Im buying lighting

I got the urge and thought why not...

I'm going to invest and spend some money on lighting and background. I am stationed in Japan with the Air Force and there are not many places to get family/portraits photos done. In short I think I can make a lil money doing something I enjoy.

I have also been doing a lot of reading on the business side of it (more to come sometime).

AB package - 400s or 800s? The room I will be using is about 15 wide and 20 long. Basically our living room will be moved around.

Background Stand
White Background

Any ideas on other items that would be better suited or I might need?
I also have a 430 ex. Would it be possible to use it if I bought a stand and Adapter? If so what would I need to use it.

don't get a white muslin background. you will regret it. go for light gray... http://www.adorama.com​/BD520L.html

gray is much more versitile. you can make it white if you push enough light on it. very easy to go black. and with gels, you can go to any color you can imagine.

if you want white, buy seemless paper or buy some vinyl flooring and paint the back of it white. repaint as necessary. (and believe me, it wil be necessary. you will want to tear the paper off after each use, sometimes in the middle of a session.)

that is a pretty good background stand. how high are your ceilings? if less than 11' you may like the manfrotto autopoles if there will be kids running around. it will cost about double to hang a single muslin or paper roll. (you'll need a pair of autopoles, a pair of superclamps, and a pair of hooks. around $200.) not nearly as portable though.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …032SET_Autopole​s_Set.html

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_Clamp_with_Sta​ndard.html

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …039_U_Hook_Cros​s_Bar.html

people WILL trip over your lightstands. get some orange or yellow fabric and drape over the legs.

as for actual lights, i have never used the ABs but they are fairly well received here.

Hey! A fellow Carlson here,

I'm in the same boat as you are, but I actually went ahead and emptied out $1500 out of my account already last friday. It's a family expense since as yours will be, so it's a real nail bitter. I went with flash heads (vivitar) rather than alien bees because I like the portability (I don't have a dedicated room for studio work). You're fortunate that you have a room so the advice rmx painted sounds bang on. The one thing I left out of my order is an actual background. I was thinking white too, but the grey option sounds like it's coming from experience, which is never a bad thing So yeah, thanks rmx, I think that's the route I'll be headed as well. I'll probably go fabric rather than paper because I can't afford to "rip it up"!

Since you're considering lighting with your flash as well and you want it mounted, here's the route I took:
bogen 8' light stand
bogen umbrella swivel adapter
bogen hot shoe mount
photogenic 60" white umbrella
elinchrom skyport receiver + transmitter kit (review: http://blewbmx.com …ort-radio-trigger-review/)

I'll be shooting with 1 on-camera flash and 2 stand mounted flashes, remotely.

Then there's all the other little tools to throw in like snoots, gels, grids..

One thing on about the background. I don't mind getting a light grey I just think its worth it for me to get something that will last a long time. The paper he recommended doesn't cost much but shipping will cost me $60.

I wish I had a room just for this but we will be sharing part of the living room or another bedroom for when its needed.

yeah, space a huge constraint. There were days when this was not an issue for me, but things change and doors close. I wish I had better connections these days but having a little family, don't don't really get to get out much.

I just picked this background up yesterday. I was getting bothered by the idea of getting yet another, boring, flat background.
http://www.henrys.com/​webapp/...1002&itemID=​133066

If you buying from B&H, you can get this one.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …A_Stand_Travel_​Case_.html

Comes with 53" roll of white seemless. And the bar is telescoping rather than sectional.

I paid less than $300 for a set of Calumet Genesis 200's a couple weeks ago. I am impressed with their quality and with them so far. Of course I have a good bit to learn with them, but that will come in time.

Well I wish I would of listened to some of you...

Anywho. The wife shot down my idea to use the first room and now I have one a little smaller. 9F 10IN Wide, 7F 10 High, and 14F Long. So the stand I bought before will not work in this room. 9 Foot cross bar but the legs add like another 10 Inches on each side... I will keep the kit I have now beings it portable and buy a set of Autopoles.

Auto poles
Crossbar
Hook Set

Oh and the 10x24 Muslims are a tad long...

I Plan on using these for infant/newborn/toddler and the occasional couple/small family shots. If I put the bar at 7F high that leaves me with 17 extra feet right? Way to much for this small room. I think I will get some 10x12 black and white

Black
White

I also will be getting some seemless paper but the shipping to Japan is over 100 bucks for something that costs 40... So ill buy it from a company here in Japan...

Thoughts?

24 ft muslin in a 14 ft room...yeah a tad long...of course you could just paper the walls with...start at the ceiling on one side, go across the floor, and then up the other wall...lol

woodsters wrote in post #6884169
24 ft muslin in a 14 ft room...yeah a tad long...of course you could just paper the walls with...start at the ceiling on one side, go across the floor, and then up the other wall...lol

Well, with some of the cheaper white and black muslin's, 24 feet may not be too long.

I found that I can double fold the muslin on the stand so it's not as transparent as it would normally be...

-Mario