[PhotoDave1]

I need to draw upon the opinion of the Group. I am picking up a small studio set up so I can do headshots here at my condo. I am also going to use this set up for limited location shooting.

I have already decided on the monolights and the tripods but I an having a hard time deciding on the umbrellas.

I have chosen the Studiomax 160 lights. From my research this appears to be a good light made by a good company and it will serve my needs for years to come.

I have ruled out softboxes because in my experience they are cumbersome and best used in an environment where they can be set up and left there for months on end. My experience has also shown me that softboxes do not travel well either which leaves me with umbrellas.

I used a pair of 45" white reflected umbrellas when I was doing a lot of corporate event photography and I am comfortable with reflected umbrellas and I know their pluses and minuses but I have run across several photographers recently who are using translucent "shoot through" umbrellas and the idea intrigues me. It would appear that I can get some of the benefits of a softbox by using a shoot through and get around some of the drawbacks but I would like to hear experience and opinions from the Group so go ahead everybody, feel free to jump right in and as always thanks.