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Poor man's Studio lighting?
Posted by Naomi: All of my backdrops are from regular fabric stores. I tend to buy stuff that can stretch. Crushed Penne is really good for one and they tend to have a large variety of colors. With my limited space, the fabrics are nice and can be packed away pretty easy. May 23 05 04:54 pm Link To F.Y. Hamada, Borrow a friends Rig when the Client comes to inspect your set up.Then when they leave pull out the DIY Kits..LOL As a side note. I use conventional Strobe lighting..but am getting some adittional mood lighting ideas from this thread.Thanks to all that have contributed. May 24 05 11:30 am Link when i shoot indoors and natural lighting isn't readily available, i'll use the home depot clamp set up...i've also used decorative lamps(with and without shades...see chas krider), lava lamps, black lights, christmas lights, car head lights, refridgerator lighting-you get the picture... i photographed a girl last year who's boyfriend has contributed to maxim, fhm, blah, blah, blah...when he saw my indoor lighting rig he turned to his girlfriend and said "see, i'm not the only one using home depot lights"... May 24 05 11:35 am Link Tools are for using. That big thermonuclear light a hundred million miles away works wonders when its in the right place, or the subject can be placed to take advantage of it. Household lights, overhead fluorescents, even parking lot sodium vapor lamps can all be used. The trick is getting the results you want, in the time you have available. Sometimes that's easy. Sometimes, it's easier to have "professional" equipment. And sometimes the stuff in the garage or auto shop is just as fast and effective. Me? I only shoot available light....whatever lights are available and necessary.  May 24 05 02:40 pm Link Posted by Kevin Connery: he eheheheh...good answer... May 24 05 03:58 pm Link Posted by chapa: Hahaha. Funny. May 24 05 11:15 pm Link The Home Depot clamp lights are nice for some stuff. I've used them for photographing small objects quite satisfactorily. I sometimes like to get colored flood lights and use the clamp fixtures to hold them. I've combined them with the 250 and 500 watt halogens as well. I will have to say though that a small investment in an Alien Bees strobe light has been well worth the money when it comes to shooting people. The extra horsepower from the strobe comes in handy and makes the shooting time go faster. The strobe in combination with a half decent incident light meter has made a world of difference in the ease of setting up a simple shoot. I tried using the 500 watt halogen in combination with the strobe but the colors were too different and looked weird together because of the yellow in the halogen. Either way you go, having a consistent lighting color will make life easier. I did this photo using the Home Depot setup. I had a flourescent plastic light cover in the background, a red and green floodlight frontlighting the background from opposite sides, a glass block for the base, and a 250 watt halogen clamped to a ten foot electrical conduit about a foot above the bottle. The conduit was bungee corded to the storage shelves next to my garage workbench. Can't get much more "Home Depot" than that.  May 24 05 11:36 pm Link Posted by Sand Angel: if you're just starting out, have a small budget or are comfortable or adept to using the home depot rig, then do it... May 24 05 11:53 pm Link Posted by Eric Muss-Barnes: Posted by F.Y. Hamada: You have just become my hero. DITTO May 24 05 11:56 pm Link I agree. And its fun to meet the challenge of figuring something like that out. I think my Alien Bee only cost about $200-250. They're pretty cheap. You start adding up a couple of those Home Depot halogen worklight stands and other odds and ends and you are halfway there already. I say get both if you can. The versatility is good to have around. May 24 05 11:58 pm Link sand angel-that's a great example of the possible quality exhibited by the home depot light rig... May 25 05 12:03 am Link Thanks. I think one of the factors to consider if you choose to use halogens for portraits is the fact that they can leave some nasty spots in the "victim's" eyes. Those thing are really bright. It would probably be better to not shine them directly into their face. One, they're hot, and two, they will squint...and complain. I bet some nylon to block the direct light and used to shine the light through would help a little. Kind of like a softbox. May 25 05 12:12 am Link All my photographer buddies shop for their lighting mainly at Home Depot. They buy the work lights and put a bulb that cost some where around $3 a bulb called an "All Color Light". That or ive seen a photographer take a flashlight and put a CD jewle case (One of the thin clear ones where the back is a color, his was purple) but he said it acted like natural light useing it as a filter. May 25 05 12:35 am Link Posted by F.Y. Hamada: Yeah... that is SOOO true! May 25 05 12:50 am Link sorry, but this thread is becoming laughable. someone said a photographer uses a flashlight beamed through a purple CD jewel case and it works great and suddenly is color balanced for daylight? uh huh. here's some questions: 1. how many of you have clients? i mean people or companies, other than models and/or actors looking for headshots or port shots, who pay you to shoot? 2. of those of you who have such clients, how many of you drag out home depot lights? (cuz they're just as good as pro equipment, right?) 3. on the flip side, how many of you are using home depot gear for your clients's work, but only if the client isn't there? 4. if the client is present, how many of you hide the home depot lights and run out and rent pro equipment--not cuz it's better or more practical or more efficient--but only cuz you want to impress the client? May 25 05 01:02 am Link Posted by Rafael Alvarez: May 25 05 01:07 am Link I work with what I have, and do the best I can with it, My "Studio Lights" are two Vivatar 283's with the VP-1 power adapter and SB-4 AC power plug in's, and Wein Peanut's or a slave cord. they are a little slow to recycle, but they are color balanced, I have some precision fabricated PolyVinylChloride satnd adapters and can use a card for reflecting light, Or an Umbrella. Totally portable, will run Off of batteries and not too pricey when built from E-Bay auctions. They will even work off of batteries, and have a 6 f-stop range of adjustment. The Downsides; Slow to recycle and WILL fire before fully charged! also no modelling Lamps..But they do work rather well for the cost. Car sun shades make good reflectors, used them many times Muslin can be bought at fabric stores in 10 foot widths in White and dyed at home... Works for me. I also have used a Walmart Scarf as a soft focus diffuser and a Wal-Mart shower curtain LINER as a light diffuser as well. Not top of the line pro stuff, but it does work well. That's my home built stuff, It works for now and that's exactly what I need it to do for me! May 25 05 01:34 am Link I planned on making an Omni bounce from a milk jug last night at work, but I did not have time. I will try again tonight and let you know how it worked out. Mike May 25 05 12:39 pm Link i have studio lights. most of my stuff is done with 500 watt tungten lights. i just like using them. i like the warm tones and the fact that what i see i get. May 25 05 02:12 pm Link Posted by Mike Cummings: A coffee filter held in place with a rubber band works pretty good too for a quick and simple diffuser. May 25 05 02:18 pm Link I use clamp lights all the time. I picked up some cheap light stands on E-bay, I cut a small piece of PVC for the top with holes in it for white defusing umbrellas (also from e-bay $5 ea.) I am not a professional photographer so I cannot afford professional equipment. I also have a $40 slave flash in a clamp light that works GREAT (I diffuse that with an umbrella also) All of my lighting and flash equipment cost less than $100. Maybe one day I will switch to bigger and better stuff... but I am VERY content with what I have for now. May 25 05 03:34 pm Link Posted by jimmyd: my question to you is where do people like me start? no i don't have paying clients.....yet. but i have to start somewhere. i can't afford exspensive lighting equipment right now. i am lucky to put gas in my car most of the time. so for me this thread is not a joke, it's very helpful. if my home depot lights get my foot in the door, what is so bad about that? i am NOT going to give up doing something i love because i can't afford fancy equipment. May 25 05 04:56 pm Link Posted by jimmyd: jimmyd, i said this earlier- May 25 05 05:43 pm Link okay, this is for those of you who responded to my last post and took it as i'm writing about people just starting out: first off, i understand that money *IS* an object. and my post wasn't about those people who are just starting out, but to those people who seem to be playing down pro equipment as some kind of ego thing or "trying to impress clients" thing. there's a reason working phtographers spend money on pro equipment: as a rule and image-by-image, it delivers greater potential for great images. and i'm not just talking about monolights, strobes, and flash heads. professional "hot lights" ain't cheap either, but they provide greater potential for photo success. same holds true for many pro modifiers. and here's another thought: there's some very inexpensive pro-style lighting equipment available, e.g., on ebay. things like AC strobes and cheap monolights and hot lights. this stuff cost just a little more or maybe the same or sometimes even less than your home depot lights. and by using this pro-style equipment you will gain experience working with the right kind of gear even if you're not laying out a lot of cash to do so. May 25 05 05:53 pm Link Posted by chapa: amen to that! May 25 05 05:54 pm Link Posted by Lesley Slenning: i'm not saying a lot of info in this thread isn't helpful, especially to those starting out who cannot purchase the higher-end gear. i was refering to those who seem to think that pro gear is all about ego or impressing clients. it's not. it's about using the best tools for the job. if you can't afford the best tools, obviously, you go with what you can afford and learn as much as you can from using that kind of gear. i'm not trying to sound like an elitist. but i certainly don't think using higher-end gear automatically makes one an elitist. May 25 05 05:58 pm Link Posted by jimmyd: very true...i originally posted because of what you wrote earlier in the thread...there ARE times when such equipment will make a better image-especially for such a high budget project...although, sand image was able to provide us with a kick ass example of how the home depot rig could be used in a more commercial sense... May 25 05 06:07 pm Link Posted by jimmyd: Posted by Lesley Slenning: i'm not saying a lot of info in this thread isn't helpful, especially to those starting out who cannot purchase the higher-end gear. i was refering to those who seem to think that pro gear is all about ego or impressing clients. it's not. it's about using the best tools for the job. if you can't afford the best tools, obviously, you go with what you can afford and learn as much as you can from using that kind of gear. i'm not trying to sound like an elitist. but i certainly don't think using higher-end gear automatically makes one an elitist. i understand what you are saying jimmy. thanks for clarifying your first post. i don't want to use home depot lights forever. i plan on having that "fancy equipment" one of these days, and when i have that gear.....i won't think myself as an elitist, that's for sure. it's silly, why does everyone argue about equipment anyway? lets just take pictures May 25 05 06:08 pm Link Posted by Light Sketch: i'm hearing about more and more guys shooting with hot lights and doing so for some higher-end assignments. a shooter i know who shoots a lot of magazine stuff for LFP/Hustler has been shooting almost exclusively with hot lights lately. i shot the image below, trying to mimic the 40's hollywood glam style, using a couple of mole 1k babies w/fresnel lenses and some foamcore. i'm a videoographer as well and, of course, hot lights are a way of life in film and video. May 25 05 06:10 pm Link Posted by RFAphoto: Posted by Mike Cummings: A coffee filter held in place with a rubber band works pretty good too for a quick and simple diffuser. I will try the coffee filter too. Thanks May 25 05 06:18 pm Link Posted by Light Sketch: i'm hearing about more and more guys shooting with hot lights and doing so for some higher-end assignments. a shooter i know who shoots a lot of magazine stuff for LFP/Hustler has been shooting almost exclusively with hot lights lately. i shot the image below, trying to mimic the 40's hollywood glam style, using a couple of mole 1k babies w/fresnel lenses and some foamcore. i'm a videoographer as well and, of course, hot lights are a way of life in film and video. this is beautiful! May 25 05 06:21 pm Link Posted by chapa: your images bespeak your skill, not your gear. certainly, someone with skill can capture great images with home depot lights. but it's not about "look what i can do with nothing." it's about, "Look what i can do." and personally, i think i can produce better images--i.e., consistently produce better images--when i'm not spending my time and focus and imagination trying to McGuyver some consumer stuff into quality lighting equpment. May 25 05 06:21 pm Link Bubble wrap is pretty cool. If you put it between your backlight and a flat backdrop it breaks up the light rather nicely. There are alot of different kinds of bubble wrap too. I haven't gotten around to using it for stills yet, but I used it all the time working on video and film projects. Just don't let it melt onto anything. You need a big sheet to get it far enough away from your source. Also, on the subject of strobes vs. continuous, I like to put a piece of CTO on my big flash and string it out on the remote cable a few feet from the camera, mixing it with the continuous has produced some cool shots. May 25 05 08:52 pm Link Last time I checked sunlight was still free. It's also the best light. I told me wife I wanted to get a larson soff strip and she asked me when I'd use it. I told her I didn't know for sure and she reminded me that I was a dumb ass and that most of my work is done outside on location. I hate it when my wife is smarter than me. All that said, I've got a couple of alien bees that were cheap and produce a relatively nice quality light. Seriously, I'm glad I didn't spend much on them because I went through a phase where I focused a lot on studio lighting but I've found I like on location and existing light better. Find a nice north facing window and start playing around. Your meter will be screwed up and you'll overexpose at first. Try it, you'll like it. May 26 05 09:44 am Link Existing light through windows can give some really nice images. This one was all natural with no flashes or extra lighting other than the Florida sun through the windows. The exposure time was a little long but it worked.  The second one was taken with my Alien Bee strobe after dark, outside in a courtyard. I'm glad I had it cause the shoot started late afternoon and because I had it, I was able to get some nice outdoor pictures after sundown. However, I would have liked to have had a second strobe for a backlight for her hair.  The strobe is nice because it puts out a lot more light than my 500 watt halogen work light. It also helps me get away with a faster exposure time and a wider lens aperture. What you use depends on your environment. Having more choices enables you to work under a variety of conditions. May 26 05 08:56 pm Link Posted by Ched: i've shot thousands and thousands of hours of video and DP'd countless sets but never used bubble pack as a light modifier. Other than the "melting plastic" concerns, might be worth checking it out. I've often hung lace patterned fabrics from a grip arm on a stand in front of a source to dimple and break up the light... sort of a subtle gobo effect. and if you're shooting an exterior, or using this to simulate daylight coming thru a window, you can use a fan to very gently blow on the fabric. this will make the light look like sunlight coming thru the leaves of a tree with the wind gently blowing. May 26 05 10:05 pm Link Posted by jimmyd: i love you for this advice! my husband has a shop with a sand-blaster.....guess what he will be doing for me this weekend May 26 05 10:20 pm Link My suggestion for the Home Depot light users is to keep a fire extinguisher near by so when the model trips over the cord and lights everything on fire you are prepared lol!May 27 05 02:47 am Link I have read thru this post and see some amazing great ideas. I just wanted to add, I do not have an expense set up either, but alot of my work is extreme lighting experimental and I like to push the limits of light. I have used as a light source in the past a single candle.....there is no limit to what can be used and I will find all the extremes someday. May 27 05 03:08 am Link Posted by ( ANT ) Mgaphoto: *note to self* May 27 05 08:19 am Link |
That's why I don't show other photographers my lighting rig, don't want them laughing. 
