Studio Lighting for a school Photography program

[todd_phillips4]

<p>I have been asked to help a Local Jr High and High School Photography program purchase a photo Studio lighting setup.</p>

<p>They are looking for a<br>

3-4 light system with tripods,<br>

umbrellas,<br>

soft box's,<br>

background.<br>

They would like a green screen for digital background manipulation, and possibly a wireless sync system.</p>

<p>This is a charter school and I was not told a budget for them. They will probably need to end up getting a system that can slowly upgrade with them as their school photography program grows.</p>

<p>I am not a studio lighting photographer and do not have alot of experience with ths. I told my friend at the school that I would try to help out with the photography program where I could. This is getting above my knowledge and experience level, so I am posting here for some of the great photo.net advice.</p>

<p>The school is located in Southern California.</p>

<p>thank you in advance</p>

[johnny_daelucian]

<p>Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA has an EXCELLENT photo program and they use Profoto Acutes with Power Packs. They have them in 1200ws kits with Bogen stands and Chimera/Profoto softboxes/umbrellas. I just recently got my Profoto D1 Kit and, thus far, I LOVE it. Background support systems, I'd go with Westcott. Look for Education Discounts with whatever brand you'll be purchasing since most vendors will have drastically reduced prices for students and educators.</p>

[todd_phillips4]

<p>I am leaning on Profoto as my recommendation but I donot think they will be willing to spend that much. This program just picked up it;s first DSLR as an upgrade for their D Point and Shoot cameras they had.</p>

<p>Alien Bees looks to be economical on a mono light system and easy to upgrade.</p>

 

[cabbiinc]

<p>They don't have a budget for Profotos. Do they have a budget that could rent the equipment? Possibly even work out a deal with the renting agency for a tax break?</p>

<p>Dan</p>

[todd_phillips4]

<p>I can bring it up. I am not sure where their budget is at on this. I assumed - Sub $1000 but I donot know for sure</p>

 

[john tonai]

<p>Todd,</p>

<p>The first thing you should always do when buying for a school program is find out their budget. Generally there are two budgets. One is the one they volunteer and the other is the one they could do if you make a good argument for the equipment.</p>

<p>One thing to consider when buying equipment is how much abuse, not use, the equipment can handle. For instance, White Lighting and Alien Bee lighting are great values for the money, and are extremely reliable, but not the greatest when the user is heavy handed.</p>

<p>One way to check for how well things hold up to abuse is check with a photographic rental counter. (Samy's, PRS, Calumet, etc.) See which ones which they have the least amount of problems. Based on my experiences, Profoto was cheaper in the long run due to durability, quality of light and ease of use. Dynalites were also excellent. Calumet Travelites were ok, but the sync slaves on them were worthless.While this is going to upset a lot of people, Speedotron Blackline units were very troublesome. Half of the packs were in for repair. Older style Norman units were good, but the newer ones were a little more finicky. Hensel monoblocks had great specs, but seemed to break a lot.</p>

<p>Another thing to consider is that you sub $1,000 guesstimate doesn't allow for the system you mentioned. What is this system for? Is it for student usage or is it to take student and faculty portraits? The more the system is used, the the more people that use it, the more it will be abused and needs to be tougher-better lights, umbrellas, etc.</p>

[peter_cofran]

<p>I've worked for a charter school and know they have small budgets. I think for the most part they are asking for too much for too little money which is typical. Since I have worked with high school students for summer and after school black and white photography programs I can tell you what you can get away with.</p>

<p>1. A hot light setup with either a blue screen or white backdrop either can be photoshopped out. And yes hot lights aren't used in professional situations because they cook you but these will be for students doing quick shots. Hot lights are also good for beginners because they can see what the lighting will look like before the take the shot.</p>

<p>2. A basic strobe setup: 1 strobe and 1 reflector.<br /> variations to this set up would be either inexpensive new lights such a Alien Bees or used strobes off of ebay. Although usually these schools can only purchase with purchase orders from dealers such as B&H. But even there you can get a quality strobe maybe even 2 for under $1k. Oh and throw in an umbrella.</p>

<p>They don't need a softbox or wireless sync, and they could even make their own background which could be a fun project in itself. Btw, its SoCal so I can't see why they can't photograph outside.</p>

[todd_phillips4]

<p>Thank you everyone for the great responses.</p>

<p>They want to usethe lighting system for student and teacher portraits, for student photographic projects, teaching studio work, and they would like some portability for events off campus events. The school is a performing arts school and they will be looking to setup the lights at some off campus events.<br>

Is a Profoto system upgradeable? Meaning: Can a monolight setup be combined with another monolight setup purchase during their next school years budget? Would they sync?<br>

I own a reef store and have plenty of extra hotlights that can be used. 150 and 250 W Metal Halides. Also Reptile Heat reflectors that will hold up to 250W Standard Incadescent bulbs.<br>

I got involved with this school because of familty and friends who attend or teach there. I hope I have been able to contribute to the students learning, and believe I have. I have definitely learned alot with each event I have been a part of. I haven't used studio lighting since college so any advice here is greatly appreciated.</p>