Camera Lighting 2424 Responses

Last post: 3 years, 9 months ago | Thread started: Jul 8, 09, 1:56 p.m.

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• PIITB

  can any of you photographers out there recommend a good first lighting setup. i have only used natural light up to this point but want to start experimenting. i'd like something fairly small, portable and cheap. thanks

  Jul 8, 09, 1:56 p.m. – Permalink

• version3

  to do what?

  • mostly portraits– PIITB

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 1:56 p.m. – Permalink

• sikma

  http://www.alienbees.com/

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 1:56 p.m. – Permalink

• JG_LB

  

  • i gots me one of those!– version31/2

    just bought this too– sherm2/2

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 1:58 p.m. – Permalink

• version3

  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/ca…

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 1:59 p.m. – Permalink

• sikma

  while they may not have the reputation of dyna lights or profoto alien bee lights are amazing with an incredibly low price point

  • all true and make great strobes– version31/2

    reeeeeallyyy??– sea_sea2/2

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 1:59 p.m. – Permalink

• sikma

  DON"T GET INTO TUNGSTEN or Continuous Lighting!!!!

  GIANT WASTE OF YOUR MONEY AND TIME!

  • IMHO– sikma1/3

    THANK YOU BUT DO YOU RECOMMEND ANYTHING ELSE?– PIITB2/3

    ALSO WHY ARE WE SHOUTING??– PIITB3/3

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 2:01 p.m. – Permalink

• version3

  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/pr…

  i started with that, works for people and products, now it sits in storage :(

  • hahaha!
    sikma and i have now diverted our opinion paths– version3

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 2:02 p.m. – Permalink

• version3

  sikma, care to expound on your reasons against it? any beefs?

  • uses too much electricity and the heat melts the models make up.– ok_not_ok

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 2:04 p.m. – Permalink

• sikma

  Continous lighting

  1) Hot as hell.
  2) 3200k - color doesn't match daylight, gelling it to match daylight will lose two stops of light
  3) Non-portable, must be plugged-into a wall
  4) low power output, and if you do get high wattage look out 'cause they are going to be incredibly hot.

  • hot lights melt gels too if you're not careful....– vaxorcist

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 2:07 p.m. – Permalink

• sikma

  5) general speaking you can't get Continuous lighting in soft box form, and if you do it's a giant fire hazard

  • i use umbrellas– version3

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 2:08 p.m. – Permalink

• version3

  1: yes hot as fuck
  2: never had a color problem
  3. true, or a generator (how many lights work without power)
  4. i feel like my 1250watt kit only got hot after an hour or so of continuous use, just the ambient heat could def warm a room

  • i figured why not get a dialogue going :D– version3

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 2:10 p.m. – Permalink

• sikma

  the more i think about it getting into using 580's (Canon) or SB's (Nikon) flash systems probably is the best buy for beginners these days.

  they're cheap and with the Pocket Wizard system they can be used in TTL mode - which is really cool

  • plus they have great re-sale value– sikma

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 2:32 p.m. – Permalink

• vaxorcist

  Hang around with some photo assistants and shoot alot....

  Seriously, I'd spend the money on a few lighting DVD's, Zack Arias's workshop/DVD, strobist DVD, etc.... and get a starving student light kit or two from www.mpex.com and practice alot with a plastic head from a wig store or a few willing friends... and yes, get a book called "Lighting Science and Magic"

  On photographer bulliten boards, it's strange how lighting talk turns info a religious war amongst almost-pro photographers, not just Nikon vs Canon, but Profoto vs Speedotron and anything vs Alien Bees .. whatever... whereas when i was assisting, the talk amongst photographers actually working was mostly about how to bill clients, image rights and sometimes things like plume wafer vs elinchrom octobank...

  Thanks to ebay, and alot of pro photograhers selling some stuff, you can get real lights like speedotron black line fairly cheap on ebay....

  • lol @ "war amounst almost-pro"
    
    so true– sikma

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 2:50 p.m. – Permalink

• vaxorcist

  There are plenty of "photographers" out there with ALOT more gear and money than ability.... strange these days, because DSLR's make the lighting learning curve sooooo much easier than it was in the film days...

  • remember having to shoot shooting Polaroids? lol– sikma1/3

    oh yes, and unjamming 'blads while distracting the client at the same time, or wiping the polaroid goo off fingers– vaxorcist2/3

    I loved that shit.– spendogg3/3

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 2:54 p.m. – Permalink

• spendogg

  http://strobist.blogspot.com/

  this a pretty useful blog about lighting

  • ^– janne76

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 3:54 p.m. – Permalink

• janne76

  i used to do a few shoots many years ago in a studio with polaroids, and the client was mostly there, i fucking hated it..

  • ^– janne761/3

    did your fingers get gooy from the polaroid gunk?– vaxorcist2/3

    that too.. and sometimes i failed ripping it apart properly.. i was quite clumsy.– janne763/3

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 3:55 p.m. – Permalink

• Ambushstudio

  Quantum, thats the way to go

  • they;re pricey... and the flash duration can be too long for things like skateboarding.... try a Norman 200B for that...– vaxorcist

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 4:31 p.m. – Permalink

• acescence

  i'm kind of getting into it myself and have been experimenting with some things. right now i have a pair of canon flashes, a 430 and 580, with wireless transmitters and a shoot-thru umbrella. i've played around with making snoots and grids from whatever i can find. my friend has an alien bees ring flash she lets me borrow which is pretty cool. it has a big moon unit diffuser that works well for portraits. i'll probably end up getting one.

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 4:47 p.m. – Permalink

• Jnr_Madison

  Strobist site is great for starting out.

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 5:11 p.m. – Permalink

• blaw

  Stobist = big quality/ability jump (from nothing) for very little cash.

  

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  Dog-earJul 8, 09, 5:16 p.m. – Permalink