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Hi all, I'm new here. I'm an enthusiast and have been for a fair while. Some friends would like me to do their kids' portraits and I also sell refurbished furniture on Ebay, so want a portable backdrop stand, backdrop and some lighting. I'm totally new to studio work, so have no idea what I'm talking about other than what i've just said.
I would preferably want something about 7' high but not sure whether that's asking too much. Probably the same wide too.
Money's not an object in as much as I want some decent products that will last.
the portraits will be child/children sitting if that makes any difference.
Thanks in advance. Su
I find the lastolite hi lite very useful - this is a lit up backdrop - good for hi key and it folds up they do sell them at about 5' or 7' dimensions on warehouse express. The train will be a good wipe clean white pvc which kids can sit on. Lastolite also do a fold up black velvet/white backdrop which I believe trains are also available for. Have you already sorted the lighting? I started with elinchrom d lite 2 which are good so far.
Super, thanks theredbaron,
I've breifly looked at Lastolite, so am pleased you've mentioned them. I haven't even started considering lighting yet, as I'm daunted by it. Will look at the elinchrom d lite 2. I have two Canon 430ex's which I was hoping would do for front lighting, or is that just cutting corners?
Basically you need to decide which lighting route to follow - hotshoe flashes (the Strobist approach) or real studio lighting. Different people have different views and both have advantages, but for your situation studio lighting is by far the better option.
Hotshoe lights have nothing going for them apart from portability, which isn't an issue in your case. The lack of modelling lights, the low power and the difficulty in fitting effective light shaping tools make life unnecessarily hard. Your existing Canon 430's are however usable for lighing the background.
As far as brands are concerned, if quality is more important than price (as it should be) then you should be looking at Bowens, Lencarta or Elinchrom. Before making any decisions you might like to look under 'More free downloads' on this site.
I meant to add but forgot...
The Hi-Lite background is useful for photographing kids (if you want all your shots to look the same) but far too small for your furniture shots.
i can't advise on size because I don't know how much space you have, but you might want to consider vinyl, paper or muslin backgrounds (in that order) and you should get the widest background you have room for.
Quote: As far as brands are concerned, if quality is more important than price (as it should be) then you should be looking at Bowens, Lencarta or Elinchrom
Or hensel, broncolor or profoto 
Thanks for all your advice. I think bigger, quality and studio not strobe are what I'm going to go for... just need to wait for the world to stabilise it's money matters 
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