Business kit

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Name
wayne
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I am looking at getting some more equipment for setting up my photography business.

i have:
40D with grip
canon 17-85 4-5.6 USM
sigma 70-200 2.8
canon 50 1.8 MK2
sigma 10-20 4-5.6

cheap studio lighting kit (that i may sell to fund better stuff)
canon 540ez hotshoe flash
tri-grip reflector

iMac 21.5" with photoshop ect.

so im going to be looking at backgrounds and lighting for portrait and fashion work, and i may get a photo rig for automotive work.

Now i have £2000 to put into the business at the start of next year to get it up and going, i would like to not spend it all so i have some back up if needed.

what equipment would you be looking at? I have looked around but seem to be spending it all in a "that would be nice, and so would that" sort of way so it always all gets spent.

i looked at the Elinchrom ranger RX kit so its all bettery powered, but thats almost £2k on its own. so now im thinking of a nice studio kit and some hot shoe flashes for location work.

any insight?

Thanks DM
 
What exactly are you going to be doing? If you're doing portraits, a 30 and/or 50 1.4 would be a good purchase. For child studio stuff I almost exclusively use the 50 or the 18-135mm.

Don't forget things like business cards/flyers etc as well, as you'll need to budget for that as well.
 
hard to suggest to be honest unless we know what your intended market and product is unfortunately

it'd be like suggesting a 600mm for studio work when you're mainly selling landscapes :)
 
I knew i missed something.

I mostly want to do fashion and portraits,I have done work for magazines and hairdressers and enjoyed that, I may do the odd wedding.
 
I knew i missed something.

I mostly want to do fashion and portraits,I have done work for magazines and hairdressers and enjoyed that, I may do the odd wedding.

You might want to consider a fast mid-range zoom for that work. 24-70 is the normal one to go for, although the 17-55 IS might be more suited to you using a crop cam.
 
First I would say you NEED a second body. Then, where are you going to be shooting? Are you going to get your own studio space or rent?
 
I would like to upgrade to to fullframe at some point so will look at the 24-70 so i dont have to change glass at a later date.
thanks for the imput.
 
Apart from the 40D and the Sigma 70-200, i don't think the rest of the kit will cut it for a wedding. You really need some 2.8 glass, a proper EX flash, a second body, that's what for a start.
 
honestly i'd work with what you've got til it limits you, you've got decent enough kit and if you're doing studio stuff most lenses at f8ish are sharp enough and when it goes to print you'll be adding some sharpening or putting it through a rip anyhow i expect

if you're doing weddings that's a whole different kettle of fish, 2nd body, flashes, and probably a 24-70/24-105

pre wedding considerations, decent studio lights, props and lighting modifiers would be at the top of my list :)
 
Definitely a second body, absolutely essential if you even contemplate weddings. Going to full frame will also be a great move - you won't believe the difference until you do it.
 
for studio good lights and a second body (5dI great) and confidence that if any lens (or other component) fails you can keep working (so a 24-70L would be great as its good for weddings later too)

research hard on lights and test them first as you buy into a system, also think about location vs studio as diff manufacturers have diff strengths and weaknesses
 
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