Portrait Photography Setup???

J

JP :)

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Hello everyone,

Im looking into purchasing a portable portrait photography setup that can be used in my clients homes for family (upto 5) and baby portraits.

Ive been looking on ebay at flash kits, one imparticular including 2 x strobe units (180w) along with stands, bulbs, radio trigger and 2 reflective umbrellas. Is this too much or just the right setup to achieve natural shots with.

Also ive looked at using a macro flash unit to attach to my dslr but im not sure if it with surfice?

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks
 
Yes we will be using a vinyl backdrop for older kids and adults, and white blanket and sheet for baby shots.
Thanks JP
 
JP :) said:
Hello everyone,

Im looking into purchasing a portable portrait photography setup that can be used in my clients homes for family (upto 5) and baby portraits.

Ive been looking on eBay at flash kits, one imparticular including 2 x strobe units (180w) along with stands, bulbs, radio trigger and 2 reflective umbrellas. Is this too much or just the right setup to achieve natural shots with.

Also ive looked at using a macro flash unit to attach to my dslr but im not sure if it will surfice?

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks :)
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It's been discussed many times before, the cheap ebay kits are dog poo.

Lighting to appear "natural" is a highly highly in depth discussion that goes way beyond what equipment to purchase.

A macro flash is useless for people.

Without meaning to be offensive, though difficult to avoid it....how are you planning on using this equipment professionally, with no knowledge of how it works or what to use?
 
I'll admit I do have limited knowledge on how the kits are setup and how to use them, (that's why im asking) as i'm just starting out I just thought that some comments on what Im looking at in terms of equipment could help me on my decision. Maybe a single flash unit with a soft box and some pro editing can create an image suitable for a portrait, but then again the correct lighting could save a lot of time. Thanks for your feedback, anymore is welcome! :)
 
JP :) said:
I'll admit I do have limited knowledge on how the kits are setup and how to use them, (that's why im asking) as i'm just starting out I just thought that some comments on what Im looking at in terms of equipment could help me on my decision. Maybe a single flash unit with a soft box and some pro editing can create an image suitable for a portrait, but then again the correct lighting could save a lot of time. Thanks for your feedback, anymore is welcome! :)
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Again without wanting to sound like an ***, a single flash with or without "pro editing" could be just exactly what you need for a certain image, it is by no means incorrect lighting, so contrary to your assumption that more lights = correct lighting = saving time.

Rather than invest in equipment, and try and expand your knowledge around it (which can prove an expensive mistake when you realise you've bought things that have nothing to do with the photographs you want to create), try getting some training/proper researching first.

I would thoroughly recommend the book , Light Science and Magic to teach you about light, when you know how to work with it, and how to shape it and control its qualities, then you can apply it properly and consciously.

Are you already a professional people photographer, and hoping to add flash lighting to your arsenal, or are you an amateur that thinks adding flash kit to your collection means you can create sale-able imagery, and thus a business? No need to post your response to that here, just an honest question to ask yourself and meant with the best intentions.
 
Thanks, I respect your comments and advice, I am by no means yet a "professional people photogrpaher", looking into any books that you've recommended may be beneficial and i will probably take a look, so thankyou. Although I feel that being able to produce work that is appealing to our clients already, a recomendation of equipment and a little advice to maybe speed up and maybe progress my work wouldn't go a miss. If there are is anyone who could advise i would be very grateful.

Passion in photography may frustrate some people when dealing with more inexperienced photographers, which I understand but we do all have start from somewhere :)
 
If you were looking at pro kit a few years ago then Bowens or Elinchrom are 2 respected names. Many of the cheaper brands have poorcolour consistency with one exception, Lencarta. Another advantage is that they take Bowens fit accesories. My lights are Bowens but if I needed to replace tomorrow on a more limited budget then I would go for Lencarta.

Mike
 
JP, as Mike hinted earlier, Garry Edwards run the Lencarta training days, which although focussed around Lencarta equipment, give you an excellent grounding in using pro/semi-pro flash systems.

You will at least come away with an idea of what equipment you need, and how to set up a 2 head system in 10 - 15 minutes and get consistent results of a suitable quality.

I've now done 2 such courses, one on portraits and one on nudes/fine art and with my 2 head system can get the sort of results I can sell. The issue if you just buy the kit and "practice" is that you'll never know if you're doing something wrong.

(And the Lencarta kit is more than up to the task)

Steve
 
As Les pointed out, if this was posted in the correct section, and if the link to which you were looking at worked, you'd get a much better response. The link only takes you to ebay home page. Better luck next time JP :thumbs:

Edited: Ok so the word E - bay takes you to the home page. Forget what I said about the link.... My bad !!!
 
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JP :) said:
Passion in photography may frustrate some people when dealing with more inexperienced photographers, which I understand but we do all have start from somewhere :)
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I just wrote out a whole list of equipment to shoot mobile portraits in this reply box....then I thought why bother.

Anyone who thinks you can light people properly with a macro ringflash, let alone a group of 5, should not be charging money for it sorry
 
"a macro ringflash" can help in portrait photos ? :) anyone has experience on that ? :D
 
so I was right! The frustration. I havnt actually charged anyone yet, but thanks danny
 
JP

You're asking for advice and then ignoring it - that's why Danny is making his comments.

Mike and Danny are right - you need to have a basic understand of what you want to do before you buy the equipment otherwise you'll just be wasting your money and get even more frustrated.

The best advice you've been given IMHO is to go on a course. Failing that, read books or join an on-line training company like PhotoTraining4U.

It's possible to produce stunning work without any artificial lighting at all, but all the lighting in the world won't help if you don't know how to use it.
 
^ Somebody gets it!

I'm not participating in the thread to wind you up JP, I'm being honest and trying to stop you from wasting money.

"appealing to clients already"...."I havent actually charged anyone yet"..they are not clients my friend. Again just trying to slow things down for you a tad and stop you putting your enthusiasm in the wrong place. You'll lose energy...get wound up...and dump the lot.

Going from free portraits for friends, to buying lighting and going into peoples home for paying clients is a very different thing.

Try not to be so dismissive of advice, it's well intended, from me at least :)
 
Ebay kits are generally not the best quality and you can struggle to get any kind of after sales service.

There are a couple of option you could consider. If you want to go down the studio flash route the Lencarta smartflash kits are a good place to start - the kit builder allows you to build the kit you want around the basics of lights and stands (so you could add a softbox and an umbrella or a pair of umbrellas etc). The smartflash units are well built and you get good before and after sales service.

Off camera flash (using speedlights) is another great option - very portable too. Using some ebay triggers and some cheapo flashes can be both effective and inexepensive

You could also consider using available light - great results can be had with a nifty fifty and diffuser or reflector. You are of course at the mercy of the elements.
 
Im not getting wound up danny, i didnt mean to get you annoyed with this. I've got some advice from mike with regards to products which has helped as well as from a few others.

sorry "they are not clients my friend".. they are now 'my friend' they've booked up for more shots :)

cheers guys
 
JP :) said:
Im not getting wound up danny, i didnt mean to get you annoyed with this. I've got some advice from mike with regards to products which has helped as well as from a few others.

sorry "they are not clients my friend".. they are now 'my friend' they've booked up for more shots :)

cheers guys
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Of course they've booked up for more shoots....you don't charge them :geek::bonk:
 
Speculate to accumulate danny, they're happy to pay this time.
 
JP :) said:
Speculate to accumulate danny, they're happy to pay this time.
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As long as your registered, paying tax on what you earn on it, along with the right public liability insurance, then all good :thumbs:
 
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