brooks short

<p>At the heavy-weight end of the boom/stand range is this Manfrotto boom stand and remote controlled boom arm. The stand raises and lowers by hand crank so weight is not an issue, and the boom arm adjusts the angle, rotation and tilt of the light by remote hand cranks on the other end of the boom.</p> <p>It's heavy and big but it's indispensable in the studio and on location when you need to support real weight. And it's so convenient to use when raising the stand, or boom or adjusting the angle of the light. I've had this boom and stand for 30 years and it works like new. I take it on location whenever I need it.</p><div></div>

<p>Oops, here's the photo taken at Contrabando Canyon, an abandoned movie set in West Texas.</p><div></div>

<p>Hasselblad C w/150mm f/4 on T-Max 100</p>

<p>Wow, pretty uneven lighting for a green screen.</p>

<p>The OP here, Sue McIntire, received 11 responses/suggestions to her previous question regarding lighting a bed set for a catalog and never responded herself to those suggestions. No feedback from her at all and no "thank you for your time".</p> <p>Hardly seems worth responding to this latest request from her, does it?</p> <p> </p>

<p>Turn off the over head lights and see if there is enough available light to get an exposure. Use a tripod, electronic cable shutter release and long exposure. You'll need to block light coming in from the grid on the right.</p> <p>If there is not enough light for an exposure from ambient light, keep the over head lights off and use your strobes bounced into the ceiling. Move them around to light different parts of the ceiling until you have a position for them that doesn't produce glare on the mural.</p>

<p>CFL have an incomplete color spectrum. Tungsten lights are easier to color balance. Strobes are the best choice but why spend real money when you're photographing and selling $1,000.00 bikes? :)</p>

<p>Right here... http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/tools/portable-work-lights/Flashlights-Clamping/clamp-light-with-aluminum-reflector-sl300pdq6-silver-6pk?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CPiJ1ai1gcACFSxk7AodPF8AOQ&gclsrc=aw.ds</p> <p>You can also find them at most hardware stores, Home Depot, Lowes etc.</p>

<p>Justin, It's not that you should stay away from soft boxes, it's that you need a soft box that's larger than the subject you are photographing.</p> <p>You can substitute a large diffusion panel like I did for my motorcycle shot but even that wasn't large enough to light the entire bike. That's why the photography is shot as a crop of the bike.</p> <p>If I were you, I'd make a large diffusion panel 6'x4' out of schedule 40 PVC pipe and cover it with rip-stop nylon or a frosted white shower curtain. Pull the fabric tightly across the PVC frame and support it with two light stands and clamps, one on each side.<br /> \<br /> I'd then position that diffusion frame horizontally above the bike and lower it as close to the bike as possible, so it is just outside of the image. You can suspend it from the ceiling with rope and pulleys at each corner. Raise and lower it as needed.<br> Clamp several clamp lights with 200w bulbs to the ceiling beams above the diffusion panel so they shine down and light the entire panel.</p> <p>Add a 4'x8' sheet of white foam-core horizontally in front of the bike and raise the side that's near the camera as high as you can before it shows in the viewfinder.</p> <p>Before you do any of that setup, position the bike at the front edge of the background paper so it's at least 4-5 ft. in front of the hanging background. Use a tripod, low ISO, a decent f/stop for sharpness, a slightly telephoto lens and as long of a shutter speed as needed for the correct exposure. If you want to make it much easier, shoot tethered to a laptop so you can see the image at a viewable size.</p>

<p>And here is the setup..</p><div></div>

<p>Not a bicycle shot but this motorcycle shot illustrates the size of light modifiers you'll need to produce those long, clean specular highlights on tubular and rounded surfaces.<br> The bike was lit with a single flash from above in a 3'x4' soft box pushing through an overhead 6'5" square diffusion panel. A second light on the floor lit the background. A 4'x8' white foam-core panel down in front provided fill and secondary specular highlights on the bike.</p><div></div>

<p>Those 36" and 28" soft boxes are too small for shooting bicycles no matter what lights you use them with and $300 is not enough budget.</p>

<p>Here's a single light portrait from my gallery here on Photo.net. Light was a 42" umbrella and a white fill card. Shot with a Hasselblad, 150mm lens and plus-X film.</p><div></div>

<p>The lighting on this is very simple. As mentioned above, a large diffused light source camera left and an equally large reflector camera right.</p> <p>The more difficult part of the shoot will be the styling of the bed, linens and props. </p> <p>An obvious question comes to mind and that is why would you hire a photographer with limited experience in lighting for this shot? These kinds of shots are all about the lighting, styling and propping. </p>

<p>Right Ellis, I still carry the large 4800ws Speedo power packs upon occasion but for many jobs, 3-800ws Speedotron packs suffice. Flash heads are still the same size, about the same as mono-lights. Everything else is the same so really the only space I occasionally save is when I use the smaller power packs, and three of those are the same size a one large pack. And no need to carry film and Polaroid now, instead I carry a cart and computer, either laptop or iMac.</p> <p>Most location work is about the logistics of transporting and carrying the gear which is why I have such a large vehicle.</p>

<p>Ellis,</p> <p>You're correct. I've taken tons of lighting, grip equipment and an assistant, from Florida to locations all along the east coast and into the Long Island, New York, the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. In the 1980's and 1990's I used a full sized Ford Van but since 2005 I've had a Suburban. The van had a fold-down bed which was convenient when traveling 900 mile days with a second driver. The Suburban hauls just as much and is easier to park in covered garages.</p> <p>I no longer do those really long road trips for shoots. Most of my location work is within a 500 mile radius today. In recent years I have found that it's easier to drive and bring all the lighting equipment than it is to fly with it.</p>

<p>My wife drives a Subaru Outback that I've used on occasion to carry lighting and camera equipment on location for commercial photo shoots. It holds a good bit.</p> <p>Don't be so quick to dismiss a Suburban. My Suburban will carry much more and can even fit 4'x8' foam-core flags and reflectors with the third row seats out and the second row seats folded down. I can also fit 9' seamless paper rolls and a 9' remote control Manfrotto boom with the windows closed.</p> <p>Gas mileage isn't great at 17mpg city and 20 mph highway but I can also tow a 25' boat and motorcycle trailer when I need to. It's got all the benefits of a long bed pick-up truck and it rides like a luxury car.</p>

<p>Thanks for your kind words regarding "Rita 1972", Martynas.</p> <p>That was shot years ago with a single flash into a 48" white umbrella on a light stand. No ceiling rail system involved!</p> <p>More to the point, I've had a ceiling rail system in my studio for over 25 years and it's a great convenience. I use power packs and flash heads and have all the flash head cables exiting the rail system to the left where I keep my power packs on a movable cart. I've found that it simplifies things to have all the cables drop to the floor on one side of the studio instead of both sides.</p> <p>Hope this helps....</p> <p> </p>

<p>I'd run them all out to the same side with one light per floating rail.</p>

<p>A rental studio that provides lighting equipment should be able to provide at least 4-6 lights, pack and head systems or mono lights, Pocket Wizards radio slaves, twice as many light stands as lights, 2 boom arms, soft boxes, umbrellas, beauty dishes, flash meters, silks, scrims and reflector panels for each renter.</p>