Hi all :) Help on first studio set up

[Orange_crunch]

Hi everyone hope you all are enjoying the weather

I have been doing all the research and I still don't have any clue on what to buy...
I am planning on doing some studio photography ( group and portrait shots mainly in HI-key) so was wondering on which lights and background set up to buy...
I have a budget of £400 and seen the Interfit EX300 soft box and umbrella set up for £350, Ticked all the boxes and within budget. However a friend said they are not very reliable ( He had his repaired 3 times within 6 months) and I should go for the Bowens Gemini 400/400 for £539 Or the Bowens Gemini 200/200 Pro-Am Studio Kit with the background stand etc but that is £699...He then went on ( and on ) about how much better my photographs will be with the Bowen kits.
Any advice on these kits most welcome

Also any advice on background stand kits ? seen some for £40 on ebay, yeah they will probably fall over and injury someone....:nuts:

 

[Garry Edwards]

Hi Key lighting requires a minimum of 2 lights.
White backround lighting requires a minimum of 3 lights, but 4 light will be much better, so if by 'high key' you mean white background, what you need is a minimum of a 3 head kit, but preferably a 4 head kit.

No make of lights will produce 'better' results than another. Better lights should be better made, may have extra features and are likely to be far more consistent, but the good shots from the cheap lights will be just as good as the good shots from the expensive lights.

Your choices are NOT limited to Interfit or Bowens, you may wish to look at Elinchrom, and also at this 3 head kit and this 4 head kit from Lencarta.

If you want to photograph your subjects on a white background then look at paper, vinyl or the Hi-Lite background. If you only want to photograph them against a white background then a white wall will be fine, and it won't fall over and squash someone

 

[Orange_crunch]

Thanks for the advice Garry

Never heard of lencarta before, great price and 2 year warranty for piece of mind. However would the 200w lamps be powerful enough ?

 

[HoppyUK]

Hi everyone hope you all are enjoying the weather

I have been doing all the research and I still don't have any clue on what to buy...
I am planning on doing some studio photography ( group and portrait shots mainly in HI-key) so was wondering on which lights and background set up to buy...
I have a budget of £400 and seen the Interfit EX300 soft box and umbrella set up for £350, Ticked all the boxes and within budget. However a friend said they are not very reliable ( He had his repaired 3 times within 6 months) and I should go for the Bowens Gemini 400/400 for £539 Or the Bowens Gemini 200/200 Pro-Am Studio Kit with the background stand etc but that is £699...He then went on ( and on ) about how much better my photographs will be with the Bowen kits.
Any advice on these kits most welcome

Also any advice on background stand kits ? seen some for £40 on ebay, yeah they will probably fall over and injury someone....:nuts:

As Garry says, you'll need a minimum of three lights for the pure white background look. It also has to be said it's not the easiest technique for a newcomer, not if you want to do it well. Lots of threads on this.

You also need a fair amount of area too, though if space is limited a Lastolite Hilight reduces that substantially. Most domestic environments are very tight on space for pure white if you want full length or small groups.

£400 is low for three lights and stands etc, even without a Hilite - look at Lencarta and Elinchrom D-Lites at the more affordable end. Bowens is fine, but no particular advantages these days for the money.

PS 200Ws is fine.

 

[Orange_crunch]

Thanks for the reply Hoppy
I have read lots of great advice in here on the subject cant wait to get started.
I never stick to my budget had £350 for a DSLR and ended up spending twice that....
Most domestic environments are very tight on space very true....We are quite lucky to have a nice big front room that we don't use that much, however i would rather use my families homes when they want their photos done, they never leave when they are at mine

 

[Orange_crunch]

Forgot to add I have a 430EX speedlite, could this be added to light up background ? :shrug:

 

[HoppyUK]

Forgot to add I have a 430EX speedlite, could this be added to light up background ? :shrug:

You can use speedlites alongside studio heads - just sync them up. Be aware of their limitations though.

You need two for a white background, and it's much easier with two identical lights. The thing about a pure white background is it has to be evenly lit all over, no hot-spots

 

[Orange_crunch]

Been looking at the lencarta site and its tempting to get all the kit I need from there....just don't like handing over the money....
any info on the lencarta background stand and white cloth background ?