`

You can get these for about $20.

Hang white sheets for diffuse lighting
[bounce or light-thru].

Hang whatever you want for backdrop.
Plenty big enuf for head shots.

They roll around on wheels, and some
models are easy to assemble for use
and to disassemble again for storage
or transport.

And you would still have most of your
$500 remaining for lights and stands.

A few large rolling flats open up whole
photo lighting worlds that umbrellas
and other light modifiers mounted on
light stands cannot touch. Acoarst you
still need some lights, on stands, that
shine thru or bounce off of your flats.


You're welcome :-)

.

Yes, start with one light stand, a manual flash and study how to use it--see Strobist and other You Tube tutorials. A light modifier, which could begin with sheeting or sheer curtain material or translucent plastic stretched (and taped) to small diameter PVC pipe (the kind used for lawn sprinklers, they friction fit for these purposes and make them dis-assemble-able and portable). Add a few foam Core boards, white to reflect and Black to cast shadows and work for backgrounds. First add is another light and stand for a hair light to separate subject from background in a necessarily small space. A third light can be clamped to the hair light stand and pointed to the background eliminating shadows and illuminating it--or, if you used colored transparent film (gels) you can color it too.

As you work, practice and study more you will know what to buy, and if you CHARGE for these photos, you will finance it.

As far as Dedicated auto flashes for Canon (or any other) there are as many reasons supporting auto vs Manual. Starting Manual will MAKE you learn. Search You tube for Rick Sammons and Joe McNally (both great teachers) have a manual vs Auto photo session. Using one auto camera system deducted (or compatible XXX_EX) is a good way to start. the flash can be adjusted to a low level, and will trigger the other flashes Optically--be sure you manual flashes include this feature OR buy a Wein Peanut Slave for each, they're inexpensive. The use of the "Dedicated Auto" flash will turn itself off when it senses enough light on the subject. Kind of a barely smart flash meter (look it up).

Start small and work you way up. Backgrounds, paper or cloth cost money. Check out the Fabric store for reasonable prices and hang over a coat rack. For the price of an official photo background you could buy 3 or so pieces of fabric. Remember that they look like %&$## unless they're ironed so choose them with that in mind too.

Start small, learn about what you're doing and WHY! and spend your real learning. time relating to your subjects to get the best expressions and natural poses. This IS fun and people are thrilled when you (and you MUST promise to) make them look great.

There are often workshops and classes held by Camera Clubs, Adult Education and Community Colleges nd local camera stores. These are great resources.

C

Hi Meg!

Portraits and headshots!

So...here's my professional advice. First of all, keep the $500. in the bank for a little while longer and let it gain a little more interest. Meanwhile, take a few minutes to answer a few of my questions and think about a few basic ideas.

Do you have any photographic equipment at the present time that you can start to practice portraiture with? For starters, any basic camera and normal or zoom lens will do.

When you get more equipment, where do you plan setting it up- at a permanent setup at home or do you want a mobile outfit to take to various locations or set up and take down as needed

Do you contemplate setting up lights or are you thinking about using natural light- perhaps out of doors or available light indoors?

Who and what do you intend photographing- family, friends, kids, pets, actors, models, business folks, groups and do you want to commercialize on your work?

Here is the big one- how much do you know about the technical and artistic aspects of photography? You don't need to be an expert or advanced photographer to begin learning portraiture as a craft, hobby or part or full-time profession. Everybody has to start somewhere. If you already do other kinds of work, you can apply your experience to portrait photography.

Obviously, equipmet choice and budget are important but good portraits and headshots can be made with decent modest equipment, that is, when you learn the basics and get to know know exactly what you are doing.

$500. is not pocket change, but it will not necessarily get you set up for portrait work from scratch. It depends on what you already have, what you want to do and how much you are now familiar with. Some of the costs that some folks here have assigned to certain items like the light stands and other accessories are, unfortunately, not realistic.

Certain items like backgrounds can be home-made or improvised. Other pieces of equipment cannot be improvised and must be purchased mainly because one of the most important elements of portraiture is capturing good expressions and natural poses so you need efficient and easily operable gear so you don't end up fumbling with makeshift rigs and you can concentrate on your subjects.

If you can take a few moments to answer some of my questions, I can give you some practical advice and you can get started of practice your portraiture.

I co-manage a section here on the UHH forum dedicated to portraiture.

Don't become too overwhelmed or preoccupied with the gear. Once you get into the basics, you will be in a better position to select the right gear for the job and come up with a realistic budget.

Ed

It's a shame B&H has not seen fit to duplicate that page (#182 in their current catalogue) on the Net, as it clearly shows how to set up a small portrait studio in your home - even to the point of relaying distances between camera and model, and between lights and model - so, I'd hoped that would be beneficial to Meg to look at that, in order to understand how it's done. I remembered the lay-out, but had entirely forgotten the name of the Sponsor (had to look it up) … felt that that page - did more to instruct a would-be portrait photographer, than any amount of videos on YouTube, or sitting in classes for months on end. After all, the best way to learn - is just to do - and if you have a willing apprentice/model with lots of time on their hands … using that pictorial, and the light provided in it - you are well on your way … hey, it's SD cards!!!

Meg - on Page 182 of the current B&H Catalogue - there are TEN different lighting setups, all featuring one or more versions of the Genaray 36" LED Strip Light ($249.95) … if you did a Search at B&H under Genaray - pretty sure you will have the same pictorial. In it, you can see all ten different ways you can set up that light with your own camera (and tripod) and your own background. Don't worry about buying a background - they can get pretty expensive. A bar with a sheet attached, will do. Or, you can buy a blue background roll.
The Single Light Pro Kit (as you can see) goes for $503.75. The budget version is $448.80. So, either way - it fits your budget. A tripod can be picked up pretty cheaply - say $20-50. All else you will need is that crop camera you already have, with that 50mm f1.8 lens. Oh, and a remote trigger, would be a good idea!!!

Meg - can't tell whether or not the Genaray "kit" includes the background shown. If not, check out Savage Background rolls, starting at $24.75. In a kit, with stands - you're looking at $159.75. You can choose from seven colors. Most often used are blue, green, white, silver, grey and black - in that order … for a tripod - you could spend gazillions, but your budget is rudimentary. However, I've found one - the Oben ACM-1400 (aluminum) which goes for just $39.95. A Remote Trigger (type/capability) depends on the capability of your camera. If you give us the model you have, will find the exact one you need - okay?

Watch Robert Harrington YouTube videos on multiple looks with a single Speedlite and you will get educated on both tools and techniques... lots of good videos on YouTube you can learn from. $500 will get you started but you can grow your kit and skills over time too...

I would think about a decent Speedlite that your camera can trigger and control with infrared or even better radio. An umbrella, light stand with Speedlite/ umbrella holder, Manfroto 026 is good. Sheet of black and white foam core for flagging and reflector. 5 in one reflector. Rogue Flashbender which can be used as a snoot also as well as controlling the flash direction.

Let the backgrounds wait because you can use a wall or outdoors as a background to get started. Setting up a large background takes stands and supports which can be heavy and better for a studio setup than for traveling to clients and shooting. Harrington has a kit that is good for going to clients and shooting.

Learn about the inverse square law on YouTube and by reading and testing. Mark Wallace also has many videos done for Adorama TV on YouTube that cover many subjects related to portrait shooting too.

Using Photoshop Elements 15, click on "Enhance" along the tabs at top.and then click on "Adjust Color" in the dropdown menu. As the new menu appears, click on "Adjust Color For Skin Tone." A new window opens and following the instructions, use the eyedropper (for people I always use a point on the forehead, slightly above the eyes. "Normal" skin tone will appear as other colors will change. Use the 3 sliders to make adjustments to your taste or "Cancel and reset" the image back to before. You can use the eyedropper anywhere on the image to get different overall color.

This works with most of the versions of PS Elements and I believe some of the regular versions of PS.

Cheers. Be Well! Ed