Member Banned Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Hi everyone, New to the forum! I'm trying to go from photographic hobbyist to professional, bit by bit and I want to invest in good flash lighting kits for a beginner (my studio is essentially my living room with thick curtains drawn closed). Any suggestions or ideas? Is this a good one for example? If not, how come and any suggestions for a better kit? Best, [REMOVED] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 (edited) There are more than a few kits out there that may fit your needs such as Alienbees and Photogenic. I have both, but there are certainly more out there. These days, Mono light kits are more popular than the traditional Pack-kits where you have to attach light-heads to a power pack. Some of these Mono Light kits can also work with propriety batteries in case you have to shoot in a location with no electricity. Of course the more you spend the more features and reliability you are going to get. Neweer produces some good products, however they have not been around much. For the price, it seems that kit offers a lot, but there is probably a catch at that low price ! In my opinion, it is better to start out with a reliable kit that is going to last you a long time. Also, make sure that kit is upgradeable. Edited May 2 by hjoseph7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels - NHSN Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 What exactly are you planning to shoot for money? Cars, webshop catalogues, portraits, fashion, jewlery…? 1 Niels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJG Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Neils's question is a good one--different types of subjects will need different types of lighting equipment. The kit you linked to is too cheap to be very good or last very long. It looks like some kind of continuous lighting--CFL? which usually isn't very powerful and frequently has issues with providing accurate color rendition. The monolight flash units mentioned above will be a much better choice in the long run. To put the cost issue into perspective, I wouldn't buy any new light stand that retailed for under $100-125, let alone all of the included equipment for the price shown. And if you're thinking about portraiture, you want sturdy equipment so you don't injure your subjects. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Michael Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 2 hours ago, AJG said: . . .The kit you linked to is too cheap to be very good or last very long. It looks like some kind of continuous lighting--CFL? which usually isn't very powerful and frequently has issues with providing accurate color rendition. The monolight flash units mentioned above will be a much better choice in the long run. To put the cost issue into perspective, I wouldn't buy any new light stand that retailed for under $100-125, let alone all of the included equipment for the price shown. And if you're thinking about portraiture, you want sturdy equipment so you don't injure your subjects. It is. It is a Lighting Kit designed for Video. REF Translation of Title of the Kit - "NEEWER Photography Lighting Kit with Backgrounds, 2.6x3m Background Stand, 5700K 800W Equivalent to 24W LED Bulbs Umbrella Softbox Continuous Lighting, Photo Studio Equipment for Video" *** This kit would not be my choice for Product Photography and it is an extremely poor choice for Portraiture: I think Flash, with Modelling Lights, would be much better for Portraiture, and also is my preference for mostly all Product Photography. WW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Michael Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 " New to the forum! I'm trying to go from photographic hobbyist to professional, bit by bit and I want to invest in good flash lighting kits for a beginner (my studio is essentially my living room with thick curtains drawn closed). Any suggestions or ideas? Is this a good one for example? If not, how come and any suggestions for a better kit?" Good question. Apropos Portraiture: we can broadly group Lighting Scenarios into two groups - 1. Available Light at the Scene, which includes all Continuous Photographic/Video Lighting 2. Flash Lighting whilst also accounting for all the Available Light (as per 1 above) at the Scene (also referred to as the Ambient Light at the Scene). The primary reason why, for Studio Portraiture, I will mostly always opt for Flash Lighting is because doing so gives me absolute control over Subject Movement Blur. For any Adult Portraiture in Available Light, where the Subject(s) are adult and healthy, I want to have available a Shutter Speed of 1/320s as my slowest option. If photographing Children or aged Subjects I want 1/500s. I also want to have available a relatively low ISO and a sufficient range of Apertures to allow a range of Artistic Interpretations. Additionally, consider a Group Portrait where a large DoF becomes more important, than for example, a simple Single Head Shot. In one simple sentence: I have not found any Continuous Studio Lighting Set which come close to allowing me to have the range of ISO/Aperture/Shutter Speed which I demand. Professional TV Studio Lighting and some Professional Cinematography and Stage Lighting Sets come close but still fall short. On the other hand, for Studio Portraiture, Flash allows for the Camera's Shutter to be set at the Flash Sync Speed, and by adjusting the Studio's Ambient Light (i.e. "my studio is essentially my living room with thick curtains drawn closed") the duration of the Flash remediates any Subject Motion Blur. (Powerful) Studio Flash Heads provide suitable power to allow a good range of Apertures to be available at reasonable low ISO. The Guide Number (at ISO100) of a the Flash Unit is a standard comparison which is often used. I began using Elinchrom Studio Flash in 1976, because the Studio which employed me then was set up with Elinchrom. I bought into that system and have built it and used Elinchrom ever since. My Elinchrom Flash Set has always been more than suitable for all the Product Photography I have done, which comprised smaller items: art (mainly paintings); jewellery; coin and stamp collections; and food. All of which were shot in a medium sized studio, essentially built for Portraiture. Other Members, especially those whose careers have been more skewed to Product Photography than has my journey, will have more to offer in guidance apropos Product work, having stated that, I concur with the comment about Colour Temperature variance of CFL Lighting (Compact Fluorescent Lamp), (made by Andrew, aka AJG, above). To expand - although the kit you referenced describes LED Lights (Light Emitting Diode) and not CFL, the description of the product states: "About this product Kit includes: (. . . The kit comes with four 24W LED bulbs, each equivalent to a regular 200W incandescent bulb. , with a color temperature of 5700 K. Ideal for photography lighting The 24" x 24" / 60cm x 60cm softboxes spread light effectively to give you even lighting for the best possible shots. Equipped with an E27 lamp holder, you can connect a bulb directly to each softbox or use them with other lights or flashes." Whilst having the knowledge that the Colour Temperature of these LED Lights is 5700K is important, equally as important is knowing the CRI of these LED Lights (Color Rendering Index). Mostly all LED Lighting historically has a low CRI, however technological development is improving the quality of LED for a range Photographic uses, noted mainly Videography. Even so, my gut tells me this particular set is not very good. The above issues are virtually not present in quality Studio Flash Lighting, hence my choice of Flash rather than Continuous Lighting for my Studio Portraiture. WW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Banned Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Hi everyone, and thank you for your great answers and questions, you're illuminating things I missed. @Niels - NHSN It'll be smaller subjects more than bigger ones, I've yet to start with portrait photography but I've been asked to create product images for a friend and her small business producing toys for toddlers. @AJG Also great input here on price vs quality, just like @William Michael also brought up both camera settings and making sure I use the right light kit for the right purpose (video clearly is not something I should go for, so thats great input, I honestly thought they were flash lights)... Youve all given me incredibly helpful input as I navigate my transition from hobby to work. It’s clear I have much to consider. Thank you all once again for sharing your expertise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels - NHSN Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 @Niels - NHSN "It'll be smaller subjects more than bigger ones, I've yet to start with portrait photography but I've been asked to create product images for a friend and her small business producing toys for toddlers" Product photography for a web shop is an area I practice as a minor part of my job (a task I was appointed to, not because I am employed as a photographer but because I have an interest in photography). It is characterized by the need for speed, repeatability and low cost (time/money) pr. product. It seems to be perceived as an “anyone can do it” type of photography. In my case, there is not space for a permanent setup. For those reasons I use a 60x60x60cm tent cube with built in high’ish CRI LEDs, because that size fits the objects, it can be easily moved into a corner, and when in use it produces the exact same results as last time. No individual light adjustments are needed (or possible). All items have the same illumination and I only need to do 2-4 RAW adjustments to export a useable image to JPG. Let me warn you, there is no particular satisfaction- artistically- in this work. If you aspire to set optimal lighting for each object you will likely waste time you cannot invoice - or if you do invoice, you’ll quickly lose business. 1 Niels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Banned Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 On 5/6/2024 at 3:58 PM, Niels - NHSN said: Product photography for a web shop is an area I practice as a minor part of my job (a task I was appointed to, not because I am employed as a photographer but because I have an interest in photography). It is characterized by the need for speed, repeatability and low cost (time/money) pr. product. It seems to be perceived as an “anyone can do it” type of photography. In my case, there is not space for a permanent setup. For those reasons I use a 60x60x60cm tent cube with built in high’ish CRI LEDs, because that size fits the objects, it can be easily moved into a corner, and when in use it produces the exact same results as last time. No individual light adjustments are needed (or possible). All items have the same illumination and I only need to do 2-4 RAW adjustments to export a useable image to JPG. Let me warn you, there is no particular satisfaction- artistically- in this work. If you aspire to set optimal lighting for each object you will likely waste time you cannot invoice - or if you do invoice, you’ll quickly lose business. Thank you @Niels - NHSN - makes perfect sense. I'll do some Amazon-surfing/shopping rounds and see what kind of tents that might fit my current use case. Thank you for the warning also, I had a feeling I'm going to be more of an image producer when doing product photography, rather than actually being able to be as creative as I'd like. Then again, I'm hoping to convince my friend that she might need some nice shots of the toddler toys in action too, let's see. Thanks again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Banned Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 @ Niels - NHSN @AJG Chicos, encontré un producto que creo que se adapta a lo que necesito y parece bastante completo. El problema es que está en Kickstarter como campaña. Estoy interesado pero no estoy seguro si vale la pena. ¿Podrías comprobarlo y darme tu opinión? Gracias de antemano. LINK REMOVED by William Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Michael Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 MODERATOR COMMENT Translation of above - "Guys, I found a product that I think fits what I need and seems pretty complete. The problem is that it is on Kickstarter as a campaign. I'm interested but not sure if it's worth it. Could you check it and give me your opinion? Thanks in advance." The LINK in the above post has been removed. Investigation revealed this conversation as an elaborate spam, proceeding to advertising the Member's Kickstarter, in the post above. Members gave their time providing advice, comment and recommendations: those posts and the context of those posts remain. The Member who started this conversation has been banned and the Member's Username removed. This conversation is closed. William 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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