I think the thing that makes a great photograph is controlling light properly. You don't need a huge amount of light and you need to put it in the right places. As an amateur and a hobbyist I don't have a huge budget and I made the rooky mistake of spending all my money initially on buying the most expensive camera I could.
That didn't leave a lot of money for lenses and accessories. One of the best "budget" purchases I made was to buy a cheap beauty dish and a few reflectors. This shot uses the combination of a single beauty dish and reflector to good effect.
The beauty dish is casting light on the bright side but (viewer's left) but I added the reflector to the opposite side as on it's own the spotlight effect was too extreme (even more pronounced than it is now).
The model is Jenny Gallagher.
You can see more of my work @thecryptofiend - hope you enjoy.
(Verification for me here: http://www.aapicture.com/about-me)