Tell me if you think this is good lighting kit?

[lynweber]

So i have been spending the day researching lighting kits for indoor use. I love the strobist Idea and will probably do this as well but for studio this is what I am thinking. Please note in my area there are two built in flood lights directly over my backdrop area that will also provide light.

VU-PRO V-100 1200 WATT MINI BOOM KIT

tell me what you think. or recommend somethign else.

[acedrew]

I Wouldn't recommend tungsten continuous lighting. The heat and general inefficiency of tungsten make them very undesirable. The Pros are using Fluorescent lights, designed for photography, and paying a pretty penny for them too! But there are effective solutions for a lot less money if you're interested.

Check out this post: Cheap Lighting for portraits??

Let me know if you have any more questions, I've built several different lights and I'm happy to share what I've learned!

Andrew Rodgers
Perfected Perspectives -- Photography by Andrew Rodgers | Andrew Rodgers (acedrew) on Twitter | Login | Facebook

[lynweber]

hey yeah I would love to know about other lights. I dont mind making my own. I am very confused about all the different types of lights themselves out there. I Know i need 2 umbrellas with stands, boom stand, but as for types of light to go on them thats where i tend to be a little confused.

[promans]

Originally Posted by lynweber

hey yeah I would love to know about other lights. I dont mind making my own. I am very confused about all the different types of lights themselves out there. I Know i need 2 umbrellas with stands, boom stand, but as for types of light to go on them thats where i tend to be a little confused.

I went at it piece by piece, learning as I grew. I also didn't have much of a budget to get things, so I was always looking for cheap stuff! Lack of budget caused me to read as much as possible to educate myself before I bought. I think I new just about everything I could before I had the item as when it showed up.

I highly recommend the AlienBees CyberSync line- for the price of a transmitter and two recievers, you could get ONE Pocket Wizard. I've never had a problem with the CyberSync, just love them. Great stuff. There are eBay triggers out there, but it is a 50/50 chance with getting a set that works well. The CyberSyncs have worked 100% for me, and I can get up to a 1/200 sync with them.

As for flash, with the CyberSync firing the strobes remotely, it doesn't matter which ones you get to be honest. I have a Canon 430EX and a Vivitar 285hv. The only limit to the vivitar is that it doesn't have a 1/8 power setting- slightly confusing.
For my Canon strobe I have done a bunch of DIY additions like a grid spot and a dark sphere. All done via inspired images and the know how from other shooters.

Most of it is monkey see, monkey do for me. You don't always need umbrellas too, bounce is good, shooting through other items for patterns... reflectors.

There are so many levels its almost too much to think about!

Good luck.

(update: here is my blog entry on the subject)

[Jim Poor]

I'm curious why you think you need exactly these things. I worked for a long time with only one umbrella and now I have up to five, I normally use two, but I have the flexibility to use what a specific situation calls for rather than subscribe to some "formula."

A boom stand is far from a necessity, though I've been looking at adding a very specific, collapsible boom for a very specific purpose.

Nothing wrong with Tungsten lights for the budget minded. You just have to be careful not to start a fire with them

Originally Posted by lynweber

hey yeah I would love to know about other lights. I dont mind making my own. I am very confused about all the different types of lights themselves out there. I Know i need 2 umbrellas with stands, boom stand, but as for types of light to go on them thats where i tend to be a little confused.

[lynweber]

I have decided not to go with these are you are correct i don't need them all I am adding another flash and two light stand with umbrellas to my gear. Cheaper and much easier to lug around.