Home stuido setup - can you suggest any kits / equipment ?

[Natalie_B]

Hi All

I have a 7mnth old baby and wish to improve my portraits of him with a proper background & light setup - i think it would really be a good idea to get the pics loking studio like and i have a couple of friends who would like me to do the same for them (having seen some of my attempts so far with less than adequate backgrounds).

I have a canon 40d and tripod, but I wonder if anyone can suggest an all in one setup that i could use for under £300 including background and lighting and a list of any extras i need (will i need a remote shutter relase ?)

Thanks muchly
Nat

 

[neo2810]

You very seldom use a tripod shooting under studio lights (and never for shooting kids). On a budget of £300 you're only really going to be able to afford a set of cheaper (Interfit, Portalite, Elemental) lights. You'll be looking at 150W or so but that will be ample for a small home studio. A decent background stand will cost you around £60-£100 and you can probably pick up a set of second hand lights for £200 or so. You'll need (if the lights don't come with one) a sync cable to trigger the first light, while the other light(s) should have photocells to trigger off the flash of the main light.

Have a look in the Buy,Sell, Trade forum as there are sometimes decent deals for lights posted in there. For what you want, just the lights with softboxes or umbrella's will be sufficient, and you can then build up light modifiers as you go. Better to perfect the simple lighting setup first before you start getting adventurous anyway.

I'm sure you'll get a few more replies with specific offers knocking around.

 

[Andy]

Elemental Ultra Studio 2 - B Series

Contents

2 x B series 160w Master Flash Heads

2 x Sync Cords for wired connection

1 x 28"x20" Softbox with detachable soft white diffuser

1 x 33" White Diffuser Umbrella

2 x WT803 Light Stands

1 x Universal Radio trigger

1 x 80cm 5 in 1 Reflector

1 x Elemental Background Support Stand - Full size

1 x Support Stand Carry Case - compact toughened canvas

1 x Compartmentalized Padded Elemental Studio Bag

1 x 10' x 12' Black or White Backdrop (dependent on stock)

http://www.studio-flash.com/b-series/b-series-ultra-studio-2-p-249.html

Its £299, so its in the budget.