Lighting Advice - Speedlights vrs Strobes/Studio

D.S.

Hi guys,

Sorry in advance for lengthy post.

I have been shooting now over a year, and have only shot natural light to date. Over the past while I have been getting a real itch to start creating my own light - am getting to the stage where I am fussy on on how I want the light to work in my shots, and reflectors/natural light doesn't always give me the flexibility I need (I mostly shoot weekends so the natural light may not always work in the locations and times I can shoot at).

I mostly shoot landscapes and family portraits right now but want to start doing model shoots (fashion, portrait, some art/compositing type) soon and build a portfolio of work.

What I am after is a lighting set up that allows me to shoot both studio and on location. I am getting a bit lost as to what the ideal set up is. I am looking to purchase a long term system that I can build around (don't want to build a cheaper system, and throw out if I outgrow it later). Budget is not necessarily a major factor - would rather get it right now than throw good after bad. Not looking to go completely crazy - but 1-2k euro would be ok with me if it needed that. Looking to go soup to nuts as have nothing at all (stands, backdrops, lights, gels, modifiers etc). Based in Oz still so will be spending/investing here.

So far I can see three types of options but none seem to be perfect:
- Speedlights - apppear to be cheaper, easy to set up, some great flexibility in what you can do in terms of set up, power output is less than other options, appears to be less options to craft your own light (e.g. no options to use larger light sources and different modifiers such octaboxes / strip boxes / beauty dishes etc), Extremely lightweight.
- Studio Lights / Kits- seem to go from v cheap to v expensive, full range of power outage options, modifers,grids, gels, etc etc. Seem to be heavy and may not be exactly portable. Requires expensive battery packs (if compatible) or a generator for on location shooting.
- Portable strobes - thinking of the ranger/quadra type set up from Elinchrom here. Seem to be slight less on power outage options, but v light and portable, extremely expensive - battery packs here in Oz seem to cost a fortune.

All the above is based on what I have read to date and could be completely wrong (and maybe there are options in between).

Can anyone advise as to what types of set up I should be looking at for my needs? Not particularly wedded to any brand - have been looking at Elinchrom, Bowens, Profoto. PCB is not an option for me in Oz as there is no authorised reseller here any more (which is annoying as they seemed like a great option). Was keen on a three light set up as a start.

Thanks in advance,
D.S.

EDIT: for background - shooting on a Nikon D800 with a range of prime/zoom lenses, 1x reflector, 1 x tripod, 1 x SB 700, have a backdrop set up which was given as a gift (manfrotto stands/cross bar/ black cloth backdrop).