WalMart Home Studio - I'm a pro now

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

09/18/2006 08:16:04 PM · #1

I just went to WalMart in search for anything I could use to make some sort of home studio. I came up with a set of twin 500W lamps on a 6' mount that will rotate, a single 500W floor lamp that rotates, and a piece of black material that is about 5'X11'. Now, what I'm wondering is, what in the world do I do with it.

I set up the backdrop on the wall, set a black chair in front of it maybe 4 feet, and then the camera on a tripod 6 feet directly in front of the model. Then I put the 6' Stand with 1000W of light to the camera's right, at a 45 degree angle between the camera and the model. I put the floor lamp about 3 feet from the model's feet on the opposite side of the main lamp, with the floor lamp pointed up at the model.

I set the camera on manual mode, manual focus. I focused on the chair, set the aperture to f/8 and the shutter speed to 1/40. I got a pretty decent exposure, but seems like I'm lacking tack sharp focus. Do any of you have any tips to help me out with settings/placement of the lights/etc? Fill me with the knowledge of the wise.

gaurawa

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

09/18/2006 08:21:59 PM · #2

if your model is human, 1/40s is too slow, try going faster 1/100s or 1/125 atleast. go lower on F number to achiever higher shutter speeds

jdannels

Nikon D300s

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM for Nikon

09/18/2006 09:24:43 PM · #3

I shot these two with almost your exact same equipment and had a shutterspeed of 1/50 and fstop 3.5 at ISO 200. But I agree that a smaller aperture will be helpful and may give better results. I also put in the comments how I set up the lights and a mirror for a reflector. you can also look at this thread on portrait lighting which has lots of good ideas.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

09/18/2006 09:55:23 PM · #4

Great examples. And thanks for the link to the portrait thread. I read most of it and bookmarked the rest for later. Very informative.

cryingdragon

Canon EOS-10D

09/18/2006 10:18:01 PM · #5

Also, don't focus on the chair. Put something on the chair where the head will be and focus on that, or use a tripod and focus on that.

yann

09/18/2006 10:27:24 PM · #6

You're gonna need a good vent to keep the room at a good temperature. 3x500W lamps produce alot of heat!

alanfreed

Nikon Z9

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

09/18/2006 10:36:05 PM · #7

I had tried a setup somewhat similar to what you're trying (with heavy-duty lights, etc.), and I honestly had a hard time getting good result from it. If I had someone I was trying to photograph, they'd complain about the heat of the lights. Plus I was always somewhat concerned about setting the house on fire :)

I eventually started using a couple umbrella lights and a couple synchronized flashes, and things have worked out INFINITLY better with that set-up.

With the constant lighting, I'd always get a rather hideous yellow-ish cast that I'd have to work around in Photoshop, too. Aiming the strobes into the umbrellas have given me much better, even light... few complaints from people being photographed and much better overall results.

I know that's probably not what you want to hear after investing in lights and so forth, but take that for what it's worth :)

09/19/2006 06:16:43 PM · #8

Thanks for the tips. I don't mind hearing how much better strobes are. I know they are much much better. However, I'm a college kid and do things the poor college kid way. I figured I could spend $32 on the 6' twin head stand light, $8 on the 500W floor light, use them to play with my small in-home setups, and then put them in the garage (where they belong) after I graduate and can afford real studio lights.

By the way, I played around last night with a self portrait using the light setup. Here's what I got:
Self Portrait

That was just using the one single 6' stand light and not the smaller fill light. I was trying to imitate one of Joey L's shots seen here:

Message edited by author 2006-09-19 18:19:34.

fotomann_forever

09/19/2006 06:22:09 PM · #9

Originally posted by cryingdragon:

Also, don't focus on the chair. Put something on the chair where the head will be and focus on that, or use a tripod and focus on that.

Exactly.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/19/2006 06:23:30 PM · #10

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Originally posted by cryingdragon:
Also, don't focus on the chair. Put something on the chair where the head will be and focus on that, or use a tripod and focus on that.

Exactly.

I went with two pillows stacked in the chair to get it pretty close.

violinist123

Canon EOS-6D

09/19/2006 06:43:59 PM · #11

Originally posted by ibkc:

By the way, I played around last night with a self portrait using the light setup. Here's what I got:

That's a pretty decent looking shot actually for such a cheap lighting setup. I'm tempted to go rig something up.

Jaded_Housewife

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/19/2006 06:59:11 PM · #12

Originally posted by ibkc:

you did a great job with that self portrait. quite close to joey's his photo just doesnt seem to have the yellow tones your does. but great job. impressive. ;)

fotomann_forever

09/19/2006 07:47:16 PM · #13

Originally posted by routerguy666:

Originally posted by ibkc:

By the way, I played around last night with a self portrait using the light setup. Here's what I got:

That's a pretty decent looking shot actually for such a cheap lighting setup. I'm tempted to go rig something up.

You can do some serious work with halogen work lamps... my Industrial nude series were all shot with work lamps.

Curious

Canon EOS-600D/T3i Rebel

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

09/19/2006 07:47:26 PM · #14

Are you using a custom white balance. When I used to use lamps like that I would first shoot a piece of white paper held under the lights and set it as a custom white balance. The results then came out with much more natural colours. Good shot by the way.

Originally posted by ibkc:

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

09/19/2006 08:10:26 PM · #15

Originally posted by jaded_youth:

you did a great job with that self portrait. quite close to joey's his photo just doesnt seem to have the yellow tones your does. but great job. impressive. ;)

Thanks!

As for the white balance question, I shot in raw with the white balance on auto. Then I changed the color temperature manually in a raw editor to get it to whatever degree I wanted. I've used the white sheet/ white wall technique with custom white balance and it does great as well.

Joey Lawrence

PhaseOne P45

09/19/2006 08:28:08 PM · #16

Originally posted by jaded_youth:

Originally posted by ibkc:
Thanks for the tips. I don't mind hearing how much better strobes are. I know they are much much better. However, I'm a college kid and do things the poor college kid way. I figured I could spend $32 on the 6' twin head stand light, $8 on the 500W floor light, use them to play with my small in-home setups, and then put them in the garage (where they belong) after I graduate and can afford real studio lights.

By the way, I played around last night with a self portrait using the light setup. Here's what I got:
Self Portrait

That was just using the one single 6' stand light and not the smaller fill light. I was trying to imitate one of Joey L's shots seen here:

you did a great job with that self portrait. quite close to joey's his photo just doesnt seem to have the yellow tones your does. but great job. impressive. ;)

I lit that shot with a flashlight. ;-)