Please help this begginer :)

[Cocochic]

Hello everyone! Happy to be here where I share the same interest with others! I'm a begginer and I need some help - I want to create a studio. Basically, my plan is to get a camera where I can do "tethering", i believe this is what it's called, and take photos of me showing my make up. For now, it will be photos only, no videos.
I have been looking at some cameras and the 70D seems like a nice option. What do you think about it? Also, i need help with lenses, I didn't quite figure it out yet .
Sorry for my English-not my first language !
Thanks!

 

[Didereaux]

The 7D is a crop sensor, not the best for studio work. I would recommend the 6D, or something in that range. Light, EXCELLENT sensitivity, and won't break the piggy bank. Almost any modern DSLR can be tethered. Get a GOOD lens. Just as important though is your lighting set up. IF you are going to go with flash then I strongly recommend the Yongnuo line of flashes (you will need 2-3 flashes to get the best results (that is the case with all light sources). They are 100% Canon compatible, and 1/3 the price. Lindsay Adler, Syl Arena, are a couple of excellent sources on Youtube for lighting.

 

[mariska2016]

The 7D is a crop sensor, not the best for studio work. I would recommend the 6D, or something in that range. Light, EXCELLENT sensitivity, and won't break the piggy bank. Almost any modern DSLR can be tethered. Get a GOOD lens. Just as important though is your lighting set up. IF you are going to go with flash then I strongly recommend the Yongnuo line of flashes (you will need 2-3 flashes to get the best results (that is the case with all light sources). They are 100% Canon compatible, and 1/3 the price. Lindsay Adler, Syl Arena, are a couple of excellent sources on Youtube for lighting.

Tell me please. I have the same question. You say that 6D camera better. You mean something like these cameras: CANON 6DPK2 or CANON 6DB EOS. I was advised on the courses take something from these cameras to my photography studio. I want to do a vignette for schools, kindergartens and universities. Thanks for the advice

 

[goodguy]

I would actually recommend to get a Nikon camera because they have better dynamic range
A full frame camera like the Nikon D610 which is an outstanding camera but it is not too expensive (considering its a full frame camera).
To that I would recommend adding Nikon 85mm 1.8G which is an outstanding portrait lens yet it is very reasonably priced (again relatively).
Minimum of 2 flashes with 2 flash triggers and one master.
2 softboxes with stands, and a backdrop.
This is a good basic starter studio.

 

[mariska2016]

Thank you! Tell me whether it will approach a set NIKON D610+AF-S 24-85mm. I'm in this store has a discount to the previous price + free shipping to the apartment. Therefore, guided by the goods which are here.

 

[Didereaux]

The 7D is a crop sensor, not the best for studio work. I would recommend the 6D, or something in that range. Light, EXCELLENT sensitivity, and won't break the piggy bank. Almost any modern DSLR can be tethered. Get a GOOD lens. Just as important though is your lighting set up. IF you are going to go with flash then I strongly recommend the Yongnuo line of flashes (you will need 2-3 flashes to get the best results (that is the case with all light sources). They are 100% Canon compatible, and 1/3 the price. Lindsay Adler, Syl Arena, are a couple of excellent sources on Youtube for lighting.

Tell me please. I have the same question. You say that 6D camera better. You mean something like these cameras: CANON 6DPK2 or CANON 6DB EOS. I was advised on the courses take something from these cameras to my photography studio. I want to do a vignette for schools, kindergartens and universities. Thanks for the advice

6D EOS

 

[table1349]

This.

A crop sensor Camera will do just fine, as will a full frame sensor, as will medium format as will a large frame format. It all comes down to what you are trying to accomplish. From you post it sounds like me you are just getting started in photography with very little knowledge. The fanboys are going to try to sell you on their brand of gear. Take it with a grain of salt. Everyone has their favorite. as do I. But I am not going into my chosen system as it is right for me, but may not be right for you. Gear is a tool, it is the photographer that captures the images.

A big problem I see is not posting your budget in your original post. That is important as photography is not cheap.

First things first, define what it is you want to do. Are you looking to start some kind of studio/commercial business or just wanting to take nice portraits of family, friends etc.?

Next, you are not buying a camera you are buying a system. The body is good as the lenses and other accessories you need to meet your goals. Nikon and Canon have the most complete systems that will meet virtually any photographers needs, however, Sony and Pentax make quality products that may or may not meet your needs. You have to determine that.

Look at the lenses you will need. Studio work requires shorter focal length lenses. My 400mm f2.8 is a fabulous portrait lens, but is totally unsuitable for a studio. You will want things in the 35mm to 135mm range at the longest depending on the size of your studio space.

Tethering is it's own animal. You will need a good computer with an ISP monitor as well as a good hardware calibration device if you want to see what you are actually getting. You will also need a good quality software with tether features. I use Capture One Pro, but you can tether with Lightroom and most camera makers have some sort of tether program with their gear. Again part of the bundle to look at if you want to use their software and not buy after market software.

Finally there is lighting. Good lighting is not cheap, but depending on what you want to do it can be relatively inexpensive. You may be able to use a Strobist setup using off camera flash units, or you may need more powerful studio lighting. The key to good studio lighting is to have enough light to do the job without paying for way too much light. On the other side of the scale is color balance. As you lower light power on most economy models of strobe units you will experience color shift. With high quality usually high dollar units this is usually not a problem.

Finally do you want mono lights, i.e.. self contained strobe units or will a pack system work for you? A pack system has the flash head on a stand an a power pack somewhere on the floor with cables going to each head. My studio has a pack system as I do not mind the wires, I am used to it and it is very controllable from my camera location. I also have a mono head system for outside studio/sports.

I would suggest you first define your budget, then define your needs. At that point you are ready to look at the various systems to see what best meets your needs at your budget.

 

[TCampbell]

For the type of use you have in mind, the camera body isn't particularly important... what IS important is the lighting and the lens(es). Most any modern digital camera can be "tethered". Usually that just comes down to software choice (tethering software that allows you to shoot and immediately review your work in a way that fits nicely with your workflow and wont slow you down when shooting and ruin the pace/energy of the shoot.)

If you want to show gorgeous detail of make-up, then you'll probably want a macro lens. These are lenses optimized for close-up work. Macro lenses used for portraiture are typically in the 60-105mm range... with 60mm (or longer) being useful for cameras that have APS-C size image sensors, and 100mm (or longer) being useful for full-frame sensor cameras.

You'll also probably want off-camera lighting and light-modifiers to allow you to produce "soft" lighting. Soft-boxes, beauty dishes, and sometimes ring-lights are desirable. Soft-boxes are probably the most versatile / universally useful lighting modifiers. Beauty dishes tend to be popular for portraits and ring-lights are popular for macro photography. They create an "all around" lighting effect that seems to have no shadow. I would not rush out and buy any lighting... instead what I'd suggest is that you study up on lighting and then select something appropriate once you understand the differences in types of lighting and light modifiers.

 

[chuasam]

The 7D is a crop sensor, not the best for studio work. I would recommend the 6D, or something in that range. Light, EXCELLENT sensitivity, and won't break the piggy bank. Almost any modern DSLR can be tethered. Get a GOOD lens. Just as important though is your lighting set up. IF you are going to go with flash then I strongly recommend the Yongnuo line of flashes (you will need 2-3 flashes to get the best results (that is the case with all light sources). They are 100% Canon compatible, and 1/3 the price. Lindsay Adler, Syl Arena, are a couple of excellent sources on Youtube for lighting.

If you're shooting something subtle as make up and you're working about low light...then you're doing it wrong.
First, spend the money on your lights. Almost any camera will do.
If you have a nice window with good light, you've saved yourself a ton of money.
Use foam core reflectors. Spend some money on your colour management. An X-Rite Colour Checker Passport is important if you want your make up colours to be accurate.
A BeautyDish of some sort or Ring Light is ideal (depending on the aesthetic you seek).
a Rebel T(something)i or D5500 would be ideal because you can rotate the LCD when tethering is just not practical.
a steady tripod is useful (no need to break the bank as it doesn't have to be tall or light)
Lenses....a 100mm macro or 105mm macro (depending on brand) is perfect if you have the budget.

 

[photo1x1.com]

Here is the eight answer. Well, and probably the eight opinion .

You have a very interesting project.

For the kind of work you plan, just taking pictures of yourself with your makeup if I understand you right, it isn´t very important what lens you start out with. Usually the kit lens will work fine. Reason being: in the studio, you can use apertures like 9.0 or 11.0 because the light is made by flash, and decent studio flash produce quite an amount. Using apertures like that will decrease the difference in sharpness between the expensive pro lenses, and the rather cheap kit lenses. They are not exactly the same, but they get relatively close. So especially in the beginning, a cheaper zoom lens will be fine.

Regarding the rest: did you make up your mind yet, what background you´d like to use (white, black, grey, color - would like it evenly lit, or would you like a radial gradient around your head)? That´s pretty important when it comes to lighting.

Many of the things that have been said are totally right. I just want to add two things to what has been said by others:
Regarding the color shift in economy strobe units: absolutely true, BUT: in time your front diffusor (the white piece of cloth on your softbox, or your white umbrella) will get a color shift too (even if you don´t smoke, like me and even if you wash it regularely ). So will your flash bulb. Everything gets more yellow (or "warmer") in time. So the very often discussed color correction for strobes is an issue that is always present, even if you have very decent lights. To me that means: get what you can afford and don´t think about color shift. If you shoot your images RAW rather than jpg and use a greycard to white balance your images in your image editing program, that will work fine, and be pretty consistent.
Regarding focal lengths: don´t get too wide. I wouldn´t recommend a wideangle in the studio, because you will get everying in the frame - including equipment and other objects left and right to your actual background. A good starting point usually is a 50mm focal lengths. And as said, don´t get longer than around 135mm, otherwise you need to have a pretty big studio.

That said: do you have an idea, how big your home studio is going to be (how much available space do you have)?
Also: does the studio have to be teared down after every shooting, or can you leave it as is?
How are you going to focus and press the shutter button? Using the thether software?

 

[vintagesnaps]

The plan is to get a camera... Do that first, maybe consider used (which could later be sold/traded in or used as a backup camera).

Learn to use the camera and practice, practice, practice - get good enough to produce good professional looking results. Then see if it will be realistic to move forward with the cost of setting up a studio.

If you need photos of yourself for some particular purpose it might be better to pay to have those done by a pro. Practice using a camera if you buy one and then see if it will be worth the time and expense of setting up a studio.

 

[goodguy]

Thank you! Tell me whether it will approach a set NIKON D610+AF-S 24-85mm. I'm in this store has a discount to the previous price + free shipping to the apartment. Therefore, guided by the goods which are here.

This is the camera with its kit lens, used to own this lens in the past, very good lens.
If you get this camera/lens set for a good price then it is a great set for sure.

 

[mariska2016]

Thank you! Tell me whether it will approach a set NIKON D610+AF-S 24-85mm. I'm in this store has a discount to the previous price + free shipping to the apartment. Therefore, guided by the goods which are here.

This is the camera with its kit lens, used to own this lens in the past, very good lens.
If you get this camera/lens set for a good price then it is a great set for sure.

For me, the price $2,100. Do you think I should buy this package?

 

[mariska2016]

The plan is to get a camera... Do that first, maybe consider used (which could later be sold/traded in or used as a backup camera).

Learn to use the camera and practice, practice, practice - get good enough to produce good professional looking results. Then see if it will be realistic to move forward with the cost of setting up a studio.

If you need photos of yourself for some particular purpose it might be better to pay to have those done by a pro. Practice using a camera if you buy one and then see if it will be worth the time and expense of setting up a studio.

Of course, first I'm going to practice. Studio want to open in the summer of 2017. Thank you.

 

[goodguy]

Thank you! Tell me whether it will approach a set NIKON D610+AF-S 24-85mm. I'm in this store has a discount to the previous price + free shipping to the apartment. Therefore, guided by the goods which are here.

This is the camera with its kit lens, used to own this lens in the past, very good lens.
If you get this camera/lens set for a good price then it is a great set for sure.

For me, the price $2,100. Do you think I should buy this package?

That's not a bad price.
I mean the D610 is just a fantastic camera.
The lens is very sharp, its not too big and is good value for money, in time you can add more lenses if you need but I used my 24-85mm VR for most of my stuff till I sold it and got my 24-70mm 2.8G