Robert Sawin wrote:
those daylight florescence are great.  just get your self a few of those and string them together

Catherine Crump wrote:
I love my Glamcor kit as well!  Super light and easy to carry and set up, and the LED lights are very durable.

I tend to stay away from LED and fluorescent lighting since these sources often distort color. Below are the spectra for LED and daylight fluorescent. Note the discontinuous spectrum (peaks) of both sources which can cause problems. Most of the common photographic light sources (sunlight, tungsten-halogen lamps and flash) are continuous spectra with a smooth curves. Problems with discontinuous spectra include metameric failure.

Julie Jabiro wrote:
Thank you Barry for all the extra info and graphs! always good to have!! I like all the models you guys have suggested but do you think the one (don't remember the name!) with the 2 lights on it.. is a bit much to take to a brides home?? Or the umbrella one? I was thinking something more like the clamp ones I guess but you never know what you will h ave to work with when you get there! I mean as far as clamping somewhere or even having enough space to work!! haha! I guess  I really don't need it for shoots because the photographers (that I work with anyway) have a whole makeup station with lights usually... I'm sure now that I said that the next one will be in a basement or something!!
So if anyone is using the clamp lights....do you bring something to clamp TO, or just whatever you find where you are??

My own feeling about clamp lights is not to use them. You may not be able to find a convenient place to clamp the light or it may cast light in such a way as to not be very useful (wrong angle, clamped to a strongly colored object which will give a color cast). If you're going into someone's home a clamp could damage their furniture or decor or allow a hot light to melt or burn something. Clamps can give way and drop a light on something or someone; a very unpleasant experience. If you use a lightweight, well-built stand all you need is a bit of floor space.

Denise wrote:
Barry, could you post a photo of your lighting setup as you use it  - would be great if it was a pic of the light and model.

I don't have any photos of the current setup I use since I stopped taking my camera to shoots quite a while ago. I'll try checking with a few of the photographer's I've worked with to see if they have any shots which include my makeup station. If I can't locate any I'll try to get a shot the next time I have a shoot.

Denise wrote:
Barry, could you post a photo of your lighting setup as you use it  - would be great if it was a pic of the light and model.

Here are some shots of my lighting setup. You can set this up anywhere and it doesn't require much room. The setup here is in relatively cramped quarters. Light, chair and makeup table are mine. Notice how the lighting is even on the face. It is slightly warm since the on camera flash was used to get a bit more detail (the flash is about 5000 K and the makeup light about 3200 K)


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Barry  M  Robinson wrote:
My current makeup lighting kit consists of Lowel Omni Light with a standard reflector and 500w bulb

Would it be way too hot too work under this light in the summer time.  The model will be sitting still for the whole duration of the makeup? 

Connor Photography wrote:
Would it be way too hot too work under this light in the summer time.  The model will be sitting still for the whole duration of the makeup? 

I've worked under this light with several models this summer and have encountered no problems whatsoever. During the shoot I often sit in the chair myself and I am quite comfortable. The heat from the bulb rises directly upwards from the lamp. Most studios I work in have high ceilings and are climate controlled (air conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter). It might be warm if the light were pointed directly at the model in which case I would use a lower wattage bulb.

Rebel Photo wrote:
The Manfrotto Stand is WAY over priced! Quality stands can be purchased for around $30.00. You pay for the poundage the stand will support. A small umbrella, light (even a heavy AB 800 strobe) wouldn't need to be much over 5 pounds. Most constant lighting is far less weight, barely a pound or 2. Also, instead of using a shoot thru brella as shown by Barry, (being used as a bounce) should have a black or silver backing Total brella cost $10.00-$15.00 at most.

Using a true reflected light (brella with a backing) produces harsher light which is what you want to see tiny flaws. Soft light (such as a shoot thru) hides them.

I selected the Manfrotto stand on the basis of what it could hold and the ease of carrying it where I needed to go. These stands are very well built, versatile, lightweight and stable. I don't want to use a poor quality stand which might collapse or break and injure a client. The Manfrotto stand is also air-cushioned which protects your lights from damage should someone loosen one of the sections. I am quite happy with my Manfrotto stand and would purchase it again.

The umbrella shown, the Tota-Brella (Special/White) - 27" is designed to be used either as a reflecting umbrella or a shoot through umbrella (that's what Lowel says). This makes it a more versatile umbrella than many others. I purchased the actual Lowel product since this one is designed specifically for the light I am using (refer to the Lowel website). This is a liability issue should something go wrong I want to be able to show that my equipment was used with the correct accessories designed and recommended by the manufacturer. The pricing of the umbrella varies by retailer (the list price of the Tota-brella Special/White is $29.00) Lowel does not manufacture an umbrella with a black backing.

Regarding seeing flaws. Harsh light shows up flaws which are three-dimensional (pockmarks, scars see Hiding pierced ears for commentary on this). Most beauty makeup cannot do anything about defects which are in three-dimensions. What the beauty makeup artist is primarily concerned with is surface coloration and blending, both of which are more easily done in bright, soft light of the proper type (continuous spectrum). We also want to have a broad source soft light to compare the symmetry of our work with a minimum of shadows.

Dinandrea wrote:
Here is the most affordable light set-up for an MUA/H:  Buy two industrial clamp lights with the widest reflectors you can find and with guards (Lowe's or Home Depot), buy one or two light stands (you can clamp two onto one stand and position them to light the entire face).  Next, buy two 100w, chrome bowl, incandescent bulbs.  These bulbs against the metal reflectors create a "beautydish" effect that gives you beautifully distributed, yet crisp light without the glare.  I'd also add a 25ft. cord power strip, especially if you use an AC airbrush machine, or do hair and use thermal tools. I also agree you don't need a Manfrotto lightstand.  A medium-weight stand will do.

Entire cost of this set up:  $50-65.00

They use this set up at NY Fashion Week quite often.

Best of luck to you!

The only clamp lights I could find did not have a protective screen in front of the lamp. Here is Bayco 300-Watt Incandescent Brooder Clamp Light from Home Depot (same light at Lowes). Water drops or even a cool breeze can cause the hot bulb to shatter. The lamps you've mentioned, 100w, incandescent, chrome, do not get as hot as halogen lamps but can still shatter.

I've found that spring clamp lights don't work very well in general and really don't work well with light stands. Light stands intended for photographic use are made with standard mounts, usually 16mm diameter, to accept photographic lights. Trying to use a general purpose spring clamp light on a photographic light stand is not a good idea.

The Manfrotto stand I mentioned in a previous post is considered a light weight stand at only 2.2kg yet it will support a maximum load of 10kg. It is air-cushioned which helps reduce bulb breakage and has a standard 16mm spigot.

Rebel Photo wrote:
The Manfrotto Stand is WAY over priced! Quality stands can be purchased for around $30.00. You pay for the poundage the stand will support. A small umbrella, light (even a heavy AB 800 strobe) wouldn't need to be much over 5 pounds. Most constant lighting is far less weight, barely a pound or 2. Also, instead of using a shoot thru brella as shown by Barry, (being used as a bounce) should have a black or silver backing Total brella cost $10.00-$15.00 at most.

Using a true reflected light (brella with a backing) produces harsher light which is what you want to see tiny flaws. Soft light (such as a shoot thru) hides them.

Manfrotto is overpriced for people that can't afford them, I find Manfrotto products to have good build quality and easily attainable service parts. I find using cheap products have a high failure rate and they fail at the worst time. Someone that uses this equipment constantly should have quality equipment. Every one will have their 2 cents here. There are color corrected flourescent bulbs  out there, though not a full spectrum output are close enough.  If its amajor concern  then the photographer can take a calibration shot under the same lighting with a passport and create a custom profile using their software. You can white balance the target in lightroom if the shoot will be constant. It works well if the MUA and the photographer discuss ahead of time.

P O T T S wrote:
http://www.adorama.com/FPSSBK.html

I keep a few of these around for MUA's. They are inexpensive and work well.

yes they work well in studio, a bitch to break down and reassemble though. theres got to be a better way though

Dinandrea wrote:
Here is the most affordable light set-up for an MUA/H:  Buy two industrial clamp lights with the widest reflectors you can find and with guards (Lowe's or Home Depot), buy one or two light stands (you can clamp two onto one stand and position them to light the entire face).  Next, buy two 100w, chrome bowl, incandescent bulbs.  These bulbs against the metal reflectors create a "beautydish" effect that gives you beautifully distributed, yet crisp light without the glare.  I'd also add a 25ft. cord power strip, especially if you use an AC airbrush machine, or do hair and use thermal tools. I also agree you don't need a Manfrotto lightstand.  A medium-weight stand will do.

Entire cost of this set up:  $50-65.00

They use this set up at NY Fashion Week quite often.

Best of luck to you!

Does anyone have a photo of this set-up?  I would like to see how the clamp lights are clamped to the stand.