Photographer
ChristopherRoss
Posts: 1559
Eškašem, Badakhshan, Afghanistan
Hi guys, I'm going to be starting my studio from (almost) scratch soon and I'd like to get some feedback.
I shoot Nikon on a D7000, I'm a Mac fanboy, and I have a few Alien Bee lights. So that's what I'm starting with, shooting mostly pinup / portrait work.
Knowing what you know now, what would you add to that setup to allow you to do quality tethering, and decent continuous lighting shooting? Would you stick with Aperture or is there something better?
Photographer
ontherocks
Posts: 23575
Salem, Oregon, US
we switched from lightroom to aperture several years ago and haven't looked back. among other things, aperture has better retouching. lightroom does have some nice features of its own. but there are times when photoshop is needed (i use radlab a lot).
for available light shooting i like windows.
our setup is similar to yours. macs and bees and aperture.
we get a lot of use out of a standing reflector panel. and tons of foamcore in different sizes. i have a c-stand that can be used for booming a bee.
beyond that it can be good to have some props, furniture for pin-up. look for studios that are having shutting down sales.
we shoot HDMI out into a TV. i've never been able to get tethering into the computer to work reliably.
the biggest thing we've done to improve our lives is to start shooting jpeg. i add sraw for safety but those files aren't huge. generally the jpegs are just fine.
Photographer
sgnr photo
Posts: 254
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
While not, strictly speaking, tethering, an Eye-Fi X2Pro card can transfer Raw or Jpg files directly to your laptop, which can then be auto-imported into Lightroom. I find the Ad-hoc network (or "Direct Mode") to work fast enough for what I need when I do photo booths at wedding receptions.
The downside is because the wifi radio draws off your camera power, battery life will suffer.
Photographer
ChristopherRoss
Posts: 1559
Eškašem, Badakhshan, Afghanistan
Thanks guys, those are both great pieces of advice.
Since I shot mostly studio, I don't mind having an extra battery pack or power cord so the card might be a good solution.
For tethering, I've been using Sofortbild and it does really well btw.
c.
Photographer
MC Photo
Posts: 4144
New York, New York, US
Cross Photo wrote:
Hi guys, I'm going to be starting my studio from (almost) scratch soon and I'd like to get some feedback.
I shoot Nikon on a D7000, I'm a Mac fanboy, and I have a few Alien Bee lights. So that's what I'm starting with, shooting mostly pinup / portrait work.
Knowing what you know now, what would you add to that setup to allow you to do quality tethering, and decent continuous lighting shooting? Would you stick with Aperture or is there something better? I'd buy a bunch of Arri LED Fresnels and a bunch of light panels and mount everything on a ceiling track system with spring arms.
Photographer
FullMetalPhotographer
Posts: 2797
Fresno, California, US
Cross Photo wrote:
Hi guys, I'm going to be starting my studio from (almost) scratch soon and I'd like to get some feedback.
I shoot Nikon on a D7000, I'm a Mac fanboy, and I have a few Alien Bee lights. So that's what I'm starting with, shooting mostly pinup / portrait work.
Knowing what you know now, what would you add to that setup to allow you to do quality tethering, and decent continuous lighting shooting? Would you stick with Aperture or is there something better? When I do video I use these lights so if I had too setup a continuous lights for still I would the same lights.
Kino Flo Diva-Lite 201 Fixture (120VAC) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6 … 20VAC.html or Kino Flo Diva-Lite 400 Universal Fluorescent Light Fixture (100-230VAC) http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/2 … scent.html there is no flickering and you can change the tubes for daylight color temp or tungsten temp. They stay cool and you are not going to back the model.
The other set I have used is Litepanels MiniPlus 5600K Daylight Spot - 1 Lite Kit http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/7 … _Spot.html
It is a nice portable battery light kit does not have the coverage of the Kino
Flo.
I use Fotoquotes for quoting clients on usage. It is a very easy software to use on a Mac. http://www.cradocfotosoftware.com/fotoQuote-Pro/
I have Sofortbild for tethering, but I endeed up buying Nikon's Camera Control Pro 2. The major reason it gave me greater control and let set things like copyright into my metatags and also date and time in my cameras.
![https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8038/7886056612_f2781400cc_m.jpg]()
tether1 by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr
![https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8455/7886056974_47dcfb002e_m.jpg]()
tether2 by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr
My studio does double duty shooting on at our studio and location.
Light setup at the studio
![https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3307/3274089120_1d61932357_m.jpg]()
studio01012909 by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr
Location
![https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8240/8545970524_3f9c3003e8_m.jpg]()
Studio on Location by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr
Most of our work is Mac based except when we are streaming. Because we have a server for photo storage Lightroom & Aperture does not play nice so we use Bridge for editing RAW and searching the photo server.
Our main studio light set up
(2) Norman ML600R 2 Monolight Kit
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 … t_Kit.html
(2) Norman 812318 Octagonal Softbox - 36" Diameter
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 … ftbox.html
(1) PocketWizard Plus II Transceiver/Relay
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4 … Radio.html
The AlienBees ABR800 Ringflash Unit
http://www.paulcbuff.com/abr800.php
30-inch Moon Unit
http://www.paulcbuff.com/mu30.php
56-inch Moon Unit
http://www.paulcbuff.com/mu56.php
Smith Victor FL160, One Monolight Lighting Kit with Softbox, Boom & Stand
http://www.amazon.com/Smith-Victor-Mono … r-mr-title
Botero #035 Super Collapsible Background (8x16') (Black)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 … round.html
Botero #019 Super Collapsible Background (8x16') (Brown, Red)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 … round.html
Botero #000 Super Collapsible Background (8x16') (White)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 … round.html
Botero #017 Super Collapsible Background (8x16') (Grey, Rose)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 … round.html
Westcott Illuminator Collapsible Reflector 4-in-1 - 52" Square - Silver, Sunlight, Diffuser an
d White
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/2 … in_1_.html
Impact Five-in-One Collapsible Reflector Kit
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/2 … ector.html
The Illuminator Arm
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6 … r_Arm.html
(3) Impact Air-Cushioned Heavy Duty Light Stand - Black, 9.5' (2.9m)
(4) Impact - Air Cushioned Heavy Duty Light Stand, Black - 13' (4m)
SKB 2SKB-4812WS ATA Standard Golf Travel Case (For the light stands and maybe a tripod)
http://www.amazon.com/SKB-2SKB-4812WS-S … 432&sr=8-1
|
