Quote:

I see you both use umbrellas mainly?



I use umbrellas because they are cheaper than softboxes and I don't care for the square catchlight in the eye.

Quote:

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?



I prefer white over silver, but this is more of a personal thing and either will do the job. I use 2 umbrellas on main and fill lights.

Quote:

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 ??



The strobes has their own slave feature built in. So you can start without using pocket wizards.

Quote:

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



Yes.

Quote:

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?



If you don't mind standing outside of the EZ up, then the 10x10 would work fine. If not, then 10x20 would be better.

David Ramey Photography