full studio kit needed!!

[Chelle's Belle's]

I would like to buy a studio flash lighting kit.
I have been looking at the elite pro lighting kit.
I'm not sure whether i will be needing 3 or 4 lights??? Also i will need a remote trigger and receiver. Soft box, barn doors and white/translucent umbrella needed i think??

I will need to be about to light a white backdrop in a studio primarily and also different coloured muslins and location shoots like event photography.
Its family portraits, pets, babies that i am going to be photographing.

I have worked in a studio but never had to buy anything myself so really need advice!
I want to get it ordered asap really but don't want to make the wrong decision and want a excellent quality product that wont let me down.
Look forward to hearing from you!!!

 

[Garry Edwards]

If you want to light a white background you will need a minimum of 3 lights plus a 5-in-1 reflector and a reflector holder boom arm - but 4 lights would be easier.

I'm not sure about the barn doors though, they do have their uses but you will be able to manage without them.

I think your best choice would be 2 flash heads with white reflective umbrellas for the white background, 1 head with a softbox and another with a white reflective umbrella for your main subjects, plus of course the radio trigger set.

 

[HoppyUK]

Lots of threads on white backgrounds Michelle. It's not easy if you've not set up this kind of shot before, full-length is even more difficult, and plenty of space makes everything much easier.

Garry's advice is good. I would only add that if space is tight, a Lastolite HiLite background is a good investment, but you'll still need three lights min.

 

[TG.]

I would like to buy a studio flash lighting kit.
I have been looking at the elite pro lighting kit.
I'm not sure whether i will be needing 3 or 4 lights!!!

Indeed the elite pro are very good, i have 2, however if i were buying now, i would go for the ultra pro, as they can be adjusted remotely, which can be a big plus in some situations, particularly when you have lights up very high, and have to get on a set of steps to adjust them.

For the background i use 2x smartflash 200's, key light either another smartflash or an elite pro depending on the size of the room. You can get away with 3 plus a reflector, but if you can afford 4 get 4, you will use them at some point, as regards modifiers i mainly use a 120cm octobox for the key, and sometimes either a brolly or small square softbox for fill, of course all this is subjective to whether you need hard or soft light