Soon to invest on studio light equipment, need some advice

I am getting ready to make an investment in more professional equipment. For several months I have been using a Vivitar flash as key light with shoot through umbrellas and a old canon flash to light the background. I also have a backdrop stand, some muslin backdrops and that's about it. It has done good for me so far and has gotten some money coming through here occasionally but I am ready to invest into something better because I want to take this into a serious part time job.

I have a list that I want to post and want you guys to tell me if this is a good way to start off a little studio in my home. I understand that I will need a wider variety of modifiers and so on but this will be used in the meantime until I get better and more consistent results so I can start advertising my work more often.

Here is what I had in mind:

-Elinchrom D-lite 4 with stand
-39" deep octa or 53" Junior octa
-Reflectors and reflector holder/stand
-Sekonic light meter
-Avenger seamless paper, Super White, Super Black, and Charcoal Grey
-Stands and clamps for two Yongnuo flashes, used to light backdrop and/or for hair light etc
-Elinchrom color gels set

I would like to use this for portraits use. I would like to experiment with fashion/glamor/full body shots as well, not just regular portraits from shoulders and up. Again this is to start off and I will upgrade and add other things when the money starts coming my way. If you see anything missing or anything I should replace, please let me know. Thanks.

Does Avenger even make seamless? I use Savage Super White #1 and can get it to grey or even pure black. I need about 6-8 ft separation for pure black though. I think you could skip the Charcoal Grey and maybe even the black. The 53" midi octa is a great modifier and might be better for full length portraits.

Do you have a budget in mind? I'm sure people can recommend you a versatile set-up once they know your budget constraints.

Sorry I meant Savage. You're right. I think I would need both black and white because I don't have too much room to work with. The Grey is because I watched a video where the photographer mentions that the color gels look even better on that paper. The reason I was considering the deep octa is because I also plan on purchasing portable ranger kit and wanted to use it with the deep octa.

I would like to keep it under $2000 to start with for now.

I noticed you have the Elinchrom color filter set in the list. How were you going to use them? Ordinarily, these filters are used with the 8 1/4" reflector and accessory holder, both of which I did not see in your list.

I figured i could use some clips or something. If not then I will do it like you mentioned. Could you please link me to the accessories you mentioned?

DigiNon wrote in post #11695528
I figured i could use some clips or something. If not then I will do it like you mentioned. Could you please link me to the accessories you mentioned?

Clips are OK but what are you going to clip the gels to?

DigiNon wrote in post #11695528
I figured i could use some clips or something. If not then I will do it like you mentioned. Could you please link me to the accessories you mentioned?

Here's the 8 1/4" reflector and the accessory holder:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …d_Reflector_8_2​5_for.html

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ory_Holder_for_​8_1_4.html

Or, you could go with the smaller 7" reflector and filter holder for a little less money:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …7_Grid_Reflecto​r_for.html

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_Filter_Holder_​for_7.html

You can also just clip the filter to the reflector without the need for a filter holder or an accessory holder.

The 8.25" is more versatile than the 7", so I recommend the 8.25". The 53" octa is probably better if you want one modifier for everything.

Leo, I was thinking of clipping the gels to the reflector but if I'm spending this much money on the setup, I might as well just get the right stuff for the job, correct? How do you use your gels? assuming that you have this kind of setup of course.

toxic, why do you say the 8.25" is more versatile? Could you also please explain why the 53" octa would be all around the better choice? Or is it just the size advantage that makes the difference?

DigiNon wrote in post #11695890
toxic, why do you say the 8.25" is more versatile? Could you also please explain why the 53" octa would be all around the better choice? Or is it just the size advantage that makes the difference?

The 8.25" reflector is more versatile because it has more modifier options.

The 53" octa is better all-around just because of the size...it's big enough for full-body, and you can always make it smaller if you want. I imagine it's better in the wind (if you ever go outdoors) than the deep octa if you aren't using the outer diffuser. Tradeoff is you have to deal with a huge modifier...but that's also not much of an issue if you're indoors.

toxic wrote in post #11695909
The 8.25" reflector is more versatile because it has more modifier options.

The 53" octa is better all-around just because of the size...it's big enough for full-body, and you can always make it smaller if you want. I imagine it's better in the wind (if you ever go outdoors) than the deep octa if you aren't using the outer diffuser. Tradeoff is you have to deal with a huge modifier...but that's also not much of an issue if you're indoors.

Thanks for the quick reply. How can I find what my options are? Just basically anything with the 8.25" size, right?

Then I guess the 53" is the right one for now. I don't mind too much dealing with a big modifier. I do plan on going outdoors but I would like to use a different setup for that.

I have one question about the gels though. What if I want to do a full body shot and I want to light the backdrop with a colored gel. Wouldn't I need a snoot to direct the light or will it work fine with just the 8.25" reflector? And where would I clip the gels on the snoot?

Sorry for my ignorance but the closest I have gotten to a studio setup is my Vivitar flash and an umbrella.

DigiNon wrote in post #11695890
Leo, I was thinking of clipping the gels to the reflector but if I'm spending this much money on the setup, I might as well just get the right stuff for the job, correct? How do you use your gels? assuming that you have this kind of setup of course.

toxic, why do you say the 8.25" is more versatile? Could you also please explain why the 53" octa would be all around the better choice? Or is it just the size advantage that makes the difference?

Clipping the gels to the reflector will work just fine. In my case, I have both the 7" reflector and the 8.25" reflector. For the 7", I have a barn door which can hold the gel and I also have a circular filter holder that came in the 7" grid set if I don't want to use the barn door.

For the 8.25" reflector, I also have a grid set but there's no filter holder in the set so I can either hold the gel with one of the grids or just clip the gel to the reflector (I don't have the 8.25" accessory holder).

Do you use the barn doors to direct the light to the backdrop from the sides (if you're shooting full body shots and can't hide strobes behind model) or does it work ok with just the reflector?

DigiNon wrote in post #11696016
Do you use the barn doors to direct the light to the backdrop from the sides (if you're shooting full body shots and can't hide strobes behind model) or does it work ok with just the reflector?

No, if using the reflector for the backdrop, you usually don't want to use the barn door unless you're trying to control where on the backdrop the light goes. I use the barn doors when I'm using the light for rim or hair lighting and I want to limit what gets lit.