Beginner Lighting / Backdrop Kit

KieranSLR

KieranSLR

Suspended / Banned
Messages
614
Name
Kieran
Edit My Images
Yes
i have a spair room so wanting to get into the portrait side of photography,
but wanting not too expensive around £200 i should imagine would be enough
, but wanting backdrop and lights

see this for the backdrop
http://www.ebuyer.com/337599-backgr...cts&gclid=CI_mnLqDq7MCFbMbtAodhW8Adg&MID=4358

and these soft boxes
http://www.ebuyer.com/337598-light-kit-2-13m-light-kit-1

but the boxes are continuous light, wondering i would benefit with a strobe lighting rather then continous

would be use for nothing but portaits for a hobby

thanks :thumbs:
 
KieranSLR said:
i have a spair room so wanting to get into the portrait side of photography,
but wanting not too expensive around £200 i should imagine would be enough
, but wanting backdrop and lights

see this for the backdrop
http://www.ebuyer.com/337599-backgr...cts&gclid=CI_mnLqDq7MCFbMbtAodhW8Adg&MID=4358

and these soft boxes
http://www.ebuyer.com/337598-light-kit-2-13m-light-kit-1

but the boxes are continuous light, wondering i would benefit with a strobe lighting rather then continous
would be use for nothing but portaits for a hobby

thanks :thumbs:
Click to expand...

You would benefit - a lot. Those continuous lights are feeble.

For £200, look at Lencarta Smartflash, stand, background etc. You can do a great deal with that, learn a lot too, then build from there.
 
HoppyUK said:
You would benefit - a lot. Those continuous lights are feeble.

For £200, look at Lencarta Smartflash, stand, background etc. You can do a great deal with that, learn a lot too, then build from there.
Click to expand...

okay thanks, wondering if i should also get softboxes / umbrellas?

seams expensive due only getting one flash would like a few,
hopefully can find a 2 flash/lights
stand
background, stand for background
umbrella?
maybe softbox?

any help much appricated
 
I'd worry about portable lights prior to getting a backdrop, personally.

Strobes will be much better for your uses if you're shooting people. Lets say you have a 100watt constant light, you'd need to expose for a whole second to use all of that light. Whereas a strobe can put out 400w/s in the blink of an eye... Allowing you to freeze any subject movement and use a faster shutter speed (usually 1/160 - 1/200). I've heard good things about the lencarta setup, and also Adoramas Flashpoint series. Those are what I would look at. I use a combo of speedlights and alienbee 800's.
 
for around £200 would i be able to get all that? seen plenty on ebay for around £180 but quality looks poor
 
KieranSLR said:
for around £200 would i be able to get all that? seen plenty on ebay for around £180 but quality looks poor
Click to expand...

Probably not a backdrop and lights. But I would expect flashpoints or lencarta to be in your range if you wanted to start with learning how to light subjects first.
 
I personally would not buy any of those kits. I also would stay away from Cowboy Studio as well. Just my opinion.
 
KieranSLR said:
this kind of kit cheap rubbish then?
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=180820535035&cmd=VIDESC

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=280676499394&index=23&nav=SEARCH&nid=60663678875

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=270801698788&cmd=VIDESC

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=271098244176
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=280976679391
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=280741884749
Click to expand...

There are quite a few threads on e-bay outfits, mostly anti. Those kits come in a number of shapes and sizes, with all sorts of brand names on them. Personally, I wouldn't buy them, though they seem to do a job for some people and you can't argue with the value. But they have some real limitations and if they fail, it's a bin job.

The cheapest decent quality studio head I've used and would recommend is the Lencarta Smartflash. If you're new to studio lighting, you can do a lot with just one light and using any more will likely cause problems. You can add more later.

If you want two heads in a starter kit, then also look at Elinchrom D-Lites, particularly the new ONEs that are excellent and very affordable as these things go, but double your budget.
 
 
KieranSLR said:
http://www.lencarta.com/lighting-store/radio-triggers/radio-triggers/16ch-wireless-flash-trigger

http://www.lencarta.com/lighting-st...rpose-lighting-stands-1/general-purpose-stand

http://www.lencarta.com/lighting-store/umbrellas/umbrellas-1/white-100cm-umbrella

http://www.lencarta.com/lighting-store/flash-heads/flash-heads-1/smartflash-200-compact-flash-head

http://www.lencarta.com/lighting-store/reflectors/reflectors-1/80cm-32-pop-up-5-in-1-reflector

this a goof beginner start? then add background an drops later
Click to expand...

Perfect :thumbs: Adding a silver and shoot-though umbrellas will give you two different lighting effects very cheaply. Learn what they do and how to use them, with just one light at first, with and without the reflector etc, and you'll be well on the way.

Then add extra lights as and when, but they're mainly used to light different areas separately, like the background and hair. As a rule, and it's a good one, be very careful about adding more than one light on the main subject area. Less is more, conflicting shadows are a no-no and multiple catch-lights in the eyes usually don't look good.
 
http://www.lencarta.com/lighting-store/umbrellas/umbrellas-1/transparent-100cm-shoot-through-umbrell

http://www.lencarta.com/lighting-store/umbrellas/umbrellas-1/silver-100cm-umbrella

pro white reflective umbrella
shoot through umbrella
silver umbrella
2.6m pro dampend spring stand
16inch wireless flash trigger
smartflash 200
5in 1 pop up reflector

total £209
is that everything id need to go with nikon d3200 50mm 1.8g lens for portrait shots?

im new the whole lighting scene so any advice etc is appricated
 
Keiran, 30-second guide to lighting basics :)

1) The bigger the light source, the softer the shadows. Size is relative to distance, so a smaller light used close can be softer than a big light from further away.

2) Light falls off rapidly in the studio, broadly following the inverse square law that says double the distance (from the light) equals one quarter the brightness. That's a drop of two stops, which is a lot. Use it to your advantage, don't try to resist it and rescue stuff in photoshop, it won't work.

3) Light bounces off a surface at the same angle it strikes, like a snooker ball off the cushion. Particularly useful when positioning reflectors, and note that silver reflectors are much brighter and more critical to position than white.
 
okay thanks for the advice, appricate it!

any input on that background drop?
 
KieranSLR said:
okay thanks for the advice, appricate it!

any input on that background drop?
Click to expand...

Dunno. Background supports are pretty basic - just a couple of light stands with an adjustable cross-bar.
 
The Ebuyer backgrounds are not the best, the stands are ok ish, but the black & white backdrop material are useless. They are made of a plastic/fabric mix and are folded when delivered so getting all the creases out is a nightmare. Also they are partially see through.

I picked one up back when it was on offer and now use the stands to hold my speedlights.
 
I'd agree that the backdrops on eBay described as 'non woven material' are not that great but they aren't totally useless. However, they 'are' very thin. I got her indoors to sew the black and white ones I got together which helped. Theirs quite possible to light, or not light, them and get okay results but they are not the greatest. Also if you do get them, iron with caution.
 
any suggestions of other backdrops that dont break the bank
 
I started of with this lighting kit 4 years ago and am still using the same but have just doubled it with another of the same kits.

As for backdrops, it really depends what you are shooting. I started of using a muslin cloth pegged between two telescopic poles that I got from Aldi of all places, they were marketed for builders but were perfect for me to practice with.

I now use a vinyl backdrop on a heavy duty support stand. What I would suggest is to get the lighting kit and find nice areas around your house to use as the backdrop to start with. Find a nice wall or work with a low aperture to create a nice out of focus backdrop for your subject. These images are often a lot more attractive then the bog standard high key shot.
 
would be used for portrait shots only im liking the lencarta, or would i benefit from the extra light?
equipment due to the extras il get, this kit will be used purely for portrait photography a learning curve for me, the room im in has just been decorated but is cream and brown most walls have an edge, so thats why i wanted a background was just unsure whats good and whats not.

ive also seen in people portrait shots they have a slightly reflective bit on the floor, gives a nice effect but unsure what they are called
 
Last edited:
is there a guide on here about studio shooting lights positions etc? thanks for all your help
 
KieranSLR said:
ive also seen in people portrait shots they have a slightly reflective bit on the floor, gives a nice effect but unsure what they are called
Click to expand...

Have a look at the first post here and you will see how to do that.

You will also note that to get a decent high key effect people tend to use 3 or more lights. I started off with just the two but was doing a lot of PP (post processing).

You will find a lot of guides on Youtube and on here about lighting. But the best thing to do is to practice (as always).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top