Portrait Lighting
John Driscoll
I hope this question hasn't been asked a million times here. I just stumbled
across this group tonight.
Could you please offer me opinions on the best studio lighting set up for
portraits under or around $1,000. I'm looking into Novatron stuff but I have
no idea how it compares or even who their competition is.
Please respond to joh...@chorus.net.
Thank you!
John
Mike Jordan
Besides here, there is a forum called zuga.net that has a lot of
professional wedding and portrait photographers as well as a number
of semi-pro, hobbiest and those with a strong interest that share
information. There is also a ton of reading material on portraits
that you can browse as well. The url is:
http://www.zuga.net/zuga/home/main.htm
>
> I hope this question hasn't been asked a million times here. I just stumbled
> across this group tonight.
>
> Could you please offer me opinions on the best studio lighting set up for
> portraits under or around $1,000. I'm looking into Novatron stuff but I have
> no idea how it compares or even who their competition is.
It depends on a number of factors. One being how much are you
going to use them. Do you need lights that can work all day every
day or something that you will use twice a month? Are you going to
be doing groups, full length, three quarters, head shots, some of
those or all? How much room do you have? Will you be using large
umbrellas, lightboxes and reflecting off the wall or other
reflective surfaces?
Some of your answers will indicate what kind of system you need.
If you are going to be taking a lot of pictures and you need
something that can be used day after day after day, then the lights
that seemed to be recommended the most are the White Lighting
systems. They are a little higher priced than some, but not by too
much. You can check out there web site at:
There are also the cheaper systems like Photogenic that have
starter kits with lights in the 100ws to 150ws range that are from
about $450 to $550. Those kids have 2 lights, light stands and
umbrellas.
I did a lot of research about 8 months ago and almost bought one of
the Photegenic kits, but decided I needed more power. So I went with
the SP Excalibur SP-6400 light. For $400 I got a 640ws monolight, a
very nice light stand and 45" umbrella (it was a package deal). I
got that from B&H. A few months later I bought the SP-1600 for
$158.00 and got a 160ws monolight with very good light stand and 45"
umbrella (another package deal). A few weeks ago I decided I needed
a fill light that worked off AC (a battery oppurated flash is the
pits in a studio environment) and decided to get the Photogenic 3001
which is a 100ws light for about $98. I like all of the lights, but
I wish I had gotten the SP-3200 instead of the SP-1600 because the
3200 is a 320ws light. It would have cost me about $210 but I would
have gotten the same light stand and umbrella with it. So for about
$650 I got 3 lights, light stands and umbrellas. For another $50 I
could have gotten a more powerful monolight had I gone with the
SP-3200 (which I may still get later). The lights have worked out
real well for the work I'm doing, which is portraits but not of
people. I am learning to do portraits of dogs. It's not as easy as
with some adults, but a lot easier than kids and you still get the
same "Oh how cute!". <grin>
By the way, the SP web site is: http://www.bkaphoto.com/
B&H, where I bought all my equipment and where I buy a lot of other
camera related stuff is at: http://www.bhphotovideo.com
I hope that helps.
Mike
--
Hillsboro, Oregon
Bouvier des Flandres - Herding & Working Dogs
http://www.europa.com/~mjordan - Pictures & Info on Bouviers
Chuck Hoffman
take this as a criticism, however...that's how beginners learn.
The question sometimes touches off a philosophical discussion of the
relative merits of monolights vs. pack-and-head outfits, and of so-called
Rembrandt lighting vs. other forms.
In a nutshell, the answers are multi-faceted and fraught with shades of gray
and personal preference. There is no "right" lighting outfit, nor is there
any "right" way to light a subject for a portrait. It is all a function of
the photographer's vision.
The best you can hope for here are explanations of how the respondents light
their subjects and what type of equipment they use. With that information,
you can make your own evaluations.
Myself, I use a four-light setup (modified Rembrandt) consisting of 2 White
Lightning WL5000 monolights and 2 Vivitar 285HV portable flash units (with
AC adapters) arranged as follows:
The White Lightnings are used as main (key) and fill lights and both are
bounced out of 45" bright white umbrellas.
Main (key) light: positioned about 45 deg. off the axis of the lens and
above the subject (6-9 ft. from the floor depending on subject size, pose,
etc.).
Fill light: positioned as near the lens axis as I can get it and about at
the subject's eye level. It is usually set about one stop below the main.
This (incorrectly) called a 3:1 lighting ratio.
The Vivitars are used as background and hair lights. The background light
is usually on a small stand directly behind the subject and aimed at the
backdrop. The light output is adjusted to provide the effect I want. The
hair light is supported above and slightly behind the subject. The light is
flagged so that it hits the top (more or less) of the subject's head but
does not enter the lens. It's range of settings is about 1/2 stop below the
main to 1-1/2 stops above depending on hair color (the lighter the hair, the
lower the light).
For a good treatise on portrait lighting, I'd recommend the following web
site: http://www.lightingmagic.com It is operated by Scott Smith, a
photography teacher and working professional photographer in Texas.
Good shooting.
"John Driscoll" <joh...@chorus.net> wrote in message
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Christopher
Chris
John Driscoll <joh...@chorus.net> wrote in message
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