I need a better key light. What are your guys suggestions? What was your first real set up for portrait type shots?

THanks in advnace

[gryphonslair99]

Strobist would also be a good place to start. A lot can be learned there before you ever buy.

Maybe the public library and check out a couple of books on photographic lighting to get an idea where it is you want to go and what gear is needed to pursue that goal.

Alien bees has been a popular starting place for many.
AlienBees: Illuminating the Galaxy with Professional Photographic Lighting Equipment

There are other good companies out there with good beginner packages.

[Defy]

I too am new at lighting but i am starting to get hooked on it. So far i have 2 speed lights that my D300 can control wirelessly. I just got the Nikon Lighting School DVD (good cd if you are a nikon person) and for general portraits this is what it said to do:

Right now i am doing it without the hair light but i will be going with 3 flashes (Key, Background, Hair), 3 stands, umbrella, and a reflector for my start up kit. I will most likely throw in some gel's, defuser, snoot and maybe a speed grid so i have some stuff to play with. (Honl Photo Home Page)

[gryphonslair99]

Couple of good links I forgot I had.
Benji's Studio Lighting and Posing Tutorial
Studio Lighting Considerations
Fotopunto.com: Explained lighting schemes
Video Library | pro photo life

Good POTN thread
FAQ - What studio lighting? - ** READ THIS FIRST ** - Canon Digital Photography Forums

[JerryPH]

I too am new at lighting but i am starting to get hooked on it. So far i have 2 speed lights that my D300 can control wirelessly. I just got the Nikon Lighting School DVD (good cd if you are a nikon person) and for general portraits this is what it said to do:

Right now i am doing it without the hair light but i will be going with 3 flashes (Key, Background, Hair), 3 stands, umbrella, and a reflector for my start up kit. I will most likely throw in some gel's, defuser, snoot and maybe a speed grid so i have some stuff to play with. (Honl Photo Home Page)

For a newbie... too complex. Some of the most amazing pictures I saw were done with ONE SINGLE battery powered strobe.

Walk before you run. 99% of the time the shot can be taken with a single light source and if you understand and know how to control that single light source, using 20 light sources is not anything harder.

[JerryPH]

We have to get the consumer to turn loose of some of those savings!!!

I'm one of those people that is keeping the economy afloat! I've wasted a good 5 digits in the last 2 years on this hobby and I have a good 3-4 thousand more to go!

Seriously, JerryPH is right, figure out what you need and buy the gear that suits those needs. Better than having an expensive junk closet.

Thats right, make fun of my junk closet.

Kidding aside, what I meant was to know what to expect and know what the items you are spending your hard earned cash on will do for you. If you don't have a good idea in advance what to expect from the items that you are paying for... wait a while and learn... THEN make that decision.

I was looking for a small and large softbox setup last year already and did not make the decision to get them until after I had a chance to play with some nice profoto softboxes at a strobist event. Quite the different effect between softboxes and umbrellas.

[N1LSS]

For a newbie... too complex. Some of the most amazing pictures I saw were done with ONE SINGLE battery powered strobe.

me too. Sometimes people try to walk before they can crawl and it just ends badly.