Lighting start up recomendations
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 9pt;"]Hello,<o:p></o:p>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 9pt;"]I am at a point where I want to dig deeper intosetting up a home "studio" for portraits and such. I am thinking I would go with constant lighting but I have no idea where to begin. I have seen kits starting at 150 and up form there. WhatI want to avoid is buying a starter package that I will want to upgrade in 3 months but keep the cost within reason. I like the idea of a 3 light system but maybe i dont need that if a use a Speedlight as the third.
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 9pt;"]Any suggestions - setups, brands, etc...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] Anything I should avoid?<o:p></o:p>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 9pt;"]I have a 7D and already have a 430EX II and 580EX II.<o:p></o:p>
Thanks in advance for your advice!
MattG
Re: Lighting start up recomendations
You do not want a constant light source. You will want to trade it out after three weeks.
I recommend that you start with your camera mounted 580exII and stand mount with umbrella your 480EXII, this will allow IR trigger, with manual or automatic settings and TTL.
This is a great place to start. You could add a second 480 and a second umbrella if you want.
Later your might consider an Elinchrom monolight set, check their web site.
Much later you might want to consider a battery pack for the monolights..
For now save your money and use your speedlights, with a light stand and umbrella.
Re: Lighting start up recomendations
Check out Alienbees.com. I was in your position about a year ago....and now have a pretty functional home studio with one of the Alienbees packages. The price for the biggest package may seem a bit steep....but you will not want for much sans a few accessories. Check it out and then post any questions you may have concerning the packages.
Happy browsing.
Jeff
Re: Lighting start up recomendations
Hi Matt,
only recently I had to tackle a similar situation, only that I had to start with absolutely nothing
Re: Lighting start up recomendations
I started out with shoe-mount flashes (580EX, Vivitar 285 & 285HVs, etc) and recently got into monolights (White Lightning). Even though I like using the monolights better, I still use the shoe-mount flashes quite regularly (in fact, I plan on using about 4 or 5 this evening for an xmas portrait). Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of Shoe-Mount flashes:
Smaller, easier to pack and travel with
Easier to place flashes in odd places, weight doesn't strain stands or clamps
AA batteries cheap and easy to find; easy to buy rechargeable batteries
Disadvantages:
Lack of power compared to monolights
Limited selection of light modifying tools (although things have gotten much better); else DIY fittings to attach to monolight modifiers
Advantages of Monolights:
Abundance of power
Wide range of modifier tools and speed rings
AC powered (a "pro" when an outlet is available)
Relatively quick recycle times
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Disadvantages:
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Big, bulky, and heavy - difficult to transport, time-cosuming setup, and needs sturdy support
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AC powered (a "con" when outlets are unavailable) -- SLA batteries fairly expensive
You already have 2 shoe-mount flashes, so gettng a third (even if it was a manual control Lumopro 160) would be a cheap way to start experimenting with 3 lights.
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Re: Lighting start up recomendations
Thanks for all your replys!! I will do some reasearch on your recomendations this weekend for sure!
thanks Again!