Yet another newbie question...

<p>I am pounding my head against the wall trying to wrap my mind around a proper studio lighting setup. I've read many great articles(via this website) to get the placement of the flashes and the outcomes etc...but now I am stuck on the most mundane part....the actual equiptment!<br>

Many of the posts link to professional photographers who can afford to pay $300 for 1 light(without a softbox) I'm a huge fan of ebay and I know things go for cheaper on there. Honestly I am looking to toy around with studio lighting, get a feel for it, and perfect it. I'm not looking to take out a lean on my house to pay for it...</p>

<p>1)What are some good powerful lights that I can use for multipurpose lighting in portraits and location photography.<br>

2)150W? 300W? I plan to buy 2-3 lights..whats a good wattage?<br>

3)What denotes a good softbox. Photoflex has some nifty softboxes and octadomes...but those cost $125 for the small one...any knock off versions out there for cheaper? What are the effects of a 12"softbox versus a 20" softbox? more spread out light?<br>

4)Barn doors and gels...can 1 light aimed at the background for fill(with a colored gel) illuminate enough of the color for the background?</p>

<p>I think those are all the questions I want to ask right now.I always tend to ask too many at one time!Thanks for the help guys!</p>

<p><a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/3000-Watt-VIDEO-PHOTOGRAPHY-STUDIO-LIGHTING-BOOM-KIT_W0QQitemZ120567134335QQcategoryZ3860QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DMRU-625%252BUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D250688197547%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5254974667542751118">http://cgi.ebay.com/3000-Watt-VIDEO-PHOTOGRAPHY-STUDIO-LIGHTING-BOOM-KIT_W0QQitemZ120567134335QQcategoryZ3860QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DMRU-625%252BUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D250688197547%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5254974667542751118</a><br>

Would this be a good setup for 1 main light, 1fill light, then 1 hair light? (I have a few other cheap lights for background light if I need it)</p>

<p>Start <strong><a href="../learn/lighting/guide-to-lighting-kits/beginner/">here</a></strong>.<br /><br />I'm going to recommend against slow-roasting your subjects under 3000 watts of hot lights, making them squint while you compose, having their pupils contracted in the portrait, and having both you and your subject working around that equipment. Especially if that equipment is set up on the sort of ultra-cheap and rickety stands that accompany those awful under-$400 "complete" lighting kits, such as the one to which you linked. That will be a complete waste of money.<br /><br />You definitely need to do some basic intro reading on the subject of lighting, light modifiers, etc., and have that in mind before you go shopping. Neither a 12" <em>nor</em> a 20" softbox is likely to do you any favors while shooting portraits (can't comment on your "on location" requirement, since I'm not sure what you mean by that - room interiors? vehicles? horses? groups of 40 people?).<br /><br />Lighting gear is <em>not</em> a place to go cheap, as the results will usually be very disappointing, and your learing curve will be short ... because it will simply end in frustration. Start with a single light (like an Alien Bees B800), a single stand, a single umbrella or softbox, and use reflectors to help modifiy your light until you are ready to add more. That isn't just a way of controlling the budget, it's a way of making sure that you learn how light behaves while keeping the number of variables down, early on.</p>

<p>Thanks Matt Laur.(nice name btw!) Your recommendation is very useful! I think I'll experiment with one light and a reflector and see what I can get!<br>

However, why are softboxes not good for portraits?Are umbrellas better?</p>

<p>Cassandra,</p>

<p>I'm going to jump in to thoroughly agree with Matt to avoid the garbage kits that are out there.</p>

<p>Here are the reasons:</p>

<p>Drastically under powered.<br>

Usually made in China or some other far out of the way place with no access to quick repairs or any warranty to speak of from the seller.<br>

Repairs may take a huge amount of time if they have to happen out of the country.<br>

Horribly flimsy construction on all components,<br>

and the soft boxes are so small as to be unusable for anything other than a hair light or other accent light.</p>

<p>Matt refers to the size of the soft box, not necessarily rejecting soft boxes. He is right, something that small is not suitable for quality portraiture. That size renders them into being a very harsh source of light even at only a couple of feet away from the subject. </p>

<p>Take the analogy of the bright sun in a cloudless sky. Horrible light source for people because it is very tiny but brilliant and it's highlight to shadow ratio is so extreme that it is impossible to work with unless you use fill flash (terrible) or several modifiers to diffuse the light or block it completely to let sky light do your lighting work.<br>

When you have the same sun behind clouds, especially an overcast day, you have a lovely soft light with which you can do all kinds of beautiful work on a face, especially if you couple that with an overhanging limb or building projecting to allow light to come in from the side.</p>

<p>That relates to a soft box in that the overcast sky is huge and diffused compared to the sun source. You want the same thing in a soft box....the bigger the better....at least in the 30x40 inch range. For that you need much more power in the light and a very heavy duty stand to balance and hold the lot.</p>

<p>Alien Bees are fine and the more professional Paul C Buff models are even better, but pricier. 400WS is minimum for power and 800ws is much better. On top of that, these are made in the USA from an extremely reliable and responsive company. They also have an extremely diverse lot of accessories that are suited to the job like heavy stands and very good and yet inexpensive soft boxes and other modifiers.</p>

<p>Budget is always a concern, but buying junk up front to save a few bucks is just creating your own disappointment. Save up until you can start with the one good light and proper accessories.</p>

<p>Good luck! </p>

<p>Tim</p>

<p><a href="http://www.strobist.com">www.strobist.com</a> Lighting 101 section. Good light for cheap.</p>