Equipment query for Home Studio / Portrait shots

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ctsonline

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Carl
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Hi all,

You'll have to forgive me but i'm quite a novice to photography and i'm looking for some advice pending the birth of my son in 10 weeks time.

I've invested so far in the following kit:
Canon 400D DSLR
Manfrotto 190XPROB Tripod
M Series ULTRA Studio 600 (Home Studio Kit)
2 Battery Grip

Is there anything else I need that will help me take great home photo's of my child and family etc? I know I need a head to go with the tripod, and only have the standard lens that came with the camera. What else is out there that will improve portrait shots? Will my standard lens do, or what other lens etc will significantly improve the quality? I also prefer not to spend more than a few hundred if possible?.....

Thanks in advance for any advice / help anyone can offer.
 
you'll probably need some sort of background too, unless you have a suitable wall and floor area - I'd also think about getting a flash meter to take some of the guess work away...

When you say novice to photography - are you comfortable shooting in manual mode, i.e. understand aperture/shutter speed settings? You can't shoot in auto/A/S/P modes with studio flash...

I've just got a home studio kit and it's by no means easy, my advice would be to start reading and get it all set up and practice...
 
The studio kit i've bought does come with a backdrop but it doesn't arrive until April 5th. I'm looking into shooting manual now but haven't fully wrapped my brain around it yet - so thanks for the heads up!

Do you think the standard lens will do, or could I do with an upgrade? Cheers again, very useful as I didn't realise auto wasn't an option with home studios.
 
ctsonline said:
The studio kit i've bought does come with a backdrop but it doesn't arrive until April 5th. I'm looking into shooting manual now but haven't fully wrapped my brain around it yet - so thanks for the heads up!

Do you think the standard lens will do, or could I do with an upgrade? Cheers again, very useful as I didn't realise auto wasn't an option with home studios.
Click to expand...

If the standard lens is the 50mm, it will be fine for your needs (as you are on a tight budget and decent alternative lenses would be hundreds of pounds).
 
ctsonline said:
The studio kit i've bought does come with a backdrop but it doesn't arrive until April 5th. I'm looking into shooting manual now but haven't fully wrapped my brain around it yet - so thanks for the heads up!

Do you think the standard lens will do, or could I do with an upgrade? Cheers again, very useful as I didn't realise auto wasn't an option with home studios.
Click to expand...

which lens do you have?

Be worth getting yourself a copy of Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson (Amazon have it), well written and easy to understand...
 
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