Best 3 or 4 light set up with Canon Rebel XTi

[bonnie27clyde]

I am just entering the world of studio lighting and took a course at Calumet in Boston. They suggest spending 2500 on a 4 light kit made by them...I would love to have a portable 4 light studio set up...I need LOTS of ADVICE.
I have a 580exII and believe I can use this as my main light? What is the most economical way to add the other 3? Should I do soft boxes or umbrellas for portraits? I have backdrops already. What brand to use? Do I need a powerpack if I have outlets to use? Help! There is so much info, I don't even know where to start!

[speedster00]

I'm not a pro, but you didnt say if you were trying to achieve a professional set up for a carreer or if this is just a hobby? Price range? type of photography? you can surf ebay and spend a few hundred bucks for a small set up. Also, go over to Strobist.com. they have tons of kits.

[bonnie27clyde]

Thanks-- right now- this is a hobby, but I would like to end up being professional-- however I do have a day job...as far as budget-- if possible, I'd like to stay under $1000

[speedster00]

look at amazon. Here is a 3 light kit for $500
http://www.amazon.com/Westcott-Photo-Basics-503-Three-Light/dp/B000P43MM4/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

Also, you may just consider picking up some more speedlights. You can slave a 430EX from a 580 EX. 2 430's and a 580 with some stands and umbrellas and you can take some fantastic shots. That would probably be less than $1000 as well.

[sdipirro]

If you haven't already, you should check out the "stickies" in this forum and follow some of the links to read up on this. Lots of good information there. Next, think about how portable your setup needs to be. If you're mostly shooting in a home studio, there may be cheaper and better solutions than speedlites as your lights. If you'll mostly be doing indoor shooting, then your choices might be different than if you plan a lot of outdoor location shooting, where power is a bigger issue. Once you sort of have the bigger picture in mind, you also don't have to buy everything at once. You can do a lot with even one or two light setups and reflectors, and then you'll get an idea of what you might need going forward. Just a thought.

[Damian75]

I would look at either the calumet genesis line or the elinchrom D-lights both will use the same enichrom modifiers and is a great start into studio lighting you can always use you canon speedlight for a hair light but I would not use it for a main as most strobes can easily overpower a speedlight.

[bonnie27clyde]

yes, I anticipate most of my shooting to be in an indoor studio, so therefore, I don't need a power pack- which I have seen to be around 500 bucks...do you recommend umbrellas or softboxes to be the best?

[Damian75]

yes, I anticipate most of my shooting to be in an indoor studio, so therefore, I don't need a power pack- which I have seen to be around 500 bucks...do you recommend umbrellas or softboxes to be the best?

They both have there places if you think you will do more groups then umbrellas will work well if you are looking more at single portraits a good soft box will give you more control and a better ability to feather the light.

[GenuineRolla]

I really dislike umbrella's as the light go everywhere and it's not very controlled.

I like softboxes and beauty dishes more so with my Alien Bee's.

[Peacefield]

I'm a big distance from being a lighting expert, having only recently ventured in myself, but I bought one of Calumet's Genesis 400 one light kit w/softbox and their 200 two light kits w/umbrellas, all with stands. The 400 w/softbox was $370 and I think the two 200's w/umbrella were about $330. Then it's just speedlights should I need additional. Add in Cybersyncs at about $250 or maybe not and just use the lights optical trigger and put the rest into backgrounds. I'm very happy with what I got for the money.