Starting in portraits

[lartamax]

I am planning to do some family portrait photos and have been asked by several people at work if I would do some photos for them.
I am looking at buying a 2 light set up which I need to be fairly portable. Budget is around £500 approx and am looking at the following set up. Any input welcome.

John.

http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/eng/product/calumet_background_support_kit/mf6090

http://www.parkcameras.com/14638/Elinchrom-D-Lite-2-4-IT-To-Go-Kit.html

have also been looking at the Lencarta ElitePro 300. Can anyone tell me how portable they are ?.

 

[JonathanRyan]

If I was starting out in mobile portraits then I wouldn't buy a background support system like that. Too big for many houses and if you use paper it can be too big for most cars.

You can get some pretty nice wallpaper and with a pack of blue tack have everything you need for individual portraits. You could maybe even consider one of those exhibition roller banners printed with an out of focus scene.

I know the EP300s pretty well (check my signature) but I'm not sure I understand the question about them. You can put them in a bag and carry them...

 

[lartamax]

I know the EP300s pretty well (check my signature) but I'm not sure I understand the question about them. You can put them in a bag and carry them...

Thanks for the reply Jonathan what I meant by portability was simply in comparison to other systems are they heavy, difficult or time consuming to set up etc.

 

[JonathanRyan]

Weights are on the Lencarta site http://www.lencarta.com/lighting-store/flash-heads - heavier than some, not as heavy as others

If you want a decent head and weight is a serious issue then take a look at Elinchroms. (Also use the search facility here for some caveats). But honestly I find the EP fine for weight.

They are slightly longer and slimmer than some lights but it really depends what you are comparing them with. Personally I have a Peli case (um, maybe a 1550) that holds 2 EP heads, cables, standard reflectors and grids. It's quite heavy but then it's a Peli. I can easily carry 2 of them but wouldn't do it further than necessary.

As for set up - nah. Can't think of any mono blocks that are significantly faster or slower to set top than any others.