what lighting tubes for neoprint machines?

[tester99]

if anyone of you have gone in and looked at the neoprint machines, you'd have noticed the ultra-bright white tubes of light shining on the subject. what kind of lighting is that? is it just normal household lighting that we use at home or ? cos somehow the results of the "portraits" always come out pleasing.. u can't see the flaws on the skin and everything just looks perfect. i am quite sure it's not the software/algorithms doing the job - they're not that advanced yet.. ( yes PP can do it, but requires user intervention ).. so my best guess is the lighting that makes the faces look flattering. is there any way i can emulate their system but avoid the costs of expensive strobes?

[flipfreak]

its flattering cos its low res and the pictures are not sharp. its the same theory as ppl look better on polaroids than film.

[catchlights]

I never try take neoprint, or enter the booth, however, judging from the image, the lighting is super flat, total shadowless, even faces like Mark Lee can also look nice and smooth.

you can simple emulate this set up by building a big box, your subject stay inside the box, and let the lights bounce inside the box in all direction, and with slightly overexposed, it will smooth out any flaws on the skin.

[tester99]

Originally Posted by flipfreak its flattering cos its low res and the pictures are not sharp. its the same theory as ppl look better on polaroids than film.

haha. true.. no wonder so many girls prefer to take polaroids and shoot around rather than normal compacts..

[tester99]

Originally Posted by catchlights I never try take neoprint, or enter the booth, however, judging from the image, the lighting is super flat, total shadowless, even faces like Mark Lee can also look nice and smooth. you can simple emulate this set up by building a big box, your subject stay inside the box, and let the lights bounce inside the box in all direction, and with slightly overexposed, it will smooth out any flaws on the skin.

hmm, i thought for portraiture, normally people would aim to add dimension to the picture, i.e. directional lighting rather than total flat.

ahh..a big box, something like a light tent made for humans? pretty hard since i need 4 light stands/tripods or some poles with support to do it. lol.

anyway, what is the reason that photographers always recommend using muslin compared to other cloth such as silk or normal bedsheets? i do noe of ppl using the latter as well, and the results are still okay.

i've been exploring options to make home portraiture possible with just one ON-camera flash. currently my method is :

cover window with a0 paper ( which gives me free background light )
set flashgun to aim at a3 paper ( which i will hold, after putting self-timer )
a3 paper directed 45" down to subject
subject to hold another a3 paper on her legs to lift shadows

note : flashgun is bare in this case, no diffuser or anything, since it will bounce off large area to create soft light.

( i thought of this myself, gathering my knowledge from multiple off-camera flashes, lol )

what can possibly be improved without getting more equipment or wireless setup?