Since it seems to be a topic of discussion from time to time, and since I went ahead and wrote this up in a thread where a photo of mine sparked questions, I thought I'd share my experience in a thread people may find useful here.
Let it be known that others did this long before me and I was just following guidance from Daschund Woof and some others who were kind enough to explain some of the details in their own setups. I sort of implied the rest and made some modifications to suit my own needs.
This is by no means an absolute how-to, and I can see room for improvement over my design, but it works... Mostly.
Biggest gripe? I cheaped out on the bulbs. 65W doesn't cut it. Dasch uses 120W incandescent floodlight bulbs and he gets great results. More light is good.
See here for incandescent vs. strobe discussion: http://webs.lanset.com/rcochran/flash/hotorstrobe.html
Basically, you're looking at a ring of wood (plywood in this case) with 10 (Dasch did 12) heat-resistant, surface-mount light sockets positioned evenly around the ring and wired together (all + and all - run off one wire each) to a standard light switch (also mounted to the rig). In my case, the wires are also surface-mount, so it's easy to wire up, but leaves exposed connections. A can of brush-on insulating "stuff" (a few coats) did the trick. I think it's called Plasti-Dip (dip your tool handles for grip, etc).
Although I believe Dasch's is a bit larger - in the 36" outer diameter range - The outer diameter of mine is about 28"... Inner is about 22"... I also hinged it at two places with a spring-hinge so it folds up and takes up less space when not in use. Two copper pipe brackets serve as mounting points on the rear, which hook over two light stands heads.
It's wired to an extension cord (inside the switch box). This might better work as an outlet or short pig-tail, so your cord isn't permanantly attached (a lot to lug around and wind up in my case - 25ft). You'll want to use probably 14 gauge wire (i think - ask the experts) on the rig and something heavy (like an extension cord, as I did) to the wall.
I was a little leary of spending too much on bulbs initially, so I went with inexpensive 65W bulbs... Which isn't great for exposure or distance to model. Dasch uses 120W standard-type floodlights - not the more expensive halogen/par-38 style, just incandescent bulbs. I tried 75W halogens, which put out a ton of light, but they're also spotlight bulbs, which really focus the light well, but don't offer much spread for full-body shots. They tend to blind your subject, as well... One day I'll kick it up to 120W bulbs (though I had trouble finding these at the local Lowes/Home Depot).
WOW thanks, I was searching and searching for it and you answered my prayers! I think Darschund's old post on how-to is no longer available. Thanks Chris!!!
ivok, see the appended image above. It's basically a copper pipe clamp. Doesn't quite cut it 100%, as it's sort of flexible and introduces a very slight up-angle to the rig, but it's worked so far for me.
Wow who would have thunk a homemade rig could produce such amazing light.
My only question is (since I'm a newbie in this lighting thing) about the bulbs, are these daylight balanced is there anything special about them, or are they your regular of the shelf
knox wrote:
Man . . you are one obsessive, compulsive 'neat freak'.
If I made that, it would look like a hamburger. *smile*
What can I say? Thanks It helps to have what amounts to a wood shop at your disposal and since I've built furniture in the past, I guess it's in my blood.
giannops wrote:
Wow who would have thunk a homemade rig could produce such amazing light.
My only question is (since I'm a newbie in this lighting thing) about the bulbs, are these daylight balanced is there anything special about them, or are they your regular of the shelf
They're just standard off-the-shelf bulbs. Nothing fancy about them.
That's fanstastic, I love the reflection in her eyes.
If you want the best results, use full spectrum bulbs (or something around 6400K). You can get 150w full spectrum bulbs for $13 each. I know it'll add up, but you will see the difference especially on skin and products -- it will render the closest light to what sunlight provides, which looks great.
I just wanted to give you a heads up that I noted this message at the Sportsshooter.com Luau. They had a breakout section on modern model lighting techniques. After the session was over we were all checking out the gear and of course everyone was checking out the ring light. So I noted that FM had a message on how to build one from Home Depot. Hopefully that will incrase the membership a bit.
Jeff - definitely, you'll get better results with full-spectrum bulbs. I've done a bit of research in this area and these standard household bulbs give a very warm tone with minimal color separation. If I had the money to spend, I might consider some full-spectrums.
James - very cool. Glad to give back a little bit to this great community (and others!).
milleniumd,
There are no stupid questions.
You point the rig at your subject, try to be square on (or not - play around!)
and shoot through the ring from the back, hence the crazy catchlights.
I think Darschund's old post on how-to is no longer available. Thanks Chris!!!
