Photography Home Studio Setup
How do I setup a home photography studio?
I currently use a d5000 nikon with a 50mm 1.4 and this week i will be purchasing a sb-600 flash....anyways i wanted to take pictures of my family and i want to create my own home studio....where do i start? and does a 50mm with a sb600 flash go good together?
my budget is under a grand.....im using my formal living room....and i dont know what backdrop to get.
YN-460 flashes on ebay are manual only flashes built for off camera work ... and cost 45$ each. I own a bunch of these and they are pretty good. Would i like to have a kit of bowen studio strobes? Of course but these little units are cheap, light, don;t require power outlets ... they are just awesome.
Get them on ebay. I can get a full studio kit (flashes. triggers, backdrops, stands, umbrellas ...) for about 300$Can.
BTW, I own the setup I'm suggestiong (give or take a few slight differences).
Get 2 YUNGTUO YN-460 shoe mount flashes (or more ... I'm about to order a couple more). They are in expensive (43$) but work great. They just don't have any of the fancy features you would use for on camera lighting but since this is for studio lighting it doesn't matter,
Here on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/YN-460-Slave-Flash-Canon-50D-40D-30D-5D-Diffuser-/230591676416?pt=Camera_Flash_Accessories&hash=item35b055c000#ht_4169wt_905
So that's 86$
Get a couple of lightstands (50$ total)
http://cgi.ebay.com/2x-Light-Stand-1-90m-63-Studio-lighting-300W-/320664119664?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa9122970#ht_3103wt_905
Get some unbrella holder and umbrellas (32$ each)
http://cgi.ebay.com/White-Umbrella-Flash-Light-Tripod-Stand-Mount-/320662594518?pt=AU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessories&hash=item4aa8fae3d6#ht_3105wt_905
Get some remote triggers (30$)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Wireless-Flash-Trigger-2-Receiver-Canon-40D-30D-20D-/320664548656?pt=Camera_Flash_Accessories&hash=item4aa918b530#ht_3634wt_905
Then you can get a background kit with a grey motled backdrop like this one: (55$)
http://cgi.ebay.com/dmk2-Background-Support-Set-9x12-Backdrop-New-/120691666627?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c19c8aec3#ht_1885wt_1139
So around 300$
You'll eventually want to add more receivers, get 1 or 2 more flashes, get a black umbrella, maybe a soft box ... but the kit above should serve you well to start.
I'd suggest getting a demo kit of gels ... so you can gell your background flash (25$)
Here are some shots I did with a similar kit (no gels).
My website is a bit of a mess but here is a shoot I did for some model portfolios:
http://www.evildaystar.ca/blogs-eng.asp?b=20110216
Here are a few more from some weddings:
The nice thing with this kit also is that it doesn;t rely on the availability of power outlets so you can bring it to an outdoor shoot and not worry.
Anyways, good luck.
How To Set Up A Home Based Photography Studio