Hi everyone, just wanting a little advise from anyone who can offer it. I have a canon 40d camera at the moment. I want to buy equipment to set up a studio at my home as i am getting a few requests for portrait and family photography sessions. What is best to buy and where should i start?? I usually do sports photography but while the interest is there i'd like to broaden my skills! any help would be much appreciated.
Which photography studio equipment is best for me?
- Thread starter tezz
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- Chris
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What do you have currently? If you could list your full equipment list (lenses, lights, any background, accessories etc), it'd be helpful in advising you what else you need 
What kind of portraits are you looking at doing? The white background thing? Or natural light etc? Different kit requirements for both!
Chris
Edit: Welcome to the forum by the way
What kind of portraits are you looking at doing? The white background thing? Or natural light etc? Different kit requirements for both!
Chris
Edit: Welcome to the forum by the way
hi chris, i dont currently have any studio equipment/lighting ect as i'm new to it all.
I have a canon 40d slr with a 17-85mm and a 75-300mm canon lenses.
I got the camera as a present and want to build up my equipment and lenses ect but there are so many out there i'm unsure of what is a good/ok/bad make and what to look for.
I want to do a range of portrait photography but one thing at a time i think is possibly the best thing to do. I want to go for natural lighting ect to begin with then build up the rest of the kit i need.
Thanks for you help
I have a canon 40d slr with a 17-85mm and a 75-300mm canon lenses.
I got the camera as a present and want to build up my equipment and lenses ect but there are so many out there i'm unsure of what is a good/ok/bad make and what to look for.
I want to do a range of portrait photography but one thing at a time i think is possibly the best thing to do. I want to go for natural lighting ect to begin with then build up the rest of the kit i need.
Thanks for you help
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O.K......lots to cover then!
Personally I'd start with individual portraits rather than family groups etc, unless that's the only experience being offered. I did my first proper portrait shoot a few weeks ago with 2 models, and it was a bit of a nightmare trying to direct 2 people simultaneously, I wouldn't want to do an entire family till I've got a lot more experience!
If you're starting off getting to grips with natural lighting (a good starting point, trying to throw yourself in with lots of flashguns etc might be kit overload), you'll probably want to invest in some fast prime lenses. These generally have much larger apertures than their zoom counterparts, so you can get much more creative with depth of field.
The usual recommended starting point is the 'nifty fifty' (someone will probably have already recommended it by the time I post this
). The Canon 50mm f/1.8 II to give it it's full title. Reason it's so popular is because it's dirt cheap (£70 new from 'kerso' on here). It'll introduce you to the added difficulties of focussing with faster lenses, something which takes a bit of getting used to. You get very thin depth of field which can be used to your advantage, or can ruin a shot if you don't quite get it right.
Generally speaking, longer focal lengths give a more flattering result, which is why I love my 85mm f/1.8 so much! But you need a lot of room to work, and it's probably not really suitable in a studio except for headshots.
I'd suggest you go to the 'people and portraits' section of this site. Have a look through other people's work, see what you like, what you don't like, and ask them questions on how they achieved their results. Then put their advice into practice
Chris
Personally I'd start with individual portraits rather than family groups etc, unless that's the only experience being offered. I did my first proper portrait shoot a few weeks ago with 2 models, and it was a bit of a nightmare trying to direct 2 people simultaneously, I wouldn't want to do an entire family till I've got a lot more experience!
If you're starting off getting to grips with natural lighting (a good starting point, trying to throw yourself in with lots of flashguns etc might be kit overload), you'll probably want to invest in some fast prime lenses. These generally have much larger apertures than their zoom counterparts, so you can get much more creative with depth of field.
The usual recommended starting point is the 'nifty fifty' (someone will probably have already recommended it by the time I post this
). The Canon 50mm f/1.8 II to give it it's full title. Reason it's so popular is because it's dirt cheap (£70 new from 'kerso' on here). It'll introduce you to the added difficulties of focussing with faster lenses, something which takes a bit of getting used to. You get very thin depth of field which can be used to your advantage, or can ruin a shot if you don't quite get it right.Generally speaking, longer focal lengths give a more flattering result, which is why I love my 85mm f/1.8 so much! But you need a lot of room to work, and it's probably not really suitable in a studio except for headshots.
I'd suggest you go to the 'people and portraits' section of this site. Have a look through other people's work, see what you like, what you don't like, and ask them questions on how they achieved their results. Then put their advice into practice
Chris
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Glad to be of help! You'll probably want to upgrade soon enough, but it's a good starting point, and if you decide to sell it, you'll lose a minimal amount on it.
Now go to "people and portraits", and get posting
Chris