studio lighting - portraiture

when working in the studio you need to use a specific set of equipment to guarantee the best quality photos.

the equipment is you need to have is:
x2 flash heads
x2 reflective heads
x2 power leads
x1 reflective umbrella
x2 defusive umbrella
x2 protective caps
x2 light stands
ring flash bulb
modeling lamp
light adjustment dials
trigger receiver
light metre

each of these items do different things to help you get the best out of your shoot:
snoot: highlights the back of the hair.
reflective hood: bounces light off
umbrellas: black reflective
barn doors: letter box style lighting - direct light
reflectors: gold/silver/warm light
soft box: passes light through diffuses the light/shadows - not harsh

shutter speed should be set at around 1/60

Health and Safety:
make sure all leads are covered so that there are no tripping hazards when walking around the studio area.
make sure the protective cap is removed from the lights before they are turned on to prevent melting and smoke.
make sure the lighting stand is at an appropriate level is stable and not to high to make sure it doesn't fall over.
if you change the soft box or snoot, be very careful as the lights get hot and can burn.