hate to do this but appreciate some info from the gurus....

hi guys - have been lurking around the forum for a few months now - learnt a lot. I have been reading a lot on various threads and it has improved my photography leaps and bounds. But now I want to venture into the area of portraits - want a small portable strobe based setup which I can use at home (extra room can be converted into a small studio) and carry out for outings etc.

I was looking at cheap off camera strobes like the YN 560 (x2) - already have a Canon 430 EXII, for radio triggers I was logging at another set of YN RF 603 (total 4) - and was looking at soft boxes (totally lost wrt what I need starting from stand, soft box with modifiers like grid etc, speedring???) did I miss anything), maybe a snoot. Do I need a beauty dish? I would need some reflectors as well.

I am totally lost here. Appreciate some help and some products that i can buy with a paltry budget of 500 USD. Is that too low?

Thanks for looking....

You should start with two shoot through umbrellas and two stands. If that creates the look you want great. If it doesn't create the look you want purchase the modifiers that you need.

Again, two shoot through umbrellas is a great starting point.

I also suggest reading a flash photography book that will explain what each modifier does.

I'd recommend softboxes. The Cheetah Qbox is a great value and includes a grid. You can get an inexpensive stand to hold it for about $25. There is a Qbox 24 thread on POTN that you might look at.

An even less expensive option is to get the Lumiquest Softbox III. Both David Hobby and Joe McNally use it a lot.

Remember that you can trigger your 430EX II wirelessly using the pop-up on your T3i. I do this all the time with my 60D, and it works extremely well over the ranges Canon indicates. In fact, I use two wireless 430EXs with A:B ratio control with my 60D frequently. Radio triggers are expensive, and I'd rather save that money and use the Canon system, although I realize not everyone would agree.

The problem with a shoot thru is the light goes everywhere.... if that's what you want it's ok. A softbox, as Hugh suggested, gives you way more control over the light

I highly suggest a set of flashpoint AC strobes from Adorama. You'll find working with AC strobes a lot easier than trying to mess with shoe-mount flashes and the adapters for them. This is especially true as you get into larger umbrellas and softboxes which if not balanced properly will want to tip.

The Flashpoints are a decent inexpensive set that should fit into your budget easily and allow you to buy lots of modifiers as well. They make an entire line of modifiers for these lights and some adapters for other brand modifiers as well.

They are not "pro" lights by any means. They are meant just for the purpose you have. There are better units out there but they cost a lot more. I had Elinchroms back when I had my studio but when I got back into photography as a hobby many years later I bought the Flashpoints and they serve me just fine. The only problem is that they will occasionally throw a warmer color cast than normal but shooting in RAW makes that an easy fix as does shooting the same shot twice.
Go for a 3-4 light setup. You can get the cowboy studio background stand for about $100. There are some decent backgrounds at Amazon that you can put on it. Get a backlight stand, 3 regular stands, a boom, a couple large umbrellas, a couple softboxes, a snoot and some barn doors. You should be able to get all of this for less than $500.

I have a link in my sig for when people start asking about starter lighting kits, so you may want to check it out.

you can get a reversible umbrella and close it down to simulate a softbox, or try out a umbrella softbox.

Shoot through umbrellas are the least expensive way to start. One shoot through umbrella and a reflector is a minimum set up. The shoot through umbrella is your main or key light and the reflector acts as a fill light to reduce the shadows created by the main light. This setup only works for individual portraits. For a couple or several people you need a second shoot through umbrella as a fill light.

The draw back of shoot through umbrellas is the light goes in all directions. That means you get light reflected off the walls and ceilings too. This will help to soften the light and give it a more wrap around effect, but you can pick up color casts from the reflection off the walls and ceilings. You can correct the color cast by adjusting the WB in post processing.

A softbox produces more directional light. You do not get as much light reflected off of walls and ceilings. If you go to more advanced setups with separate backdrop lights, a softbox gives more controlled lighting on your subject and less accidental lighting on the backdrop. But the shoot through umbrellas are good to start with, since you will not have any background lights, spilling light on the background is usually a good thing.

first of all thanks a ton guys. yes i was looking at 1 soft box (at least with grid), 1 shoot through umbrella, 3 stands, 1 snoot for starters and a reflector - will be a 3 light setup. The only question is the budget - can i stay within a budget of 500 USD. I do want something that will be used with flash only - portability is key. Wife and kid will be subjects mostly.

I do not want to go over the budget - as is shifting from the Bay Area to Chicago on my own money is going to put a big dent on my savings.

hawk911 wrote in post #14078776
The problem with a shoot thru is the light goes everywhere.... if that's what you want it's ok. A softbox, as Hugh suggested, gives you way more control over the light

I agree, the startup cost is super cheap for a beginner to off camera flash lighting though.
You can get an ok one for $30.

I agree though that softboxes are better. I just recently stopped using shoot throughs.

oh.. hmm.. 500 for your budget?

Genesis are a nice way to get started, fully digital controls and uses Elinchrom mount equipment. I used those for a long time, and am now switching to Alien Bees Einstein x3. This is not a knock against the Genesis stuff themselves - rather, I just simply outgrew them and needed more power and action stopping with HSS.

I suggest looking into this:

http://www.calumetphot​o.com …_200_2_light_ki​t/cf0502k1

Two light kit, umbrella, stands, can convert the umbrellas into shoot through or bounce, and look for some yongnuos for your triggering needs or the cowboy studio ones and you're in business.

There is a page on my tutorial site that describes how to use a speedlite, umbrella and reflector to emulate a large light source such as a window.

That is a good place to start with controlled lighting.

The comments about soft boxes offering more control are accurate. But more important, starting out, you want to understand and learn how to use a controllable light source to emulate the best natural light sources.

Open shade, and a large north facing window have been preferred lighting for natural light portraiture for hundreds of years.

A speedlite, shoot thru umbrella and reflector let you emulate that light.

And the cost is minimal. Use a manual setting on the speedlite, even if you decide to buy one that will deliver TTL exposure.