Best Studio Lighting for $500.

[2WK]

A friend works at a clothing company and is asking my advise. They only have $500 to spend (i know..) for a setup to shoot flats, and bodies for catalogs / e-commerce etc.

I have shot a fair amount of that, and always used strobes but I wonder if LED might be good for that type of shooting.

Kits like this..

What do you (budget) studio pros think? 🙂

 

[Frank Petronio]

Puny LEDs... I'd buy a $39 shop light and several large white foamcore flats. Seriously, the construction lights at Home Depot/Lowes are a bargain, just create a semi-permanent set up with the light bouncing into large flats to kick light onto the subject. It works for fine for porn and fashion.

 

[hepcat]

You can't beat old Norman corded studio equipment for value. Mine is probably 40 years old and still going strong. You can buy four-light kits all day long for under $500. Pretty much anything Norman has ever built can still be repaired or replaced.

Here's an example from Craigslist...

http://westslope.craigslist.org/pho/4151146995.html

 

[rwintle]

The only caution I'd add to Frank's advice is that halogen shop lights run very hot, so be darn sure not to get that foamcore too close to it. Otherwise, they are very useful and cheap ones can be had with a pole stand and various other options - mine came with a ground spike and a clamp as well.

Another popular option for the budget-conscious would be dome reflector work lights - this kind of thing:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-150-Watt-Incandescent-Clamp-Light-CE-300PDQ/100354511#

The one I have is bigger and takes bulbs up to 300W. Or you can stick the equivalently-bright compact fluorescent in to save power and generate less heat. One advantage is you can use daylight-balanced CFL's, whereas halogen worklights tend to be rather orange (at least, mine is). The clip is a bit silly but can easily be engineered to work better (or gaffer-taped to a stand). Frank's foamcore bouncing trick works great with these too.