Studio lighting
 

Hi,

I'm looking at buying some studio lighting and starting to try my hand in this area. Its mainly for home use to take photos of the kids so I don't really need anything fancy. There are some kits on ebay that look quite good and sensibly priced.

My question is this - what wattage is best??? They range from 36W up to over 2000W.
Well, thats the first question - its a bit of a minefield to me and will no doubt be another steep learning curve.

Many thanks,

Chris

Hi Chris, as far as I know anything around the 250-400w mark should be fine for getting you started. I've read somewhere that the Interfit mk2 model is half decent and you can pick it up for around £200 or so....
It's a good starting point and gives you a guide of what you'll need and it also comes with a booklet and dvd as far as I know..

I got my first kit from Ebay via Hong Kong, a full set up with 2 lights, 2 softboxes, 2 umbrellas, 2 stands and leads lights were 150W - it's basically the same as the Interfit starter kit for around £230 but I think mine cost around £150. If you don't want to import then the Interfit kit is a good starter package

Something like that will be all you need as a starter in your front room at home. I since upgraded to Elinchrom and use the generic lights as lights 3 & 4 if required.

I also bought a background stand kit from eBay which came with black & white muslin sheets, I don't use the sheets, I bought some white vinyl from a company that makes HGV trailer covers and saved myself about £150 on the same stuff supplied by Lastolite. (I think I paid £45 for 3M by 8M incl delivery from Scotland)

Thanks for your quick replies guys. There is some good looking kits on eBay and for me probably a good place to start without busting the bank.
The kits generally come with a couple of stands, umbrella's, softboxes, lamps and one I'm looking at comes with barn door and gels.

Thanks again,

Chris