Thanks David and Kenny. Much to think about! I will do a lot of homework which will give me time to do more painting to pay it! I see you both use umbrellas mainly? Yes I would rather have the hair real sharp and detailed than too soft, you can always soften in photoshop but not vice versa. Too sharp wouldn't be good either so sounds like white umbrellas rather than silver? And if you had three lights, would you use 2 umbrellas or 3? Really hard to find answers to this stuff in books as the books are outdated quickly and they cover so many scenarios I'm never sure which one is mine!

So for doing pets the way I want, if I understand right it would be best to use strobes over hot lights, white umbrellas over soft boxes, three lights minimal, possibly washable cloth backgrounds over paper for wilder pets, cordless if possible...so that would mean what a pocket wizard and ??

Am I starting to get a handle on it a bit?

I'm also thinking it may not be feasible to use a 10 x 10 EZ Up tent for a small portable studio...? Not quite enough room?