Lighting for home studio

[Vlad_10D]

Hello

I'm setting up the home studio, and I'm not sure what light equipment to get. As you can guess, I'm not a pro, and I never before worked with lights (except built-in flash :)... Now I want to try to shoot people like a pro... but just for fun, so my budget is very limited. I have a room roughly 9' wide, 15' long and about 8' high I'm setting as a studio. What kinds and models of lights would you suggest for me to experiment with? Good and cheap softboxes? Is umbrella worth it? Where to get it all at bargain prices? What can I read on lighting (with practical examples and links)?

Thanks

[Fills]

I hate to see a brand new member post a question that never gets answered and they never post again.... so Vlad if you're still out there, how have you made out? I have some recent interest in setting up a home studio, but not a permanent like you. If your budget is that small, you can try the 'Home Depot' lights. I use 2 x 500W in my basement and I find I still need more light (no natural light at all in the basement) so I bounce flash off the side wall diffused through a white sheet, and position the 'model' so they are under the overhead light for a cheap hair light. Obviously, with all these different temperature lights, you MUST use a custom white balance and I prefer to shoot RAW to help tweek colour changes later. For a background I use clamps I had in the garage for hanging sheets (keep them hung up or you will get wrinkles) and this is as cheap of a home studio you can get. Now it would seem you have more of an advanced application, but that's my 2 cents.

[PhotosGuy]

Trevor, did you look in the Lighting section? A search for "home studio" with the quotes would bring up a lot of links, too.

[Fills]

Trevor, did you look in the Lighting section? A search for "home studio" with the quotes would bring up a lot of links, too.

Yes, it's actually where I got a few hints for my quick cheap set-up. I am not an 'outside the box' thinker, so I usually end up spending more rather than adjusting using what I have. In this case, the lighting options are overwhelming, and so before I spend a good deal of money, I decided to use the set-up I noted above for awhile while I research. I'd show you guys my results but I can't convince the model (wife) to let me post. :D

A few weeks ago, I actually searched the forum for home studio lighting and now I have 10-15 threads I've been reading over and over again :) . I just didn't want Vlad to be discouraged, as I know starting out in a new forum is hard for some people.