I'm planning on setting up an amateur photo shoot studio in my home. My target cost is to be under $1000. What are some crucial equipments I need and are there good tutorials and guides on this topic on the internet (equipment, tips, techniques)?
i assume you already have a camera and a good lens.. lighting: take a look at www.alienbees.com you will need at least: 1 main light 1 fill light 1 background light you might get away without having the fill light and using a strong main light and a homemade reflector.
also try to google for portrait light set ups or something like that. i am no expert but what i have is: a 50mm f1.8 70-200mm f4.0 L britek pro500 500w/s strobe homemade reflector and adding 1 or 2 vivitar 285hv flashes for background and/or hairlight. i will trigger all of these with radio triggers. i also have cs3 to fix all of my mistakes you will need a good PP program to add blur, fix skin, etc