Cheap lighting

[emmylou]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, sorry if it isnt, I was asked to take some photos of a friends baby on friday. The session was free but she was paying for prints. Im thinking of doing this professionaly, but need some more self confidence as im a big fairy when it comes to asking people to move around for me!
Anyway, when i got there there was no natural light, the room was tiny and to top it off she had the midwife there for almost the entire time, so not a great shoot!. I dont want this to happen again, and her friend wants me to take some photos of her newborn, so my question is..... i do not have any lighting set up, but i do have backdrops/props. Is there a cheap lighting set up that does not look like a kids project! ie looks acceptable as professional!
I have heard about works lights but am worried about the heat they put out and i dont want such a bright light in babys eyes. I dont want flash, just constant natural looking light, what type of bulbs achieve this? Also would a softbox fit over any light fitting.
Im rambling! simply i need a constant lighting unit that simulates daylight as closely as possible and does not get too hot, also that can be diffused in some way, and cheap.
If anyone has any recomendations, or alternatives please let me know. thank you in advance.

[BK553]

You can buy Daylight-Balanced Photography CFLs and stick them into a cheap bulb holder. Put a large white sheet between the light and the subject, and you have a nice, large softbox that will almost match the color temperature of whatever light is coming through the window.

or, buy a reflector and open a window.

[oldwolf]

How old is the baby? Babies normally like it very warm. When we shoot infants the room is usually 80+ degrees. They get crabby if they're cold.

[emmylou]

The baby is 6 weeks old and i have just been asked to do another before 10 days (still waiting for her to arrive) I know they like to be warm, but i was thinking that the works lights would be too hot, am i wrong, do you think they will be ok? also not sure if the colour temp is right i dont want an orange looking baby! I think they are 500w halogen but i think you are restricted to those bulbs, sorry what is a CFL? and can i use a dimmer on those to adjust the light according to the amount of available natural light? Also do i need more than one light would i be better with say 3 @150 w, than i @500w

[emmylou]

Ah googled CFL thanks do these get hot and what wattage do you sugest? would i be able to use a shoot through umbrella with these if I made a frame, or is softbox better? what is the difference between those and incandescent hollgen bulbs?

[BK553]

CFLs are just florescent bulbs wrapped into a different shape. They get warm, but not nearly as hot as incandescent. With constant lighting, the color temperature of the bulb is really only important if it is going to be mixed with ambient light. You could really shoot with any bulb and white-balance later, but mixing lighting (daylight and Incandescent) can create problems, so if you're shooting with some daylight, I'd recommend trying to get the daylight-balanced bulbs to make it easier for you. Some of these bulbs can work with a dimmer, some can't. You can also use them with a softbox or a large scrim, and also a reflector. It doesn't matter what you use to diffuse the light, all you are trying to do is make the effective size of the light source larger. A single bulb in a room is very small, but a bulb behind some sort of diffusor becomes a very large light source, which gives you nice, soft even light.

[Biomech]

How cheap do you need it? I use Nikon SB28 speedlights (flashes) from ebay with the Interfit S-Type bracket on a stand:



The SB28's are around £50 on ebay if you keep your eye out. And the bracket was... £40.

[BK553]

Flashes would be my choice too, but OP said they want constant lights...

Just an FYI, the idea that flashes hurt a kids eyes is a myth. I used to do Pediatric Critical Care Transport, and I emailed 3 of the best attending physicians I worked with about it. They all agreed that there would be no lasting damage to even a newborns eyes form a speedlight, especially because it's not like you're going to beam it right into their eyes at 1/1 anyway.

It may make the kid cry though, that's a whole other challenge. In my experience it hasn't though.

[Biomech]

Flashes would be my choice too, but OP said they want constant lights...

Oh yeah, my bad :P

[emmylou]

thanks for your advice, I had a bit of a problem with the baby not liking the flash, it was on camera but bounced off a reflector, she was awake and didnt like it one bit so i gave up and increased the iso but ended up with noisy images that are not alot of use even run through noise ninja! a bad experience i think! it was my first baby shoot and i wanted to get it right but was very dissapointed with myself and it knocked my confidence. I want to give it another go and thought constant lighting would be better. Do you think this is the wrong way to go, would i be better with off camera flash and umbrellas, I would love to be professional but lighting is not my strong point, im ok with natural, but artificial i have trouble with. I have read loads of info but dont get the practice so maybe a set up to practice at home would benefit me. I think I have THE EYE as they say I just need the practical ability. I think this site is great and you all are very helpful thank you so much x