 Brandy Perry |
Studio Lighting Setup I have a studio lighting set-up I received for last year for Christmas. But I am not having much luck with it. It had NO instructions on set-up. When I do use it, all the objects are washed out. I've tried to use the 3 lights in different ways - i.e., only use 1 or 2 of the 3. But they are still washed out. How can I set them up to not make everyone sooo pale?
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BetterPhoto Member |
Brandy- If they are washed out, it is because they are over exposed, also known as over lit. Turn the power down on the lights or change your f/stop to a smaller aperture to allow less light in exposing your photo.
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dennis w. mcclain |
hey brandy, ive run into the same problem. im an amature, and trying to get started. from what ive read, you need to get an light mter, if they are strobes, get a flash meter. thats what im gonna try next http://www.ephotozine.com/equipment/buyersguide/fullbuyersguide.cfm?buyersguideid=26 try this link tey give some great tips. it has really helped me on lighting set up to.
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Tiffany L. Cochran |
Hi Brandy, I had a similar problem no matter how many heads I used. Because I wanted to shoot at a wider aperature, I was forced to use the sync speed for my camera... 1/180 sec. Even with the power turned all the way down, this left me with over exposed images at times. The solution I found was to use a Tiffen 3-stop Neutral Density filter. With this, I am able to use the wider aperatures for portraits that I desired. When photographing groups, you may not need this filter because to render all of the subjects sharp, you may need to go to a smaller aperature, allowing less light into the lens and a larger depth of field. If you do choose the wider aperture, make sure that all of the subects faces are on the same plane at different eye levels. This will help in making sure that your depth of field covers them all. There are several Amherst Media books to help with this. They are better priced at www.bn.com or www.amazon.com than from the publisher. Also, photographer Scott Smith has a great book for studio lighting at www.lightingmagic.com. He also has several studio items there that I like, such as his diffusion panel. Used wil barn doors, in studio, I have better control over my lighting than with soft boxes, without having to invest in various sizes. Hope this helps.
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Maria Melnyk |
All you need is a good flash meter, which will show you what f-stop to use to get the correct exposure based on the intensity of the lighting. If you get, say a reading of f/16 and you want to use f/8, you need to either cut donw the power on the lights or move them farther away till you get the reading you want. Minolta, Sekonic, and Gossen make good flash meters. You can buy a good ambient/flash meter for around $225. Simple flash meters sell for less. MARIA
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Scott Pedersen |
You will have to find a book and teach yourself how to use them. the more lights you use the less power you use. There is a formula you need to use taking in consideration your Fstop light distance and number, things like that. Iv never used a lighting setup so don't have a decent answer for you but I have seen books on the subject at Barnes and Nobel. Something else that could be really useful if its availiable to you is a night class in studio photography. Check your local collages. Hands on help will keep you from tearing your hair out.
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Mark O'Brien |
I am assuming that you are using flash units, not constant-light sources. All of the above suggestions are very good. You can also soften the lighting using white umbrellas (cheaper than alternatives) by firing the flash thru the white umbrella or bouncing it off the umbrella (flash pointed away from subject). This will also give you a softer, more diffuse lighting. Another method is to place the flashes farther waway from the subjects. But I also encourage you to read up on studio lighting techniques, per the above suggestions.
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Albert Guevara |
Light Meter...problem solved.
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Brandy Perry |
Thanks everyone. Now I know what to tell my Husband what I want for Christmas. You are all great!
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Norbert Maile |
What wattage are the lights? Meters are good, but not always needed. We do not always have time to meter everything. I photograph pets, and my own baby with a cheap lighting set up, and due to movement I have to meter once, sometimes not at all, and it works every time. Let me know what you have. Norbert
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pcmlphotography.com - Pamela C.M Lammersen Contact Pamela C.M Lammersen Pamela C.M Lammersen's Gallery |
Hello Brandy another really good source for lighting information is . www.lightingmagic.com they have tutorials in there that are just great and I am sure will help you learn more. good luck -Pamela
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Debbie Vega |
Hey Brandy, so here goes..... I had the exact same problem as you and believe I was pulling my hair out, all my pictures were completely washed out.. I landed on a thread on this website aptly names the "cooked husband", it will be explained if you read it, thread no now 19127, but there are two prior. It'a about about studio lighting. One woman oin the thread has been teaching me and I have had much better pictures, see my gallery. Not perfect but it will take practice but you can see the washed out on es and what lights were used where, also camera settings.
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Maria Melnyk |
Yikes, Debbie! Why would you want to do portraits at f/22? If you can't adjust the power of your lights, move them farther away so that you get a more reasonable aperture. I do my studio portraits at f/5.6 or f/8 for 35mm (f/8 or f/11 for medium format), but when I do Hollywood portraiture I open up to f/4.
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Debbie Vega |
Hi Maria, so I used this because that was the only thing that worked... I have had these lights only a week or so and was pulling my hair out. I have a four light kit where the full can go full/half/1/3 and two fills that can be on full or half and a small back light. I have a relatively small space so hard to put lights far away from me so they are right behind and to the side of me. I use a 20d with 17-85 is usm lens or a 50mm 1.8. Everytime I tried using a lower f number the pictures were just completely washed out, so I set to manual and 200/f22 was the best pic. Thanks for any imput. Ps, I think those maternity shots are really cute....
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Debby A. Tabb |
Hi Maria, I have taught for major International Studio Photograghy Companies, and these setting are a proven success. I have been recently teaching on a thread here for some time :Studio Photography (the cooked husband) parts 1,2,3,and soon to be 4. I hope that you can join us and I'm sure you will get a kick out of the fact that these settings are a proven standard. see you there, Debby Tabb
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