| Author | Thread |
|
|
10/20/2003 11:39:22 PM · #1 |
I am trying to get myself together some lighting, particularly for portrait/glamour style shots. Limited budget available, as most of us do I imagine.
K-Mart have some halogen flood lights (the rectangular type, very industrial looking) on small stands. These are very cheap indeed.
They have a 150 Watt or a 500 Watt model.
Has anyone had much experience with these and can make any comments?
I am particularly interested to know which wattage would be better. I am thinking that maybe 500 W is best, or would that simple be too bright and wash everything out? ("Studio" would be an average sized room, nothing particularly large).
|
|
|
|
10/20/2003 11:45:52 PM · #2 |
I use the 500 watt model, the one on the telescopic pole that has 2 light heads....soI have 2 500 watt lights to light up the place.....some times its too much light and I have to break out the desk lamp....
Only down fall is the metal grille will cast a small shadow so yo may want to remove the grille or modify it so the grill does not cast a shadow.
James |
|
|
|
10/20/2003 11:47:03 PM · #3 |
You'll prolly be firing those beasties into umbrellas or off wall/cieling to soften the light. You lose a lot of light on the bounce, so I think the 500W would be best. Keep in mind that sunlight is close to 500W per square meter, so even with two 500W lamps, if you're illuminating several square meters, you've got less light than a sunlit scene, possibly by a couple stops.
The 150W lamps really don't throw that much light, I have a couple myself for shop work (and ocasionally do double duty as photo lights).
there is a thread somewhere here on a cheap method of mounting umbrellas to the 500W fixtures using electrical conduit & fittings. Look into this, it should be a cheap and very workable setup.
|
|
|
|
10/20/2003 11:47:53 PM · #4 |
I started with smaller wattage, and decided they didn't provide enough light, so I took them back and bought the 500 watt ones. Contrary to what I thought, they do not provide "white" light - my photos still have a yellow cast to them. Maybe I'm using the wrong white balance in this case. The other issue I have is that I only have one stand with the two lights. Ideally, you'll want to purchase two or three so that you can provide light from multiple directions. Also, they are very hot to work with, so careful that you don't burn yourself. Dress coolly too, if you will be working with closeup scenes. Take a look at some of the photos in my profile - Liquid Chrome and my self-portrait challenge submission used these lights.
Message edited by author 2003-10-20 23:49:15.
|
|
|
|
10/21/2003 12:03:27 AM · #5 |
Halogen Umbrella Mount
Hope this helps. You will also need to do a manual white balance, or change your cams white balance for these beasts.
|
|
|
|
10/22/2003 03:20:48 AM · #6 |
That is an excellent mount there crabappl3.
I just need to find the right light. The local hardware store has cheap ones but 2 lights per stand. Ideally I'd rather have 2 with one light per stand.
Fitting the umbrella like that doesn't look too hard at all, but is really well done and good and sturdy :) |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 08/29/2025 05:18:20 AM EDT.
