| Author | Thread |
|
|
05/02/2006 05:21:30 PM · #26 |
Originally posted by Twyla:
Originally posted by saracat:
I made diffusers from pvc pipe (about $24 worth of pipe and fittings) and used some plastic that the hubby picked up at one of his deliveries (there was a tear in it, so the company threw out a roll of this very thin, clear, translucent plastic that's 50" wide - and there is still a crap-load of the stuff on the roll). |
Thank you Sara! This is exactly the reason I am trying to make it myself.
edit to add: do you use anything to soften your lights any? |
Just the diffusers. :)
But Leroy (fotomann_forever) has told me that he has held a white trash bag up in front of his lights and it works pretty good (but watch the heat!). You can also use a layer of white cloth between the light and the subject, but again, watch your heat.
|
|
|
|
05/02/2006 05:38:08 PM · #27 |
I've had good luch with cheap white sheets from walmart. $3 for the flat single bed size. can use them as diffusers or for bounce or as backdrop.
|
|
|
|
05/03/2006 04:35:01 PM · #28 |
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
I've had good luch with cheap white sheets from walmart. $3 for the flat single bed size. can use them as diffusers or for bounce or as backdrop. |
Same for me. I keep a few in my portrait kit to use as diffusers or to toss on the ground so I don't get ugly green shadows under the chin when shooting outside. Cheap sheet with low thread count work best, but they are getting harder to find.
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 04:40:08 PM · #29 |
Wow....between last night and today...I made it through all 198 pages of the FM site ....that post is awesome.
I am just starting my research for studio stuff.
Couple quick questions. I thought I understood until I got about halfway through this post.
Softboxes are mounted to continuous lighting?
Strobes are mounted to umbrellas?
Fill lights are constant and will sometimes have diffusers or barn doors?
Sorry for the elemental questions...but It looks in some of the photos of the setups that the lights are all on. But I know they are using strobes.
I have never used anything other than my makeshift white sheets and halogen lights from sears.
Thanks for your help.
Barry |
|
|
|
06/04/2006 05:08:51 PM · #30 |
Originally posted by alixmiles:
Softboxes are mounted to continuous lighting? |
There are some that are designed to be used with strobes, and there are others designed for use with continous lights. You shouldn't try to use a softbox that was designed for stobes with continous lights as they are not designed to handle the heat that continous light put out.
Originally posted by alixmiles:
Strobes are mounted to umbrellas? |
Yes, they can be. I haven't seen any umbrellas designed for continous lights, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.
Originally posted by alixmiles:
Fill lights are constant and will sometimes have diffusers or barn doors? |
A fill light can be either, continous or strobe. Modifiers such as diffusers, barn doors, snoots, etc., can be used with either type of light.
Originally posted by alixmiles:
Sorry for the elemental questions...but It looks in some of the photos of the setups that the lights are all on. But I know they are using strobes. |
What you're seeing are the modeling lights of the strobes. Modeling lights are continous lights that allow the photographer to get an idea of how the light hits the subject. They are automatically turned off when the strobe fires. On my AlienBees the modeling lights can be set to full brightness, turned completely off, or set to track the power setting of the strobe. The modeling light also acts as a recycle indicator, turning itself off when the unit is recycling, and coming back on to let you know when the unit is fully recycled and ready to fire again.
Originally posted by alixmiles:
I have never used anything other than my makeshift white sheets and halogen lights from sears. |
Hot lights suck, pure and simple. You would get much better results (and not cook your models) by using cheap hot-shoe flash units. You can find them on ebay for $10, or even less.
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 05:21:26 PM · #31 |
Thanks a bunch Mick. That was the info I was looking for.
I also need to find a portable setup. I am trying to get the contract with the school district for the dances next school year.
Good thing there are only a couple of choices.....HEHE |
|
|
|
06/04/2006 05:29:28 PM · #32 |
If you are considering shooting portraits using studio lights (strobes mostly) you need first to get this book - Master LIghting by Grey.
It shows many many different lighting set ups - once you know what you want to do, then you can decide what lights and modifiers you need.
one light and a refelctor is the basics. some playboy layouts use 40 lights, reflectors, flags and such.
4 to 5 lights, a reflector, a couple of flags or gobos or bookends, and various modifiers (small and large softboxes, umbrellas, grids, barndoors, beauty dish, strip light) will do 99% of everything. Oh yeah, stands, sandbags, booms, backdrops...
It's like anything else - give you only a 50mm lens and you can take pictures. You can't take wide angle, macro, zoom pics,but you can take pics. So with one light you can take pics - just not all types, you can't do a hari and main light, you can't light the backdrop seperately...
Good strobes for the money are Paterson Stellar strobes - a 2 light kit is under $500. (they drop ship so ignore the out of stock bit). These are the same power as AB800s for less than the AB400 price. And the accessories are less costly too.
Backdrop stand like this one. and for muslin try Cole and company - i have two of their painted muslin BGs - 10x20 feet - $139 and $99 were the costs - way way way cheaper than anyone else and lots of choices.
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 06:18:06 PM · #33 |
| Thanks Chris. Is that the same backdrop stand you have? |
|
|
|
06/04/2006 06:29:20 PM · #34 |
What about buying more 580ex units and mounting them on umbrellas? Anybody using something like that. I also have a Metz 60 ct-4 unit that I would like to incorporate if at all possible.
I do some sports shooting and will need another 580ex anyway.
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 06:37:18 PM · #35 |
| My advice is simple, if you really want to learn to use studio lighting, buy one good studio light! If you don't have enough saved up for one, save longer. When you can... could be years... buy a second. you can do most anything in the universe with two, but if you really wanna get fancy, eventually add a 3rd or 4th... 'course by then you'll be rich and famous! Alien Bees are the set I started with and I still use them now... mine are hot pink! ;) |
|
|
|
06/04/2006 06:54:44 PM · #36 |
| Do you buy them from Alienbees or from somewhere else? |
|
|
|
06/04/2006 06:56:14 PM · #37 |
If you are going to use hot lights, you will need something to diffuse the lights. If you don't use some kind of light diffuser you are going to get all kinds of uneven lighting and hot spots. The average umbrella and softbox is not a good idea because they are placed too close to the heat that comes off of the bulbs. It doesn't take much and you have a melted mess or worse it going up in flames.
A good choice with tungsten and halogen type lights is a light panel. The light panel goes in front of the light but can be placed far enough away that the heat won't affect it. You can make free standing light panels out of PVC and white nylon or muslin type material. You don't want the cheap thin material as that won't diffuse and soften the light very well. What I have used is sport nylon. It is usually next to the rip stop nylon at JoAnn's or other fabric stores, but is thicker and doesn't have the zig zag threads like rip stop nylon does. A couple of yards and you can make a 4' x 6' light panel that will give you some excellent soft light for portraits.
The last light panel I made was a two panel job. One panel had the white sport nylon in it and the other panel had black sport nylong to block the light from hitting my camera. The two panels were connected to gether to form a L shape so it stood on it's own very well. It cost me $35 to make and that included buying enough stuff to almost make another panel and almost a full two panel setup. Here is a picture of it.
These light panels work with hot lights, cold lights, strobs and flashes. They are cheap but still give excellent results. Here is a short write I did on another forum that I saved in case anyone was interested later. //www.sitnprettyphoto.com/display/panelinfo.txt
Mike
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 07:14:38 PM · #38 |
as far as cheap backgrounds go some thin canvas and any waterbased paint its a good DIY approach I used to make all my own another source for inexpensive pro background is the english company Colourscape (www.colourscape.co.uk )
have several of these and they are great
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 07:47:25 PM · #39 |
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
So with one light you can take pics - just not all types, you can't do a hari and main light, you can't light the backdrop seperately... |
Actually, with a bit of ingenuity, you can do lots of different shots. Check out this article on ephotozine.com...
Studio lighting on a budget technique
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 08:19:22 PM · #40 |
Originally posted by alixmiles:
Thanks Chris. Is that the same backdrop stand you have? |
maybe...i got mine from uniquephoto.com sight unseen. no paper and it cost $130 so i guess something is different about it. not sure what as all the savage stands seem teh same to me.
haveing seen one now, there are 2 types - the PIN top type the light stand top type.
the stands all seem the same except for the top - so you should be able to have a backdrop stand from 1 light stands and a bar across the top - you can buy just hte bar and it's not hard to fab up some hangar for it - i've seen what looks like a J hook, but you could easily get a couple of 1: or 2" PVC plumbing T and put it over the light stand and shove the cross bar through.
I was hoping mine were the lightstand type so at home i'd have 2 extra lightstands. on location it's not important, but at home it'd be nice!
My ext studio investment is C stands - aka Century Stands. It's a type, not a brand. Amvona on ebay has them as do B&h etc. Much sturdier than regular stands - i now have a 16x48 softbox and the standard light stads are not hefty enough or stable enough - C stands take a sandbag MUCH better as well.
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 08:21:41 PM · #41 |
Originally posted by alixmiles:
What about buying more 580ex units and mounting them on umbrellas? Anybody using something like that. I also have a Metz 60 ct-4 unit that I would like to incorporate if at all possible.
I do some sports shooting and will need another 580ex anyway. |
i have a Samigon VH flip bracket (for sale...$70 delivered!) -the top part comes off and hols 1 or 2 hot shoe flashed and an umbrella and it fits a lightstand top - hand for what you have in mind.
a 580 is what, $350-400? You can get TWO paterson 300ws strobes for $500, including stands, 2 umbrellas and a carry bag. Not sure the WS rating of a 580, but it's not 300WS.
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 08:30:31 PM · #42 |
Originally posted by alixmiles:
Do you buy them from Alienbees or from somewhere else? |
alienbees are the #1 most sold light, period. made by paul C buff - google alienbee and you'l' find them
they also make White Lightening - a more pro grade of light.
AB has great customer service from what all i hear. Paterson Stellar (must be the stellar model -they have other models) are very good and less costly.
One thing common to both brands' kits is the lightstands and light duty and the accessories included are not the best - they work, but once you play with photoflex umbrellas or norman softboxes you understand how come teh kits are so affordable.
|
|
|
|
06/04/2006 10:04:52 PM · #43 |
Studio Strobes, I have the Electra brand 500w/s they re solid and inexpensive, There are also a lot of ver good powerful and inexpensive ones coming out of China, we get them coming up new on TRADEME. //www.trademe.co.nz.
FWIW.
|
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2026 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 01/02/2026 11:14:00 AM EST.
