When I focussed on portrait photography 6 years ago, I had no Idea what challenges would await me on this course. So I want to give my greatest thanks to the patience and enthusiasm of all the people that joined my photo sessions either as model, makeup artist, set builder or lighting guy.
Since I'm not a professional photographer, all work in this period of time was produced for fun (and the serious sake of art) at low hardware costs. My main equipment is a camera, a flash and a computer (for editing). Which means, as long as you're doing it without comercial intend, you don't need to waste money on expensive equipment. Better challenge you