Studio Lighting Kit Rentals

[glassandgear]

Hi Guys,

I've begun looking at picking up some studio lighting equipment for my rental business and having never used studio lighting its a bit overwhelming. I'm not really looking at this as a high volume item or anything however I'd really like to be able to offer it to my customers. Right now I'm leaning toward some Alien Bees gear. Any thoughts on the following lighting kit setup. In the future as I expand my own photography business I'd probably end up using this stuff for portraits as well so that plays into my decision making a bit as well.

2 B800 Strobes
2 light stands - not sure on the brand of these yet
1 48" Translucent White Umbrella
1 48" Silver/White Umbrella
Wireless transmitters/receivers

Oh, and not part of the kit but I was thinking of picking up a ring light too.

Thanks,
Jason

[slimninj4]

Should make that 3 AB800 strobes
3 light stands, Manfrotto is recommended alot here. I use Giottos ( love'm)
1 Softbox medium (photoflex)
1 42 in white/black umbrella (westcott)
1 42in silver umbrella (westcott)
Set of PW or Other brand
Reflector and stand (say about 42in)
With this you can have clients rent from 1 to 3 lights.
Also might want to look at some snoots, barndoors, grids as add ons.

[RichNY]

IMO renting out Alien Bees might be looking for trouble when it comes to build quality for the rental market. I would strongly suggest you consider looking at White Lightnings at the very least and if your budget will allow go with more even more durable equipment such as Profoto.

[bigjon0107]

I agree, while AB's are great for the average consumer, they may not hold up against the "rental" mindset. Like suggested, look into White Lightnings or another higher end strobe. One that is cased in metal and may be able to take a fall every now and again.

I also think your 2-set is a great base rental package. Adding the 3rd light might just make it to much for someone to want to rent (added rental cost and shipping). But also make individual strobes available for rent along with the accessories. Just in case they would want more then a kit, they have that option.

[glassandgear]

Thanks guys, the build quality of the Alien Bees stuff was one of my concerns. The rental market can be rough sometimes, although surprisingly enough we haven't had any of our stuff come back damaged so far. Had a few things not come back but thats a different story. I guess the main reason that I'd be willing to risk the damage is the initial cost is fairly low.

Thanks for the suggestions on White Lightning and Profoto. Profoto seems to make some very nice equipment. I'll have to look into whether or not we could swing that. May help that it looks like we could become an authorized rental house in NH. I'm thinking that offering some longer term leasing might be a good idea on lighting equipment if we decided to go with someone like Profoto.

[GRODY]

how much does it cost to rent gear like this for a couple of days ?>

[glassandgear]

I'm not quite sure what our rental fees will be for lighting kits. If I had to take a guess I would say it will probably be somewhere between $50 and $100 per week depending on the lighting setup. Possibly a bit more with additional accessories.