Home studio

[marklim]

hi guys,

i'm thinking on setting up a home studio to take some portraits.

i would like to know what kind of lightings are acceptable ? i see

some in carrfour, ikea.. it says *daylight*. something like 5500k or

around there. can someone tell me wheather this ordinary lights could

be used ? or do i really have to go get those expensive studio lights ? :dunno:

rgds,
mark

 

[foxtwo]

you could get ordinary lights, but understand that the brightness will not be as intense as dedicated studio lights. meaning you will be shooting at low shutter speeds, eg. 1/60 at mid-apertures. warn your subjects to keep very still. you may compromise by pumping the iso, but i don't see the point if you are going for qaulity.

if you place the lights closer then you run the risk of harsh lighting. then you can choose to play with diffusers (tracing paper).

anything is doable.

 

[marklim]

ok. could someone recommend some lights ? i would like to test using ordinary lights.

 

[Heartshape]

Bro, daylight in consumer term means yellow light. Your camera will see these as orangy in colour and that is what will appear in your pictures. There are filters that will make yellow light look like daylight. They are the 80A amd 80B, depending on how yellow your light is.
If shooting digital you can play around with the white balance.
Though thiis is a make shift/make do set up that can be used, nothing beats real studio flash which are many times more powerful than ordinary tungsten bulbs.
That said, tungsten lighting can produce nice images when shot in the right setting.

Many years ago CP was selling a Prolinca range which was really cheap. Got for a friend 2 flash heads, 2 stands, 1 softbox and some other accessories for $2000++.
Go check what they have on offer now. You'd be surprised how cheaply you can buy them, for. Good luck!

 

[d7t3]

there are filament bulbs with a daylight blue coating. these are probably better than ordinary tungsten ones.

if you're looking at fluorescent or energy-saving bulbs, beware of the low flicker rate type. they can cause varying colour and/or brightness.

 

[slaam]

I dont recommend ordinary lights.

can't be sure.. but I know that constant light bulbs which were used for photography (when strobes were ex) are around 1000Watts..
they were often hot and uncomfortable.

i think budget home studio is using your on camera flash and making them off camera... to get side lighting..
just my tots..

 

[marklim]

hmm.. ok. thanks guys..,

 

[solarii]

I dont recommend ordinary lights.

can't be sure.. but I know that constant light bulbs which were used for photography (when strobes were ex) are around 1000Watts..
they were often hot and uncomfortable.

i think budget home studio is using your on camera flash and making them off camera... to get side lighting..
just my tots..

I agree. Ordinary lighting was designed for one purpose... illuminating space and nothing else. If they are suitable for photography, strobes costing hundreds or thousands of dollars won't sell. Everyone would be using ikea light bulbs.

If you wanna go cheap, your best bet is to get external flashes... 2 to 3 peices should set you back by abt 1K and give good results.

 

[sk.images]

I'm thinking of getting the Jinbei Studio Lighting Kit from Eastgear (http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=174309) for the same purpose.

Does anyone have one of these? Is it powerful enough to do full body or h&s portrait only?

 

[slaam]

haha you read my mind
actually I am curious too..
esp when 420sgd gets u a set.. cheaper than a 580EX leh..
esp curious abt the outdoor one but its 500plus..
abit too much for me to try for fun..
I think the main thing about such strobes is the replacment light bulbs are really really expensive...

 

[josho]

I'm thinking of getting the Jinbei Studio Lighting Kit from Eastgear (http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=174309) for the same purpose.

Does anyone have one of these? Is it powerful enough to do full body or h&s portrait only?

I second to that.

For a primary start this is the best.

I own 2 x 300w of Jinbei strobe. Does it good for me. I had no problem with it. Done it with one of the low budget ad. No issue of that.

Furthermore, its running on batt which you dun be eating much of ur electrical bills. U just need to charge it unless you wan to direct plug to A/C also can.

Its portable too.

If you wanted a higher watt (more then 180w) then what Eastgear had, u can try to contact afiend in CS.

Hope it help you alot.

Cheers

U can view more over here regarding the price of the Jinbei Studio Stuff

 

[marklim]

usually what watt is enough for home portraits ??

 

[Sion]

How much portrait photography you are going to shoot?

I suggest rend a studio initially or share the rent with another photographer to split the cost.
After you've developed an interest and some expertise in it, you probably want to invest a bit more and buy better lighting equipments for longer term.

There are people rushing into it too early and buying a set-up too cheap to be able to a proper job and regret about it.

 

[sk.images]

Thanks Josho.

I think I might hold off, I don't think 180W will be enough. I'll wait a while, do some more shooting, and then get the Alien Bees...

 

[josho]

Woo... Alien Bees.. Yeah 180 is never enuff.. higher watt is better. So far, 300w is enuff for me.. lol

 

[marklim]

oOo.. okiex. understand. i'll improve my skills before making the heavy investment.

thanks guys

 

[josho]

oOo.. okiex. understand. i'll improve my skills before making the heavy investment.

thanks guys

all the best dude!!!!

 

[marklim]

all the best dude!!!!

same to u ! :thumbsup: