need recomendations for my first lighting purchase

[coggonobrien]

Hey folks,

Just curious to see what everybody's recommendations would be for my first lighting purchase. The lights will be used for everything from small shoots (babies, children) up to large families. Ideally the budget would be $300 but willing to go up to $500 if that's what it takes for a quality start. Just looking for a nice warm natural light to avoid using flash.

Thanks!
David

 

[coggonobrien]

anybody?

 

[IgsEMT]

Decent quality units are almost impossible to get for your price range.
Just the lights, AlienBees 400 - 2 lights you can get for about $500 and then + stands, umbrellas, etc. look on ebay for stuff.

 

[Village Idiot]

Where will you be shooting? Will you always have an electric outlet available or will you need power?

Speedlight can be used for what you want if you need portability and have a lack of power, but if you need to shoot larger scenes and shoot outdoors you're going to want to look at more powerful lights like mono lights or pack and head systems. and to use those away from an outlet, you're going to need a battery which is about $300 for the cheapest non-DIY option I can think of.

Bare light is generally not viewed as flattering for the type of shots you're describing, so you're going to need modifiers.

 

[NikonNewbie]

I'm gonna buy an El' Cheapo kit on Ebay or Amazon, use it until I know what I'm doing, then sell it to another person who just needs to practice and buy good stuff when I go back to work.
I just got a speedlight for 219, it was the BEST purchase for my money.
Good luck, and share the info if you find anything worth while, as I'm in the same price range boat your in.
Amazon has a kit from Cowboy Studio...I have been reading reviews on the light kits for like a week now.

 

[Light Artisan]

Been recommending these a lot lately it seems, but I went of a recommendation from another member and got the Adorama Flashpoint 320M monolight, going to get a couple more as well.

 

[coggonobrien]

they will be used strictly indoors with 110v available.

 

[KmH]

Why do you want to avoid strobed (flash) light?

Have you ever wondered why strobed light is what the vast majority of pro shooters use indoors?

Continuous lights are pretty hard on subjects (heat).

An alternative to the Adorama lights is the Genesis 200 2-light kit from Calumet: Calumet Genesis 200 2-Light Kit

 

[Village Idiot]

Oh wait...constant light...no clue. Home Depot worklights? Have fun with those.