Senior portraits, gear?

So ive been receiving alot of requests for senior portraits that are paying well. As ive never done any kind of portrait work other than 2 shots of a friend and 2 random of another friend.

What gear is recommended for stuff like this. most of them are wanting it in the spring time.

my current gear i have is below

50D
Xt
70-200 f/4 non is
12-24 tokina f/4
430ex with skyport triggers
2 9ft aircushioned light stands with umbrella brackets

im picking up a 2nd flash to go on the other lightstand, and thinking of switching to pocketwizards. also thinking of getting a 50 1.8 again or 50 1.4

what is recommended for portraits? i dont want to spend $500 for something ill use 3-4 times for the portrairts and set aside to collect dust.

can i do senior portraits with the 70-200, and 50 1.4/1.8 and 430ex? or would it be recommended to purchase a softbox or umbrella?

i dont have a budget but i dont want to spend much more than $500 unless i have to.

so far what i want to purchase over winter time is

580ex (II)?
3 pocket wizards for 430 and 580 and camera
50 1.8 or 1.4
bigger camera bag.

just need some direction on whats required for portraits and whats recommended.

they wil be outdoors of course

You have a 50D?? I'd like to know where you got it.

forget where i got it and how i got it, what im asking is what gear is recommended for something ive never done

for what it's worth i love the primes for portraits on my 40D. i have a 50/1.4 and a 85/1.8. between the two i actually like the 85/1.8 better, especially for the price. build quality is better, it is sharper wide open, bokeh is smoother, and its AF is smoother and faster (ring motor instead of micro motor found in the 50).

Ridebmx wrote in post #6367626
i dont have a budget but i dont want to spend much more than $500 unless i have to.

so far what i want to purchase over winter time is

580ex (II)?
3 pocket wizards for 430 and 580 and camera
50 1.8 or 1.4
bigger camera bag.

I think you're a little beyond $500 there. I would buy a reflector and find a friend that can hold it...and maybe go with a 50 or an 85 if you want to.

bacchanal wrote in post #6367983
I think you're a little beyond $500 there. I would buy a reflector and find a friend that can hold it...and maybe go with a 50 or an 85 if you want to.

yeah i know im over the price on there, but thats what im getting over winter time, but the $500 i want to spend is for a lens, or something i may need for senior portraits.

i was thinking 85, but it may be too much length.

the 1 random portrait i did for 2 girl friends together was at 70mm and i had to tell them to back up more

The 50mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.8 are really nice lenses for portraits.

But for studio portraits, I think your 70-200mm f/4L will do just fine (and even better when stopped down).

And don't buy the 50mm f/1.8 for shooting senior portraits - its not very sharp imo.

Also..if you switch to pocket wizards, you'll have to shell out a lot of money to buy cables, adaptors, etc. Your 430 EX doesn't have a PC port, so you cannot hook it directly to a PW unit. You need to buy adaptors, and then more cables...
Pricey..

My suggestion: spend your money on flashes, reflectors, softboxes, whatever, and use your existing lenses.

^^ i have skyports which require a miniphone jack, i use a hotshoe to minipc adapter from flashzebra.com and it works with my skyports, as far as im aware, all i need is another adapter for a 2nd flash

The 50 1.4 is great lens for the money, it falls right in that traditional portrait range, and it fills a gap in your line up, so it would be a sound choice. Of course, a zoom like the Tamron 17-50 or something like a Sigma 24-70 would work well also and give you even more composition options (for small groups, etc.). I think perspective is more important than a wide aperture with portraits, and a zoom will give you that flexibility.

camera, fast primes (no immediate needs for L glass) and skill.