Need help lighting background portraits

Here is an example of a studio picture I want to take. This picture was taken by a nikon 35mm camera at f/11 90 with a main light and a fill light and background light with a blue filter. What lighting equipment is good for the use with the 20D and also what lens? Would the ef 50mm 1.4 lens work well? And if I want a soft look should I use a soft filter or use photoshop? hope you can help thanks.

The picture is a little blurry, I didn't have a scanner so I use my camera to take the pic.

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Welcome to POTN! Any monolight system should be okay. I have strobes from www.alienbees.com and I love them. Many have done shots like this with constant lighting also, which can be a lot cheaper than monolights. with cheaper options though, like clip on work lights and halogen work lamps found at your local hardware type store, you can acheive similar results with some practice. With those you just have to be careful because they get hot.

The 50 1.4 is a very nice lens that should work fine for this type of shot. Now that I shoot digital, I liek to start with a good, sharp image, and create my own special effects later.