Basic portable setup

phil8139

phil8139

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Hi folks, what would be a good starting point on getting a good basic portable portrait setup. Seen a few from various suppliers, and I know some will say you get what you pay for, but im looking at what you basically need in terms of lamps 2/3/4, power of lamps, backdrop etc.

Prices i've seen are from £175 to £750 for starter kits - im not interested in the price, just what you need to get going.

Also I don't like background on a roll, so looking at background tents which I can't seem to find from a quick search.

Ta in advance,

Phil.
 
I was in similar boat a year or two ago. In the end, I bought an Interfit Stellar 300 kit (two heads). I elected to get competent with two lights before adding anymore, and im still at two lights :LOL: (Thats more cause I dont have time to use it though, to be fair).

I also bought a cheapo trigger off ebay that packed up after 6 months, so that got replaced with one from Calumet, a couple of cheap(ish) softboxes that are still going (and actually seem pretty good, to be fair to them), a backdrop stand off here (aluminium pole frame thing), and a couple of backdrops.

From what ive read since, interfit stellars are not that highly thought of, but they certainly work for me.
 
phil8139 said:
Prices i've seen are from £175 to £750 for starter kits - im not interested in the price, just what you need to get going.
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Depends how portable you want to go. You can do a LOT with a speedlight. One flash, radio trigger, nano stand and small softbox fits into a small bag along with camera and lens.

Minimum kit it 1 light and a modifier of some kind ;) More will give you more options - what style are you looking for?
 
Guys, thanks for the replies.

Jonathan, style.....? as in style of shots :shrug: Im going to be really honest and say my whole reason for going along this path is to get a financial return from photography. I dont want to get a single lamp and cheapo background and just bash out some pics. I want to get something tasteful and worthy of selling. Im not going to persue it as a fulltime rollercoaster and would be looking at doing some reasonable work for reasonable pay.

Hopefully it would run along side my sports work I do, where I could offer another side to photography, been asked a few times if it's something I do, so maybe im missing out on money to collect.

Phil.

EDIT: something along this line from fleabay as an example linky
 
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I'd really try and get hold of the "Onelight" lighting tutorial DVD, this will show how much you can do with a single lamp or even a speedlight.
 
phil8139 said:
Jonathan, style.....? as in style of shots :shrug:
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Yeah, style of shots.... For example, lots of people associate "lit" pictures with white background evenly lit mushy stuff - something I refer to as beige lighting. Make no mistake, there are more people earning a living from that than most styles. The reason I ask is that that is a hard thing to produce consistently with fewer then 3 lights.

If your "style" is urban funky, or beach glamour or Vogue style beauty shots then you will need slightly different kit for each.

phil8139 said:
I dont want to get a single lamp and cheapo background and just bash out some pics. I want to get something tasteful and worthy of selling.
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OK....I have (I just counted) 11 studio heads and 3 location systems. Plus a few speedlights. I still used one speedlight (IIRC not even mine) for this.

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phil8139 said:
EDIT: something along this line from fleabay as an example linky
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Check out the lighting forum. That kit comes up a lot. Consensus seems to be you probably get what you pay for. But you really don't pay for a lot.
 
OK....I have (I just counted) 11 studio heads and 3 location systems. Plus a few speedlights
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That's just greedy, why should you have all the toys!
 
At present I have one speedlight, shoot through brolly, lastolite black velvet backdrop and a reflector for fill. You'd be amazed what you can do with one light, or one light and a reflector. I still prefer available light, it has a lovely quality although can be unpredictable especially in England ;)
 
Thanks all, Im thinking a 3/4 light setup and hilite backdrop. will get a nosey round and see whats out there.
 
phil8139 said:
EDIT: something along this line from fleabay as an example linky
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Phil,

We appear to be in the same mindset at the moment. I have two sittings booked for next weekend and am hoping for more in the coming weeks to raise a bit of extra cash. I've also been looking at the same kit - did you know that the seller is Kerso on here?
 
Hi Steve, thanks for the info, I have heard of Kerso a few times - all good too which helps.

I think it's a reasonable outlay for a starter kit of portable studio lighting, and a way to get a good return for the outlay in equipment I have bought. I have a few people who have enquired if I could do this type of work, and they're not the big spenders who would go for a 'propper' studio shoot. So i'm thinking it might be a profitable investment longer term to build another side of photography.

Will no doubt get shot down for looking to go for the cheaper shoots but i'm working on a pricing structure to make it viable, been stung too many times giving away my pics - im older and wiser :)

I take it you do portrait work at the moment - how are you finding things?

Phil.
 
Phil,

Actually I do very little portrait work and what I have done in the past has always been outdoors - friends and family stuff.

My main interest is in indoor sports - judo, basketball, 5-a-side soccer - and cycling, rugby. Almost every time I go to a sports event I am asked about portraits and I've always said no but having something portable opens up new avenues :)
 
Well, we have lots in common then ;) Basketball is my main sport although i'm looking into more. So what are your thoughts on the fleabay kit? Im also looking at the lastolite hilite background, seen it action a few times and very impressed although more expensive than a sheet from the bottom drawer :LOL:

On a side note - have you done any work for the EBL Bristol Academy flyers?
 
I posted a thread in the lighting forum regading the kits I was looking at. Only had one response so far ... but it wasn't very positive :eek: My needs aren't very demanding so I may still go for it. How about you?

My basketball experience is fairly limited and I haven't done any this season at all. I much prefer martial arts ... and judo in particular :)
 
haha just read the other thread - 2+3 .... even though I know just above nothing on lights, I would rather treat the wife to a grease the firemans pole night than spend on them...... :puke:

#1 is what I was looking at - cheap and cheerful. Will do the job that im looking for, and maybe you too if im reading you right. It's not so much looking pro, but I dont have the time to work with 1 speedlight to get amazing results as some have suggested. I want to control the enviroment im shooting in and get quality (read cheap as chips) results for cheap as chips clients.

The guy knows what he's talking about - have read some of his tutorials. But im not going into this to become a full time portrait shooter - purely to gain some revenue at the lower end of the market. Maybe we could light share :LOL:
 
Hmm, gonna sell tickets?

You (and he) are right of course ... I blame it on my tight-wad streak :)

Unless someone else comes up with an alternative suggestion I think I'm gonna buy the one from Kerso.
 
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