Studio on a budget, recommendations & advise?

[z101]

I am an z photographer and looking to set up a mini studio as I want to get experience in that area.I am looking to do something cheap. Because I know nothing about studio photography I think there is no point on spending a fortune on equipment and not knowing the principles of studio photography but I do like to learn by practicing and trial and error.

So for starters I would like to have an umbrella, now I understand from using on camera flash the bigger the light source the better the light etc. but I don't want anything too big. Ideally I would add a 2nd umbrella in time. A cheap umbrella, (an ebay job possibly) and stand. At the same time I am looking for something of reasonable quality (for the money).

Now I am going to be needing a flash stand I guess and as I only have one flash I shall need some sort of a wireless trigger. So what I am looking for is equipment recommendations.

....would a soft box be better? I appreciate any advise under the sun.

Thanks

 

[mani]

why dont you find a studio near you that does events/camera club on a regular day with a model and pop down

it'll cost you 10/15 quid - you can speak to the studio owner and other togs - plus you'll have some top notch stuff to play around with and you'll know what you need to get. I've done that been on a few studio nights etc and picked up loads of idea's and tips.

you can build your own skillset up and only once your in the clear then you can invest with a bit more confidence.

 

[Alan_T]

Mani, where's the best place to look for these nights? i don't even know where to start looking to be honest!

cheers
Alan

 

[mani]

sites like purestorm and model mayhem - their forum area have togs doing events. just find one near you.

Alternatively the one site that has answers to life - Google.

google the photo studio's near your area and visit their websites - they'll list events etc on there alternatively give them an email and just ask em. they may do them every week every fortnight or maybe once a month. but at least your getting some top lighting equipment to use and you can watch the other togs on how they go about it.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

I am an z photographer and looking to set up a mini studio as I want to get experience in that area.I am looking to do something cheap. Because I know nothing about studio photography I think there is no point on spending a fortune on equipment and not knowing the principles of studio photography but I do like to learn by practicing and trial and error.

So for starters I would like to have an umbrella, now I understand from using on camera flash the bigger the light source the better the light etc. but I don't want anything too big. Ideally I would add a 2nd umbrella in time. A cheap umbrella, (an ebay job possibly) and stand. At the same time I am looking for something of reasonable quality (for the money).

Now I am going to be needing a flash stand I guess and as I only have one flash I shall need some sort of a wireless trigger. So what I am looking for is equipment recommendations.

....would a soft box be better? I appreciate any advise under the sun.

Thanks

If this is your first go at this and you're planning to use your flashgun then I'd suggest the following as a starter kit...

Set of RF602 triggers (Ebay)
Konig Lightstand (7dayshop)
Umbrella adaptor (Ebay)
Shoot through umbrella (Ebay)

You should be able to pick that lot up for under 50 quid, perhaps less for used gear from the TP classifieds. There's no point in buying softboxes or any other "fancy" gear until you grasp the basics and the kit listed above should be enough to give you a good grounding that you can build on as and when you need to.