What is a good light wattage to use with soft boxes in a studio? Then again, what is better to use the soft boxes or the umbrella setup? I found these on the Epay and could use some input:

Ebay

 

Anyone?

 

umbrella & soft boxes produce different effects. which one is better can be answered after you decide what you want to shoot, how you want to shoot, where you are shooting, & etc.

as for the link, i wouldn't bother. not my cup of tea.

 

Your question is too broad to suggest an answer without doing a little more self-education about lighting. I was curious if the other guys here would chime in but I think they see what I see in your question, someone reaching a little too fast. A shoot-through umbrella can do double duty as sort of a soft box but not really as soft and the shape, e.g. eye catchlight, will always be round.

Personally I love working with Smith-Victor constant (tungsten bulb) lighting but it is wicked-hot and not suited to portraits without having the, um, victim squinting and generally being uncomfortable. Not a problem for me, as I do mostly product-type shots.

Hot lights are generally cheaper than strobes but boxes and umbrellas need special construction to deal with the heat. There are other drawbacks to hot lights, such as color variation as they age, that strobes overcome.

Strobes with modeling lights get you the best of both worlds, the ability to set up lights with less trial and error. In the digital age it matters less. You can afford to pop a handful of images as you adjust your strobes. My Nikon SB-800 flash has a fake modeling function where it'll stutter for a full second or so. I never got used to it though so I chimp (review and adjust shots) myself.

You can also get away with less lighting that you might think. A large cardboard rectangle covered with aluminum foil can make enough of a reflector to take the place of a fill-light.

My suggestion is to start with just one light and a reflector and work with them until you are confident in the results. There are lots of books and sites out there that show lighting set-ups for different effects.

 

Well said and would also be my suggestion, until one gets a firm grasp and understanding it is better to have no light than cheap lights they are not proficient with.

I actually had this discussion with a photography student of mine yesterday.

 

I really appreciate the info and suggestions, which style of light do you suggest, the soft box or the shoot through umbrella style light.

 

Neither until you have an understanding of the entire studio lighting concept, honestly my first suggestion is this

http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Studio-Lightin...l/dp/0817435506

but to answer your question, go with an umbrella.

 

Try this site. Great blog and tons of advice. Each modifier creates a different effect. Studio Lighting dot Net These guys will show you on the cheap so you don't have to burn a lot of cash when you first start out. RINGLIGHT RULEZ!!!

 

Yes, definitely research the differences between softboxes and umbrellas. They will give different effects of lighting your subject. The softbox will wrap more light around your subject but wont have the nice circular catch lights in the eyes. Softboxes are also used to control light a little better than an umbrella that likes to throw light everywhere.

 

Well, I went with a one umbrella setup that included a back light with and backstop with stands...I also have a nice 5 in 1 reflector coming to play with