ok, i am officialy lost... HELP!! (studio lights)

ok guys, i need some serious help!!!

i am planning on buying a studio lighting setup that is mostly going to be used for portraits of kids and some other subjects. i would like a very flexible setup that will allow me to do some high key portraits, low key and various other styles. the entire setup is going to be used in a very large room with very tall ceilings if that matters and even after reading 3 books on studio lightings as well as watching every video i could find on the net, i am still struggling with what i should buy (i don't want to go out and buy tons of things that i will not need or use).

right now, i think that i am going to go with the Alien Bees Digibee package with the 2 upgraded b800 units. i am also going to use my 580EX flashgun for hair light or for everything else if i need to. now, my main problem is deciding what other accessories i need. the package comes with 2 umbrellas but i don't know if i should buy something for the 580ex or if i should also buy a softbox or anything else that i might have missed. do you think that i can use a reflector on top of the 2 lights?

pretty much what i need is some help with compiling a shopping list for a full studio setup. i also don't have a lightmeter yet but that is on the list of things to buy....

yeah - a reflector and a meter

and then play a while - get used to them

I bought a hairdressers dummy (actually, it was given to me) and use that to play and practise - it is really useful.

Blonde - you have been hugely helpful with tips for BIF - I hope you get as much as you have given from the good folk in here.

You said shopping list.

Well, how about:

The AB kit you have mentioned
a 5 in 1 reflector (has different colours/materials to experiment with)
a light meter (I like my Sekonic L358 )
a few extra stands - for reflectors and 580EX and the like

A backdrop?

I don't know if you want to go down the backdrop path just yet. I bought a backdrop stand and a black backdrop - 3.5m x 6m

If I were doing it again, I would probably try for a med gray backdrop - so I can swing it easily from white to black.

I would also consider paper rather than the cloth ones I have.

Hope this helps.

thanks John and thank you for the kind words!!! i am trying to get comfortable with everything before we have our baby and i also have a few planned portraits shoots coming up. up until now i have done portraits with the flash guns and using mostly available and i did have good results (the clients are very happy) but i would like to try and take it to the next level and have a semi permanent setup that i can use for this.

Sorry - I have edited my post while you were replying.

Congratulations, btw, on the baby.

Your earlier comment re ceiling height is important - in my experience, if you are wanting full shots with standing humans, you need a minimum of 10' height - you need to be able to get some lighting up above them - if you have an 8' ceiling, 2' of clearance isn't enough.

thanks again John. as for the backdrop, i actually already have quite a few of them as well as the stands because i have been doing portraits with them before (i just used the speedlights)

You will NOT be able to successfully accomplish 'high key' with merely two lights (plus 580). You need to use your two lights to get 2:1 or at most 3:1 ratio lighting of the subject alone, then you need probably two more lights simply to light the background bright enough that it is white (not dingey grayy)

Wilt wrote in post #4563737
You will NOT be able to successfully accomplish 'high key' with merely two lights (plus 580). You need to use your two lights to get 2:1 or at most 3:1 ratio lighting of the subject alone, then you need probably two more lights simply to light the background bright enough that it is white (not dingey grayy)

Fair call - your advice is always well taken - I missed the bit on high key and low key - but I still think he will learn a lot from experimentation with the initial kit he has pinpointed.

Sure - he will need another couple of lights to go high key - but, from re-reading the initial post, that is only a part of what he wants to accomplish.

Keep on posting, Wilt. I actually learn a lot from you. Thanks

thanks Wilt, that is good info. i will probably keep adding stuff to the kit as my skills and understanding (as well as needs) progress but i just need a good starting point for now. i don't want to go out and spend $2000 right now so i am looking for a nice well rounded package for about $900 give or take...

i also forgot to mention that the place where i am using for my studio has TONS of available light as well so i can always use that one in combination with the lights.

blonde wrote in post #4563897
i also forgot to mention that the place where i am using for my studio has TONS of available light as well so i can always use that one in combination with the lights.

Hi, Snir. The available light you mentioned. Are they natural sunlight or are you talking about artificial incandescent/florescen​t lighting? If it's the later, mixing strobes with those kinds of lights in not generally recommended because of the color temperature differences between the two types of lighting. You are either going to get an uneven bluish color casts or an orangish one (or a mixture of the two) depending on how you set your white balance

Leo, i meant natural light. the room has huge windows that let in tons of light.

I have also been looking at an Alien Bees setup. Everything I have read says to get the heavy duty stands. Just thought I would throw that in there.

ok, how does this shopping list looks like to you guys:

AlienBees B800-Deep Space Black $279.95 ea. 2 $559.90

AlienBees Carrying Bag $12.95 ea. 2 $25.90

13-foot Heavy Duty Stand $69.95 ea. 2 $139.90

Radio Flash Trigger One Receiver $39.95 ea. 2 $79.90

Radio Flash Trigger One Transmitter $39.95 ea. 1 $39.95

Large Softbox (with LGSR) $109.95 ea. 1 $109.95

48” Silver/White Umbrella $29.95 ea. 1 $29.95

48” Shoot-Thru Umbrella $29.95 ea. 1 $29.95

I have a standard AB stand and a heavy duty and would suggest you upgrade all to the heavy duty. The difference is huge and will be especially appreciated with the soft box I would suspect. (Ooops I see the change in your last list).

I also have the radio transmitters and they work flawlessly. I did order a spare transmitter though. I suspect they are the same as the eBay units with some extra testing, etc by the folks at Alien Bees.

The list looks great. One thing comes to my mind is that if you are going to use 580EX too, make sure the AB trigger will fire the Speedlite. In fact if use indoors, all you need is one set of Tx/Rx that will work with the 580, the AB's build in optical slave will take care of the strobe themselves.