studio lighting

In article , line.
com says...

In article , Hunt wrote:

One instrument for Key approximately 45 degrees to side, one Fill on the
other
side, and one Hair light from above and behind. You might want to consider
a
Background light low and behind the subject(s) pointed at your background,
if
using a cloth, or seamless.

Uh...I'd keep the lights all on the same side of the subject. That's
the way we pros do it.

Glad to hear it.

Hunt

In article , Hunt wrote:

Uh...I'd keep the lights all on the same side of the subject. That's
the way we pros do it.

Glad to hear it.

Putting the main light on the opposite side of the fill is great for
copying old pictures...not very good for flattering (or professional)
portraits of people.

In article , Hunt wrote:

Uh...I'd keep the lights all on the same side of the subject. That's
the way we pros do it.

Glad to hear it.

Putting the main light on the opposite side of the fill is great for
copying old pictures...not very good for flattering (or professional)
portraits of people.

Tony wrote:

I always use a flash for a hairlight - or backlight - or both according
to what I'm up to. Just two strobes - one in a softbox most of the time. If
you don't own a fairly powerful flash (I had a Vivitar 285) you might prefer
to buy another strobe.
The advantage of White Lightning is hard to stress enough. THere are many
many cheap lights on the market, but they tend to be low grade junk that
melts or with such weak modeling lights as to be useless. And then there is
flash tube life. White Lightnings are rated at 100,000 cycles wile a lot of
the cheaper ones are rated at 10,000 to 20,000 cycles - these tubes tend to
cost 70 to 90 bucks EACH. So even if the cheap light continues to work and
has a good modeling light, it is going to need a new flash tube much sooner.
No bigie if you use it three times a year, but if you are setting up a
studio it could be a significant expense.

WL x3200 with the 11 inch reflector
give an asa 100 guide of 450 at full power,
and a guide of 3 at lowest power setting.

at 28 feet, that matches sunlight at full power.


Buff also makes Alien Bees which is a budget line. I don't know anything
about them but you might look into them too.

--
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com
home of The Camera-ist's Manifesto
The Improved Links Pages are at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/links/mlinks00.html
A sample chapter from "Haight-Ashbury" is at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/writ/hait/hatitl.html

"carolyn" wrote in message
om...
Tony had said that White Lightnings were good to use, but what are
some other brands that you guys recommend? My budget is decent so
throw anything out there that you can think of. Do you think if I get
2 strobes and 1 hairlight for up top or at a 45 degree angle, I would
get ample lighting?


David Dyer-Bennet wrote in message
...
(carolyn) writes:

I'm setting up a new studio in my home for a digital and film camera
and wanted to know which lights are necessary and which are the
best. What is the best placement for them for portraiture? This is
for families, children, seniors and babies. Any response would be
greatly appreciated, thanx!!!

Strobes are preferred to hot lights for portraiture generally -- less
hot for the subjects (and photographer), and stops motion better.

In addition to the lights themselves, the light *modifiers* are
important. You really want at least 1 big soft-box setup I think.
And you probably need a snoot or grid for the hair light.

(Leaving out lots of basics that I see have already been covered by
others.)

Tony wrote:

I always use a flash for a hairlight - or backlight - or both according
to what I'm up to. Just two strobes - one in a softbox most of the time. If
you don't own a fairly powerful flash (I had a Vivitar 285) you might prefer
to buy another strobe.
The advantage of White Lightning is hard to stress enough. THere are many
many cheap lights on the market, but they tend to be low grade junk that
melts or with such weak modeling lights as to be useless. And then there is
flash tube life. White Lightnings are rated at 100,000 cycles wile a lot of
the cheaper ones are rated at 10,000 to 20,000 cycles - these tubes tend to
cost 70 to 90 bucks EACH. So even if the cheap light continues to work and
has a good modeling light, it is going to need a new flash tube much sooner.
No bigie if you use it three times a year, but if you are setting up a
studio it could be a significant expense.

WL x3200 with the 11 inch reflector
give an asa 100 guide of 450 at full power,
and a guide of 3 at lowest power setting.

at 28 feet, that matches sunlight at full power.


Buff also makes Alien Bees which is a budget line. I don't know anything
about them but you might look into them too.

--
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com
home of The Camera-ist's Manifesto
The Improved Links Pages are at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/links/mlinks00.html
A sample chapter from "Haight-Ashbury" is at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/writ/hait/hatitl.html

"carolyn" wrote in message
om...
Tony had said that White Lightnings were good to use, but what are
some other brands that you guys recommend? My budget is decent so
throw anything out there that you can think of. Do you think if I get
2 strobes and 1 hairlight for up top or at a 45 degree angle, I would
get ample lighting?


David Dyer-Bennet wrote in message
...
(carolyn) writes:

I'm setting up a new studio in my home for a digital and film camera
and wanted to know which lights are necessary and which are the
best. What is the best placement for them for portraiture? This is
for families, children, seniors and babies. Any response would be
greatly appreciated, thanx!!!

Strobes are preferred to hot lights for portraiture generally -- less
hot for the subjects (and photographer), and stops motion better.

In addition to the lights themselves, the light *modifiers* are
important. You really want at least 1 big soft-box setup I think.
And you probably need a snoot or grid for the hair light.

(Leaving out lots of basics that I see have already been covered by
others.)

In article , Crownfield
wrote:

WL x3200 with the 11 inch reflector
give an asa 100 guide of 450 at full power,
and a guide of 3 at lowest power setting.

at 28 feet, that matches sunlight at full power.

You don't need a lot of power to create good portraits.

In article , Crownfield
wrote:

WL x3200 with the 11 inch reflector
give an asa 100 guide of 450 at full power,
and a guide of 3 at lowest power setting.

at 28 feet, that matches sunlight at full power.

You don't need a lot of power to create good portraits.

hey guys...i've been looking a a 1250W Smith Vector Mini Boom Kit and
a 3 light Smith Vector Studio Flash kit. Does anyone have an opinion?
they seem cheaply priced so i want to see if they're cheaply made.
thanks for all the advice

carolyn*

(Hunt) wrote in message ...
In article ,
says...

Tony had said that White Lightnings were good to use, but what are
some other brands that you guys recommend? My budget is decent so
throw anything out there that you can think of. Do you think if I get
2 strobes and 1 hairlight for up top or at a 45 degree angle, I would
get ample lighting?


David Dyer-Bennet wrote in message news:m2sm9jflq9.fsf@gw.
dd-b.
net...
(carolyn) writes:

I'm setting up a new studio in my home for a digital and film camera
and wanted to know which lights are necessary and which are the
best. What is the best placement for them for portraiture? This is
for families, children, seniors and babies. Any response would be
greatly appreciated, thanx!!!

Strobes are preferred to hot lights for portraiture generally -- less
hot for the subjects (and photographer), and stops motion better.

In addition to the lights themselves, the light *modifiers* are
important. You really want at least 1 big soft-box setup I think.
And you probably need a snoot or grid for the hair light.

(Leaving out lots of basics that I see have already been covered by
others.)

I've used the Speedotron line for decades and they are built very well. I've
shipped mine all over US and Canada, in "anvil-type" cases, and other than the
weight, they have never failed, regardless of the baggage handlers. They offer
a ton of modifiers for their instruments too. All of mine are their "Black-
line," but for portraiture, I think their "Brown-line" would work quite well
and all the modifiers from Blk-l work there. Since I need tons of power, the
Blk-l is what I use.

I have used Norman, but do not like them - a personal opinion.

Elinchrome gets good marks from a lot of my peers, but I have no experience.

Broncolor also gets good reviews and is near the top of strobes.

I'd look for a pack in the 1200WS range with enough outlets, that are
variable, with variable modeling lights, then spend the extra on modifiers,
softboxes, and the like. In a small studio, 800WS will probably work too, but
you usually loose outlets, when you go down too far.

Hunt

hey guys...i've been looking a a 1250W Smith Vector Mini Boom Kit and
a 3 light Smith Vector Studio Flash kit. Does anyone have an opinion?
they seem cheaply priced so i want to see if they're cheaply made.
thanks for all the advice

carolyn*

(Hunt) wrote in message ...
In article ,
says...

Tony had said that White Lightnings were good to use, but what are
some other brands that you guys recommend? My budget is decent so
throw anything out there that you can think of. Do you think if I get
2 strobes and 1 hairlight for up top or at a 45 degree angle, I would
get ample lighting?


David Dyer-Bennet wrote in message news:m2sm9jflq9.fsf@gw.
dd-b.
net...
(carolyn) writes:

I'm setting up a new studio in my home for a digital and film camera
and wanted to know which lights are necessary and which are the
best. What is the best placement for them for portraiture? This is
for families, children, seniors and babies. Any response would be
greatly appreciated, thanx!!!

Strobes are preferred to hot lights for portraiture generally -- less
hot for the subjects (and photographer), and stops motion better.

In addition to the lights themselves, the light *modifiers* are
important. You really want at least 1 big soft-box setup I think.
And you probably need a snoot or grid for the hair light.

(Leaving out lots of basics that I see have already been covered by
others.)

I've used the Speedotron line for decades and they are built very well. I've
shipped mine all over US and Canada, in "anvil-type" cases, and other than the
weight, they have never failed, regardless of the baggage handlers. They offer
a ton of modifiers for their instruments too. All of mine are their "Black-
line," but for portraiture, I think their "Brown-line" would work quite well
and all the modifiers from Blk-l work there. Since I need tons of power, the
Blk-l is what I use.

I have used Norman, but do not like them - a personal opinion.

Elinchrome gets good marks from a lot of my peers, but I have no experience.

Broncolor also gets good reviews and is near the top of strobes.

I'd look for a pack in the 1200WS range with enough outlets, that are
variable, with variable modeling lights, then spend the extra on modifiers,
softboxes, and the like. In a small studio, 800WS will probably work too, but
you usually loose outlets, when you go down too far.

Hunt

In article ,
says...

hey guys...i've been looking a a 1250W Smith Vector Mini Boom Kit and
a 3 light Smith Vector Studio Flash kit. Does anyone have an opinion?
they seem cheaply priced so i want to see if they're cheaply made.
thanks for all the advice

carolyn*

Carolyn,

I cannot address the SV strobes, but many, many years ago did invest in their
location light kit with quartz instruments. It did not take too long for these
units to be rendered useless. The stands were very weak, and the lamp heads
did not function well. Within two years I'd gone completely to Lowell for my
"hot lights" and still use the Lowell stands. Other than one that a bull
trampled, all still function fine and that is with about 25 years of hard use.

I hope you can find some users of SV strobes, who can update this ancient
account of another of their products, as the new flash stuff might be great.
If you have the opportunity to play with it in a camera store, take down the
system, and then set it back up again - several times. Are the stands secure,
and sturdy? Do the heads attach snugly to the stands? Will you burn your
fingers on the heads if the modeling lights are used? Do the heads tilt and
hold where you want them to? As for the electronics, only a user with
experience can comment on that.

Hunt