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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> A question about studio lighting!
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07/31/2005 10:05:13 AM · #1
For those people who shoot portraits...which type of lighting do you prefer to work with....flash or continuous and which do you prefer?

07/31/2005 10:17:45 AM · #2
I am in texas ... it's summer ... 103 outside ... I use flash... It is cooler for me and my subjects (yes even with the AC blasting )
07/31/2005 10:17:47 AM · #3
Originally posted by Makka:

For those people who shoot portraits...which type of lighting do you prefer to work with....flash or continuous and which do you prefer?


I prefer flash to hot lights for two reasons: 1) my small room stays cooler, and 2) I can shoot at a faster shutter speed to "freeze" any movement.

HOWEVER, I've done only small bit of work with kids and I gotta say, as much as they move around, it can be irritating to have to 1) keep them in position of the strobes and, 2) wait for the strobes to recycle. For kids I wonder if continuous lighting might be better.

My best kid pics were done with natural lighting (big window off to the side) with strobes used only as a small amount of fill.

Message edited by author 2005-07-31 10:18:17.
07/31/2005 10:23:20 AM · #4
I use strobes with modeling lights. I keep the modeling lights fairly low most of the time, just enough to light the studio and let the strobe do most of the work. (Having enough light in the room can keep the subjects from blinking when the strobes flash).

BTW I have hot pink Alien Bees! Everyone should have something in the studio that makes them giggle! :)
07/31/2005 10:23:21 AM · #5
each technique has there good and bad points.

both need attention in differant areas to be pulled off correctly.

I use standard lighting, since I don't have flash at all. But, then again, I don't normally do portraits.


07/31/2005 10:32:43 AM · #6
Well, I felt strobes were the best way for me to go! I have got some cheap and just waiting for them to be delivered! They have modelling lights too so I will definately use those!

07/31/2005 11:03:18 AM · #7
I use strobes currently for many of the reasons already discussed, but will swap to fluorescents when the price comes down.

I do this for several reasons but first & foremost is, in a few years when my kids graduate, my wife & I plan to move to the country and live “off the grid”. So power consumption is a big deal, and both strobes & hot light eat the electricity (It’s a big deal to me now, but I just don’t have the $$).
07/31/2005 12:07:04 PM · #8
I am currently in a class learning studio lighting. I bought hotlights (and now have them for sale if you are interested!) Anyway, my studio is very portable and I do a lot of location stuff, and since hotlights are hot, I have decided to switch to Alien Bees strobe lights (which is all I can afford) as they stay cool. With hot lights, to control the temperature of the lights, you have to change bulbs to lower wattage. With strobes, you can turn them down and up in the lights. However, with hotlights, you can see exactly what your light looks like which is a plus.
07/31/2005 12:16:12 PM · #9
Originally posted by Juniper366:

With hot lights, to control the temperature of the lights, you have to change bulbs to lower wattage. With strobes, you can turn them down and up in the lights.


A couple of thoughts on your post.

You do not need to switch out globes to control your temperature, unless you are refering to Celsius/Ferinheight. A 1k globe will give you the same Kelvin as a 10k globe. You control the Kelvin by either dimming the light, or adding correction jells, or party jells.

And if you dim the srobes, you are in fact controlling the Kelvin, and not the Celsius/Ferinheight.

The size of the globe will gve out the same "heat" no matter if it is dimmed or not. It is the voltage that you are adjusting, and not the amperage, and certainly not the wattage.

Just a thought. Now back to drinking my breakfast.
07/31/2005 12:46:24 PM · #10
Originally posted by Juniper366:

I am currently in a class learning studio lighting. I bought hotlights (and now have them for sale if you are interested!) Anyway, my studio is very portable and I do a lot of location stuff, and since hotlights are hot, I have decided to switch to Alien Bees strobe lights (which is all I can afford) as they stay cool. With hot lights, to control the temperature of the lights, you have to change bulbs to lower wattage. With strobes, you can turn them down and up in the lights. However, with hotlights, you can see exactly what your light looks like which is a plus.


I take this to mean "With hot lights, to control the intensity of the lights you have to change bulbs to lower wattage." I may be wrong, though; it's a fairly confusing statement.

Certainly, if Juniper's referring to "color temperature" then the wattage of the bulb is irrelevant. If the idea is to say that the 500W floods emit too much heat, and if you want a cooler working environment you need you need lower-wattage bulbs, well that's true enough. But the statement about controlling same by dialing downs trobes suggests that "temperature" was mistakenly used instead on "intensity", which of course IS controllable with good strobe units.

Incidentally, the normal way to control light intensity with hot lights, on the fly, is to move them closer to or further from the subject.

Robt.
07/31/2005 12:52:32 PM · #11
I have 2 Alien bees..I really like them. I have a softbox on one and umbrellas on the other. There is so much you can do with these lights. I even take them with me when shooting outdoor portraits if there is an outlet available. They don't heat up a room at all when in use.

Before I got the alienbees I used natural lighting and my flashed bounced off the ceiling. I have more then a few portraits in my profile if you want to take a look.
07/31/2005 01:03:37 PM · #12
Originally posted by bear_music:

[quote=Juniper366]

Incidentally, the normal way to control light intensity with hot lights, on the fly, is to move them closer to or further from the subject.

Robt.


Actually the normal way to control intensity of light is to add scrims (wire diffusion).
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