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Limited budget. - Indoor studio lights needed
Hello, I have a budget of $500. - I want to shoot indoors in my house. - I'm not sure if I want strobes or continuous lights. I have never been a person that uses flash photography. - I will be reading many books on it in the up coming months as I teach myself. However I want to be able to take high quality indoor images. - I'm mostly looking to do artistic shots that focus on the models lines. - For artistic nudes. - Mind you I will also be shooting model based photography as well. If you have any suggestions I would like the kit to include: Back drop. - Not sure if paper will be enough. - I may need a muslin. Lights. - Continuous or flash is fine. - However QUALITY of images is more important to me than anything. I would like to shoot images LIKE this indoors.  Again I am a freelance photographer with all the proper gear a professional would need for out door photography, from the SLR to the high end L series glass. - I just want to insure I can shoot indoors at 100iso without the model having to hold dead still. - No blurry images for me!  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INPUT!!!!!! Oct 29 07 06:44 am Link https://www.modelmayhem.com/pic.php?pid=2208228 I want to take an image similar to this. - Hope these example images are enough to help! Thanks! Oct 29 07 06:47 am Link Hey! If you want to shoot at 100 iso indoors with short shutter durations you will most likely need strobes, and not only that, but the modifiers that go along with them; umbrellas, softboxes, etc. A large umbrella alone can run around $70.00. This can be done but may get expensive. Also, a good muslin alone can cost you one quarter of your budget. Something to think about... Oct 29 07 06:51 am Link Do you think paper would be ok? - Again. - Long term I can buy a muslin. Right now I just want to make sure I get decent lights. - They don't need to be amazing. Just something to get the job done. Oct 29 07 06:57 am Link Sioux Falls Photography wrote: What did they teach you at school? Lights don't get models pregnant!! Oct 29 07 07:00 am Link haha Oct 29 07 07:02 am Link EBAY has cheep as well as quality lighting also B&H & 42nd street and many others I shoot 64 iso w/ continuous lighting its easer to meter 150s on the floor and 3 500 umbrellas (but I'm no conceeded expert) every one has different opinions Oct 29 07 07:08 am Link can people post links? - To insure I purchase the correct kit? Thank you so much for the extra help! Oct 29 07 07:11 am Link I started with hot lights and soon learned that they were awful, ended up getting a set of jtl strobed not the best but this is just a hobby at this point. Strobes offer much better light and control ability. Strobes with battery capability were 700.00 and I have umbrellas and 40 inch softboxes total was about 1000.00 well worth it. Oct 29 07 07:13 am Link Get strobes, they will be good to you. I just got my first set of strobes and i'm happy. Mine are kinda ancient though but it still works. Adorama has good deals as well as B&H. Pick up some photography magazines and look at the classifieds. It'll be a big help. Oct 29 07 07:17 am Link From everything I've read, Strobes are going to be the way to go. Now I'll need strobes that connect to a 10D - I have a Mark 2 as well. - But due to an accident I have to sell it and will be working with my 10D alone for awhile. Back drops are important to. - Does paper look as good as muslins? - Do certain types of paper look cheaper than others? Oct 29 07 07:21 am Link Hey there, a $500 budget is enough cash to go the strobist way of using hot shoe flash, umbrella, and pocket wizards. See this link, http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/. I know some photographers laugh at using hot shoe flash and prefer big studio strobes, etc. But you have to start somewhere. Check out my profile page where all the shots are done using strobist techniques. Good luck! -Carlton Sioux Falls Photography wrote: Oct 29 07 07:25 am Link If you only have $500 you probably want to start by only get the one strobe and a softbox or umbrella. The Alien Bee B800 is $280 http://www.alienbees.com/flash.html It is a good starting point, though I prefer the more powerful B1600. I like to shoot closer to F11. The speedring is $27 from them and you should be able to pick up a softbox on Ebay for less than $70 for a medium size one if you are patient. You can get a foldable stand from MPEX for $39.99. The minimum shipping charge is $17 from them though. I would get together with some friends to save on the shipping. http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/10/fi … stand.html I like the design because you can fit the strobe and the stand in a small suitcase with wheels. Some foam core a reflector and you should be set to start. In case you need inspiration, check out this thread on one light images. Oct 29 07 07:42 am Link Oct 29 07 07:43 am Link I really like the b1600 - I may just do that! Do you think that with a continuous light and a paper back ground would give me the results I'm looking for? - Again over time I'll buy another b1600 - But for immediate results whats the view? Oct 29 07 07:48 am Link Sioux Falls Photography wrote: Oct 29 07 08:24 am Link pRoDiGy pHoToG wrote: YOU CAN DO THIS WITH GARAGE LIGHTS AND SOME WHITE POSTER BOARD IF YOU NEEDED TO Oct 29 07 08:25 am Link Paper or muslin? Remember that with paper you will have to replace it fairly often (depending on use), and if you can't buy it locally, shipping charges alone can double your cost for paper. Check the fabric stores for 3-5 yards of black fabric. You can even buy raw muslins and dye/paint your own. Oct 29 07 09:11 am Link really.... I might just head to the fabric store, and look for a thicker cloth. Now back to the strobe. - Should one light be enough? For short term use? I'm looking at the b1600 Oct 29 07 10:10 am Link This thread was about a week too late. A photographer in Sioux Falls closed up shop, I saw all of his WL5000's for sale on ebay last week. Not the greatest lights, but they would have worked and gotten you up and running below your budget. That said, you can keep looking, I do see them on there once in a while. Again, they're not elinchroms or bowens, but for the money they'd work hard for you. Oct 29 07 11:09 am Link I bought 3 muslins off of ebay for about $60 each including shipping. 10x15 comparable to what the local camera shops are asking $150 for and a lot wider selection. You can also get some of the inexpensive strobes with stand and unbrella on their and make your own gizmos to modify and direct them cheap. Oct 29 07 11:09 am Link $500 budget Here is what I would buy Alien Bee 800 $279.95 http://www.alienbees.com/b800.html Stand $69.95 http://www.alienbees.com/ls3900.html Photek Softlighter II, 54" Umbrella with Diffuser $59.95 http://tinyurl.com/yva2wt Total $409.95 if you can go a $150 over budget add this Sekonic 358-L Light meter $239.95 http://tinyurl.com/26vv6t Oct 29 07 11:10 am Link With shipping, this should come in under $500.... http://www.alienbees.com/beginner.html http://www.adorama.com/BMSSPE.html http://www.adorama.com/BD701S.html Oct 29 07 12:38 pm Link Mickle Design Werks wrote: With this kit here, would I be able to shoot at 100ISO indoors with a quick shutter speed? - 90 + Oct 29 07 01:39 pm Link Sioux Falls Photography wrote: Most photographers use a shutter speed of 125 to 250 in order to sync with the flash so motion blur is using not an issue. Oct 29 07 01:48 pm Link Sioux Falls Photography wrote: Yep. Of course you would be limited by your camera's sync speed (for DSLR it's usually 1/160 - 1/250 depending on the camera) but f/8 aperture 1/125 shutter speed at ISO 100, should be no problem. Oct 29 07 01:49 pm Link Harry Lew wrote: Flash freeze is caused by the duration of the flash, not the sync speed. The flash duration is much shorter. Oct 29 07 01:53 pm Link I have two lights. I use 'one' light 8 out of 10 times. How you use that one light is often more important than how many you have. Oct 29 07 01:53 pm Link ward wrote: I find that the majority of the shots I take are with one light and a large modifier (typically a medium softbox to 5' octabox). Oct 29 07 01:56 pm Link Sioux Falls Photography wrote: You can get away with using continous light, but because of the low efficiency the actual amount light falling on the subject is significantly less than with a strobe. I have to shoot ISO1600 and a very low aperture to get properly exposed results. The lower aperture means you have a shallower DOF. Not necessary a bad thing depending on the look you are going for. You have fast glass so not having sifficient apperture should not be a problem. Oct 29 07 01:59 pm Link Mickle Design Werks wrote: Groovy. Even outdoors, I mainly use one strobe only. Oct 29 07 02:02 pm Link Harry Lew wrote: I would want to be shooting at 125+ - However I've been trying to use lights that are designed for other things than photography and I keep getting horrible results after I raise my shutter speed to 90+ because there isn't enough light. Oct 29 07 02:11 pm Link Sioux Falls Photography wrote: You can do that with one light and a softbox. I'd recommend you look on ebay for a used Photogenic 600 or 750. Then look on Amvona.com for a softbox, write down the model number of that softbox, go to ebay, enter the model number and bid. I got a 7 foot softbox for $65 and three different times I got a 56" strip light for under $70 each. Oct 29 07 02:23 pm Link Sioux Falls Photography wrote: For $500 you can easily look around Ebay for used Speedotron Brownline. Take a look at their website to see which head you'd want to get etc. Their packs are workhorses (though heavy). Oct 29 07 02:26 pm Link Sioux Falls Photography wrote: ISO should not be an issue below 400 ISO for most DSLRs. The best investment for sharp images would be in fast prime lenses. Oct 29 07 02:26 pm Link Carlton SooHoo wrote: yeah but it's nice to have more power than that for times that you need it. Oct 29 07 02:32 pm Link google strobist.com,if you haven't heard of it ,it is a website by pro level photographers showing how to get quality results from the most basic gear indoors and out.I have lots of studio lighting equipment,but this site opened up a new level for me.Tons of fun to work with. You can buy the basic lights which are off camera portable flash units for as little as $50 a piece at Adorama or B+H if you decide to go strobe. Oct 29 07 02:47 pm Link ok officially the strobist is full of shit... from his site2) You have a strobe that can be set to manual power and "dialed down," as seen in the second photo. This is pretty much mandatory. If your flash does not have a variable manual control, you are gonne be one unhappy (and very limited) puppy. Fortunately, most good flashes have this feature. And you can easily find one that has it if you need to get it. He should meet my 3700 and 550 sometime, they would make him cry. Oct 29 07 02:56 pm Link AndrewThomasDesigns wrote: I'm glad someone else has come to that conclusion too. Oct 29 07 03:09 pm Link Oct 29 07 03:42 pm Link |
