Help with lighting

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Archive 2009 · Help with lighting

trialanderror
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p.1 #1 · Help with lighting

what kind of lighting rigs would you recommend for a new person, thats not to expensive and will last for a while? I'm guessing until i get decent.

Thanks for the help

Jan 03, 2009 at 02:08 AM

toddmitchell
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p.1 #2 · Help with lighting

the sun.

you need to post what or how you plan to use the lights for before you will get many replies.

Jan 03, 2009 at 02:39 AM

trialanderror
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p.1 #3 · Help with lighting

sorry i will be using them in a mini studio (which will be my room) and maybe doing some outside portrait shots and at different locations.

Jan 03, 2009 at 04:18 AM

Cuervo79
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p.1 #4 · Help with lighting

well you can start with continuous lighting, tungsten or halogen lamps will work. What kind of subject do you want to photograph? you can also go the strobist route.

Jan 03, 2009 at 05:50 AM

Daan B
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p.1 #5 · Help with lighting

trialanderror wrote:
sorry i will be using them in a mini studio (which will be my room) and maybe doing some outside portrait shots and at different locations.

Well, here is a bit of a contradiction... For studio work inside a small room less power is better because the distance to the model will be close (200-400 w/s should be more than enough). For outside shooting the more power, the better... especially when you want to overpower the sun on a sunny16 day (think above 600 w/s - depending on the distance and modifier used).

Then there is the "juice" to consider... Do you have AC while shooting on location? Or do you need a battery pack? You could use a battery pack inside your room, but most battery packs have an insufficient modelling light. Then there are also accu's which you can use for (AC powered) monolights on location. For example, the Elinchrom RX units can be powered by a Tronix explorer accu.

Good luck

Jan 03, 2009 at 09:49 AM

shatterkiss
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p.1 #6 · Help with lighting

You should also think about your price range, as all things are relative. "Not too expensive" might be $1000 to me and $200 to you. My rule of thumb, personally, is that I wouldn't buy or recommend any studio strobe that costs less than $300/each.

Jan 03, 2009 at 02:46 PM

RianFlynn
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p.1 #7 · Help with lighting

Check out alien bees. I started with one of their packages and it treated me well

Rian

Jan 03, 2009 at 11:42 PM

kosin
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p.1 #8 · Help with lighting

Before getting AlienBees shouldn't he try some regular flashes first? => (Strobist setup)

Jan 04, 2009 at 03:14 AM

DaveEP
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p.1 #9 · Help with lighting

trialanderror wrote:
sorry i will be using them in a mini studio (which will be my room) and maybe doing some outside portrait shots and at different locations.

With even this little amount of information there are more questions than answers (sorry!). Firstly:

1) What camera are you using? This could have an effect on what your triggering options are for 'any' system. Some cameras can trigger using a sync cable, others can't, so require other trigger methods (which cost money) - see #2.

2) How were you planning to trigger it? It's OK not to have this worked out yet - that's why people come here - to ask questions.

3) How big/small is the room you intend to use as a studio? Larger lights are harder to 'turn down' when you are looking for the subtleties, but smaller lights make it harder to fill large cavernous spaces when doing group shots.

4) How high is the ceiling? This can effect the type of light modifiers you would want (like large softboxes or brolly).

5) Outside portraiture will probably require battery packs if you go for non speedlight type systems (110v/220v powered units), whereas speedlights have the batteries already in them. So, think about what the outside portraiture is realistically going to be. How portable does the system need to be (for outside / location) ?

6) How many lights do you think you need to start with? Portraiture can be done with as little as 1 well placed light, but often benefits from 3 (main, hair-light and background). Don't forget to include a reflector or two in your budgeting. Stands can be had for reasonably little money, as can shoot through brollies.

So, there are lots of variables, and no one right answer based on the information you have given so far. You could easily spend $1K, $2K or even $3K and not be happy (due to size, weight, performance etc), or just $200-$300 and get results you are amazed with, and carry around with you all day long.

So much depends on what you are looking for, what you are willing to learn, how much you are willing to experiment, and how you eventually want to use the system.

I've done it both ways, large studio gear and also speedlights. While they can (most of the time for me) accomplish the same things, they are different in how they are used, how much space they take, how easy they are to put up and take down, carry around, and how much they cost to buy!

Jan 04, 2009 at 08:45 PM

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