I’ve taken thousands of snapshots of my kids the past three years, and almost all of my indoor pictures have *looked * like snapshots, mainly because of that single flash on the top of the camera.
I’m now ready to make the investment and plunge into the world of serious studio photography. I’m aware I will need some studio lights, umbrella(s), background, cableing, etc, but I’m not sure where to begin. Do they make “starter kits” that have the essential elements? Is there a recommended book on how to set up the lighting for various effects? Any web sites I should visit?
My camera is a Nikon D80.
So much to read, so little time.
Even though you shoot Nikon, I’ll pass along this link to the Canon forum. This question comes up a lot and the denizens there are always helpful.
Oh, and I was gonna add, check out YouTube. There are a bunch of clips there showing the basic lighting setup.
Alien Bees are some nice lights. I’m looking into a set myself this summer.
Start here for learning about lighting in general(with small flashes/Speedlights). Go through the Lighting 101 archive. It will teach you all the basics (and then some) of lighting. The website is geared more for light, on-location lighting (where you don’t want to lug in Elinchromes, battery packs, octoboxes, etc.) rather than studio set-ups, but the lessons apply to all sorts of lighting.