One more quick? Which lights do I buy?

[imagine photography]

I have checked out alienbees and am at a loss of which set to buy. To be honest I have mainly worked with natural light so my understanding of what is need is small. I guess i need someone to spell it out for me. Which set is good enough to use for portraits with a white backdrop?

 

[table1349]

Go to the library or buy a book on studio lighting and read it. It will give you a great perspective on what you need for the type of photography you want to do. It will show you the types of light setup you need for specific types of shots. It can save you from buying equipment that you do not need, at least to start.

 

[henryp]

Our site has an Intro To Lighting you might find useful. Another is our Lighting Sourcebook.

 

[Digital Matt]

To get a white background white, you need a background light. It all depends on what you are going to be shooting. If you are doing full length on white, you'll want two umbrellas, one from each side, to get your background white. If it's just head and shoulders, you can get away with 1 light on a small background light stand, behind the subject. You can get away with 1 light for a key, and 1 reflector, and make nice pictures, but it is also nice to have a hairlight. It's really about what you want to do, and how much you are willing to spend.