Starting an in home studio, lighting question

THeng

I've tried to do research on lighting, the more I read the more I get confused. For starters I think I would like to get the following from B & H.
Interfit Super Cool-lite 5 Fluorescent Flood Light Kit - consists of: Two Fixtures, Reflectors, 2- 24x24" Softboxes, Light Stands, Bulbs - 240 Watts (120VAC)


The lighting in my house is pretty bad, so I figured continuous lighting was the way to go. I shoot portraits, and try to do as much outside as possible, but with the cold weather coming I'd like to do more inside.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Sam

Seriously, I would look at strobes.

Sam

marikris

I got 2 strobes for the (future/flexible/portable) studio. Since I already have 2 speedlites, I figured I'd just augment, so I got a used White Lightning Ultra 1800 and a used Alienbees ring flash. I got each for $200. You'd probably do better with a WL Ultra 600 (or AB400/800), which you can get pretty decent prices from Ebay/craigslist/forums.

+1 on strobes being the way to go indoors. You have modeling lamps to provide "continuous" lighting.

Scott_Quier

Sam wrote:

Seriously, I would look at strobes.

Sam

- and if you need more light to better achieve proper focus, scatter a couple of incandescent lights (60W) around your set. They will be swamped by the strobes and won't make any contribution to the exposure. I've shot with four banks of two flourscent lights for general set lights (just to see by) and then set the strobes at ISO 100 and f/8 with good results. Of course, I took a test shot without the strobes firing (or metered with a light meter) to be sure the ambient light was at least 5 stops less then then strobes.

THeng

Since I don't have any light stands or umbrellas, should I look into something like this?

Or can the white lighting or AB be used with or without umbrellas?

THeng

Also I don't have an adjustable flash (I got the cheapest flash I could at the time) should I look into a speedlite?

Jeremy Winterberg

THeng wrote:

Since I don't have any light stands or umbrellas, should I look into something like this?

Or can the white lighting or AB be used with or without umbrellas?

I don't think you'll be happy with those strobes. They're only 70 watt/s which would result in not enough light for a dark studio.

You absolutely need some form of diffusion, whether that be a softbox, umbrella, or even a white bedsheet. Without diffusion the light would be waaaay to harsh for portraits.

I agree with strobes, and the suggestion for Alien Bees 400/800 is probably a good place to start. (can't say much though because I only have speedlights for my indoor lighting, can't afford studio lighting right now)

also, I guess on that note, you could look into strobist.com which is a great blog about using speedlights instead of studio lighting (Not that its better that studio lighting, just cheaper in most cases ), plus it would be portable instead of being limited to an outlet or having to purchase a power pack for the studio lights.

ziggy53

While I'm not opposed to fluorescent lighting in photography, there are some limitations.

The first is that fluorescent lights are not a continuous spectrum. Fluorescent phosphors work in specific wavelengths only and the mixed phosphors in a daylight fluorescent only simulate continous spectrum lighting. The results with fleshtones are usually less than optimal.

Daylight fluorescent bulbs use a measure for color accuracy called a "CRI" index. Even a CRI of 95 may not be accurate enough to avoid obvious and visible tonal differences.

There are "extremely" expensive fluorescent lights that use extremely expensive techniques to get around the problem, but even they are not perfect.

All fluorescent bulbs flicker. Modern electronic ballasts flicker at a very high rate, so as long as you use moderate shutter speeds, you should be OK. Up to around 1/125th should be no problem at all.

Some of the longer fluorescent fixtures still use older ballast technology and you may have to test to make sure they work at your shutter speeds. (Shoot several frames in full manual exposure and compare them side-by-side on a monitor.)

The flicker can also affect exposure systems so that full manual exposure might be required for best results.

Some daylight balanced bulbs emit significant UV which can affect tonality.

Electronic flash units, by comparison, are generally a much more continuous spectrum. They also generally allow faster shutter speeds and better control over ambient light.

---

A studio portrait, as opposed to an environmental portrait, can consist of a number of different lighting and subject setups and orientations. Most of the light setups can be accomplished with 3-4 lights, not all of which have to be studio strobes.

In a classic lighting setup you have 4 lights.

Key
Fill
Hair (or rim)
Background

In this case the hair and background lights don't have to be studio strobes since they don't need modeling lights necessarily. You do need pretty good control over direction and output, which can be accomplished by a number of means.

There is a pretty good primer on studio lighting that shows basic lighting diagrams here:

http://www.geocities.com/glowluzid/portrait/portrait.html

Once you know the lighting setup names, feel free to Google for many more references on the 'Net.

As for the studio lights themselves, many folks do like Alien Bees. They are a very predictable light and fairly well made. Repeatability is said to be very good, but I haven't tested any myself.

A couple of us here on DGrin use FlashPoint monolights and I have 2 FlashPoint II 1820 (900 WS) monolights that I use for key and fill, and then augment those with any number of smaller electronic flash on optical slaves (in a controlled studio environment). I have a few gripes with the digital control of the modeling lights, sometimes they don't come on and I have to "reset" the light by unplugging and plugging back in. It's not a deal breaker and in all other respects the lights work well.

I did take the time to measure the light output control to understand how it varies by its position. I recommend you do the same no matter which brand you purchase. It just takes a few minutes with a light meter.

I have 3 softboxes (one is used with a portable strobe when I need it), 5 convertible umbrellas, 3 air-dampened stands and then all sorts of other modifiers like barn doors, which I purchased, and scrims, which I made. Flags and reflectors are often fabricated by the job, sometimes an automotive sun shade.

I also have 3 "umbrella mount brackets" like these:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...a_Bracket.html

... that I use with shoe flashes and an umbrella, all mounted on either a light stand "or" tripod for an extremely portable system.

It's very similar to the system Shay describes here:

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1166287

---

If you want simple head shots:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=92550

---

A very nice collection of lighting links:

http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=742194&postcount=10

THeng

Thanks so much for the info and help!

Art Scott

THeng wrote:

Since I don't have any light stands or umbrellas, should I look into something like this?

Or can the white lighting or AB be used with or without umbrellas?

I would not WASTE my money on the system linked to above.....

You can use the AB's with or without any type of light modifiers.....but you will get much better results with at least some sort of modifier...........

Art Scott

THeng wrote:

Also I don't have an adjustable flash (I got the cheapest flash I could at the time) should I look into a speedlite?

With multiple speedlights you could easitly set up a nice studio..again you will need some modifiers of some sort.....
Spend some time over at stobist.com and read up on hotshoe flash (speedlight) lighting....aslo get a copy of HOTSHOE DIARIES .....great for learning speedlight lighting.........

ziggy53

Art Scott wrote:

With multiple speedlights you could easitly set up a nice studio..again you will need some modifiers of some sort.....
Spend some time over at stobist.com and read up on hotshoe flash (speedlight) lighting....aslo get a copy of HORSHOE DIARIES .....great for learning speedlight lighting.........

... or you could get the "HOT SHOE DIARIES" instead.

Seriously, I think this is what Art is referring to:

http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Shoe-Diaries-Light-Flashes/dp/0321580141

THeng

Haha, thanks for the link.

I am skipping on the kit and going with AB, umbrella, and speedlite. Well... eventually, after I save up

Art Scott

well Ziggy since you quoted me I can denie What i wrote.....oh well my typing su**s.......

Yes I meant the HotShoe Diaries..........There are really great SPEEDLIGHTS out there that do not cost an arm and a leg.........ie....the........VIVITAR 285HV .....at one time was the go to flash for a ............huge amount of Pro Photogs......it is still a viable flash to use......it just is not dedicated to any camera make or model and it will teach you about total manual shooting......Read about it on Strobist.com .....................

THeng

Thanks Art I will def look into it!