I may seem like a lot of $$ but compared to other studio sized lights with equal power, you can buy all that gear (lights, stand, radio triggers, softbox) for the price of one Profoto light. Its a hell of a deal if you want the most bang for your buck.
If you just want to start off with strobes then I would look into the used market. www.keh.com is a great place to pick up some older flashes for really cheap. Best part of using off camera flash is you can use any brand you want.
Yes, you could create the "over power the sun" style shots I did using simple off camera flashes. They do make softboxes and large umbrellas for off camera flashes. Problem is that they are just as expensive as the studio sized Alien bees. By the time you are done stocking up on all these portable flashes you may just end up wishing you had gone with an Alien Bees set up. Much more simple, less to worry about. I know.. I started off with off camera flashes and I still use them but to a limited degree. If I need a hair light or a kicker and don't want to take the time to set up another studio light, I'll reach for the off camera flash.
I created that drainage tunnel shot using just one off camera flash at full power. The rest was natural light and post processing. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
You will probably need one of these to over power the sun using off camera flashes: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2010/07/lastolite-triflash-sync-triple-threat.html
If you just want to start off with strobes then I would look into the used market. www.keh.com is a great place to pick up some older flashes for really cheap. Best part of using off camera flash is you can use any brand you want.
Yes, you could create the "over power the sun" style shots I did using simple off camera flashes. They do make softboxes and large umbrellas for off camera flashes. Problem is that they are just as expensive as the studio sized Alien bees. By the time you are done stocking up on all these portable flashes you may just end up wishing you had gone with an Alien Bees set up. Much more simple, less to worry about. I know.. I started off with off camera flashes and I still use them but to a limited degree. If I need a hair light or a kicker and don't want to take the time to set up another studio light, I'll reach for the off camera flash.
I created that drainage tunnel shot using just one off camera flash at full power. The rest was natural light and post processing. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
You will probably need one of these to over power the sun using off camera flashes: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2010/07/lastolite-triflash-sync-triple-threat.html