Lighting equipment for a factory shoot

[daniel_dester]

<p>I am somewhat of an amateur, but I might be getting my first gig to shoot a factory for their web site. I really don't want to mess it up, so I'd really appreciate any advice on what you can suggest in terms of lighting.<br>

The material is mostly going to be about things in the factory: machines, welding equipment, an assembly line, etc. I was told that the factory has normal factory lighting (whatever that means), so it's indoors, not particularly bright, and they told me I would need to responsible for my own lighting.<br>

So my question is, what kind of lighting equipment should I bring for these situations? I would certainly bring a good tripod or two, but what kind of flashes or reflectors should I consider? I can probably rent whatever I need, so please share your thoughts and your experiences.<br>

Thanks so much!</p>

[john_a5]

<p>It depends a lot on the factory. I have shot inside a large iron works type of factory(similar to what you describe) and brought lights that I never used. Everything was lit well enough, if you have a tripod, and way too big to really light effectively. I shot film on that job and corrected color when I scanned the images. That job was in the early days of digital and film really was called for, as everything digital didn't do well in those days was needed in that shoot. Today's digital cameras would work really well doing this sort of thing. (they had already done several shoots with other photographers who used digital and hadn't been happy with the results--they asked why I wasn't shooting digital and you can guess my response!)</p>

<p>Since you describe a fairly similar situation, I think that bringing along a few lights for detail work and possibly some fill would make sense. But see if you can walk through the place and determine what you are dealing with. You may find that you don't really need them. You might also find out that there are no 110v outlets handy either.</p>

[scrivyscriv]

<p>I don't know where your skill level in off-camera lighting is, but learning enough about it weeks prior to shooting an important event is difficult at best. You might look into renting a set of Alien Bees monos, large softboxes or brellas, radio triggers, and stands. I know that Roger @ lensrentals.com has a vast personal knowledge of a wide array of subjects and he should be able to hook you up with renting anything. I've used them quite a lot.</p>

<p>You also might look at strobist.com for their speedlight lighting ideas. Outright purchase of a complete setup would be about equivalent to renting a monolight setup for a few days.</p>

<p>Also you're going to be looking at some ugly, harsh, flat lighting. Either florescent or sodium vapor, etc. You'll need to gel your lights unless you want to deal with extensive and multi-layered white balance adjustments in photoshop afterward. So be prepared with at least a basic few gels, like a CTO, CTB, and green/magenta.</p>

<p>If I were on a learning curve and getting paid well for shooting a large factory, I'd bring about five manually adjustable speedlight strobes with barebulb-style diffuser, 42" brellas, radio triggers for all, and some good clamps for the strobes.<br>

And lots of practice.</p>

[larry_hunt]

<p>If you have a chance it's probably best to visit the factory with your camera and the client to scout out the shots they need. That way you can get a better idea of what the ambient lighting is and get a better idea of what lighting equipment you may need to pull off the shots they need, bit of advice I got from Will Crockett years ago. Plus you can get a sense of what type of gels you may need if any.</p>

[richard_quindry]

<p>Don't even think about lighting it. It's much too big and there is no place to hide your lights if you do expansive views. You also don't have the necessary experience to pull it off with lights. By all means shoot RAW with the available light and correct the color in post-production. Your life will be much easier and you can deliver very nice results that way. It's also allows you to work much more quickly and you won't be wiped out at the end of the day from lugging lights around all day. Raise your ISO as high as you can without objectionable noise and preferably use a tripod. Shoot a gray card in each scene and use it as a starting point in setting your white balance.</p>

<p>Rich Quindry<br>

www.Quindry.com</p>

[john_schalk]

<p>If the area you're shooting is well lit, you can use on camera fill flash to take out any deep shadows and give a little sparke in the workers eyes. When I shoot in this environment, I use Elenchrom 6000 WS of light with 3 heads. All fits on a cart so I'm not wiped out at the end of the day. Some areas I would only use one light, others I would use all 3 plus some battery powered strobes. If you had some colored gels you can add some color to the photo. Example, if you have a work bench, you could put a dark blue gelled flash under that bench. Or if you had a wall behind the workers, you could put a gelled flash on that wall to give it some color. So many possibilities, if you had the right tools with you.</p>

[twmeyer]

<p>John is close to what I recommend.</p>

<p>Light the subject of your photograph and let the factory be what it will.</p>

<p>Use your shutter speed to lighten or darken the general environment and light the subject with strobe, controlled by the strobe's power and your cameras aperture. You could add an accent light on an element in the background to make your subject stand out (via contrast).</p>

<p>Good luck and keep an eye/ear out for forklifts, cranes, hoses, hanging chains, combustible dust and all the other fun stuff that can crush your equipment and/or your toes/head, explode, ignite or gag you. Which reminds me...get some steel toe boots and a hard hat (and don't touch anything without asking first).</p>

<p>Change lenses rapidly. Don't set them down <em>anywhere </em> but in your bag. And keep the camera bag ZIPPED shut all the time, or better yet carry only one zoom lens and one camera. Leave extra/backup equipment in the car... t </p>

<p>(and do you have liability insurance? If you don't, discuss this with the client <em>before</em> you start work. Really.)</p>

[daniel_dester]

<p>Thank you guys for all the input! It's taking me some time to digest all this, and I've had quite a time looking everything up to see what's right.<br>

As it turns out, they are now also interested in taking some portraits of the executives, so I will certainly need a solid lighting setup for that. Because this will be a one-person job (just me), I'm trying to minimize the gear as much as possible so I won't be overwhelmed. I'm also trying to get something simple to use since I'm still new to all this.<br>

So right now I'm leaning towards a setup with:<br>

-3 monolights (1 main, 1 fill, 1 back)<br>

-1 additional speedlight for the rest of the factory shoot.<br>

-stands, umbrellas, and a background.</p>

<p>Do you think I should use a remote trigger for everything, or should I have all the monolights flash off one of the flashes?</p>

[twmeyer]

<p>The pop and crackling light of arc welders can trigger optical slaves, causing you to miss a good portrait while the pack recycles. Use a radio slave and get a good one with multiple channel capability. Manufacturing factories using high voltage equipment can produce lots of interference.</p>

<p>How long is your shot list? Working by yourself while using a 3, maybe 4 light set up in a working factory will make for a very slow day, even if you are well practiced and familiar with the techniques and equipment. It can also be dangerous and/or expensive if you need to get yourself or the equipment out of the way quickly. You have said that you are not experienced with either lighting equipment or location editorial photography and that will mean a more deliberate pace will ensue (how <em>did</em> you get this job?).</p>

<p>Either cut back to 1 or two lights and use ambient as much as possible, or let them know you will need an assistant. Then hire someone with experience and knowledge of the lighting system you will be using and, since you are relatively inexperienced, pay them more than an assistant's rate. Pay them to make you (and the client) look good... t</p>