upcoming lighting purchase decision

kylesmom · Feb 9, 2009

I need help deciding what the best lighting system i need and where i can get the best deal living in rural nevada

Big Mike · Feb 9, 2009

We need a lot more info than that

What is your budget? What & where will you be shooting? Is portability an issue? Would you ever need to shoot 'on location' without AC power?

kylesmom · Feb 9, 2009

I shoot in a 10x10 room with multiple backdrops. Portability is not an issue. I also shoot landscape but shouldn't need light for that. What I am trying to do is eventually get into the portrait and wedding game.

kylesmom · Feb 9, 2009

sorry i photograph people not still life

Big Mike · Feb 9, 2009

I'd certainly suggest strobe/flash over constant lighting.

Two different ways that most people are going these days are mono light type studio lights or smaller flash units (the type that you might use on the camera's hot shoe). Both could be used on light stands with the usual modifiers like umbrellas or softboxes etc.

There are pros and cons to each. Studio lights need AC power or a big batter pack while flash units usually run on AA batteries. The flash units are a lot smaller as well. So if you are only shooting in your studio, it probably doesn't matter...but if you want to bring your lights to shoot wedding formals, then it's a lot easier to bring several flash units than several studio lights.
You may need flash units for shooting weddings anyway, so it might be worth your while to buy flashes that could do double duty.
Studio lights will usually have more power than flash units...but that probably won't matter in such small space.

Once you have that decision made, there are several options. It will help to know your budget and maybe your expectation of quality. Do you want to buy lights that are more expensive but that will probably last a lot longer than cheaper ones. Or are you content to keep your initial investment lower?

kylesmom · Feb 9, 2009

my budget is $500.00 and i like the sound of the flashes but i see so much advertising of the strobes and just don't know where to buy or whats best for my situation...thanks for your help mike

Big Mike · Feb 9, 2009

$500 is going to be a little tight for all of your lighting.

There are plenty of studio 'kits' that you will see all over the internet etc. I would advise that you avoid the cheaper ones...as you will most likely find them lacking and have to upgrade to something different anyway.

Have a look at this kit and see what you think. It's basically the separate pieces put together into a kit for you, you could purchase this stuff separately if you wanted to.
To go along with that type of lighting...you may want to do some reading on this site....starting HERE.

If you still want to go with studio strobes, then check THIS out...and also [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Elinchrom-EL-20812KIT-400Ws-D-Lite/dp/B000S5FLME"]THIS[/ame].

HoosierJoe · Feb 9, 2009

I shoot indoors at home for portraits. I use a Genesis 200 monolight available from Calumet Photo, I currently use the umbrella that came with it. I also use my Canon 430EX flash with a softbox attachment as a fill flash. Might use a reflector also. I make my own backdrops.

That seems like a good setup for me in a home studio setting. The Genesis 200 has plenty of power for a 10x10 room, I usually use mine at a 1/3 or 1/2 power setting. It can also be converted to a softbox for as little as $60, depending on the softbox you purchase.