A M U L wrote:
...What do you prefer or works best for you lighting wise, intricate set up every time, or simplistic set up every time ?, or do you prefer to dabble/ juggle both depending just because you like to.

I think it depends on what look you are going for. There are times 1 monolight without modifiers works great if you want a harsh light:


Sometimes 2-3 setup with softboxes, octoboxes etc for soft light:


Sometimes natural light with no reflectors or modification:

this gives a very natural feel and look to the image.

Sometimes a reflector or two just to make sure the available light hits where it is needed in the image:


So basically, it just depends on the look you are going for.

~Kevin

A M U L wrote:
Kevin, I love the e.g you have of just natural light, of the girl sitting on the bed, amazing, I love that light. Kevin I will look into those light's you talked about in you're paragraph thank you.

I agree with both of you.

Just an FYI, if you want to experiment with studio strobes, these are in no way comparable to professional equipment, however they will do the job. See the thread by Jay here:

https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thread_id=862018

In US dollars, you can get a 3 monolight setup for just over $100-150 then another $30 for the octobox umbrellas. Not sure how much that translates into in UK currency, but may be well worthwhile for experimenting with other than natural light.

~Kevin

A M U L wrote:
Hi Brunesci,


That makes a lot of sense, I get a lot of bing moments, I'll create a studio image in my head, and I have no idea how I'd light it or how I'd go about it.

Can you suggest any articles, or books that tell you exactly how you light it, /// different types of light??

The forum post I quoted above shows the setup Jay used in his living room.

A M U L wrote:
...What do you prefer or works best for you lighting wise, intricate set up every time, or simplistic set up every time ?, or do you prefer to dabble/ juggle both just because you like to.

Back ground: I become more interested in photography as time goes by, even though it's not my career. I haven't got access to a studio. My photo's are based on natural light (an experimentation with it) as you'll see if you happen to look at my photo's.

I guess people give varying degrees of thought, to the message they want their photography to give, I do kinda. But I wondered what message the light your using is giving if any.

i like diffused natural light (think cloudy in seattle).  i use two big white sheets of foam as reflectors. i like simplicity.

A M U L wrote:
Can you suggest any articles, or books that tell you exactly how you light it, /// different types of light??

Light, Science and Magic is good for the basics.

For any more than that it's pretty much a case of trial and error, or maybe a workshop or some tuition if you want to progress a bit faster




Ciao
Stefano

www.stefanobrunesci.com

A M U L wrote:
Can you suggest any articles, or books that tell you exactly how you light it, /// different types of light??

A M U L wrote:
...What do you prefer or works best for you lighting wise

Whichever gets me the shot.  Sometimes it's a single speedlight in whatever modifier, sometimes it's a dozen speedlights and studio strobes lighting different parts of the scene.

Sometimes it's just the ambient with or without a reflector or two.

Dark Shadows wrote:
I use available light whenever possible.

Me too, I make sure at least my SB-900s are always available.

A M U L wrote:
...What do you prefer or works best for you lighting wise, intricate set up every time, or simplistic set up every time ?, or do you prefer to dabble/ juggle both just because you like to.

Back ground: I become more interested in photography as time goes by, even though it's not my career. I haven't got access to a studio. My photo's are based on natural light (an experimentation with it) as you'll see if you happen to look at my photo's.

I guess people give varying degrees of thought, to the message they want their photography to give, I do kinda. But I wondered what message the light your using is giving if any.

That question has too many moving parts.

The real questions is " do you have the skills and experience to light a composition based on your vision".

Depending on what you are doing there may be a need for 1 or 100 light sources. If you consider yourself an artist, only the end result matters. The lighting flows from that. If you are a business, the lighting flows from what is necessary to get the project done.

Illuminate wrote:

That question has too many moving parts.

The real questions is " do you have the skills and experience to light a composition based on your vision".

Depending on what you are doing there may be a need for 1 or 100 light sources. If you consider yourself an artist, only the end result matters. The lighting flows from that. If you are a business, the lighting flows from what is necessary to get the project done.

While this is certainly true, I do think different people tend to be biased in the way they visualize (and therefore realize) images.  Also, it is sometime not practical (budget, time, skill etc.) to achieve what you have first envisioned and you are therefore constrained to work within certain limits.  That's not to say you can't be very creative within those limits, but many times selecting anywhere from 1-100 lights is simply not realistic regardless of what you envision.

David Kirk wrote:

While this is certainly true, I do think different people tend to be biased in the way they visualize (and therefore realize) images.  Also, it is sometime not practical (budget, time, skill etc.) to achieve what you have first envisioned and you are therefore constrained to work within certain limits.  That's not to say you can't be very creative within those limits, but many times selecting anywhere from 1-100 lights is simply not realistic regardless of what you envision.

I hear what you are saying but disagree. Consider this: People tend to expand their lifestyle based on how much money they have at their disposal. Photographers are pretty similar. When funds are limited and you have a camera and 1 maybe 2 lenses and a flash...you figure out ways to create images that match your vision using the tools you have at hand.

Add some cash and all of a sudden people start posting on here asking which camera to get and how many lights...as if what they were using prior didn't get the job done.

The number of lights is kinda secondary to the vision, no?

A M U L wrote:
Hi Brunesci,


That makes a lot of sense, I get a lot of bing moments, I'll create a studio image in my head, and I have no idea how I'd light it or how I'd go about it.

Can you suggest any articles, or books that tell you exactly how you light it, /// different types of light??

check out strobist.com for different light setups and how to achieve certain lighting.  that's how I learned.

Illuminate wrote:

David Kirk wrote:
Consider this: People tend to expand their lifestyle based on how much money they have at their disposal. Photographers are pretty similar. When funds are limited and you have a camera and 1 maybe 2 lenses and a flash...you figure out ways to create images that match your vision using the tools you have at hand.

Add some cash and all of a sudden people start posting on here asking which camera to get and how many lights...as if what they were using prior didn't get the job done.

^^^^ So agree

Britton Photography wrote:

A M U L wrote:
Hi Brunesci,


check out strobist.com for different light setups and how to achieve certain lighting.  that's how I learned.

thank you kindly

-B-R-U-N-E-S-C-I- wrote:
Light, Science and Magic is good for the basics.

I'd say rather that it's good for the concepts. With that underpinning, designing new setups--simple or complex--is simple. With most other lighting books, you'll get some recipes which work great for what they do, but generally the books don't explain why they do something, leaving only a cookie-cutter set of answers unless you explore a lot on your own without decent guidance.

fullmetalphotographer wrote:
It all depends on what I am shooting. I feel comfortable with any light source, especially environmental because of years of photojournalism.
My personal approach to lighting is fairly simple I start with one light and build out from that.




Thank you kindly for taking the time to share with us, how you see light, I love the last photo's the shape the model makes, what the light is doing, the fact it's on location, I'm not a big fan of swim wear shot in studio it seems kinda false, even though I respect other people will feel different.

Kevin Connery wrote:

I'd say rather that it's good for the concepts. With that underpinning, designing new setups--simple or complex--is simple. With most other lighting books, you'll get some recipes which work great for what they do, but generally the books don't explain why they do something, leaving only a cookie-cutter set of answers unless you explore a lot on your own without decent guidance.

Preach, agree, it's not just about the lighting itself, I am interested in what triggered that recipe, I find that very intriguing, is that called, the psychology of photography? hehe.