Home studio lighting set up advice

[kingfu]

I'm looking at setting up a home photography studio to produce photos for my business and after doing abit of research was hoping if people on here could tell me if im on track or not before I make any purchases.

I want to take glamour type full length shots of models, one person at a time. The room I've got to work with isn't much 11feetx13feet and has cream walls and a white ceiling.

I'll be using a entry level sony dslr. The lighting setup im thinking of is the 3 x 180w strobe "Stable Imaging" kit (2 softboxes, 1 barn door) for £200. I've seen a few good reviews of it on this site which is encouraging.

Out of curiosity instead of spending £200 on the above would I get a better/equivalent result spending £50 on a lastolite umbrella box with say 1 £150 strobe? Or would have 3 strobes give me more options?

Am I right in thinking with the softboxes the lighting will be easier to control vs a umbrella considering the type of photography I wish to do and the colour of the walls/ceiling?

Will 3 x 180w strobes be strong enough for full length shots? I understand for that price they arn't going to be the best in the world, far from it, but will they get the job done? I'm planning on taking most the photos myself due to convenience and cost, so I don't want to spend too much money on a set up and any photos I feel are worth it I'll get a professional photographer to do in a proper studio.

Also I realise with the sony camera I'll need a way of triggering the strobes, would a standard cheapy radio trigger off ebay work with the strobes i've suggested?

And lastly background, white or black would be best for the type of shots I wants, but im assuming white would make it even harder to control the light considering the walls and lack of space...so black might be the better option?

Hope you can help and that you'll forgive my ignorance when it comes to photography. Thanks

 

[cowasaki]

I have this setup and it is up to what you are saying. The strobes will trigger by the onboard flash so you could use that but that will then limit you to having to have a forward firing flash. alternatively the setup comes with a sync lead so one of the "external flash mount" to "sync lead" adapters from ebay would work too and they cost about £7.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hot-Shoe-Adap...iesQ5fCameraFlashUnitsQ5fJNQQsalenotsupported

The softboxes are good that come with the setup BUT they are not the largest ones available.

 

[kingfu]

Thanks cowasaki thats reassuring to hear. Do you have to use the strobes at full power?

From my research with the sony a200 looks like the onboard flash to trigger the strobes doesn't work correctly, so looks like i'll be buying a hotshoe adaptor and radio trigger as from what I can tell this will be safer as no chance of blowing up the camera compared to a pc sync? It also means I'll have one less wire to deal with!

 

[Garry Edwards]

Am I right in thinking with the softboxes the lighting will be easier to control vs a umbrella considering the type of photography I wish to do and the colour of the walls/ceiling?

Yes. Umbrellas will scatter the light everywhere in such a small space. You'll need a larger softbox than the kit ones, from memory the Stable Imaging lights don't have removable reflectors, you'll need to get 'universal fit' softboxes.

Will 3 x 180w strobes be strong enough for full length shots?

Yes, but bear in mind that recycling is slow, which can be frustrating when photogaphing people

Or would have 3 strobes give me more options?

Yes, although 3 will be overkill for most shots
Also I realise with the sony camera I'll need a way of triggering the strobes, would a

standard cheapy radio trigger off ebay work with the strobes i've suggested?

You should definately get the Sony> standard hotshoe adapter so you can use a radio trigger

And lastly background, white or black would be best for the type of shots I wants, but im assuming white would make it even harder to control the light considering the walls and lack of space...so black might be the better option?

Yes, white is best avoided in such a small space

 

[kingfu]

Yes. Umbrellas will scatter the light everywhere in such a small space. You'll need a larger softbox than the kit ones, from memory the Stable Imaging lights don't have removable reflectors, you'll need to get 'universal fit' softboxes.

Great so an umbrella isn't ideal in the small space i'm thinking of. I've just read your article "Light Shaping Tools" after I google'd "removable reflectors softboxes", atleast I assume you're the same Garry Edwards? Its a very good article thanks. So am I right in saying with removable reflectors I'd get a more even spread of light?

Would I definitely not be able to get away with 2 40cmx60cm softboxes for a full length shot?

Yes, but bear in mind that recycling is slow, which can be frustrating when photogaphing people

From their page it says 4.5s on full power, which I think I can cope with.

Yes, white is best avoided in such a small space

Just as I thought, thanks

 

[Garry Edwards]

Yes, I'm the same guy.
You CAN use small softboxes but you'd have to place them a long way away for the light to illuminate all of the subejct.
2. Downsides to this, firstly the further the light has to travel the less there is of it, and you may run out of power. Secondly, the whole idea of a softbox (for your purpose) is to produce soft light, which it can only do if placed very close to the subject. As a rough guide, once it is further away from the subject than the diagonal of its front, is no longer produces a wraparound effect. The maximum effective working distance with a 40 x 60cm softbox would therefore be around 50cm.

 

[kingfu]

So bigger is better when it comes to softboxes. Hmm I'll see about swapping the softboxes for larger ones, budget permitting.

Does anyone know if a lastolite umbrella box or similar has the same effect as other umbrellas in spilling light all over the place in a small studio area?

 

[cowasaki]

I'd just stick to softboxes to start with. If you can get one larger box though it is helpful ESP if lighting a stanging model