nikonnate Loc: Woodbury MN

Hey folks. Feel free to link other threads here, I did a search for a few terms and came up dry but likely missed as few so I won't be upset with an "already discussed this, moron" response.

Getting in to this:

I have a 10 month old son (actually today is the exact 10 month mark) and a niece 8 days older. My daycare provider has a photographer come in quarterly and on holidays for "school photos" which is nice, but my wife dropped 80 bucks on the first set, got them back, frowned and told me "your photos are better." Fast forward to this past week, she sent in 60 bucks, then asked if it was too late to have them touch out a few shiny spots. "Yup." "Well dang it!"

So I want to set up my own portrait studio to do holiday and yearly photos of the kids and maybe the families (only 3 people per). I forecast a budget target of about 500 bucks USD. I don't know that I 'need' 3 lights, but I expect 2 for sure, so how would you spend roughly 500 bucks on lights, stands, triggers, modifiers, backdrop/ backdrop supports, etc? I'm completely cool with making my own reflector boards or using slightly unconventional sources for reflectors (ex. sun reflectors for your car) if necessary. [Edit: I expect to need/favor a high-speed sync to keep up with potentially mobile kids.]

Looking forward to your suggestions and I will answer questions as I can.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Hi Nate! Re post a note to me in the ADVANCED AND PROFESSIONAL PORTRAITURE SECTION and I will suggest few setups and tips. I'm out of my studio today but I post something for you tonight or early tomorrow.

Over 50 years of portraiture experience so I'll get you going in the right direction!

nikonnate Loc: Woodbury MN

I was actually going to post this there but was a bit cautious about flooding the Pro/ Advanced forum with such a rookie query :) Will do.

CO

Mr. Shapiro is an expert in the field and will give you excellent advice in Advanced and Professional Portraiture section. I like to do portraits and can give my 2 cents worth. I would avoid continuous lighting kits. I've used continuous lighting before and hate them. They do nothing to help freeze motion. Also, the continuous light in someone's face can also be stressful and cause them to squint. The brief flash from a studio strobe will help to freeze motion and it won't stress the people being photographed.

I really like my Paul C. Buff DigiBee DB800 strobes. They're very compact and have a 400W equivalent LED modeling light. Most strobes have an incandescent modeling light that will get very hot. The LED modeling light stays cool. The DB400 is $279 and the DB800 is $319. Get the Paul C. Buff 22" white beauty dish for $79. You can get a 2-pack of PocketWizard Plus X radio triggers for $126.

High speed sync is meant to be able to use shutter speeds that are faster than the sync speed of the camera. Since it's firing continuously, it fires at a reduced power. I would just make sure that the strobe power level is high enough to obtain a fast shutter speed.

I did this shot using a 22" white beauty dish with the supplied diffuser sock pulled over it. It creates more contrast than a larger light modifier. If you want softer light, you can get an umbrella, softbox, or octabox.

(Download)

If you use an umbrella on a strobe get an umbrella reflector. This one spreads the light out 180 degrees to better fill the umbrella with light

(Download)

berchman Loc: South Central PA

The Honey Badger strobe is on sale right now at B&H for only $194. I have two of them; they are excellent. They have an LED modeling light equivalent to 300W. Their remote triggers range from $79 to $95.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1347245-REG/interfit_hb320_honey_badger_320_ws.html

You don't need high speed sync to stop action of kids indoors. The strobe will stop action.

lschiz Loc: Elgin, IL

Well here is my example of going cheap. A bedsheet for a backdrop stretched over a PVC frame sprayed lightly with water so the wrinkles flattened out. You can control the light on the bed sheet and it can be somewhere between white and dark gray even black.
One 24 x 36 soft box $90 one photo head 120.
One pair of remote triggers 49.
One speed light for accent 60 $70.
Couple of cheap stands. This is what I did for grandkids home school pics

(Download)

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Hi Nate!

So...I read your post carefully and I think you may have some potential for a good portrait photography business but some marketing considerations are more important than the equipment issues before you invest in gear. Of course, you do need decent, reliable and appropriate lighting setup but FIRST, you need a BUSINESS PLAN.

Your story is very familiar to me, the part about your wife spending money on "school pictures" that are not all that great but the parents buy then anyway because the are kinda better that their home-made cell phone pictures but the certainly ain't masterpieces BUT the moms and dads want pictures of the kids as they grow up, progress for daycare through high school and on special holidays and special occasions.

60 or 80 bucks is not a fortune of money but it seems to like a lot for "school pictures, especially if the quality is not all that impressive. If a small there is only a small profit per sale, there is not all that room for a decent profit when you consider all the work and expenses.
The big school photo operators can achieve profit in that the makeup for the small margins in volume- the do hundreds of kids and many daycare facilities, kindergartens, dance and music schools, and public and private elementary and high schools.

In my own business, in the portrait side, I am NOT a high-volume operator, si if I am asked to photography a daycare, elementary school class, etc., I do it with the concept that I am (1) going to provide a very high-quality product future family and child portrait business for satisfied customers.

I offer a plan where they can have their kids photographed at my studio over years at special reduced sitting fees. This ongoing plan is not my invention, nor is it new, but it is not all that prevalent theses days so it works well for me.

QUALITY: I don't know at what level your portrait photography and lighting skills are presently at. Since your photographs were superior to those of the school photographer, I would like to know in what ways there were perceived as better, is it the lighting, image quality, and I'd bet on perhaps POSES AND EXPRESSION. If you can post an image or two, it will help me advise you! (OK- EDIT: I say you shot after posting this). We'll talk!

So...if you are interested in starting up a business please consider your marketing approach and let me know what your thinking is. You will also need a price list with the various options, individual portraits, packages, etc. This has to be based on your costs pf sales and overhead expenses. If you are goi to operate on daycare or school premises, you should have a comprehensive liability insurance policy as well.

Back to gear: I don't know what existing gear you now own.
A 3 light setup will be sufficient - excellent portrait can also be done with one mono-light in a soft-box and a reflector if you know exactly how to do that. A complete mobile "STUDIO" would require a background, at least 3 lights, at least 5 stands to support the lights and the background, at least 1 adjustable posing stool, perhaps a posing table (kind of an adjustable leaning post), some umbrellas or softboxes, a reflector and stand, a good fast operating tripod and head, and some miscellaneous props and accessories. $500. U.S.D. might be cutting it thin unless you go to used lights. Mono-lights are best in that they are equipped with modeling lamps so you see your lighting as you adjust the position and power. You will need lights that can accommodate a long duty cycle because you will be shooting long days and fast. Sort recycling times are an asset as well.

You will not require super-powered lights because you are working close to the subject and you don't need to stop down to tiny apertures- mostly your background can be out of focus. ELECTRON FLASH is best for kids- it freezes action especially when kids are very active.

So...How do you get along with little kids?- some of them can be more "difficult" than others. Some will ham it up for the camera, some will put on a fake smile and look like a jack-o-lantern! Many will be perfectly cooperative as long as you know how to get a good natural expression from kids of different age groups. A few will cry, have tantrums or even throw-up, and some are OK but have difficult parents!

Attached are a few very basic lighting schematics and an example of the same kid from kindergarten through middle school and still going! All of theses images are made with basically the same lightg gear configured in different. A suggestion letter is issued to parent in advance that indicated the best colors of clothing and othere creative costume ideas. Perfectly crafted portrait can be rejected by parent because of sloppy dress so I alway try to avoid that on "picture days" Some will bring a favorite outfit, hat, toy or wahtever. I do take more than one "pose". Shoot an entire class or worse, an entire school, is kinda mass-production, but I try to work fast and efficiently but still give each kid special attention. Working with an assistant helps!

aellman Loc: Boston MA

One word... ebay. They have amazing deals on these products.

tvhasben Loc: Chattanooga, Tennessee

You can get unreal bargains on studio lighting at shopgoodwill.com. Right now theere are a pair of Paul Buff WL 1200 Ultras and the bid is currently $17.99. The bid to beat is probably much higher, but they probably could be had for under $50. You might have to come up with power cords or modeling lights, etc when you buy from them, but the savings are worth it.