 Richard Hogg |
Studio Lighting Kit Hey Guys, I'm thinking of buying some studio lighting. I'm a beginner, but would like something that I can do some portrait photos in my basement. I have the backdrop, but the simple light that I put together doesn't have a lot of power. It's a 300w bulb (incandescent), but my shutter speed has to be at 1/50 with the aperture set at 5.3 for anything to turn out. Could someone take a look at the link below and give me your thoughts? Rich
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John P. Sandstedt |
I've used plain, ordinary 250 watt photoflood buld, set in polished reflectors, for years. You can also get 500 watt bulbs. Since I do this for my fun, I'm not interested in the high costs associated with studio lighting. Photofloods are light weight and easy to move [inexpensive light stands.] Thus, their use offers a quick way to learn. There is a downside: theyget very hot [both for the photographer and for the model (if you're not careful.)] I haven't played with digital, so I'm not sure whether you;ll need an 80A filter.
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Pete H |
Richard, As a starter kit it looks fine. I would have 2 concerns after looking at the specs of this package. 1) The umbrella appears to be a shoot thru only. 2) At 150 w/s, make sure you turn off the modeling lamps when you shoot as they are rated at 100 watts. The better strobe heads have the ability to extinguish the modeling lamp prior to the strobe firing. At 400 w/s this step is unnecessary. It may be possible to get a used setup for the same money and more bang for your buck. Try for at least 400 w/s if possible, a larger softbox and a umbrella that offers shoot thru and reflective. One thing is for sure, the kit you are looking at is infinitely better than what you have now.
Pete
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John H. Siskin |
Hi Richard, This is not very powerful, but you could do some decent work with it. There are two and a half important things about lighting. The first is color, and this will give you decent color, unlike fluorescent lights. The second is the size of the light source, a small light produces hard shadows and a large light produces softer shadows or no shadow. The problem is that it takes more power to make a soft light: spreading the light on a umbrella or other reflector reduces your light. The half thing is position, it’s much more important with a small light than a large light. I usually recommend people get a strobe with at least 500 real watt-seconds. It gives you more options. It might be good to start with just one light and see how that works for you. Thanks, John
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Mark Feldstein |
IMO Rich, Ritz is nearly always overpriced (though I haven't been there in years). The problem, among others, you get with cheap lighting equipment, is not having enough horsepower or outgunned as I think you've already discovered. John Siskin and I usually agree that in situations like this, you'd be better to save your dough for awhile, look to places like B&Hphotovideo.com for a good monolight and a couple of modifiers like a softbox and umbrella and then rock and roll. Get something you can expand into. Used lighting on e-bay is a pretty good deal these days, especially Norman Pack systems, White Lightening, Calumet Traveler monolights, Bowens, etc. KEH.com sells them used as well from time to time. Also look for Speedotron Pack Systems or the monlights sold by PhotoFlex in Santa Cruz Calif. They're quite good. If you find one of those and want us to take a look, drop us anothe rlink. And as John suggested, starting with one light is much easier to learn (and afford) than learning multiple lighting set-ups. He likes 500 w/s for openers, my own preference is 750-1000, but it depends on what you shoot and what camera format you're using too. BTW, all of the portraits on my website were shot with a single 1000 w/s monolight from Bowens in a Chimera 3x4 foot softbox with a 4x8 foot white fomecore reflector to the right of the subject. If you buy junk you'll have to replace it sooner rather than later. Save up. Buy a single light, learn how to use it, then expand your system.
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Oliver Anderson |
I agree with Mark on buying Junk...you end up replacing it too soon and spending more money. Start off with one quality used light and you'll be able to modify it using beauty dishes, umbrellas, cans and grids...you'll learn one light can do more than you ever thought. I did a lot of shoots over the Holiday with one light and the sun as a backlight.
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Anthony L. Mancuso |
Hi Richard I'm a beginner like you and I was also looking for low cost studio lights to do portraits in my basement. I recently purchased older Speedotron 2400 watt lights on Craigs List for only $500..this included the power pack, three strobes, two reflector umbrellas, a softbox, 3 light stands for the strobes, a boom to use for a hair light, and all the necessary cables. If you buy an older set like I did and you shoot digital, just make sure you use a safe sync cord that reduces the energy from the lights or you will fry your camera
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John H. Siskin |
Hi All, A safe sync is a good idea and so is a radio slave, but you don’t need both. Early Canon digital cameras and very early strobe power packs are particularly prone to problems with high sync voltage. Thanks, John Siskin
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Oliver Anderson |
Had a couple friends find this out with old flash kits and their 20D's...I happend to try them out with my slaves but they didn't have them...whoops. Even I didn't know what had happened. This can also happen with off brand on camera flashes...like the Vivitar flashes.
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Richard Hogg |
Thanks all for your responses, they are all really helpful.... Although most of your posts are persuading me into doing something different I ended up buying the kit after all. Money is tight and my lack of knowledge has scared me into buying something I know nothing about. Regardless I've justified it in my head that this will give me a start to learn the parts of a lighting kit and then I can start to upgrade from there. Keep posting if you've got comments and I'll post the photos that I get. I will leave off with this one question though, is w/s and light color the main things I want to be concerned about or are there other aspects I may want to consider in terms of the strobe?
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Oliver Anderson |
When using a strobe there is a lot to learn, to start...is the kit compatible with my camera???? If you're learning on your own understand your images won't consistantly look good till you use, read about and practice with your lights. I've been using strobes for a few years and I learn things everyday about them...some of my experiments/mistakes become great photos (of course my models help my photos look good as well)lol
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Richard Hogg |
I think that the most exciting thing about photography right now is the constant learning experience. I have too found that some of my exteriments/mistakes have become some of my most interesting shots. I don't imagine that I'll ever become a famous photographer, but it's sure fun playing.
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Richard Hogg |
So in all the waiting it seems that there has been a mixup between Ritzcamera and paypal and the order wasn't processed so I've decided to take some additional time to research and look on ebay as money is always an issue. If any of you see a good deal or have any additional advice, please send it my way.
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Oliver Anderson |
buy USED off Craigslist, the person can answer quick questions and you can score great deals.
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