Help me spend $1000

[AdrenoJunkie]

Ok this may be a bit long winded so bear with me. I'm looking to start building up my equipment with the idea of turning this into something profitable once I feel my skill is good enough. I'll tell you what I have, what I wanna do, and what I've been thinking about getting. I'm wanting to get the most bang for my buck. Any advice you can offer as to whether I'm on the right track or should head in another direction would be greatly appreciated. My budget is $1100.

What I have:
Canon 450D, 18-55mm kit lens, Canon 60mm macro, Canon 75-300mm (I bought this from a pawn shop and do not like it. I almost never use it.) 580EXII, Yongnuo 460II (on the way), 3 really cheap slave flashes that work most of the time,cheap wireless flash and shutter triggers, Cowboy Studio lightstand and 33" umbrella.

What I wanna do:
I would like to setup more of a studio than what I have. Although this is not exclusively my environment, it is where I've been focusing lately.

What I'm thinking about getting:
17-70mm 2.8 and/or 50mm 1.8 (although I'd really prefer a 35mm if there is a budget priced one)
Softbox- what size is good?
Graduated filter(remember I said I'm not exclusive to a studio)- what budget brand is a good choice
I was also thinking about trying out continuous lighting so that I can see it's effects in real time and adjust according to what I see. And I'd like to be able to meter the scene instead of guess, shoot, adjust. Are there any good starter lights out there that are low cost but worth the money?
I'm also getting some other accessories but those I can figure out on my own.

[OsmosisStudios]

What do you want to shoot? I know you said a studio, but what kind of subjects? and how much room do you have?

[zona5101]

ya, i think you need to noodle it a little more. I don't think you want both strobes and continuous, (maybe you do but that seems unnecessary) As Os aks, what is you want to shoot. It would suck to spend $1000 on stuff only to later learn it's not really what you wanted/needed.

[AdrenoJunkie]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

What do you want to shoot? I know you said a studio, but what kind of subjects? and how much room do you have?

Ok this is one of the things making this hard for me. I shoot a bit of everything. Portrait, nude, boudoir, fashion, product, and fun artsy stuff. As far as how I wanna make money off it eventually, I was thinking of combining portraiture and fashion to give people a chance to do something more fun than the standard olan mill type portraits. And so I'm not bored either. I also will be shooting kids. My space for the time being is 8x12 with wiggle room for the lights. I'm posting a pic of it so you can see what I mean. I usually push the furniture back to make room for lights or back em up into the kitchen. There is a chance I will be able to ugrade to a 12x20' but for now this is what I have.

Originally Posted by zona5101

ya, i think you need to noodle it a little more. I don't think you want both strobes and continuous, (maybe you do but that seems unnecessary) As Os aks, what is you want to shoot. It would suck to spend $1000 on stuff only to later learn it's not really what you wanted/needed.

Well i was thinking about continuous lights for the studio area and using the strobes for when I go on location or need to freeze action. I just like the idea of what you see is what you get. Does anyone know if these new flourescent kits are any good? I have been doing much soul searching and web searchng and I think what I'm after is a decent short zoom lens with a wide aperture that will allow me to do full body shots in confined space.Preferably with a constant aperture. In all truth I'm interested in continuous lights but I can work with just strobes, I've looked at Alien Bees and wondered if an AB400 combined with my two speedlites would be good setup for anything I might do.