Studio Lighting -- Kind of in the dark...

[Ronie]

Yeah I know corny thread title but you looked didn't you? HAHA.
Anyways during the past couple months I've been having a lot of sessions scheduled and things are beginning to take off. I'm so excited about that, but that's beside the point. I've had people book several months out, and at least three scheduled for this winter, so after some research I purchased a studio kit.

I've been looking around the forum, and around the website for some tips on how to work with studio lighting, but I can't seem to find any. I'm probably just overlooking it. HAHA. I have a lot of questions, one being the best way to set up, should it be in a completely dark room or should there be some natural light coming into play? I'm assuming it's tricker than working with natural lighting, but how much more work does it involve?

Any other tips or pointers you may be able to provide me with would be greatly appreciated, or if you know of any of those links that I over looked I'd love you forever! HAHA!

Thanks so much.

[bhursey]

Originally Posted by Ronie

Yeah I know corny thread title but you looked didn't you? HAHA.
Anyways during the past couple months I've been having a lot of sessions scheduled and things are beginning to take off. I'm so excited about that, but that's beside the point. I've had people book several months out, and at least three scheduled for this winter, so after some research I purchased a studio kit.

I've been looking around the forum, and around the website for some tips on how to work with studio lighting, but I can't seem to find any. I'm probably just overlooking it. HAHA. I have a lot of questions, one being the best way to set up, should it be in a completely dark room or should there be some natural light coming into play? I'm assuming it's tricker than working with natural lighting, but how much more work does it involve?

Any other tips or pointers you may be able to provide me with would be greatly appreciated, or if you know of any of those links that I over looked I'd love you forever! HAHA!

Thanks so much.

You need a little bit of light to be able to focus on the subject. Your strobes if your using strobes will over power this light. What type of kit do you have that may help some. Letting us know what equipment you have will change what you can do with it.

[Ronie]

Originally Posted by bhursey

You need a little bit of light to be able to focus on the subject. Your strobes if your using strobes will over power this light. What type of kit do you have that may help some. Letting us know what equipment you have will change what you can do with it.

Thanks forgot to mention that. ePhoto Studio Set There is the kit I purchased.

As for the light, does it need to be natural light preferably? Or does artificial lighting work as well. I'm deciding on where to set up, and I want to be sure I've got the best place possible. I've got several options that come to mind for both types.

[bhursey]

Originally Posted by Ronie

Thanks forgot to mention that. ePhoto Studio Set There is the kit I purchased.

As for the light, does it need to be natural light preferably? Or does artificial lighting work as well. I'm deciding on where to set up, and I want to be sure I've got the best place possible. I've got several options that come to mind for both types.

Hummm.. 45watt CLS bulbs? That is a really low power. I would use a tripod and not shoot kids. You could say throw some natural light in from say a window from behind. With 45 watt bulbs I don't think you will be able to get bellow 400 iso with a decent shutter speed. I originally had a 3 light 500watt bulb set and I had to shoot at 400iso even with that.

I only used mine for about a month then I bought some umbrella brackets a few hotshoe strobes and ran from there. I used the existing light stands and umbrellas that came with my cls kit.

This was my original kit...

Smith Victor KT900 3-Light 1250-Watt Mini-Boom Kit - 401436 - RitzCamera.com

[zona5101]

I concur with Brian, I think you will be challenged by those lights. But regardless, here is a link to some studio light set-ups:

Digital Photography One On One E011 - Lighting Setups StudioLighting.net

[Ronie]

Thank you so much for the feedback, I had a feeling that the lights that came with the kit would not give the quality I needed, but my price range was limited; plus even with research I still feel kind of unsure about where to go.

Could I purchase replacement bulbs that would be better suited than the ones included? And if so which would you guys suggest. I want to get this right because I'm planning on practicing with the kit a lot during the winter.

zona: Thanks for the link, it will be very helpful as I start practicing.

[bhursey]

Originally Posted by Ronie

Thank you so much for the feedback, I had a feeling that the lights that came with the kit would not give the quality I needed, but my price range was limited; plus even with research I still feel kind of unsure about where to go.

Could I purchase replacement bulbs that would be better suited than the ones included? And if so which would you guys suggest. I want to get this right because I'm planning on practicing with the kit a lot during the winter.

zona: Thanks for the link, it will be very helpful as I start practicing.

I would suggest ditching the CLS lights than investing in bigger bulbs. But other people may have better ideas. I was in the same place you are in January 2009. I think the Powershot SX20 has a hot shoe right? Also can it shoot in manual mode? Dono what the sync speed is normal SLR's are about 1/250.

I would get some impact umbrella brackets off b and h photo they are around 15$, get a cactus v4 radio trigger system and get a used Nikon SB-24, 26, or 28 flash of ebay. They run about 80-100$ and are as powerful as say a 450$ canon 580EX II. Although you have to use manual mode but that give you more control.

Think of it this way you got 2 umbrellas 3 stands, and a background stand for under 200$ that is a good thing. Just add a few more things and you have a very capable and very useful studio setup.

Watch the video on this page.
Strobist: Lighting 101

[Ronie]

My camera does have a hot shoe (had to look that one up to figure out what it was, still learning the names of things). And it does have a manual mode, which I try to use as often as possible, sometimes I find myself slipping to auto, a crutch I guess working on it though. Thank you for the suggestions they are helping dramatically. I was a little worried about what to expect.

I'll definitely be getting the extras as money becomes available. Any other thoughts on what I could do to make the transition easier? Thanks!

[Oobeidi]

Hi Ronie! i was about to experiment that in the coming days.. its called ghetto lighting.. heres a link

Assignment: "Ghetto Lighting + Reflector" May 13- May 27

wat i hav learn is that we a dark room and we need to buy a LED light..a simple one like about 10 LED inside .. then u may start the magic!! voilaaaa!!

[Ronie]

Hmm I didn't see that link. Thanks for sharing it, I'll read through what's said there too. Thanks!