Get my Bowens 400 kit tomorrow..

DEANSUPREME

DEANSUPREME

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Anyone any tips or tricks and things I should do first?

Should I just use 1 light at the start and get used to it or jump in with both feet and use both lights?Pretty excited at getting them....like a kid on Christmas day.:lol:
 
Use one light, there's only one light outdoors so the whole principle of studio lighting is that there's only one light indoors.

Use that one light to experiment, to get the effect you're looking for. If that causes problems with over-strong shadows for example, THEN you introduce the second light, as an on-axis fill, to mitigate the effect of the first.

If everyone did that there would be a lot less awful lighting around:)
 
Have you got a reflector? Essential item. Use that and just one light for starters. TBH I'm not a big fan of on-axis fill - I like to keep the main subject 'clean' and if you use a softbox/brolly it's not usually necessary as the shadows are soft anyway. I use a reflector instead, but that's a subjective thing.

Just one light per subject. The face is one subject, the hair is another (from the side/behind with a snoot maybe), the background is a third. Treat each one individually, and use grids/honeycombs etc to prevent one spilling onto another, or into the lens.
 
No I don't have a reflector yet but that and a softbox are next on my list.Will start like you all have recommended with one light and then eventually use the second light for hair or background.Plus I have two flashguns that will be able to be used at some point as well.

Cheers for advice Hoppy.
 
DEANSUPREME said:
No I don't have a reflector yet but that and a softbox are next on my list.Will start like you all have recommended with one light and then eventually use the second light for hair or background.Plus I have two flashguns that will be able to be used at some point as well.

Cheers for advice Hoppy.
Click to expand...

DIY reflectors are just as effective, if less convenient. Anything big and white will do (T-shirts come in handy ;)) or a sheet of white card with kitchen foil stuck to the other side :thumbs:
 
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