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[Braineack]

For studio flash, I think it makes more sense to buy studio flash units than to modify and adapt speedlights into roles they really are not ideally suited for.

this.

buy two cheap studio lights, not speedlights.

 

[Braineack]

I'd also add to be careful using square light sources (like a square softbox) in the front of a person you're photographing. It drives me nuts when I'm driving down the road, look up at a billboard and see a person on it that is lit nicely but with huge squares of light in the middle of their very round eyes. I think using a round light source (octabox, shoot-through umbrella or beauty dish etc.) for the front of a person really helps with the catchlight matching the composition of the eyes. Everything is nice and round.

When you're photographing products, I don't think it matters as much, but portraits is a different story.

show me a portrait, in natural light, of a perfectly round catch-light.

 

[MiahStan]

[QUOTE="show me a portrait, in natural light, of a perfectly round catch-light.[/QUOTE]

We're not talking about natural light here @Braineack. Matt was asking about the best way to set up an indoor studio. My advice to him is to watch out for square modifiers because of the catchlight it produces.

Round pupil, round iris, round(ish) eyeball, socket, face, head and then a big square catchlight right in the middle. This is a compositional nono and has just never made much sense to me as to why photographers do it.

 

[Braineack]

because it looks most natural?

 

[astroNikon]

[QUOTE="matt_m, post: 3532860, member: 209030"What I'm more interested in is setting up to do still life, and that would probably likely be smaller items--think table top. How does that change the advise offered here?[/QUOTE]

Such as Product Photography?

Yup, totally different but the same in a way.

 

[astroNikon]

search "product photography" and you'll get a ton of results

here are a few
=> Help with light box set up please | Photography Forum

=> Advice of studio/product photography lighting | Photography Forum

==> White background on flat items | Photography Forum

==> Shooting issues with reflecting items | Photography Forum

 

[astroNikon]

Not commercial product photography but more in the creative sense. Years ago for example I did a photo of an old fashioned milk bottle which still hangs in our kitchen.

use the same creativity that you did in the past ?
Creativity is just that. creative with lighting, background, post processing, etc.