What Equipment is needed for this shot?

[buildingblocks]

Hi,
I've new to shooting....photography have been in my mind for quite a while and I finally purchased my first camera Nikon D80......I want to learn to shoot those amateur style + glamour fashion portait style. I know I'll be needing lightings for sure to achive that high end glamour looks so can you help me how with what kinda of lighting/equipment I should purchase to archive these looks in photo 1 and 2

photo 1:
http://verizon.t35.com/02.jpg

photo 2:
http://verizon.t35.com/02b.jpg

any tips and oppunion would be helpful = ).
thx

 

[fmw]

The first shot is shadowless. No way to tell definitively how it was done. It might be a couple of very large and close soft boxes on strobes left and right but my gut feeling is that it is an available light shot possibly with a reflector.

The second shot is made with at least three flash heads. The main is front high left and the hair light - probably snooted - is back high right. The background light is low and probably behind the models. There might also be a weak fill in front but I doubt it. I don't particularly care for the lighting on this shot because it is a little too hard for the subjects and I sure don't like the crop. These are matters of opinion and preference, of course.

Generally, you can do most of this kind of photography with three strobes and a collection of normal light modifiers like snoots, soft boxes, umbrellas etc.

 

[Mad_Gnome]

Both images are also undoubtedly heavily manipulated, and the second shot looks it.

As far as what kind of lighting to get, you'll definitely need a good set of studio strobes with a good power range. Don't buy the typical eBay strobes. They're cheap for a reason. (I made this mistake once - fortunately, it didn't cost me much to learn my lesson.) Buy your equipment from a well-known, reputable source, and you'll be much happier with the product you end up with. For entry-level lighting, there are plenty of options available from companies like Novatron and Alien Bees. If you want to go with more professional strobes, there are a lot more companies to choose from: Norman, Speedotron, White Lightning, Broncolor, Photogenic, etc.

You'll need to determine what kind of shooting you'll be doing. This will help you to choose the right kind of strobes. DO you do a lot of location shooting? You'll probably want to consider a set of monolights. They tend to be lighter, and they allow more flexibility in setup. I prefer monolights anyway, for this very reason. I can move my lights around without having to worry about where the power supply is. If you have a regular studio, however, there is nothing wrong with an AC strobe/power supply package. They can give you great results.

If it were me, I'd look into the White Lightning monolights. They're what I'll be upgrading to within the next year. They're a high-quality professional strobe with plenty of power, and Paul C. Buff has some great accessories available, including lightweight portable power systems, remote systems, foldable softboxes, light modifiers and a boatload of other great gear, all available at excellent price points. And having dealt with their customer service, I can tell you first hand, it's top-notch! They stand behind their products, no questions asked!

 

[buildingblocks]

Hey thx for the helpful feedback!! Looking forward to making some of those lighting now..........one more question...can my camera shoot that kinda photo?? I have a Nikon D80 with 18-135mm lense consider that I spend like $500 on the lighting equipment. I just don't if those pictures caption quality is out off my camera's range.

 

[The_Traveler]

The camera will do it but I think that most people would suggest you get more experience before you go heavy into lighting equipment.

Photography has a steep learning curve and artificial light glamour photography is another steep hill beyond that. Set some closer goals and ease on into it.

Too much too soon can spoil the entire experience.

 

[JIP]

The camera will do it but I think that most people would suggest you get more experience before you go heavy into lighting equipment.

Photography has a steep learning curve and artificial light glamour photography is another steep hill beyond that. Set some closer goals and ease on into it.

Too much too soon can spoil the entire experience.

Yeah c'mon you need to walk before you can run. The images you show at least #2 are high end fashion shots done with lots of lights a very experienced pgotographer with a stylist and probably a whole team of people toset everything up. If you want to get into lighting systems I would suggest going for Alien Bees http://www.alienbees.com/ but don't be disapointed if you cant shoot images like these roght out of the box.

 

[buildingblocks]

Yeah c'mon you need to walk before you can run. The images you show at least #2 are high end fashion shots done with lots of lights a very experienced pgotographer with a stylist and probably a whole team of people toset everything up. If you want to get into lighting systems I would suggest going for Alien Bees http://www.alienbees.com/ but don't be disapointed if you cant shoot images like these roght out of the box.

The Lighting equip i see at www.alienbees.com are alot cheaper then the ones in retail stores near my house. Actually alot cheaper!!! http://www.henrys.ca is where I was looking into...would the quality outcome of alienbees.com but alot poorer or is alienbee making it and selling it for cheap = ).

 

[buildingblocks]

Yea that's true...the 2nd pic looks pretty hard to do for an amateur noob!! So i guess I'm gonna try to manage the first photo. I am planning on renting a set of lighting tomorrow from here http://vistek.ca/rentals/rentalequipment.aspx?categoryId=13 can u make any suggestion what you would go for to photoshoot the first image...I was thinking something like 2 umbrella lightings with a flash light trigger. Good thing my gf is my make up artist and model....saves me alot of money = ).

 

[JIP]

Good luck with your first run I hope to se some images soon. A good thing for you to do might be to get one of these books [ame]http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-9407013-8683309?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=portrait+lighting[/ame]. I just did a search in Amazon for "portrait lighting" and came up woth some winners. I know te first one and the third one have been recommended here more than once.