No and Yes.
Sorry I'm not more specific as I don't do portraits. Natural lighting would be best imo but if you set your white balance then ordinary desk lamps (and maybe some white card) can work wonders.
edited to say..
Just took a look at your port, your flower shots look great, did you use umbrellas for them? question answered :)
Different lights have different effects. Chances are with any household lights you're not going to get the shadow cast you're looking for. You can always match up WB, and make for correct exposure but the lustre may be lost in translation. I've known people who use six foot long flaurescent lights to do portraits so it's possible. Problem is making it work and look as awesome as you want it too.
This photo was done with a JTL 110 w/ diffuser umbrella
This photo was done with a White Lighting X1600 w/ 32" softagon (my word not theirs: actual word octodome)
This photo was done with the SB600 speed light
This photo was done with sunlight and a reflector.. I had the WB set to flash (a wonderful mistake) which warmed up the skin.. You can achieve the warm tone on any WB, just adjust it to 3-5k above 'correct'.
A flash with a bounce/swivel head is ideal if ceilings aren't too low. This also requires (normally) a wide aperture, so background is thrown out of focus. Watch out for off-white ceilings, though, as they will give a colour cast
There are a lot of professional photographers who claim to use only natural light. It's a cheap way to start and you really get to learn about the quality of light that way too.
Do you really need stobe lights with Umbrellas to take professional looking portraits? Can other lights without umbreallas work?
thanks
Depends on the scenario. If there's lots of available light (either on a sunny day or overcast day) then you can't ask for a better setup! Plus, there are no tacky backdrops in nature :-) I'm a big fan of working with what's available. But you can do a lot with just one studio light (with or without a softbox or umbrella, they create entirely different effects).
P.S. I do all of my work (except for weddings when you have to work with whatever God gives you that day) outdoors. If it's too crappy out to shoot then I reschedule (only happened once).
Strobe lights were always the best with film (second to daylight that is) but with digital anything goes. As long as you can produce a soft light you will achieve a good result.
Using strobes also dilates the pupils because you are working with a low level modelling light. bright lights can produce some odd effects from the skin tones.
