Home Studio Kit - Novice doing portraiture

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Hayleyrigg

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Well I have spent the evening reading previous posts but still would be very grateful for some direction on this.

I am an enthusiast with a spare room at home that I want to kit out to be an occasional studio for photographing mine and friend's children.

Money is not a particular issue but I don't want to throw good money at something that is technically out of my ability and usage levels. I guess I am looking to spend between £200-400. My research is pointing me to a 2 head set up. Bowens & Lencarta seem to get good feedback.
Saw this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lencarta-Star...29458081QQihZ017QQcategoryZ3860QQcmdZViewItem
noticed no umbrella or storage bag...
Also interested in easiest way to establish a back drop. Is muslin ok for white and black?

Any advice would be very much welcomed.

Many thanks in advance
 
Bowens are probably the best there is. Personally I use Interfit because they are a lot cheaper and take Bowens fit accessories so I can add to the effects I can achieve. The Lencartas seem Ok and I know Garry who does the videos is a member here and very experienced.

Backdrops vary in quality, muslin is Ok but don't forget you may need a decent amount of distance between subject and background. I like Lastolite backgrounds because I like mine to be portable too but that may not be a concern for you.

Don't worry too much about a bag or case you can add one later for about £25.
The other major investment to consider would be a light meter.

To be honest you would not be throwing money at something out of your ability range, much more likely to waste money by purchasing something that you outstrip quickly! Bowens, Elinchrome, Interfit and Lencarta would all hit the spot.
 
hi hayley, welcome to the forums:wave:

i take it the £200-£400 is the total budget?
is there a chance of using a wall painted white?
how big is the spare room?
there seems to be a lot of people looking at this price range for the lights only, but if you look on ebay you should a background support and muslin quite cheap(don't go too cheap, it will prob be too thin).
someone here uses a curtain pole mounted to a plain wall, which might be a cheaper option for mounting.
i would also get a reflector for bouncing light back to brighten dark shadows
your budget will prob not stretch to the bowens or elinchrom d lites after that
but the lencarta seem to be what a lot of people look at as does the interfit ex150(?), i dont know who bought them though
 
Hi there :wave: welcome to TP forums

Your budget is OK for a budget set up, another 100 would be better though if you could manage it.

399 gbp will get you an elinchrom d lite 2 set

499 gbp will get you the elinchrom d lite 4 set

both sets are twin heads with stands and soft boxes and bags and will be easily capable of handling shooting in an average sized spare room.

A few members on here are using the Dlite 4 set up with great results.

Re backgrounds, try anything you have to hand. A white bed sheet can be used to good effect.......but iron it first ;)
 
Hi Hayley, I started out with the Interfit EX150 kit, which I still have and use and then bought the Interfit EX200. Both are great value for money and ideal for a small home studio. You can purchase accessories for both kits such as snoots and barn doors etc. If your budget will allow get a backdrop support and then use what ever you want for a backdrop. I go to fabric shops and markets, choose some material I like and then just buy a large piece and make my own. Hope this helps :)
 
did you buy any lights df?
 
Your decision to use studio flash is the right one, I'm sure that someone will tell you to use hotlights, or Ikea 'effect lighting' or an on camera flash - but studio flash is definately the right choice.

As for which brand, you won't be disapointed with Elinchrom, Bowens or Lencarta. As a general rule, the more expensive the equipment is, the easier it is to get good results from it. The same applies to studio space - the larger the space, the easier it becomes but neither brand nor space affect the quality of the finished product, only the range of work you can do and how easy it is to do it.

If your budget will allow, you might consider going for the Lencarta 3 head kit instead of the 2-head, because as well as the extra head it has better stands plus accessories such as reflectors, an umbrella, a snoot, barn doors, 4 lighting gels and a couple of honeycombs, all of which will help you to produce much more creative work.

As for backgrounds, muslin is probably the most popular choice for most people, it isn't perfect but it's fairly cheap and it's lightweight and portable. Just bear in mind that you do need space between subject and background (the more the better) so don't buy one that's too small.

Hope this helps
 
Having just bought my first lights, thought I'd chip in. I went for two Interfit 150 MKII kits (4 heads, 2 brollies, two sb'd) in the end with a roller bag and remote trigger thrown in for £449. Have a 10ft x 9ft white sheet which is working well for the background, but could do with having more of a trail for full body shots. Interfit also do a three head kit with background support and grey background at £450 ish I think.
 
Joe90 said:
Have a 10ft x 9ft white sheet which is working well for the background, but could do with having more of a trail for full body shots.
Click to expand...

Why dont you just put another sheet in front for the trail... thats what I do. :thumbs:
 
If you budget is limited, you are better off getting one light that is at lease 400 or 500w and adding a reflector for fill. You can get really good results with this kind of setup, and as you learn add a light. Even better if you can paint your spare room completely white, you effectively end up with a huge softbox, with the light being a bit flat, but even.

As for cheaper or more expensive, the more expensive lights will give you more consistant light. Some of the cheaper Ebay lights will not actually output their watt rating, and may not output the exact same amount of light each time. This may not be an issue if you are only using it every once in a while, but if you need to shoot a 2-3 hour session, it may come into play.
 
FranchiseJuan said:
Even better if you can paint your spare room completely white, you effectively end up with a huge softbox, with the light being a bit flat, but even.
Click to expand...


Hmmm...
I understand the reason for saying that, but studio lighting is about control of light, and a small, white painted room takes away most of the ability to control the light.

Better IMO to avoid losing control by avoiding 'built in' reflective surface, just use reflectors if and when needed.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Hmmm...
I understand the reason for saying that, but studio lighting is about control of light, and a small, white painted room takes away most of the ability to control the light.
Click to expand...

Sorry if this hijacks the thread, but... I have white walls and ceiling in my home studio, I hang black cloths on the walls to control the light there but, obviously, can't do that to the ceiling. I have been considering painting the ceiling black... worth the trouble do you think?
 
Flashman said:
I have been considering painting the ceiling black... worth the trouble do you think?
Click to expand...

Well worth the trouble, provided that you don't have to use the room as a living room too... :lol:

You'll get a lot more control of your lighting.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Well worth the trouble, provided that you don't have to use the room as a living room too... :lol:

You'll get a lot more control of your lighting.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, our living room is already black! For the home cinema projector... makes a massive difference! We have another 'normal' lounge too so we manage :)

Thanks for that, I think I'll go for it!

Flashy
 
This is probably a personal thing, but I find it easier to create black then white, so I prefer to have a room that is painted white, and then put in black foam boards and overhangs when I need to start with black.

But going to other way is just as good.
 
Joe90 said:
Having just bought my first lights, thought I'd chip in. I went for two Interfit 150 MKII kits (4 heads, 2 brollies, two sb'd) in the end with a roller bag and remote trigger thrown in for £449. Have a 10ft x 9ft white sheet which is working well for the background, but could do with having more of a trail for full body shots. Interfit also do a three head kit with background support and grey background at £450 ish I think.
Click to expand...

Where did you get the kit from please ??
 
Hey, I have the Interfit EXD 200 (Softbox and umbrella kit) which I think is under £300 now. I have to say that I am happy with it, it does the job well and so I have no grumbles! I bought it from Fotosense, but the first lot blew up! As in, literally set on fire! Interfit swapped the kit directly within 48 hours and I have had no problems with the new kit... I reserve judgement on fotosense!!!!!!!!!!

I got my backdrops (also Muslin) from backdropsource. Not the fastest or most helpful of companies, but extremely cheap and arrived within the week. I don't have anything to compare muslins agains, but for me they work well, are easy to lug around and put up etc.
 
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