Ok... so I see you are looking at continuous lighting... that may work, but it will present some challenges for portraiture.... first and foremost, the output is very low in comparison to strobes, and also, continuous lights produce prodigious amounts of heat, and your subjects or models will sweat when you crank the lights up to full power (which you will need to do to get a reasonable exposure).
One advantage of continuous lights is that you can see very easily what the lights are doing, but this is also possible with strobes that have modelling lamps built into them... there are a variety of strobes on the market, and the reality is that most of them are of reasonable quality if you aren't shooting all day, every day....
I would suggest getting a single strobe and a medium sized softbox (rectangular), and, course, a stand... and then purchase a few sheets of both black and white foamcore.... use the white sheets of foamcore to make reflectors, and the black to make flags... it is very easy to replicate a three light setup with one light and a few pieces of foamcore...
Purchase the smallest amount of lighting equipment that you can get away with.... spend your money and ingenuity on creating modifiers and reflectors that shape and characterize light in a way that pleases you... learn that craft, and then move on to purchase more lighting...
I recommend you visit the paul c buff website (I believe there is still a distributor in the uk) and see if any of the 'alien bees' strobes float your boat... they are widely regarded for their consistency, durability and ease of use, and might suit your needs and budget very well...
Good luck....
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/37/37280-a7e70a01ccd331918e71645cd4c1f16e.jpg?1734170137)
