Originally Posted by
Jody_S
I have a bunch of antiques I bought for pennies. A 400ws and a 800ws commercial setup with 4 heads apiece (both Ascorlight), and a bunch of old Bowens monolights. Assorted umbrellas and smaller softboxes and a couple of snoots. I don't want to spend money on this stuff if I don't know how to use it. I almost never attempt studio setups for my shots, I use the gear mostly for selling. I just bounce one off a wall and another off the ceiling, most of the time. I have a 4' light tent and I've just bought a few '80s-style backdrops from school portrait sessions. Ugly as sin, but I shoot b&w and I just wanted some texture in an oof background. For 'on location' fill lighting, I use an old Metz 402 set with 2 heads, or a Sunpack hammerhead with a bracket and white card, or sometimes I handhold a little consumer flash from the 90s with a 12" softbox velcroed on.
I've recently tried a couple of 11x14 still lifes with studio lighting, I very quickly realized I would have to take over another room of the house if I wanted to do this properly.