Best light kits to use for portraits

I want to get a stobe lighting kit for my studio, but there are so many companies selling lighting kits and I dont know which ones to buy and which ones are good. Can someone recommend some kits. Also should I get soft boxes or umbrellas. What voltage should I use, etc... Any help would be appreciated. thanks

I have the 20d with the 18-55 lens kit.

HI,

This is really an individual preference thing. I personally have a 2 light setup (Alien Bee's B800's.) I use one as a main light with a soft box, and the other as a backlight at times, or a fill light (depending on the shot.) I also use white foam board for reflectors. My studio space is approx. 12' X 14'.

This set-up for me acheives great, professional results. A softbox is going to soften the light. And although I prefer the soft box, umbrellas can acheive similar effects at a lower cost and more portability. What exactly are you going to be shooting?

I have only used Alien Bee's, so I don't have anything to compare them to. But if you search around these forums, you will find that 99.9% of the users that own AB's will praise them, and their customer service.

I highly recommend AB's!

Good luck in your quest.
Peac!

I know I am in the same boat, but are receiving my order from B&H for the clamp and umbrella for my 550EX. I am going to use the 580 on a bracket and then the 550 on a stand with the umbrella for bounced light and a large reflector. If that doesn't work well, I'm all over the Alienbees Digital kit for $500+ and it will be well worth it. The amount of light you get with Alienbees is close to perfect if set up correctly. Good luck!

If money is not a problem I'd buy Elinchrome or Speedotron. If money IS a problem (like if you're in my shoes!) I would go the Alien Bee route. I have read numerous postings about them and not one has ever said anything bad about them!

Benji

Keep reading... lol

Profoto and Elinchrom are the best.

Photogenics are excellent

Bees:
1) The watt/second ratings are ridiculous. Go to photo.net -> learn -> studio I'm not the only one with this opinion
2) The color temperature drops about 1000K from lowest to highestp power.
3) They have the marketing momentum for some reason. Lots of people recommend them having never tried them.
4) Don't have the best light modifier selection.

As you can see, I'm biased against them.

DocFrankenstein wrote:
Keep reading... lol

Profoto and Elinchrom are the best.

Photogenics are excellent

Bees:
1) The watt/second ratings are ridiculous. Go to photo.net -> learn -> studio I'm not the only one with this opinion
2) The color temperature drops about 1000K from lowest to highestp power.
3) They have the marketing momentum for some reason. Lots of people recommend them having never tried them.
4) Don't have the best light modifier selection.

As you can see, I'm biased against them.

what's up doc.. So you would recommend getting those lights? Do you know a great link to get those specific lighiting equipment?

I'd stay away from white lighting and bees.

www.bhphoto.com is a good store.

Hensel!

I have 2 x B1600's,they work great for the price and give me consistent light meter readings so I can't complain.

how how do u situate the lights away from the subject's eyes? face? head? and at what angles are they? i'd appreciate feedback on these pls thank you

I recommend "Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers" by Christopher Gray. It's a good resource.

I have been very happy with the AlienBees lights, and I am very fussy about the quality of my equipment (for any of my endeavors).

DocFrankenstein wrote:
2) The color temperature drops about 1000K from lowest to highestp power.

I just did a quick test about that. I happened to have a b400 at the house (the rest of them at the studio)....

This is what I did.

I used my 1dsmk2, set it for AWB (Auto White Balanced).

I used the Gretag Macbeth White/Gray/Black bar chart.

I set the B400 at the full power, used my L-558 to measure what I need to shoot to get proper exposure @ full power. It was f/16 1/100 @ 100ISO. Took a shot

Than I lower the B400 down to the minimum, moved the light closer to the subject to get a good f/5.6 1/100 @ 100 ISO. Took another shot

All these metered reading also comfirmed that no ambient light is leaking in

Loaded both images to ACR, looked at the Temp. It was only 250K difference between the 2 shots.

Of course this is not a 1k photometric meter like the Gossen All-In-One Starlite. But I seriously can't imagine a 1k difference....

Just to cover my ass, I got my Contax 645 with my over priced digital back.... and it was the same results. 250K difference from the lowest setting to the highest settings. I'll try to bring home a B1600 or the x3200 and do the same test.

Oh and btw, this is with only the 7" reflector and no modifier. So it's the bare bulb.

Check out the test results from ShootSmarter.com in the article called "Color Temperature Shift vs. Flash Output Range" by Will Crockett.

http://www.shootsmarte​r.com/infocenter/wc021​.html

They rate the White Lightning shift at 0.89 K/w/s.