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Studio Lighting?
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I wouldnt mind investing in some indoor lighting, mainly for photographing the kids and perhaps object/product/still life type work.
Anyone recommendations ? Don’t want to spent a large fortune, but don’t want to buy something which I’ll find in a couple of years wasn’t good
enough.Mark
I was asking about the same thing in this thread here :
https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=218
Which I just realised was in the wrong category !
I would be interested in replies to this one too.
Why go for a studio kit? I have a SB800 and SB600 and whilst I haven’t played too much, I have read pretty good things about the Nikon CLS.
Are you using both flash heads at same time Ciaran ?
The whole use of lighting is a mystery to me at the moment, much get a book on it.Mark
Yep, both flash heads can be used at the same time, and if you use your D70 set to commander mode, both can be set off remotely. Being honest I did it just to test the whole CLS thing, but I haven’t put it to true use yet. However, two or three speedlights seem a better setup unless you are going to get into a real studio kit for shooting people.
Hey Mark
I have being using bowens stuff for ever and they are really robust given that they are in and out of the van more times for weddings and the like,try a set of 250’s no need for anything stronger me thinks. Most come with slaves attached which are picked up via infrared. Then use a soft box and an umbrella for diffusion,softbox as main and brolley as fill.
Oh dont forget ebay too,good luck with that..
BenI’d second the Bowens, they’re built like the proverbial, great for studio and location work.
http://www.bowensinternational.comI have 2 x SB800s with Lumiquest 80-20 and Big Bounce attachments. I also have 5 x Elinchrom flash heads with softbox, brollies, reflectors, barn doors and honeycomb attachments.
Both have their uses but I?d recommend studio lighting above speedlights.
Firstly, a SB800 is nearly as expensive as an Elinchrom flash head. That is probably offset by the argument that you need at least one SB800 for fill flash anyway, so you have the first one and it is then just a matter of buying a second.
Secondly, the small point of light that a speedlight produces will never compare with the quality of the larger expanses of light that studio lighting produces. Even with attachments like the Lumiquest ones I?ve mentioned, the speedlights are still second best.
I don?t mean to knock the use of speedlights. I am gradually using mine more often now. (Originally I had a SB600 and a SB800, but the controls and menus of the two were so different that it nearly put me off using them. Try to avoid that combination.) Anyway, back to the point. If you are happy with hardlight images the speedlights are pretty good. I find they lend themselves well to film noir and retro-style images. But it is when you want really soft portraits that you?ll find speedlights just can?t quite deliver.
Just my 2 cents?.
BTW, I?ve often toyed with the idea of teaming up with someone who had a couple more SB800 to see what could be produced with three or four of them on a shoot.
I wouldn’t for one second even mean to suggest that speed lights are going to compare with full studio heads. However, I think your scenario is a little bit different to most people in that you have equpped your own private studio, with space/backdrops etc. Most people don’t have that luxury so wont get as much use out of their studio kits as you would. For portability and flexibility, especially considering how little the average person would use a kit, I’d be inclined to go down the speedlight route. If I had a studio however, it’s a completely different ball game.
Hi Ciaran
In truth, I did think that you weren?t really suggesting that speedlights could be a substitute for studio lighting, and my posting should maybe have acknowledged that better.
The main point that this thread may be dealing with now is the context of how often and how the lights will be used. As you point out, if someone has a largish building and can make a studio out of it then studio lighting is the more likely choice. And if anyone is hoping to do some portraiture and charge for it then studio lighting is probably a better investment. But many will only do a few shoots indoors with their lighting, whatever the type, and could get enough from speedlights. And so forth?
Studio lighting can be fairly portable, packing into a couple of cases, and I?d happily take mine around by car. I?d use the speedlights more for travelling abroad or when I?m only half expecting that lighting may be needed at all.
This all adds to my enthusiasm for that speedlight shoot I mentioned, to see just how far we can take speedlights and what we can get out of them. Any takers? I?d offer my studio as a venue, but it isn?t ideal as the ceiling is about 14ft high ? unsuitable for testing the effects of ceiling-bounced flash.
I’d have to agree with Bertie, studio lighting is fairly portable if you have a car to hoof stuff around in; coupla lights, tripods and softboxes can fold down if needed though it’s a pain in the ass making them up and taking them down time after time. You don’t need a vast studio to use them either, we used set up in whoever’s living room to do portraits…sometimes if the space was tight we’d backbounce the light of walls through a diffuser if necessary, but most times there was enough room to throw a softbox on one, a brolly on t’other and if you could get your knees behind your head you could make room for a reflector too. That’s how we started off anyways, but we did it that way because our whole aim was to make it our profession.
If, a big if, you want to make money and produce good quality studio stylee portraits with soft lighting then studio lights and diffusers are the best way to go. I know of one well respected studio photograher in Dublin who’s first studio was a slightly larger than average garden shed…I know this cos I got pissed sucking beer through a straw (so that the beer head was the perfect height) for hours on end one hot summer while contorting myself around tripods and cables. Them were the days.
Mark, Gerard, if youse want to have a play with various bits and bobs in a studio set up to get a feel for things drop me a line. If the Swords area suits you then maybe I can arrange a visit to our studio…depending on what her indoors is doing, natch.
Mark
I would recommend the Elinchrome D-Lites. You can buy a two head kit from warehouse express for ?399. I have had them for 3/4 months and they are superb. The kit comes with a holdall/carry bag and in my opinion is very portable (although personally I leave them in a small studio).If you have a look at the warehouse express site, there are links to reviews of the D-Lites.
Mark – forget WarehouseExpress – overpriced and will cost you an arm and a leg in shipping! Head on up to Paddy Barker in the South Link Park, Frankfield, (sort of across the road from Musgraves cash and carry outlet) he’ll see you right – http://www.barkerphotographic.ie/ I got my Elinchrom Style 600 kit there two years ago for less than I would have paid to import it from the UK. Paddy and his crew are a very friendly and helpful bunch, only to hapy to advise you if you have any specific needs. They are the Irish importer for Elinchrom and they do a whole lot of other stuff as well. I just picked up a roll of white paper there today for some product photography I have to do.
Elinchrom are a good quality light with an excellent reputation and a huge variety of accessories available, including budget third party accessories.
– Thorsten
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