Need Lighting Help

racergirl26bracergirl26b Registered Users Posts: 5 Beginner grinner
edited November 15, 2009 in Technique
I jsut bought a lighting kit and am trying to figure out how to do the lighting in my in home studio. I am having trouble trying to figure out where to place the lights. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Shay

Comments

  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2009
    How about a complete description of what you have in the Kit...everything please.
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • cmasoncmason Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2009
    racergirl26b wrote:
    I jsut bought a lighting kit and am trying to figure out how to do the lighting in my in home studio. I am having trouble trying to figure out where to place the lights. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Shay

    Highly recommend starting here: Master Lighting Guide by Chrtistopher Grey
    Photos
  • JohnBiggsJohnBiggs Registered Users Posts: 841 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2009
    There are all kinds of lighting styles.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-point_lighting

    There is one. There are also tons of youtube vids on lighting. So many free resources.
    Canon Gear: 5D MkII, 30D, 85 1.2 L, 70-200 2.8 IS L, 17-40mm f4 L, 50 1.4, 580EX, 2x 580EXII, Canon 1.4x TC, 300 f4 IS L, 100mm 2.8 Macro, 100-400 IS L
    Other Gear: Olympus E-PL1, Pan 20 1.7, Fuji 3D Camera, Lensbaby 2.0, Tamron 28-75 2.8, Alien Bees lighting, CyberSyncs, Domke, HONL, FlipIt.
    ~ Gear Pictures
  • JohnBiggsJohnBiggs Registered Users Posts: 841 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2009
    A quick google found this too..

    http://www.professionalphotography101.com/portrait_lighting/lighting_names.html
    Canon Gear: 5D MkII, 30D, 85 1.2 L, 70-200 2.8 IS L, 17-40mm f4 L, 50 1.4, 580EX, 2x 580EXII, Canon 1.4x TC, 300 f4 IS L, 100mm 2.8 Macro, 100-400 IS L
    Other Gear: Olympus E-PL1, Pan 20 1.7, Fuji 3D Camera, Lensbaby 2.0, Tamron 28-75 2.8, Alien Bees lighting, CyberSyncs, Domke, HONL, FlipIt.
    ~ Gear Pictures
  • racergirl26bracergirl26b Registered Users Posts: 5 Beginner grinner
    edited November 7, 2009
    It's a Vu-Pro Complete Pro Package #5 - Fluorescent Lighting. It has 2 lflourescent lights.
  • PupWebPupWeb Registered Users Posts: 166 Major grins
    edited November 12, 2009
    Jean Francois Okane Tutorial video
    He does a great job to get you started with lighting. See link below:

    http://www.layersmagazine.com/author/jean-francois-okane

    I think he's a friend of SmugMug b/c I see a SmugMug strap on one of his cameras.

    -David
    -David (pupweb)
    DavidBroadwell.com, My Smugmug Home

  • BradfordBennBradfordBenn Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited November 12, 2009
    Stand in for practice?
    When I was taking theatrical lighting classes many moons ago, one of the things that I used to do while setting and focusing the lights was put a inflatable dinosaur, named Shadow, in the place I was working on. First because it was funny, the main reason though was so that I could see the shadows that would come from the lights. I could get an idea of the color impact etc...

    Perhaps doing something similar using a willing static model. The reason I used the dinosaur was that it was a constant for me, I knew what it looked like in sunlight, in blue light, with a shadow... etc. It was a great learning tool. So do the same taking some pictures that allow for you to make modifications and see the changes. One of the big things though is to make sure you know how each shot was configured, not just EXIF info but also where and how the lights were configured.

    The fact that Shadow was inflatable made him very portable and easy to travel with.
    -=Bradford

    Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
  • PupWebPupWeb Registered Users Posts: 166 Major grins
    edited November 13, 2009
    Awsome idea!
    BradfordBenn wrote:
    When I was taking theatrical lighting classes many moons ago, one of the things that I used to do while setting and focusing the lights was put a inflatable dinosaur, named Shadow, .....

    This is a great idea Brad! A lot of times your models are nervous about the shoot, specially when you have lights set up. I can see how this whimsical dinosaur can do a lot to relax your subjects for the shoot.

    Do you have any photos of this dinosaur named Shadow so maybe we could get a similar prop?
    -David (pupweb)
    DavidBroadwell.com, My Smugmug Home

  • cmasoncmason Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited November 13, 2009
    Meet Manny, my companion in exploring portrait lighting. He is patient, takes direction, will wear anything, and doesn't complain. He does frown alot, but then, he doesn't get paid and must stay in a storage bin when he isn't in front of the camera.

    712226646_ApFvE-M.jpg

    Found him in a local dept store supply shop. There are hundreds of places on line, just Google away.
    Photos
  • BradfordBennBradfordBenn Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited November 13, 2009
    Mine was actually a kids toy, very similar to this link http://store.dinosaurcorporation.com/inflatabletrex.html. I would use it before anyone showed up to test ahead of time so I looked like I was calm and polished when everyone else showed up.
    -=Bradford

    Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
  • cr8ingwavescr8ingwaves Registered Users Posts: 194 Major grins
    edited November 15, 2009
    Love the dinosaur idea.
    I just recently started focusing on lighting and have been using my bullmastiff. he will sit and stay much longer than my children.rolleyes1.gif
    become my fan:
    http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Cr8ingWaves-Photography/119946782908?ref=ts
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