Help with light set up and equipment

<p>Hi,<br /> <br />I am planning on building a studio in my basement that has no windows. The dimensions are as follows: Length = 25 ft. Width = 15 ft. Height = 10ft. I want to capture full length photos show casing the subject's outfit for a fashion blog I am starting. Here are photos that I really like and want to imitate because it is exactly what I want my pictures to be:</p>

<p>https://instagram.com/p/9pREIizGnD/?taken-by=jpquindara<br /> (The picture on the right side) https://instagram.com/p/8CaGfIzGsU/?taken-by=jpquindara<br /> https://instagram.com/p/7ba5hPTGnM/?taken-by=jpquindara<br /> I do not own these photos. Photos were taken by the instagram user: jpquindara</p>

<p>My questions are: what equipment do I need, how many, and the proper setup? I am only a beginner in terms of lighting so I would greatly appreciate it if you would respond in detail. All I know for sure of what to buy are white and black backdrops. I am thinking of purchasing seamless papers. Also, I already own two stands that are 7-8 feet high that I would use to hold the backdrops.</p>

<p>I've read a lot on the internet but I ended up just being so confused due to so many different factors and equipment that come into play. I am hoping not to spend too much money. Hopefully you guys could suggest some inexpensive equipment that will still meet my goals.<br>

I have a Canon Rebel XS. My two lenses are: Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 55-250 mm 1:4-5.6 IS and Canon Zoom Lens Ef-S 18-55 mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS. Are my camera and lenses sufficient enough too?<br>

<br /> Thank you for your help!</p>

<p>How will the images be used? Are they going to be printed in any sort of large format, or is this strictly for use online? The answer to that question will help to answer your question about the suitability of your camera and lenses. But for now, they should be fine. Lighting, set, model, hair and makeup (and of course your technique and post-production skills) are going to be what make the most difference.<br /><br />Yes, there's a lot to learn. You may be very challenged, trying to evenly light standing subjects for full-length shots in a space with a 10' ceiling. None the less, spend some time going over some tutorials so you have a better sense of what different light modifiers do under these sorts of circumstances. <br /><br />Obviously they're hoping you'll buy Photoflex equipment, but their tutorials are very good intros into how these things are done. Check out the (free!) <strong><a href="https://photoflex.com/index.php?/pls">Photoflex Lighting School</a></strong> site so you can get your vocabulary and general awareness level up before shopping for hardware.<br /><br /><br /></p>

<p>These are really straightforward setups - get a few good books and take a basic course at a nearby photography school. Your camera and lens have little to do with it, it's all about lighting and styling.</p>

<p>A few thoughts:<br /><br />1) You've got a reasonable amount of space. You don't have room to spare in terms of doing full-length but should be able to squeeze it in.<br /><br />2) Seamless paper is good to start with, but I would add a roll of studio gray rather than just black and white. Full black and full white can actually be difficult to work with and not necessarily the best for all pictures. The black will often come out gray if you don't keep all light off of it. And the white will come out gray if you don't dump enough light on it separate from the subject.<br /><br />3) Save your lightstands for lights. If your basement is unfinished like mine, you can support the seamless rolls from overhead. I run a 10-foot length of electrical conduit down the middle of the rolls, then use U-bolts to hold them to a piece of 2x4 nailed into the joists. If your basement is finished, there are brackets that will do the same thing.<br /><br />4) Camera and lenses you have are fine to get started with and learn with unti you know enough to have a reason to change. Given the size of your space and desire to do full length you will likely make more use of the shorter zoom.</p>

<p>Almost any camera and lens will do for web publication. Your Rebel and kit lenses are actually overkill. As other have said, the lighting is more important.</p>

<p>The pictures you've linked to are very simply lit. All you need is a big fat light source on camera left. The expensive way to do this is with a studio strobe and a big softbox. The cheap way is to use all manual speedlites and a big white reflector. Foamcore board or just white wallpaper stapled to a sheet of hardboard or similar would do fine. Point 4 cheap speedlites - such as YongNuo560s at the reflector and the job is pretty much done. Your first linked picture (leather-look coat) has a fair amount of "fill" light to lighten the shadows too, and this could simply be another unlit white reflector slightly to camera right.<br /> The light comes from slightly higher than the camera too, so you'll need to prop your reflector up on something, or hang it from the ceiling.</p>

<p>You'll also need a way to synchronise your off-camera flash to the camera. This is easily done with a set of radio triggers. No-brand ones start at around $15 apiece and performance is almost no different from expensive Pocket Wizards. At least no-one will see any difference in the pictures. I'd recommend YongNuo for these as well, their YN RF-603 triggers are well-made and versatile. They cost a little bit more than the cheapest you can find, but personally I think they're worth it for the better build-quality.<br /> Good luck with the project. As you learn more about lighting you'll find there's a lot you can do with a few speedlites and a couple of reflectors. So you won't quickly outgrow your initial investment.</p>

<p>PS. For the long-term you might want to consider painting your basement studio black. It's very easy to add light where it's needed, but much more difficult to control spill and unwanted reflections from white or light-coloured walls.</p>

<p>Couple more thoughts<br>

Paint walls white. Your studio will become more like a big light box this way... Broadcasting strobes toward walls will definitely allow for the softening of portraits. <br>

Don't be spendthrift on lenses.<br>

Purchase some honeycomb grids for your lights, filters for balancing color temp. Reflector kit (or just styrofoam insulation, some black on one side, some silver).<br>

For the dimensions you mention, think of a system that will allow you to scissor lights from the ceiling. This is an expensive endeavor, however. If you're getting stands, purchase substantial ones. This goes for your tripod, too. (I've a Manfrotto tripod that's 2o years old, been through sand rain etc., and still works as well as it came out of the box.) The head should be easy to manipulate.<br>

If you're photographing stuff that hangs on a wall then put up plywood before sheetrock. You'll save your walls and be confident nothing falls.<br>

As Craig says, seamless paper is good stuff, lots of colors if you're into that. You've little overhead, so plan on dropping your backdrops from a system, or cheaper yet, 10' metal pipe with removeable elbows to allow for replacement/different backdrops. Easy to make, sturdier, too. Have some kind of clips up top to keep rolls from unrolling. <br>

Buy a few half domes, or umbrellas. Domes have an option of being gridded, as well.<br>

Think light. Be well.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Rodeo and I differ on the color to paint your walls, and black is fine ... I have no qualms about that. I find I am happy getting that extra light, and that contrast can be controlled later in post. Black may be better for your size of studio.</p>

<p>Correct me if I am wrong, but a studio strobe is only a flash or is it a light that is continuously on? Joe, you mentioned that I would only need a studio strobe to get similar effects, so would that be my only light source? Do I need to turn the room lights in the basement or just the studio strobe. I googled and youtubed speed lights and I prefer the studio strobes since they have more control and power. Could you guys provide a link of a good studio strobe? Would a 300 wattsecond strobe be good?</p>

<p>Also, when getting a soft box, I read that an octabox is a good choice. I will be photographing myself (6ft tall) in various outfits for my blog. With that said, I am assuming I would have to purchase a large soft box to provide an even light from head to toe.</p>

<p>As for room paint, there is one side that is painted black but I had planned on putting the backdrop on that side. All the other sides of the room are painted gray.</p>

<p>I really appreciate all your inputs. Keep 'em coming! :)</p>

<p>So I was looking through Amazon and found these. Are these decent enough?</p>

<p>http://www.amazon.com/NEEWER-DS300-Studio-Strobe-Bowens/dp/B00G331KZ2/ref=sr_1_13?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1447120746&sr=1-13&keywords=monolight</p>

<p>http://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Speedring-Standard-Classica-Powerpack/dp/B00489O4YC/ref=sr_1_5?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1447121558&sr=1-5&keywords=octabox#Ask<br>

All I need is a stand then, right?</p>

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-att-us&source=android-browser&q=zack+arias+seamless

 

Zack Arias had a great tutorial about seamless white backgrounds.

 

Additionally, white becomes any color background with a strobe and colored gel.

 

Alien Bees have great beginner strobes, and they hold 90 to 95% resale value.

<p>Ale, studio strobes are mains powered and usually have a modelling light - that's a low-power continuous light that let's you see (roughly) what the flash is going to look like. Speedlites are battery powered and the sort of flash that you put in the hotshoe of a camera, but they can also be used off camera. The light they both give out is almost identical.</p>

<p>A good quality speedlite has an energy rating of 75 watt-seconds, as opposed to the 200 to 1600 watt-seconds of a studio flash. However, speedlites have a much more efficient reflector and can easily give out as much light as a studio flash with 2 or 3 times their energy rating. Their power can be turned down to as little as 1/128th, and not many studio flashes offer that 7 stop range.</p>

<p>If you can afford a decent studio flash (also called a monolight), then fine. My suggestion for using speedlites was to keep your budget down. Either type of flash will overpower normal room lighting.</p>

<p>WRT to an octabox, I'd suggest not. Not for full-length shots anyway. They're pretty much a round light source, spreading as much light sideways as vertically, and it doesn't matter which way you position them. OTOH a rectangular softbox can be orientated vertically for full-length shots or horizontally to give a softer transition of highlight to shadow for head-and-shoulders portraits. For full-lengths I'd suggest something in the region of a vertical 4' x 2' softbox. But this is going to take up quite a bit of space in a small studio, which is why I suggested reflector boards. A 6' x 4' reflector board can be placed right up against a wall, giving you much more working space. More sophisticated hardware doesn't necessarily translate into better lighting or pictures, and the acronym KISS is a good thing to bear in mind.</p>

<p>I also suspect that a 70" octa is going to be far too big to easily use in your studio space. Those things are quite deep as well as wide.</p>

<p>Those Neewer strobes look OK. I think they're just re-branded Godox lights. Godox (their OEM) might sell the same article a bit cheaper. They have a standard Bowens-S modifier fitment, which is good, and the dedicated radio triggers are reasonably priced. You'll need more than one to imitate the lighting in the pictures you've linked to. You need a main (key) light and something with a bit less power to "fill" the shadows. A white umbrella reflector is good for fill light, placed behind, or adjacent to the camera.</p>

<p>Yes, you'll definitely need lighting stands, regardless of whether you use monolights or speedlites. Get decent quality ones with a 25mm or thereabouts tube diameter. Thinner stands will flex under the weight of a large softbox, and the last thing you want is for a light to fall on you or your model.</p>

<p>I think I'm gonna go with the studio strobe route. I am looking at the AlienBees B800. For the soft box, I am thinking of purchasing this (http://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Speedring-Standard-Classica-Powerpack/dp/B003EWPADS/ref=sr_1_2?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1447177701&sr=1-2&keywords=24+x+48+softbox). Please let me know if that soft box will fit with the AlienBees I mentioned above. Since there's only going to be one light source coming from the studio strobe, I'm assuming I would only need to buy one light stand. I am looking at this (http://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Studio-Cushion-Lighting-Fixtures/dp/B008BBVKWC/ref=sr_1_11?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1447178691&sr=1-11&keywords=strobe+stand). I would still need a reflector for this setup, correct?</p>

<p>As for the setup, you mentioned having the studio strobe at camera left. Soft box will be positioned vertically. As for the reflector, I'm not quite sure where to place. I was thinking of placing it slightly behind of the model at the right side, hanging from a ceiling.</p>

<p>Rodeo Joe, I cannot thank you enough for all your help and input. Also, thank you for being so patient! I greatly appreciate it!</p>

<p>I don't think that particular softbox will fit the Alien Bees flash. Alien Bees take the not-so-popular Balcar speedring fitting AFAIK. So if you buy the Alien Bees your choice of modifier will be a bit limited.</p>

<p>On this side of the pond (UK) the Bowens-S fitting is by far the most common and popular type of speedring. However I know that Alien Bees are quite widely used in the States, so you should be readily able to find modifiers to fit, even if they cost a little more.</p>

<p>The stand you've linked to looks acceptable. And you'll still need one or more reflectors in addition to the main light to throw some light into the shadows. For real high-key work you'll need an additional light or two. You might also want to consider buying a flashmeter, since the camera's built-in meter will be of no use at all in measuring a studio flash exposure.</p>