Studio equipment required

john t

john t

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John
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Hi
I'm just started to try my hand at portrait photography and I want a reasonably cheap studio.
There are loads on ebay, but I have no clue what is reasonable or not.
Can anyone suggest a make or things to look for. As I'm new to this, I don't want to spend too much

thanks

John
 
Give us an idea of your budget and we will be able to give you a better idea, however whilst there are some reasonably cheap modifiers and background systems you can get on ebay, i would stay away from the actual cheap lighting on there, as they are pretty much abysmal.
 
" i would stay away from the actual cheap lighting on there, as they are pretty much abysmal.[/QUOTE]:thumbs:

^+1
Buy cheap buy twice - If only I'd listened to my own advise!! Check out the Lencarta site, if your budget will stretch to it the equipment they sell is well worth considering. You can go a long way with just one studio head, an umbrella and a reflector - start small and get more kit if and when you need it
regards
NN.
 
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Hi

Not wanting to hijack John's thread and I am now following his tread with great interest.

I have decided that it might be nice to set up a little studio in my attic so am very keen to get kit recommendations.

For me, I would be happy to spend £500-1000 for a full set-up including a white background.

Is this possible ?

I am very willing to buy used.

Look forward to finding out what is possible.

Regards

Gary
 
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Gary
Do you really feel the white background is the direction you want to go? Have a read through the various white bg threads. It's maybe not as simple as you imagine.

But the short answer is: your budget is plenty.
 
Hi Phil

Yes, I do fancy a white (not grey) background but would take black as well.

Presumably white can be lit to different colours ?

The aim of setting something up will be for me and more importantly my daughter to use.

She has decided that she will be doing some combination of graphics/design/art at uni next year and I would like to inspire her in the art of photography including people/portraiture/product etc...

I am, I might point, out a wildlife/sports/gigs/available light photographer so this is VERY much a learning curve for me as well. So all advice is really welcome.
 
gary43 said:
Hi Phil

Yes, I do fancy a white (not grey) background but would take black as well.

Presumably white can be lit to different colours ?

The aim of setting something up will be for me and more importantly my daughter to use.

She has decided that she will be doing some combination of graphics/design/art at uni next year and I would like to inspire her in the art of photography including people/portraiture/product etc...

I am, I might point, out a wildlife/sports/gigs/available light photographer so this is VERY much a learning curve for me as well. So all advice is really welcome.
Click to expand...
In theory you can gel the background (place a lighting gel over the lights that point at the background) to achieve different colours, but you need to remember that light is an additive process and so can only lighten what is already there...

In practice this means that if you gel a white background that would otherwise photograph as grey, you will only be able to achieve very light pastel shades. If you want saturated colours the background will need to be grey, and the closer it is to your main subject, the darker the grey it will need to be.
 
gary43 said:
Hi

Not wanting to hijack John's thread and I am now following his tread with great interest.

I have decided that it might be nice to set up a little studio in my attic so am very keen to get kit recommendations.

For me, I would be happy to spend £500-1000 for a full set-up including a white background.

Is this possible ?

I am very willing to buy used.

Look forward to finding out what is possible.

Regards

Gary
Click to expand...

A problem could also be room height. To shoot portraits you ideally need to get the lights high to get shadows in the right places, i.e. under the chin.

I would also agree with advice and say go for a grey background.

You should be able to get something usable for your budget, especially if you go the second hand route. 2 light packages from Elinchrom with everything you need can be had for around £600 and Lencarta and others do similar priced lighting setups.

That leaves you cash for backdrops etc. or adding another light if you want to go with the white background look. Space is the key to that look though, unless you go from a specialist lit background such as the Lastolite Hilite
 
Thanks to all for the advice. I will check out all of the above after work tonight. Have to say I had not considered the grey background option. You live and learn !
 
So taking note off all your advice, I have looked at the Lecncarta site. Could I get away with 1 smart flash 200 and an umbrella

Thanks
 
john t said:
So taking note off all your advice, I have looked at the Lecncarta site. Could I get away with 1 smart flash 200 and an umbrella

Thanks
Click to expand...

You certainly can. Many a fine image has been taken with just one light... But you will soon realise its limitations.

On the other hand, many will tell you that starting with just one light is an excellent way to learn. Read up on the basic theory- Inverse Square law in particular. Applying that as you explore will help you understand the limitations and why certain things are happening in your images, but also help you exploit what you have to the full.

If your budget stretches to something a bit more powerful, go for it: it's easy to get rid of excess light, but impossible to create more if there's not enough there.
 
Bayrunner said:
You certainly can. Many a fine image has been taken with just one light... But you will soon realise its limitations.

On the other hand, many will tell you that starting with just one light is an excellent way to learn. Read up on the basic theory- Inverse Square law in particular. Applying that as you explore will help you understand the limitations and why certain things are happening in your images, but also help you exploit what you have to the full.

If your budget stretches to something a bit more powerful, go for it: it's easy to get rid of excess light, but impossible to create more if there's not enough there.
Click to expand...

Kind of agree, however, no one has mentioned reflectors! To keep the budget down you could start with one light and modifier and also get a decent sized reflector cheaply on ebay, which will give you a lot more light to play with! :)
 
john t said:
Hi
I'm just started to try my hand at portrait photography and I want a reasonably cheap studio.
There are loads on ebay, but I have no clue what is reasonable or not.
Can anyone suggest a make or things to look for. As I'm new to this, I don't want to spend too much

thanks

John
Click to expand...

One light, modifier and some reflectors would work well. I've shot with a variety of lights (definitely still learning) but some of my favourites have been with just one light.

Definitely got a good enough budget!

S
 
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