studio lighting for a beginner....where do I start?

[markshayler]

I've recently tried a bit of portrait photography on location using only natural light, but would like to convert my garage into a studio, I don't know what lighting I need or where to begin, I welcome any suggestions

 

[iamtheoneneo]

I would always say a nice 2 light kit is a good starting point and there's really only two respectable options here.

1. flashguns
2. studio lights

both really work out coming to the same cost, though many would say flashguns are cheaper if you go non-branded. In my limited experience nothing beats studio lighting, very dependable and easy to set up.

I hate to namedrop but Lencarta do good quality lights at a great price point so I would look there first.

Then obviously you need triggers (can be had on ebay for good price),umbrellas, softboxes, backgrounds etc all really to be brought depending on the look of the images you want at the end of it.

 

[rossomck]

I would recommend Elinchrom D-lite kit - available from theflashcentre or wex. £450 gets you 2 heads, stands and brolly or softbox.

 

[markshayler]

I would always say a nice 2 light kit is a good starting point and there's really only two respectable options here.

1. flashguns
2. studio lights

both really work out coming to the same cost, though many would say flashguns are cheaper if you go non-branded. In my limited experience nothing beats studio lighting, very dependable and easy to set up.

I hate to namedrop but Lencarta do good quality lights at a great price point so I would look there first.

Then obviously you need triggers (can be had on ebay for good price),umbrellas, softboxes, backgrounds etc all really to be brought depending on the look of the images you want at the end of it.

That's some great advice, I'm just trying to familiarise myself with what everything is, and how different equipment will effect the results of the images I want, I will take a look at what you have suggested, thanks for you help

 

[markshayler]

I would recommend Elinchrom D-lite kit - available from theflashcentre or wex. £450 gets you 2 heads, stands and brolly or softbox.

Thanks buddy, ill check it out, I've had quite a lot of kit from wex so good to know I can this from from somewhere I trust

 

[Deleted member 4449]

Hello Mark,

I bought one of those kits from eBay for a couple of hundred quid. Went to a local village hall and used them for the first time.

This is the slightly sepiarised version;

And this the [not final don't like the border] edited version;

The light will only reduce intensity by 2 stops, even though it says 1/8th on the tin. I bought some 10" sq neutral density gels for a quid each and using the barndoor gel holders, ripping out the coloured gels that came with the kit to reduce the GN from 58 to below 10.

For the dosh it's a great kit and very well made, I couldn't resist taking one of the heads apart to have a look.

Cheers - Jim

 

[HoppyUK]

I've recently tried a bit of portrait photography on location using only natural light, but would like to convert my garage into a studio, I don't know what lighting I need or where to begin, I welcome any suggestions

Lots of threads on this, just scroll down a bit.

The answers depend mostly on budget, but you could get very well started for around £200 with a single Lencarta Smartflash and a selection of bits. It's quite easy to spend a lot more but you can build from there at very low risk of getting stuff that you end up not wanting, or is not quite right.