Idiot non-photographer seeking advice about studio kits

[David_AST]

I own and run a small apparel business and am interested in getting a cheap photography studio set up so I can take product shots quickly and easily. I hire professional photographers when I need something serious done, but for the times I just need a couple quick photos and I don't want to spend thousands, I'd love to be able to take care of business myself. Perhaps mislead and disillusioned by the plethora of cheap $300 "complete studio kits" listed on Amazon, I've put my budget between $300-$500. However, based on other similar posts that I've read on this message board, my budget is far too small, laughable, and even worthy of ridicule. That may be the case, but please keep in mind that I am not claiming to be a photographer. I just want a better option for taking pictures than what I currently have...which is snapping shots in front of an off-white wall with only my lamp and an open window to serve as lighting (I do my best in Photoshop to clean things up afterwards).

Anyway, I was just about to buy one of those $300 kits, like those offered at Cowboy Studios, but figured I would check out what the pros here thought first. As it turns out, you don't think much of these types of kits...in fact, it seems ghetto-rigging various poles and lights purchased at Home Depot may be a better solution than buying something from Cowboy Studios. While I won't disagree that with some creative DIY work you can probably piece together something very serviceable, my problem is I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I don't know jack about lighting, I barely know how to use a flash properly, and learning how to become a pro photographer isn't very high my list of priorities. What appealed to me about these $300 studio kits is they are "all-in-one" and seem to be set up for photo-dummies like myself.

Given that I'm just looking for a simple solution that will result in better pictures than my amazing "white wall and floor lamp" set up I'm currently using, would you suggest I get one of these $300 kits, or would it be worth my while to spend a bit more and buy (relatively) higher-quality products piece by piece? I would consider spending up to $700 or $800 (no jokes or snarky comments please) if it made sense for what I'm looking to do, but I'm concerned the learning curve of actually setting up and using all these pieces properly would be a bit high. Again, I'm not a photographer. I've got products to design, marketing campaigns to run, sales calls to make, etc...I just want something easy to set up and start snapping photos. When I need legitimate product shots, I hire professionals who know what they're doing.

If you think a cheap studio kit is an okay solution for me, would you suggest continuous lighting, or strobe lighting?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you. - David

Current Equipment: Canon Rebel XSi, Canon Speedlite 430EX II, Tripod

 

[tirediron]

For what you want, your budget is probably sufficient, but the problem is going to be learning how to use it. Whether you spend $100 or $10,000 on gear, without the knowledge to put behind it, it's not worth anything. Spend some time searching terms like 'product lighting' and 'clothing photography' to get an idea what you need to be doing. Gear-wise, I would suggest a roll of seamless white paper & stand, a couple of Adorama Flashpoint series lights with triggers and stands and two medium-size soft-boxes.

 

[David_AST]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[KmH]

While you don't have to become a professional photographer, you will nevertheless have to at least learn the fundamentals of photography and photographic lighting if you are to have any hope of producing consistant results. Otherwise you stand a good chance of wasting big chunks of your valuable time.

Light Science and Magic, Fourth Edition: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

"Even the easy things are tough, if you do them half-assed"

 

[Village Idiot]

Check out Adorama's Flashpoint series of monolights. They have multiple light "studio kits" that'll get you started for fairly cheap. Stay away from Cowboy studios. They're junk and they have a laughable warranty.

 

[David_AST]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to give the Adorama Flashpoint series a shot (Flashpoint FP620MPWK Portrait Wedding Monolight Kit FP620MPWK). I'll try to remember and come back here later to report results, just in case someone in a similar situation finds this thread and would like to know how everything works out.