robert christopher wrote:
i spent two years, tons of time and who knows how much money trying to build soft boxes with 10 100watt fluorescent bulbs, halogen lights, 5, 4 ft fluorescent double tube shop lights and i have a thousand blurred images to show for it, yes i got a few keepers, but just take the plunge and get a few strobes. even the $59 160 ws strobes from adorama will get you far beyond the home depot setups. my vote, keep the home depot stuff in your garage for changing your oil.

+100  Don't waste time pissing around with hoakie inadequate DIY setups.  Spend a few buck and get the right stuff if you want to get the right images.

Lucas Chapman wrote:
Don't waste time pissing around with hoakie inadequate DIY setups.

At least a strobist type set up

Lucas Chapman wrote:
+100  Don't waste time pissing around with hoakie inadequate DIY setups.  Spend a few buck and get the right stuff if you want to get the right images.

Not to mention if your Jerry Rigged device decides to implode at the shoot, then slice's your model and your left with a lawsuit.

Michael Isdes wrote:

Not to mention if your Jerry Rigged device decides to implode at the shoot, then slice's your model and your left with a lawsuit.

Just bounce the light off of a wall.  Never point them directly at any body.  Most lights come with a safety shield anyway.

robert christopher wrote:
i spent two years, tons of time and who knows how much money trying to build soft boxes with 10 100watt fluorescent bulbs, halogen lights, 5, 4 ft fluorescent double tube shop lights and i have a thousand blurred images to show for it, yes i got a few keepers, but just take the plunge and get a few strobes. even the $59 160 ws strobes from adorama will get you far beyond the home depot setups. my vote, keep the home depot stuff in your garage for changing your oil.

+1
Don't mess around, get a simple strobe, stand and umbrella. It will work so much better than anything you get from Home Depot.

http://www.adorama.com/Als/ProductPage/JTSL160BLK.html

AltiFlex 66 wrote:
Taken with 3 Home Depot lights bounced off of 2 sheets of foam core:





Taken with one Home Depot light and homemade "barn doors" thingie. 18+

https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/15975409

It can be done, not sure if it should be done. Hot lights are HOT!!! You can burn yourself or your house down, to say nothing of blowing a circuit breaker.

I like my strobes much better for the most part.

I found my mystery man.  I would like to give you proper credit.

http://stepheneastwood.com/forum/index. … 84#msg1684

JWB wrote:

I found my mystery man.  I would like to give you proper credit.

http://stepheneastwood.com/forum/index. … 84#msg1684

Thanks, credit away!!!

AltiFlex 66 wrote:

Thanks, credit away!!!

I did.  http://stepheneastwood.com/forum/index. … 34#msg1834

My whole point of the thread is that the finished product does not know how much money you spent on lights.

Photons 2 Pixels Images wrote:
I'm using THESE and similar strobes to do most of my lighting.

They go into a standard light socket and can be triggered as flash activated slaves, PC cord, or even wireless.

One downside is the power output is not adjustable.

I think this would be cool also for a hair light.  I guess you can just move the lights to control them. Is that what you do?

Patrick W Photography wrote:
I guess I am a geek at heart, but part of the fun in photography for me is just using my neat equipment.  I like some guys buy fancy cars, I buy fancy lighting equipment and camera's.  At the end of the day I can have fun just playing around with my equipment learning it better.   I have used hot lamps before and the bulbs blowing out or not giving enough power to create the look I had in my mind becamer too irritatating.  Now with 1000's of WS in power I can do what ever I dream.

I don't think you are a geek.  The job is easier for you and there is nothing wrong with that.  I myself like to take things one step at a time.  Why spend a couple thousand and have something setting around and not used.  I am sure you use yours trying new things.  There is something to be said for presenting yourself as a professional also but if the models are cool with the pictures and you are having fun with work lights and learning why not use them until you are ready to lay down the cash.

JWB wrote:

I think this would be cool also for a hair light.  I guess you can just move the lights to control them. Is that what you do?

Yes. The power output isn't so great that you don't need a lot of distance to change the intensity on the subject.

I'm actually now getting my home studio set up with track lighting so I can stick a few of these wherever I want around the room. Then I'll put up some curtain tracks so I can put diffusers/blockers where needed between them and the subject.

The globe type make a great light to simulate someone sitting next to a soft lamp (they'll screw right into the lamp itself) and give plenty of light to light the subject so you can use a faster shutter to minimize movement blur.

Images by Dr. Mike wrote:
I started with inexpensive strobes, but wanted to be able to shoot faster than they would recycle.  I also wanted to be able to see the effects better than the modeling lights allowed. 

Not having much money at the time, I bought some 55 watt photo grade compact fluorescent bulbs off Ebay and mounted them three at a time in fixtures from Home Depot that were actually for use on ceiling fans.  A simple home made metal bracket allowed me to attach each fixture to my existing pivoting umbrella holders and mount them to the light stands I had used with my strobes.

When used with my old umbrellas, a pair of these 3-bulb fixtures worked great for a few years.  Many of the studio shots in my portfolio were taken using these lights.  They were, however, quite delicate and had to be handled carefully.  Transporting them to a location was very cumbersome.

About two years ago, I started seeing reasonably priced CFL studio lights show up on the web at:  http://www.skaeser.com/

Having a bit more money at that time, I gradually purchased two of his large softboxes and one 4-bulb boom light to use as a hair light.

Here is one of the lights I am using now:

http://www.skaeser.com/servlet/the-815/ … ATT/Detail

One interesting change over the last few years is that more and more powerful CFL photo bulbs have been coming onto the market.  I found the 55 watt versions to be pretty useful.  I now use mostly 85 watt bulbs and have one big 105 watt monster that I use bare to light up entire rooms.  Just look on Ebay under "compact fluorescent photo bulb" and you will see dozens of options.

One thing I'm starting to notice is that the color varies slightly among the different brands of bulbs.  This usually isn't a problem, but if you light a model with different types on each side, the color balance could be a little tricky.  But maybe I'm being overly critical.

Dr. Mike

Are you really a Doctor?

Chuckarelei wrote:
You guys are thinking about light source only. have you given thought of light modifiers from Home Depot?

an older thread about DIY modifiers:


https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thre … 333&page=1

slave to the lens wrote:

an older thread about DIY modifiers:


https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thre … 333&page=1

Thanks for the link.  You DIY people are awesome.