For starters, I'd upgrade the camera. The 350D is nice as a starter camera, but if you're going to do serious work, you need serious hardware. I'd consider the Canon 5D as a portrait camera. If the camera will be doing double-duty with any kind of sporting activities, then consider the 40D instead of (or in addition to) the 5D. If you really have the money ... go for the 1D series cameras.
For lights, most people here on DPC will recommend Alien Bees. I went with JTL. Other options include Elinchrome, Dyna-Lite and many others.
There are two main lighting systems: Hot lights and strobes. If you're serious about a studio, I recommend the strobes instead of hot lights.
Within strobes, there are two categories: Monolights and heads (that's probably not the name for them). Monolights have all of the circuitry housed in the light itself. The other kind have small lights, with long cords running to a box that houses the circuitry. The former gives you a bit of automony ... if one flash goes out, the others are fine. If the main box goes out, all of the flashes connected to it are dead. (does this happen? maybe. often? probably not) Another advantage to having everything connected to one box is that you can control the power for each light all from one location. Of course, a disadvantage is the cords running to the box. You'll have to weigh your priorities to figure out what you prefer.
Another thing to consider: Softboxes or umbrellas. I use softboxes in studio, umbrellas on location.
You'll also need backdrops. If you can afford it, a backdrop stand that lets you load several backdrops at once and pull down just the one you want would be ideal. Otherwise you end up having to change the backdrop whenever your client changes colors/outfits.
In studio, you could get away with a sync cord going to one strobe. And have the rest of the strobes slave off of it. On location, you'll probably want Pocket Wizards to fire the strobes. This avoids messy sync cords running to each strobe which may be necessary if the strobes can't relibably see the master (or if other people are firing the own cameras - think wedding reception - causing your strobes to fire).
Consider shooting tethered ... sending your images straight to a laptop. Possibly directly into Lightroom for immediate viewing and processing. Which brings up the subject of fast hardware, lots of memory, and good software.
There are a thousand different things to spend money on. You'll have to decide which are the highest priority to get the business going. But even once it's going, the bills probably won't stop there. Be prepared to keep investing. :-)
Try Calumet photo down on Brunswick Dock (for a local option - even if they are a global company). They are really very helpful in there. They will be able to give you as much information and help as you need/ The staff seem to be pretty knowledgeable.
Just out of curiousity (I'm originally from Liverpool and spend a lot of time there), whereabouts in the city are you setting up shop? Church Street end or more towards the new shopping centre?
Originally posted by JayA:
Me and a friend are setting up a studio in the Liverpool (UK) city center.
Also can you recommend any retailers or manufactures?
Yeah venture was the main reason why we thought bold street might be better, bold streets mainly family's and that, i dont like most there stuff really haha
In studio, I'd probably recommend getting a prime. I played with the Canon 85mm f/1.2L for 3 weeks and absolutely loved it. The advantage to a prime will be the sharpness of the images you capture. The disadvantage (I feel), for wedding work, is that the primes require that you move around to compose the shot. And often, at a wedding, I'm stuck in one spot and can't move or don't want to move too much and distract from the wedding. So I like my zooms. But if I was only doing studio work, I'd probably go for primes instead.
You need a business plan - how much gear, props, etc (cost), rent, utilities, etc (cost) and advertising (usually 15% of sales, or expected sales).
It's generally accepted you need $100-120,000 per year in sales per employee to make a profit. So if there are 3 of you figure $350,000 a year in sales and $70,000 in advertising into your plan.
Have you done any market research on competition, population, your market (product, price point). It can take 2 to 3 years at a minumum for a new venture to break even, and as an owner you are the last to get paid- have you a plan on how to pay your living expenses during those 2-3 years?
This is scary to me - you don't know what lens to buy/use but are opening a professional photography business? You've got a LOT to learn and you can open the studio and learn on your own dime, or work for someone else (even for free or very cheap) and learn on their dime. Join and become involved in pro organizations, attend seminars, schools - talk to working, successful pros and find out what is working for them, and what didn't work.
This is scary to me - you don't know what lens to buy/use but are opening a professional photography business? You've got a LOT to learn and you can open the studio and learn on your own dime, or work for someone else (even for free or very cheap) and learn on their dime. Join and become involved in pro organizations, attend seminars, schools - talk to working, successful pros and find out what is working for them, and what didn't work.
I do know what lens to get but i'd like people opinions and what they like to use, im mainly looking for opinions from people who have used the lens :)
This is scary to me - you don't know what lens to buy/use but are opening a professional photography business? You've got a LOT to learn and you can open the studio and learn on your own dime, or work for someone else (even for free or very cheap) and learn on their dime. Join and become involved in pro organizations, attend seminars, schools - talk to working, successful pros and find out what is working for them, and what didn't work.
I do know what lens to get but i'd like people opinions and what they like to use, im mainly looking for opinions from people who have used the lens :)
If you are using it for studio only, there is no need whatsoever to buy an expensive lens. Or camera for that matter. You will work under ideal light conditions, even a kitlens will perform just fine (though not perfect). For portaits, get a 85/1.8 and/or the 50/1.8. For full body, you might want to go a bit wider, but you won't need the superb optics of primes. I'dd say Tamron's 17-50/2.8 is great for this purpose. If you prefer a prime, the EF 35/2 is great for full body shots, though a tad too long for high fashion wide angle type shots. If you are also doing professional work outside the studio, look at L lenses instead.
For lights, use strobes. Rather invest in the number of strobes than in sheer capacity, as this will give you greater flexibility. Likewise, get all kinds of reflectors: softboxes, reflectors, beautydishes etc. See this article in my blog to get a feel of the differences between them.
This is scary to me - you don't know what lens to buy/use but are opening a professional photography business? You've got a LOT to learn and you can open the studio and learn on your own dime, or work for someone else (even for free or very cheap) and learn on their dime. Join and become involved in pro organizations, attend seminars, schools - talk to working, successful pros and find out what is working for them, and what didn't work.
I do know what lens to get but i'd like people opinions and what they like to use, im mainly looking for opinions from people who have used the lens :)
If you are using it for studio only, there is no need whatsoever to buy an expensive lens. Or camera for that matter. You will work under ideal light conditions, even a kitlens will perform just fine (though not perfect). For portaits, get a 85/1.8 and/or the 50/1.8. For full body, you might want to go a bit wider, but you won't need the superb optics of primes. I'dd say Tamron's 17-50/2.8 is great for this purpose. If you prefer a prime, the EF 35/2 is great for full body shots, though a tad too long for high fashion wide angle type shots. If you are also doing professional work outside the studio, look at L lenses instead.
For lights, use strobes. Rather invest in the number of strobes than in sheer capacity, as this will give you greater flexibility. Likewise, get all kinds of reflectors: softboxes, reflectors, beautydishes etc. See this article in my blog to get a feel of the differences between them.
Thanks i had a look through the blog :)
I think the main thing i need help with choosing really is the lighting, i dont have much experience with it in studio conditions, but im a fast learner haha.
so what lens are you looking at buying? You said you were looking for advice from ppl who already have it, but I didn't see which one you were actually interested in.
And when it comes to lights- they all do the same job but it depends on what you want them for. I bought my kit based on the fact that I need to travel with it and set it up and take it down quickly, it needs to be lightweight, portable, sturdy and reliable... hence why i didn't go with the Alien Bees kit i initially wanted. If you're just keeping the lights in the same room then this isn't an issue, but clarify whether you'll be moving them, and if so, how easy would it all be to move and set up and most importantly, power.
If you are using it for studio only, there is no need whatsoever to buy an expensive lens. Or camera for that matter. You will work under ideal light conditions, even a kitlens will perform just fine (though not perfect). For portaits, get a 85/1.8 and/or the 50/1.8. For full body, you might want to go a bit wider, but you won't need the superb optics of primes.
Wow... nothing personal, but I so disagree.
For me, the probability of selling a large print goes way up when I'm shooting a studio portrait. So if you're going to print big (16x24 and larger) would you rather use: a) an 8mp 350D or 20D, or b) a 12.8mp 5D? Would you rather shoot with a) the kit lens with all of its distortion and CA or b) a sharp prime? Granted, I haven't traded in my zooms for a prime, but the two lenses I mentioned are pretty sharp even for zooms.
I agree. You can't hope to cover up the inadequacies of sub-par equipment with decent lighting. It won't make a difference in the final print because the colours, contrast, CA, fringing and distortions will all be problematic. If you want to be professional, get the professional equipment. The 85mm F1.8 is great for studio use and prints damned well too. The Tamron 17-50 is a great lens but will suffer from (very) slight CA at 8x12 unless you have a decent uv filter in front of it... like i do. But better yet, get the 85mm and then get an L zoom lens for the other stuff.
So yes, you probably will need the "superb optics of primes" to keep clients coming back instead of just thinking "i could have done that"... which they will if it sucks.
is the price justifiable? Not in my book. The 1.2 is built better, but it focuses slower, and the sharpness is comparable to the 1.8 at equal apertures... maybe slightly better, but not £1000 better, it's also about 5 times as heavy and is so exorbitantly priced i can't really see the point apart from if you're shooting in really really dark places, or you'll be doing rock concerts or something. I'd save the difference and get more lighting, or better equipment.
If you're going to get the 1.2, get a bigger bodied camera because it will strain your wrists having to sort out the off balancing issues because of the heavy lens and the light body.
The 50mm 1.4 is a great lens though. The USM is mightily important, so much so to justify the price increase because in a studio you'll need the faster focussing to speed up the process and not have those awkward "wait for it..." moments... but honestly, you can find all this info elsewhere if you search on google but if i were you, i'd put the 1.2L to the side, get the 50mm 1.4 and spend the money you saved on better lighting, or putting it towards a better front of house display for the studio.
