i think before you throw loads of money into this... grab your nearest portable light... a lamp... reading light... torch... and set up an impromptu studio; take a shot of your choosing with the lights you have, and have a look at the outcome.

Not only will that show you how relatively generic lighting is, it will probably also dissuade you from buying expensive gear - i'm planning a "model" shoot of my girlfriend, and i am going to use a bedsheet as the background, and two reading lamps (they are normally the best as they are multidirectional)... if i want a diffuser i will either wrap some tissue around the light or hang a thin cloth infront of it. If i want some sort of reflector i'll probably use a few bits of plain white paper taped together.  I would hazard a guess at that set up acheiving results of about 60-70% of the quality you might expect from a pro set-up for a similar shot... and i wouldnt have spent a thing...

One consideration i learnt from using a similar set up to the table thing (it was a pro set up) was not to use tungsten or "hot" lighting... you burn yourself too much, and the extra light isnt worth it if you are shooting inanimate objects and you have a tripod ;)

"In every colour, there's the light.
In every stone sleeps a crystal.
Remember the Shaman, when he used to say:
Man is the dream of the Dolphin"

Rich Meadows Photography