When I started in photography years ago I used speedlites ( still do ) and whilst great due to portability they lack power for a studio environment. My first speedlites were Younnuo YN460’s and whilst they spat out light, in all honesty they were garbage.  I later moved to YN 560’s and they were not much better, so I picked up a set of Canon 430EXii which a far better light than any of the YN units.

I ran the Canon 430EX II’s for a few years and added a Canon 600EX-RT later.  The location kit has change some and that will be covered in another post.

Next came the studio lights.  For a few years I rented local studios for clients work before opening mine so I have experience with a fair few brands (Bowens, Profoto, Various others).