studio lighting suggestions

[zincprincess]

I’m considering buying a couple of studio lights to do portraits. After reading up on it for a bit, my head is spinning from all the choices. Strobe versus continuous? Hot versus cool? What do you like about what you use?

I’m looking for something that is portable since I don’t have dedicated studio space in my house. I’m also looking to keep the price around $300 if possible.

Advice?

[ennuipoet]

For 300.00 you can buy two Yongnuo Flashes (http://speedlights.net/2010/05/27/yongnuo-yn-560-vs-canon-580ex-ii/) softboxs for both and light stands and have one hell of a sflash set up Strobist style. The learning curve for manual flashes is steep at the start but once you have the basics down you can really work on the fly. With two strobes you can balance the lighting beautifully (tho, three can be better) and do pro work in small spaces and outdoors.

If you haven’t read Lighting 101 at Strobist, it will help you get started.

http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/

[orionid]

let me suggest saving up for good lighting vice taking the $30 diy home depot approach (yes, I’m actually recommending against diy). while the halogen lamps are simple, bright, and great for some things, they’re hot as hell when you need to move them and they’re even more yellow than tungsten. now, if you can get your hands on some 500W xenon bulbs…..

[Author]

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