Lighting equipment

nillaismydog · October 25, 2005

I have a few questions... I'm looking into buying some lighting equipment to do shoots in my home. It's mainly for personal use so I don't need anything real professional, just something that'll work. And I know absolutely nothing about lighting so photo language that a 10 year old could understand would be great

How much wattage do I need in the light? How many lights? (I'm thinking 2-3). And are soft boxes or umbrellas or a mix the best? Continuous lighting or just flash? Any other information that may be important in deciding would be great. Thanks

Andy · October 25, 2005

nillaismydog wrote:

I have a few questions... I'm looking into buying some lighting equipment to do shoots in my home. It's mainly for personal use so I don't need anything real professional, just something that'll work. And I know absolutely nothing about lighting so photo language that a 10 year old could understand would be great

How much wattage do I need in the light? How many lights? (I'm thinking 2-3). And are soft boxes or umbrellas or a mix the best? Continuous lighting or just flash? Any other information that may be important in deciding would be great. Thanks

filling out your profile, listing your camera gear would be helpful.
assuming you have a dslr of some sort, there's some basic lighting that i find very useful, very portable, and easy to come by. it's listed here on my website i hope this helps...

nillaismydog · October 25, 2005

andy wrote:

filling out your profile, listing your camera gear would be helpful.
assuming you have a dslr of some sort, there's some basic lighting that i find very useful, very portable, and easy to come by. it's listed here on my website i hope this helps...

I have a canon rebel xt and canon 580ex speedlight.

Andy · October 25, 2005

nillaismydog wrote:

I have a canon rebel xt and canon 580ex speedlight.

now, we're getting somewhere. it's good to put that info in your profile when you're seeking help from the forum, thanks.

so, you can easily have a nice three light setup by just adding a couple of canon 420ex, buy them used or whatever, or get the 430ex's. add some light stands, umbys and boom - done. portable, inexpensive, stowable, and the units all talk to each other wirelessly. link i gave you have sources.

nillaismydog · October 25, 2005

andy wrote:

now, we're getting somewhere. it's good to put that info in your profile when you're seeking help from the forum, thanks.

so, you can easily have a nice three light setup by just adding a couple of canon 420ex, buy them used or whatever, or get the 430ex's. add some light stands, umbys and boom - done. portable, inexpensive, stowable, and the units all talk to each other wirelessly. link i gave you have sources.

what are umbys? would it be better and cheaper to get strobes instead of more speedlights?

USAIR · October 25, 2005

andy wrote:

filling out your profile, listing your camera gear would be helpful.
assuming you have a dslr of some sort, there's some basic lighting that i find very useful, very portable, and easy to come by. it's listed here on my website i hope this helps...

Andy
Very cool and good idea...your equipment list

Never noticed it before ...very helpful

Thanks
Fred

Andy · October 25, 2005

nillaismydog wrote:

what are umbys? would it be better and cheaper to get strobes instead of more speedlights?

umbrellas

did you look at my link?

Lee Massey · October 25, 2005

nillaismydog wrote:

what are umbys?

I believe that Andy is referring to umbrella's.

nillaismydog wrote:

would it be better and cheaper to get strobes instead of more speedlights?

The classic answer... "It depends..."

It really depends on where you see yourself going with this. Strobes are great as they are powerful, but their main advantage is the number of different ways the light can be modified (i.e. softboxes, honey comb gribs, snoots, etc).

Speedlights have the advantage when it comes to portability... I think that in your situation it really depends where you want to go.

The speedlights will definately work and are a valid option. Here is an old post by Shay that might be helpful if you choose to use the speedlight option that Andy mentioned.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=8712290

When working with multiple lights (whether they are strobes or speedlights), it would be a good idea to consider a lightmeter to ensure that you get accurate exposures.

Best of luck... If you have more questions I am sure that people here will chime in to help...

Take care,

Lee

Andy · October 25, 2005

Lee Massey wrote:

but their main advantage is the number of different ways the light can be modified (i.e. softboxes, honey comb gribs, snoots, etc).

good post, lee, but i want to urge that speedlights, *can* be modified, i use them with my umbrellas, softboxes, and also snoots, diffusers, and all sorts of cool things. lumiquest makes some nice stuff for flash units.

galla47 · October 25, 2005

nillaismydog wrote:

what are umbys? would it be better and cheaper to get strobes instead of more speedlights?

I think an umby is an umbrella... something we really need today in New York! I have never seen more broken down umbrella's than I did on my way into the office this morning!!

chrisjlee · October 25, 2005

this might help.

nillaismydog wrote:

I have a few questions... I'm looking into buying some lighting equipment to do shoots in my home. It's mainly for personal use so I don't need anything real professional, just something that'll work. And I know absolutely nothing about lighting so photo language that a 10 year old could understand would be great

How much wattage do I need in the light? How many lights? (I'm thinking 2-3). And are soft boxes or umbrellas or a mix the best? Continuous lighting or just flash? Any other information that may be important in deciding would be great. Thanks

http://www.designinflight.com/04July/diy_photography_on_the_cheap.html

Lee Massey · October 25, 2005

Sorry... I didn't mean to insinuate that speedlights can't be modified... (I use my Nikon flashes with umbrellas, diffusers, Lumiquest Promax, etc). I just was stating that strobes typically have more options/versatility when it comes to light modifiers.

One other thing that I forgot to mention was recycle time. I am not sure of exact figures but I am sure that you will find that strobes recycle much faster than most flashes but whether that is important or not will depend on your shooting style and your subject.

Lee

andy wrote:

good post, lee, but i want to urge that speedlights, *can* be modified, i use them with my umbrellas, softboxes, and also snoots, diffusers, and all sorts of cool things. lumiquest makes some nice stuff for flash units.

nillaismydog · October 25, 2005

Lee Massey wrote:

Sorry... I didn't mean to insinute that speedlights can't be modified... (I use my Nikon flashes with umbrellas, diffusers, Lumiquest Promax, etc). I just was stating that strobes typically have more options/versatility when it comes to light modifiers.

One other thing that I forgot to mention was recycle time. I am not sure of exact figures but I am sure that you will find that strobes recycle much faster than most flashes but whether that is important or not will depend on your shooting style and your subject.

Lee

first of all I have to say thanks to everyone for their imput. It's helping allot.

I'm leaning more towards stobes. My main subject will be my daughter. I need at least a 2/3 second recycle time. I used to work at a kids portrait studio and I loved their stuff... they had strobes wth umbrellas. I don't know much about it all though because everything was pre-programmed so all I did was crop and click. Space isn't an issue and I don't care if it's easily portable or not. I just want something that has enough power. I don't know how much wattage is enough though. And do I want continuous lighting? Is it better? What's the difference between a soft box and umbrella? does it really matter which one I go with?

ScottMcLeod · October 25, 2005

andy wrote:

good post, lee, but i want to urge that speedlights, *can* be modified, i use them with my umbrellas, softboxes, and also snoots, diffusers, and all sorts of cool things. lumiquest makes some nice stuff for flash units.

Details? I've been meaning to pick up another flash or two to use as slaves to my SuperDG500. I wonder if 420ex, or the other sigma equivalent (whichever the first ones are)

Lee Massey · October 25, 2005

nillaismydog wrote:

I'm leaning more towards stobes. My main subject will be my daughter. I need at least a 2/3 second recycle time. I used to work at a kids portrait studio and I loved their stuff... they had strobes wth umbrellas./QUOTE]

Children can be difficult to photograph as they have lots of energy so I can understand why you want a fast recycle time...

nillaismydog wrote:

I don't know much about it all though because everything was pre-programmed so all I did was crop and click. Space isn't an issue and I don't care if it's easily portable or not. I just want something that has enough power. I don't know how much wattage is enough though.

You should be able to go to the websites for both the strobe and flash manufacturers and obtain their recycle time... For example, several dgrinner's here use Alien Bees. To see their recycle times go to:

http://www.alienbees.com/flash.html

and go to the bottom and click on the "Alien Bees Specs" button. The recycle times vary depending on the model from 1/2 a second up to 2 seconds. This is assuming recycling back to 100% which most of the time you probably wouldn't need 100% (which means faster recycle times).

nillaismydog wrote:

And do I want continuous lighting? Is it better?

Continuous lights are good because they can show you the lighting in real time, but often they are very hot (termperature wise). Strobes typically have modeling lights to help you visualize where the light will fall.

nillaismydog wrote:

What's the difference between a soft box and umbrella? does it really matter which one I go with?

Well... I will try to answer this. Umbrella's and softboxes typically diffuse light and modify the flash/strobe so that the light source is large. Softboxes are more efficient than umbrella's as some of the light that falls on the umbrella can scatter whereas with a softbox it is channelled forward. Another minor difference is the shape of the catchlights in the subjects eye's. It is often subjective but it matters to some people.

Sorry for the long post... I hope that helps...

Thanks,

Lee

ian408 · October 25, 2005

I'd seriously check out the stuff for speedlights before the Alien Bee's setup.
Especially since you'll probably not be using it often.

Poke around the site. Both Shay and Andy post shots taken using only a
regular flash (580/420 in Canon speak) and they're always well lit and good
looking. Do some comparison.

Also, take a look at www.photoflex.com for ideas on lighting too.

Ian

TristanP · October 26, 2005

Umbrellas/softboxes, lightstands, and Speedlights/external flashes are the way to go for a beginner. There is so much to learn. Start off with two (or three) flashes, and a lightstand and umbrella (or softbox) for each. You may also need

This is what you can do with a softbox.

All of these (except the icicle) are umbrella shots.

A couple more with softbox and umbrella.

chrisjlee · October 26, 2005

superdg500

ScottMcLeod wrote:

Details? I've been meaning to pick up another flash or two to use as slaves to my SuperDG500. I wonder if 420ex, or the other sigma equivalent (whichever the first ones are)

Have you been able to deciper the SuperDG500 Manual?
It makes no sense. It's not very helpful.
Or maybe i'm just retarded.

ScottMcLeod · October 26, 2005

chrisjlee wrote:

Have you been able to deciper the SuperDG500 Manual?
It makes no sense. It's not very helpful.
Or maybe i'm just retarded.

Nope. Me either.

I've been learning by trial and error, and the flash seems to be much more user friendly than the manual to me.

Anything in particular you can't figgure out?

nillaismydog · October 27, 2005

thanks so much to everyone... you've been a big help!

Aaron Wilson · July 15, 2006

lights vs. flash
I have a indoor shoot comming up, a 20D and no lighting. What would be best? Should I buy 3 lights that are always on (sell for 199) or just rent a 580ex and 2 other flashes? the subject is a female light tanned skin color; should a umby or a soft box be used or what do you recumend?

Jeffro · July 15, 2006

Aaron Wilson wrote:

I have a indoor shoot comming up, a 20D and no lighting. What would be best? Should I buy 3 lights that are always on (sell for 199) or just rent a 580ex and 2 other flashes? the subject is a female light tanned skin color; should a umby or a soft box be used or what do you recumend?

WOW...talk about thread resurection...:D

You say "coming up"....how soon? Constant lighting (tungsten lamps) are cheaper, and are a good way to start learning light set-ups, but they are hot, burnout rather quickly, and require slower shutter speeds. The slower shutter speeds can be a problem with people, making you shoot at higher ISO.

I have a question, do you have ANY experience with a multiple light set up?

If not, you may have painted yourself into a corner with the indoor shoot.

Art Scott · July 16, 2006

Can you rent a 3 strobe set up...if so use 2 for back lights, and of course one front light...umbrella yes....either white or gold and gold ismy favorite as long as subject does not wear white...also rent a light incident flash meter.....get your equip at least 2 days prior to shoot, get any to pose for you as practice your tail off.....reason for 2 back lights....to color your background....you will need a black or very dark back ground, this will absord color from colored gels (some photo lighting stores will have colored gels...but the best place is a theatrical supply company, have been cheaper by far for me) over the lights...the reason I suggest not using a 580 ex is that is a shoe mount flash with NO modeling light and to begin shooting you need a modeling light.....

I would also recommend going to your public library and seeing if they have a copy of PETER GOWLANDS book "New Handbook of Glamour Photography".....in this book he gives excellent advice on lighting and expalins his lighting set ups for almost all of his photos contained in the book....his name is not as well known as Ansel
Adams...however before the major sex harrasment suits became second nature for complimenting a lady on her looks, he and his wife Alice, were shooting tons of the movie stars portraits and thsoe Rigid and Snap on Tool Calendars you would see hanging above a Mechanics toolbox in every Garage in the country....well those were his Swimsuit models....and his technique can be used just as easily for a family portrait as a glamour shoot.....

A lot of his studio work was done with 1 norman strobe and 1 - 10 foot umbrella, which he stood in front of to shoot.......he also did tons of multi light set ups......
He told me once on the phone to "Do your best to keep it as simple as possible".

His books are easy to understand..but are out of print now....he has a website and will (or has for me any way) answered questions I have had, he is a very congenial person and always seemed glad to help when I had questions about htings in his books...his website can also give you posing ideas.....He shoot tons of nudes, so his books are full of nudes and his website also http://www.petergowland.com/ ............he also expalins lighting on his website.....

Here is an example of a 3 light shoot....one main light , a low backlight and a high backlight....2 colored gels allowed to spill back into the models hair....

I am no longer using the Name Contemporary-Visions.....this was my business card back in 1989 to about 2000......Wichita Ks is still very Bible beltish so even tho it brought me a lot of work, it also created a lot of talk and there was a glamour studio here that would serve liquor to loosen up their subjects for doing daring glamour shots

but it was my card that created tons of gossip

....My card would have been very tame of New York, San Francisco or L.A. but not this part of the MidWest.....

Hope this will help you.

Lighting equipment

Comments