home lighting

[chris_mcdermott]

<p>I am going to do some family shots in my finished basment. I have a D5000, and will be using a 35mm 1.8 lens. The lighting is recessed lighting, but can be angled slightly. I am no where near a professional photographer, or even an advanced amature, but I am trying to learn as much as I can. I can not justify spending $200+ on lighting. I have heard of some people using clamp on lights that can be bought at the local hardware store. Any advice?? </p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Chris</p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>Look up, click on the Learning tab. Have a good read there, then go to the lighting forum and spend the rest of the day there. Lots to learn and btw, $200 for lighting is not a lot of money.</p>

[goldbergbarry]

<p>I ran across this site a while ago - a lot of really good points here. <a href="http://lumitouch.com/benstudiotutorial/rules.html">http://lumitouch.com/benstudiotutorial/rules.html</a></p>

 

[simon_hickie1]

<p>Barry's suggested site looks very useful. Non photo lighting may be useful in the absence of anything else but will give unpredictable colour balance - certainly try a custom manual white balance when the lights are on. You can use anything white (sheets etc) as reflectors to soften shadows. You need to try to avoid things like heavy shadows under chins, noses, in eye sockets etc.</p>

<p>Do you have a flash gun? Rather than invest in studio type lights, something like an SB600 or SB700 will be useful at other times too - check out <a href="http://neilvn.com/">http://neilvn.com/</a> for using bounced flash.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>When you're just getting started, there's no reason to get fancier than a single light bulb and some reflectors made of craft store foam-core sheet. The main issue when using household lighting sources is the low power of the light(s). This usually means having to shoot at a higher (and possibly noisier) ISO, or to settle for longer shutter speeds, or both.<br /><br />The longer the shutter speed, the better chance that movement by your subject or your movement of the camera will diminish sharpness. It can really help to have a tripod or other camera support. And, as Simon points out, you could find that an SB-700 is really the best thing with which to start. Mount it in your camera's hot shoe, point the head off to the side at a large reflector, and enjoy nice soft directional light on your subject - with no concerns about noisy high ISO or sluggish shutter speeds. And, of course, a flash is very helpful in many other shooting situations.</p>

[michael_madio]

<p>"I have heard of some people using clamp on lights that can be bought at the local hardware store. Any advice??" ... don't use the lights ;-)<br>

<br /><br>

The simplest and most cost effective way of shooting people in your scenario is to get a flash unit of some sort (inexpensive units work as well ... e.g. <a href="http://www.adorama.com/FP320M.html">http://www.adorama.com/FP320M.html</a>) and fire it through a white bed sheet or shower curtain emulating a large window.</p>

[ariel_s1]

<p>Buy a cheapo manual flash. Read this. Enjoy.<br>

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>My first lights were 10-12 inch reflectors with 500-watt No. 2 Photoflood bulbs. You can still buy those. Smith Victor (google them or look them up at <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com">www.bhphotovideo.com</a>) still sells a whole kit of three reflectors with light stands and maybe even a cardboard case for under $200. Might even be able to get them with umbrellas for that price. Not fancy but many photographes have started with this type of outfit going back to the 1940s. If you want something more modern but still cheap, go to <a href="http://www.strobist.com">www.strobist.com</a> and read up on the Lighting 101 section on what you can do with a simple shoemount flash, a light stand and an umbrella. You can buy a Vivitar 285HV -- still the most flash for the money -- for $90 new, add a stand for around $40 and an umbrella for around $20 and still be in business for under $200. Generaly speaking it's much easier to work with flash for still photography than hot lights. It's very easy to spend a fortune on lighting gear but it's possible to do a lot with very little if you learn how.</p>

[James G. Dainis]

Go ahead and try the clamp on lights with dish reflectors. My first lights were about the same as Craig's. I believe the lamps were 3400K which had less of a yellow cast than regular incandescent but since I shot black and white, that didn't really matter. Those photoflood bulbs were only good for about 8 hours before they failed.

 

With hot lights, as bulbs in reflectors are called for good reason, you can see the shadows and adjust the position of the lamps to your liking, one closer for main and one further back for fill. With digital you can set the white balance to eliminate color casts. Just don't mix different types of lights such as fluorescent and incandescent which have different color temperatures or color casts.

[hjoseph7]

<p>Not sure what type of bulbs are being used in your basement, hopefully not colored bulbs. If you are shooting in color, try to avoid mixed lighting situations. Such as: (Fluorecent & Tungsten), (Ambient & Tungsen), (Colored & Tungsten), (Flash & Tungsten).<br>

These lighting situations can cause unpleasant hues in your pictures that are hard to remove in post processing. I agree with Craig on this one a Vivitar 285H would work wonderfully in this situation. They are dependable, cheap and powerful enough to be used with an umbrella, or to bounce off the ceiling, walls or a reflector.</p>

 

[bob_bill]

<p>Chris, why the basement? Try using windows or doors upstairs. We pay hundreds, if not thousands for lights and modifiers trying to emulate window light. </p>

[chris_mcdermott]

<p>Thanks for the responses...I know $200 is not a lot for lighting, but when it is a new hobby, and I just spent $200 on a lens, it's a lot for me, at least right now. I don't have to shoot in basement, but when I do this shot it will be dark out, so it won't matter about natural light coming from the windows. I will definitly be doing a lot more research...thanks again!</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Here are a couple of sites with excellent illustrated tutorials for affordable portrait lighting:<br>

<a title="Studio Lighting website illustrated tutorials" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.studiolighting.net/" target="_blank">Studio Lighting website</a><br /><br /><br>

<a href="http://ny.webphotoschool.com/">NY Web Photo School</a></p>

[jim_momary]

<p>Clamp lights do work, albeit they're not perfect. But they are cheap.<br>

<a href="http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=clamp+on+work+light&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&Ntpc=1&Ntpr=1">http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=clamp+on+work+light&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&Ntpc=1&Ntpr=1</a><br>

Model CE-303PDQ ... I clamp a few of these around and instant, dirt cheap light. Harsh, but it gets you going @ below $20 (if you include a large bulb) per unit. I used them for X-Mas eve dinner and X-Mas day morning with the grand kids as the room light is not so hot and too many bodies around to use my CLS strobes standing on convenient furniture/surfaces and no room for tripods (really cramped).<br>

Do a manual white balance with the light and it's just peachy. Again, watch out for other mixed different light sources (fluorescent or daylight). It ain't elegant but it works. If and when you're ready to move up to photo lamps/strobes, you have a few workshop lights to hang in your shop or garage :o)<br>

The examples below are done with 3 clamp on lights positioned the best I could. These are snapshot things, not fine art. It gets your feet wet and teaches you how to aim, vary and manipulate the lighting. You can turn the reflector (entire light fixture) to bounce it off convenient surfaces or reflectors. With a max of 300 watts per fixture, it's fairly bright and certainly better than the dismal room light I had available. I was able to shoot at a decent iso and shutter speed.<br>

So, it's not wonderful but it does work decently for the price. To be honest & fair, where I have the space and the opportunity, I use Nikon SB600's and prefer them. One thing regular "hot" lamps give over strobes to the beginner, is the ability to see the lighting effects and the shadows prior to taking the shot.<br>

Just some fodder for thought.<br>

Jim</p><div></div>

[simon_hickie1]

<p>If an SB600 or SB700 is too expensive, you could consider a Nissin Di622 mk2. For informal family shots I always use an add-on flash and am sure you would get more use from one than a set of lights.</p>

[bonniepearce]

<p>I have worked with many non-strobe light sources. Be sure to run c custom white balance on your camera to correct for Kelvin. Yes, a Flash would be beneficial. Without it, get ready for higher film speeds and/or slower shutter speeds. Easiest, least expensive fix if you can't purchase any new equipment right now - go outside.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>One BIG warning on the clamp-on hardware store lights mentioned above. They have plastic sockets. To get enough light, you need to use photoflood bulbs, not household lights. And photofloods are extremely hot, -- so hot they can melt the plastic sockets in hardware store lights. The Smith-Victor clamp-on (and stand-mounted) reflectors use porcelain sockets that can withstand the heat.</p>

[michael_madio]

<p>Just to chime in here again, be sure to add up what hardware store shop lights cost vs the $99 Adorama flash ... it's 150WS which is the equivalent of 3 hot-shoe flashes and has an integral umbrella mount. Not to pick on anything particular here but even with 3 or 4 shop light fixtures with bulbs you're more than half way there to a "real" flash that isn't too hot and lets you use more typical ISO, shutter speed, and apertures. I have no affiliation with Adorama or these products in any way, just saying that for relatively little money you can get the right tool for the job as opposed to a poor substitute that is extremely limiting and will be frustrating to work with.</p>

[jim_momary]

<p>Craig ... the ones I pointed out have ceramic sockets so they're good to 300W.<br>

This works for video too.<br>

For cost, add to the Adorama or other strobes, a lightstand and an umbrella. $20 for Home Depot is still cheap.<br>

Certainly not perfect, but a cheap start. The battle of continuous lighting vs strobes has/will continue for a long while. I also use large spiral fluoro lamps too, rated at 85 Watts input power, bulkier, pricier ($25-40 per bulb but 10000hr life) but a lot of light and a cooler package. These are 400 equivalent incandescent watts and temps of 4000K to 5000K<br>

And I suspect we'll see super bright LED arrays in ourlifetime.<br>

The lumen wars go on.<br>

Jim</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<p>Jim, where are you getting these high wattage "spiral fluoro"? Are they CFL's?</p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>Most camera shops have them if they sell lighting equipment. Yes, giant CFL's</p>

[jim_momary]

<p>Well, you can get them from lots of locales anymore, even Home Depot and Lowes (some) have them. Lighting stores also have them too. (in the USA, at least)<br /> Yep, they look like cfl's on steroids.<br>

examples -<br>

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/105-Watt-Spectrum-Daylight-05559/dp/B002ZPKEV8">http://www.amazon.com/105-Watt-Spectrum-Daylight-05559/dp/B002ZPKEV8</a></p>

<p><a href="http://1000bulbs.com/product/62837/FC105-FEIIIB10565.html?utm_source=SmartFeedGoogleBase&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_term=FC105-FEIIIB10565&utm_content=6500K+-+400+Watt+Equal+Compact+Fluorescents&utm_campaign=SmartFeedGoogleBaseShopping">http://1000bulbs.com/product/62837/FC105-FEIIIB10565.html?utm_source=SmartFeedGoogleBase&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_term=FC105-FEIIIB10565&utm_content=6500K+-+400+Watt+Equal+Compact+Fluorescents&utm_campaign=SmartFeedGoogleBaseShopping</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/105-Watt-Spectrum-Warranty-FE-IIIB-105W-50K/dp/B002ZPEQDK">http://www.amazon.com/105-Watt-Spectrum-Warranty-FE-IIIB-105W-50K/dp/B002ZPEQDK</a></p>

 

[jim_momary]

<p>One caveat tho, they do take about a minute or slightly more to get to full brightness as they 'warm up'. You may have noticed that nearly all fluorescents do this, but it's less obvious with ceiling mounted grid fixtures.</p>

[James G. Dainis]

Most of the light from those CFLs is cast off to the side from the bulb. Make sure any reflector dish is large enough so the bulb is enclosed inside not sticking out.