In need of studio lighting.

I recently obtained studio space and am just looking for advice on a good set of either strobes, continuous lighting or both. The room size is somewhere around 20' x 10' x 10'. Any advice on lighting would be great as I have really no idea where to start.

Budget? I would personally start looking at the alien bee's from paul buff. Good cross section of value and performance.

Not quite sure on my budget yet. Nothing crazy expensive for starters. I am fairly new to shooting in a studio so I don't need the best lights out there but at the same time I'd rather spend a little more on something that'll last rather than buying cheap equipment that fits my price range.

MrJack787 wrote in post #16522610
Not quite sure on my budget yet. Nothing crazy expensive for starters. I am fairly new to shooting in a studio so I don't need the best lights out there but at the same time I'd rather spend a little more on something that'll last rather than buying cheap equipment that fits my price range.

Understood, but unless you give a budget its nearly pointless to speculate. You can do something as simple as multiple speedlites, though off brand monolights, to higher quality studio units. If you can give us a number we can help find you the most bang for your buck.

I'd say right now my limit is around $500? Maybe a little less.

MrJack787 wrote in post #16522630
I'd say right now my limit is around $500? Maybe a little less.

Starting at that point you cant really expect much if you only have the room. A single quality monolight is $250 to start, add stands and modifiers and your budget wouldnt cover much more than one light and a background stand kit. You can get a multiple speedlite kit with that budget, but its not going to be terribly powerful.

MrJack787 wrote in post #16522630
I'd say right now my limit is around $500? Maybe a little less.

This is a very tight budget to work with. What kind of shooting are you trying to do and do you have the ability to kill all the ambient lighting in the space? As has been pointed out, a decent monolight starts at around $250, but sometimes you can find old pack and head set ups for not too much more, but then you'll still need lightstands, modifiers, etc.

If you just want to have a go at lighting in a spare room you can always do continuous lighting on the cheap. You can get halogen work lights and mount them on 2x2's sunk into paint cans filled with cement. You can use wood or PVC pipe to make frames for diffusers and use things like sheets, tracing paper, linen curtains, "rice paper" shower curtains, etc. as diffuser fabric. A lot can be done on the cheap, but it requires a fair bit of DIY ingenuity. Check out DIYPhotography for tips on inexpensive ways to build lights and lighting gear. Otherwise you may want to revise your budget.

Im hoping to start working with models in my area to start beefing up my portfolio so basically anything and everything model related. I'm going to paint the entire space black and cover up the windows so any and all light will be under my control. I have an umbrella and a stand that I have been using with my speedlite. I'm guessing I'll need at least two lights for starters so I'll only need one stand and two soft boxes etc.

You can do an awful lot with one light an a reflector if you know how to use them.

What are the preferred brands in my price range? I checked out Alien Bees any others I should consider?

MrJack787 wrote in post #16522683
What are the preferred brands in my price range? I checked out Alien Bees any others I should consider?

Calumet genesis. Adorama flashpoint maybe.

Could also go with YN flashes, not as powerfull as studio strobes but you could stretch your $500 a lot further.

I just picked up two of these http://www.amazon.com …=cowboystudio+s​lave+flash to blow out my white muslin background, they work pretty darn well too. Went with YN603's for low cost triggers. Picked up a few YN manual flashes as well. Grabbed some Cowboy Studio 9' lightstands and gotta say they feel pretty darn solid to me. And check out some of the "offbrand" softboxes for flashes, or stick with umbrellas.