looking for guidence and some studio gear

[Jumpmunki 0]

am looking for some helping hint and tips in working doing portrait and action photography

also on the lookout for some cheap portable studio gear if there is such a thing ...

this the right place to ask?

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Have you got a budget in mind for this Wayne?
And how deep do you want to go into on this?
Try here for starters, and loads of similar publications on sale at your local WHSmith.
http://www.ephotozine.com/pp/

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He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson

[Jumpmunki 0]

want to get into it to make money and a living ideally ....

budget to get me started earning.. £150 ? ...

got a 35mm camera, wide angle lens and loads of film..

just need some portable flash units, brollys and most of all advice !

[AggieDave 6]

Ever see the Single Helix skydiving jewlery? Call him (Mark) up, he did that exact thing professionally for a good number of years.

There's contact info on that website http://www.single-helix.com

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Jumpmunki 0]

sorry dude... i don't follow

[smellysue 0]

he's saying speak to that dude and our bussines may take off...

so get talking to him...

[AggieDave 6]

Yup, I was trying to tell him to talk to Mark, he's a pro in that sort of photography and he can tell you where to look and what to buy. He even has stuff he's willing to sell for a steal (to fund his newer habit of shooting pics of stuff in the air).

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[JayhawkJumper 0]

What kind of portrait or action photography do you mean? If you give me a better idea of what exactly you'd like to shoot, I might be able to suggest some decent strobe packages. I shoot senior portraits, weddings, high school and college sports, concerts, and other misc. photojounalistic assignments. For things like senior portraits which a great deal of are shot outside, you don't need much in the way of lighting. Use the sun, get a huge piece of foam core, or better yet, a bounce board. Shoot during early morning or afternoon to get the best, soft light. Never shoot at noon if it is possible to avoid. Bouncing light into shots is best, but using a fill flash is also ok. You basically just dial down the flash a few stops and it gives a nice fill in shadowy area of the face, but bouncing light is better. Another important thing for portraits is a VERY GOOD piece of glass in front of your camera. My favorite is a 70-200 f2.8 It allows me to be a decent distance from the subject and get that really nice narrow depth of field. Make sure you have or get a lense that opens up to at least 2.8.

For weddings I use a couple strobes for the portraits, and sometimes set up a slaved strobe in the corner of the reception for extra fill. You can use a basic two strobe kit for this stuff. These cost around $600 in US dollars. For more complex studio portraits with purpose built sets, you'll probably need more strobes with different attachments, gels etc..., but it depends on what you want for your final product.

For action photography, most of the time you don't get to use any additional lighting. This is also where you need a long, fast lense. Sometimes I've gotten the chance to shoot with strobes mounted in the rafters at basketball games, but its rare. Most concerts won't allow flashes either. Most of the time you just have to deal with what you get. There's a lot of stuff that goes into action photography, getting the decisive moment, capturing intense moments of action. It's really something you learn by experience, the more you do it, the better you get. So get shooting.

I hope I've answered some of your questions, if you know what you want to shoot specifically I might be able to suggest more specialized equipment. Also, exactly what equipment are you working with now? (don't get too concerned about equipment though, I know one Sports Illustrated swimsuit photographer who shoots with a point and shoot, no joke)

[Jumpmunki 0]

specifically going out to peoples houses and taking pictures of the family or pets...

certainly at this stage.

[JayhawkJumper 0]

for family portraits and pets, if you shoot them outside, a fill flash or huge reflector would do the trick. If you want to shoot them inside, a couple strobes wouldn't hurt. I would recommend taking them outside as its usually a little bit better background and it would be easier to light.

[Jumpmunki 0]

what if people don't have a nice garden to sit in?

[JayhawkJumper 0]

Usually the best way to find compositions is to go the middle of the room/yard/area you want to shoot in, and slowly spin around, looking at every possible composition. You could pose them with a few sitting on a couch others standing, one laying down. You could pose the father in a chair with everyone around him. You could pose the mom and dad on a couch with the kids around them. The possibilities are endless. You could also shoot candid portraits. Portraits inside require a bit more work because there is color temperature to worry about as well as more lighting issues. If your really serious about getting into professional photography, buy some books on lighting and photography and read them, also get some magazine subscriptions and read every issue cover to cover. To learn photography you need to build a good knowledge base of what your are dealing with in terms of technical aspects, then just shoot everything you can. The more experience you get, the better you will be, and the more technical knowledge you learn, the more free you will be to express yourself artistically.