Studio Lighting

[BearandMaxsMum]

Hey guys,
I am looking for a good lighting kit for a studio, Ive been looking at the Alien Bees 'Digibee' package and I just didnt know if any of you have or know of anyone wanting to sell their kit to upgrade or whatever.
Also, what is your take on the that kit? Should I get 2x b400 or 1x 400 & 1x800?

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, can you fill us in on a few things? What size of studio will you be shooting in? What will you be shooting there? Do you have a frame of reference (have you used any studio type lighting before, and/or are you familiar with flash photography)? Do you plan to shoot outdoors? If so, does you style include trying to overpower sunlight?

Alienbees are a decent brand of entry level studio lights. They offer a good amount of quality for a reasonable price. There are other brands in this price range as well.
Keep in mind that the 'packages' on their site, are just a group of products with a discount applied for the number of lights you buy. You can pick and choose just about anything on their site, and when you put it into your 'cart', the same discount is applied. In other words, you don't have to stick to the packages.

The power of the lights (800 vs 400 units) will depend on what you're doing, the space you have to work in, the apertures & ISO that you like to shoot at etc. I think that the 800 is only $50 more than the 400, so I think that the 800 is a better deal, and it's usually better to have the option of more power because you can turn the lights down pretty easy, but you can't get more than their maximum output.

I think they are also in Tennessee, you might try to stop in to their HQ and inquire if they have any used/returned equipment at a discount.

 

[BearandMaxsMum]

Hey,
Thanks for your input and I'll try to answer everything so maybe you can help me more
My studio is approx 1000sqft with a store front but the windows are tinted so not much natural light and I plan on shooting portrait type stuff like newborns/head shots etc
I actually prefer to shoot outdoors because I love the look of the natural light but sometimes that just is not an option
I only talked about Alien Bees because a friend of mine loaned me his so that is the only brand of lighting I have used, is there a brand you would recommend?

 

[Big Mike]

People have been talking about the Flashpoint brand from Adorama, which I believe are close to A.B. in price & quality etc.

You could probably get a pretty decent 4 light kit, with accessories for around $2000. But if this is to be a working studio, you might consider something that isn't on the entry level side of studio lighting equipment...but that's up to you.

If you do go with Alien Bee, I'd go with the more powerful units for that space. B800 or the B1600. The same company also makes a more professional line, called White Lightning...and there is a somewhat new line/unit called the einstein. The einsteins are $500 each, but they seem to have some pretty neat features and have plenty of power.

You will also want to give some thought to the accessories. For example, I prefer softboxes over umbrellas, but they are quite a bit more expensive. For a nice sized studio space, I'd want a very large softbox. I'd also recommend heavy duty stands, maybe with casters so you can move them around easily.

 

[Village Idiot]

What's your budget?

Personally, If I was doing an indoor studio, I'd probably purchases something like the Elinchrom Style RX series lights. You could get several 600w/s lights and one or two 300w/s lights. They're going to be much more expensive than the bees, but you'll have immediate access to some amazing modifiers and a very consistent light.

There's so many different brands out there that you should be considering your budget first, then what you need in a light to fit that budget. I'd also recommend Profoto if you have abut $10k to blow on lights.