 Jessica R. Mitchell |
Which lighting kit to start off with? I'm looking at starting my own photography studio and I'm in desperate need of a good lighting kit. I'm not that familiar with the lighting of indoor photography. Any help will be greatly appreciated!
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Debby A. Tabb |
Jessica, Why don;t we start with , How big is your studio space? How much is in your budget? The answers to these will allow us to help. Thank you,
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Thea Parker |
I have been anticipating an answer, since I have the same question.. So, I will jump in and ask away! My studio space is a 10' x 12' spare bedroom with a 10' ceiling-- not big. My budget will be that wonderful $600 check the government will be sending to me next month. Thank you in advance for any advice you have to offer, I appreciate it! Thea
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Debby A. Tabb |
Thea, I had some of these light heads an many here from the studio threads still use them. $650.00; Studio Threads part #1 of 23: http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=17534 I hope all this helps,
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Hello Jessica, I recently took a 4 week course by John Sisken - "Understanding the tools of lighting" http://www.betterphoto.com/courseOverview.php?cspID=172 and this really helped me make an informed decision about what I wanted to get as far as equipment and a better understanding of how to use them. John also has a lot of inexpensive ways to make difussors and other tricks & ideas. He provides a lot of information that I use & refer to all the time. BTW, I ended up going with Alien Bee's but there are many choices and variables to consider.
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Mark Feldstein |
OK, without being critical at all of Deb, here are my questions about the Britek system she noted. How many true W/S per head are those lights? While the softbox is 2' square, which isn't much, how large is the umbrella, how sturdy are the stands, what kind of f-stop can you work at, at say 12 feet from your subject, ISO 100, and using both lamp heads at full power in a light modifier? In all honesty Thea, I don't think those lights are powerful enough to use as primary portrait lights. Maybe fill off a peanut slave but I don't know their ratings. Perhaps Debby does.I also thought those tax refunds are supposed to fuel the U.S. economy, not China, Taiwan, or some third world nation where (I hate to say this) I believe Britek units are made. John Siskin and I are both strong believers in starting with a single light system, say a monolight like Bowens or Calumet and beginning with at least one monolight that's rated at 750 or even 1000 W.s. that can be ratio'd down as necessary. (Better too much power than too little). Those systems are easily expandable as you get more dough and require more lighting AND as you learn to use the single light with say a fill card. Monolights don'r require separate power packs with cords run everywhere. Just a power cord and a means to trigger the flash either remotely or with a PC cord. While considering your present needs is quite important, you should purchase lighting with the present AND some future planning in mind. A 12 foot wide studio is extremely small. It becomes even smaller, even tiny, by the time you add a background, some equipment stands, a posing stool, and a few props. More space is mo better and if you succeed in your endeavors, you should plan to have more space. Better yet, shoot porbable on location like in a park or public spot. You'll probably save some on business insurance. In other words, have a real business plan not just an equipment purchase list. If you do have one, good. If not, you should because otherwise, IMO, you're about to blow 600 bucks for no apparent reason other than to buy some lights. As Carlton suggested, take John's course if you haven't already. Money well spent, I think.
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Debby A. Tabb |
Mark, I used these same lights for mobil for 4 years with no breaks!, Not stands ect.they are 250 W/S Check with Laura O'connor as she still uses them in her Studio. you'll find her on the Stuio Photography threads. There you can look at her work as well, done with that same lighting. You could get better lighting of course but you are at this time on a buget. When I sold my Briteks they were still firing perfectly and each had a stand un harmed by travel and constant tearing down & setting up. I found them to be VERY sturdy for the price. As stated you can find others using these lights on the studio threads. The other kit I recommend are the Photogenic they start at $300.00 dollars more then your budget for a 3 light system and go up from there. Photogenic kit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/398139-REG/Photogenic_907345_AKC800K_Master_Studio_Three.html As I usually recommend to those on a budget but would like to get started NOW,work with something you can afford now/resale them when ready and purchase the next set you have grown in to. ** I personally use Photogenic 2500DRs now in studio as I do not travel with these type of lights as much . but use many slaved lights in on site work. I hope all this helps,If you have more questions feel free to e-mail,
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Debby A. Tabb |
and come on Mark, You really don't think there are those who won't go out and buy that new camera,WWii, Sony camcorder,Sony or 7 other bands of big screen TVs. or made that money will help with a new Toyota Prius, assembled in KY or Torrance,CA but great for the inviorment. Just a thought. Debby Britek's headquarters is in:
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Mark Feldstein |
Well, 250 W.S. strikes me as a fill light for a snoot or behind a scrim for a hairlight, certainly not enough horsepower for a softbox or an umbrella unless at ISO 100, one wants to work at like f2.0. Now as to issues of social conscience, certainly people will race off to Walmart with their tax refunds and dump the whole thing or most of it on Chinese junk(s). But c'mon Debby, don't for a second believe that a company, including Britek, with a U.S. address doesn't have their products made in China imported through Long Beach Harbor. That's just nonsense. You know better. BTW, we just bought a Smart car, speaking of great for the environment. How about 55 miles per gallon out of an 8 gallon tank. Have you seen these things? Yes, made by Mercedes in Italy and important through England, BUT I have no problem buying that kind of a product from an European manufacturer because (1) I know it's well engineered and assembled AND (2) Detroit hasn't figured out they need to sell us what we want and need not what THEY want us to have. There are plenty of lighting manufactuers in the U.S.A producing affordable, high quality products for folks like Jessica, and you and me for that matter. All I'm saying is Buy American when you can. Afterall, what are your relatives kids fighting for along with me the rest of the vets around here (including Todd, among others)?
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Debby A. Tabb |
position of Britek with ya, you can and do have your opinion. But really those same lights are very good and there are portraits in my Gallery that state if Britek Lights were used. As to the Smart Car, I just saw one last week.They are intresting and cute. Have a great day,
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Paul C. Buff's Alien Bees are American made even though the Bees themselves are from another planet (refer to their website) http://alienbees.com/
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Thea Parker |
Carlton, I have been looking into Alien Bees after listening to a podcast interview with Paul C. Cuff on another photo website. The company itself is amazing and I hear great things about their products and waranties. Which lights did you purchase? Any advice of opinions about the "starter bee" kit? They also offer a student discount.. just what I need. I also plan to take the course offered by John Sisken soon. Thanks for all your input!
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Hi Thea, You may want to take John's course before buying the lights since the course is designed to help you select the proper lighting scenario for your type of photography. What will your power needs be ? Its amazing what you can do with a single light. I have 2 B800 with stands & umbrella's with another B1600 with a 22" beauty dish (at the recommendation of Oliver Anderson) on its way. I also have 2 other stands for reflectors & diffusers. I do love the Alien Bees and they work well for me.
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John H. Siskin |
Hi Everybody. Nice to see my name here. One thing I would like to say, while it is nice to get a big batch of equipment at one shot, the important thing is getting equipment you can learn to use. I have an article about shooting with one light here on the BP site, as well as a couple about light. You can find the one light article at: www.betterphoto.com/article.php?id=129. I think that most people would buy different lights if they spent time learning what they need. There isn’t a single kit that will work in all situations. If you want to light like every one else, you can buy their stuff. A similar question: do you want your images to look unique, or similar to others. If you start with one light you may spend a little more, but not as much as if you bought gear twice. The Alien Bee, Bee 1600 makes a good starting light, it has a little over 600 really watt-seconds, which will do the job, but of course, it wouldn’t hurt to have more. If you really are trying to build a business you will want to get relievable equipment that will last. I hope I’ll see a couple of you in the class! Thanks Carlton & Mark & Debbie.
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