HELP - New to studio lighting and setups

kry10

kry10

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Wayne
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Hi everyone.

I run a photographic group in Manchester (Middleton) and there is the possibility of having a room available to set up a studio, it is a decent sized room, one of the largest in the building, with lots of natural light streaming in through big windows.

I am considering setting up a studio in there, but, as the place I use is a charity funded organisation and the groups I run are non profit, finances are very very limited, I have been looking on ebay for lighting setups and I will be paying for the stuff out of my own pocket, ebay seems to be the cheapest option.

I am just not sure if I need to go down the continuous light route or go for strobe flash, if the latter is required, I don't know what wattage I require.

The backdrop side of things won't be too expensive, about £30-£40, which is okay for my budget, if I save up, I can afford up to £150.

So, any advice is definitely welcomed and appreciated.
 
In a studio situation, the last thing you want is daylight. It will mess up the lighting effects. On the other hand, natural daylight (though not direct sun) is wonderful and you can do a lot with that. Just get a nice big white/silver reflector to fill in the shadows, or maybe even a black one to darken them.

Not continuous light. Brightness is generally feeble and choice of light modifiers limited. You want studio flash, say around 200Ws. Get started with a one light kit for about £200.
 
Julia Margaret Cameron always used daylight, and was arguably the greatest of the early portraitist.
Jane Bown used daylight for the thousands of Portraits she took for the telegraph.
since the 30's to 70's most of the great studio portraitists like Karsh of Ottawa and the great film studio portraitists used Tungsten lighting.

It is hard to think of a "Great" who used flash. However it is what most modern high street studios use by choice.
There is no reason why you should not go back to natural light and tungsten for your group... It not only works it results in beautiful photographic lighting.

It could be far more interesting and may set a new trend.
http://img.readtiger.com/wkp/en/Sir_John_Herschel_with_Cap_by_Julia_Margaret_Cameron_(detail).jpg
 
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Why not see if the members are willing to put say £10-£20 in the pot , in return they could get studio time through each month .
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
Julia Margaret Cameron always used daylight, and was arguably the greatest of the early portraitist.
Jane Bown used daylight for the thousands of Portraits she took for the telegraph.
since the 30's to 70's most of the great studio portraitists like Karsh of Ottawa and the great film studio portraitists used Tungsten lighting.

It is hard to think of a "Great" who used flash. However it is what most modern high street studios use by choice.
There is no reason why you should not go back to natural light and tungsten for your group... It not only works it results in beautiful photographic lighting.

It could be far more interesting and may set a new trend.
http://img.readtiger.com/wkp/en/Sir_John_Herschel_with_Cap_by_Julia_Margaret_Cameron_(detail).jpg
Click to expand...
With the greatest possible respect...
  1. All of the people you mention were outstanding photographers, most of us don't have their skills
  2. Most of us don't have your skills either, learned over years of experience in the movie industry
  3. You, and the 'old masters' used massive and very expensive light sources, not ebay junk

I'm not saying that everyone should use flash for everything, what I am saying is that most of the affordable continuous lighting currently available is a poor choice
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
Julia Margaret Cameron always used daylight, and was arguably the greatest of the early portraitist.
Jane Bown used daylight for the thousands of Portraits she took for the telegraph.
since the 30's to 70's most of the great studio portraitists like Karsh of Ottawa and the great film studio portraitists used Tungsten lighting.

It is hard to think of a "Great" who used flash. However it is what most modern high street studios use by choice.
There is no reason why you should not go back to natural light and tungsten for your group... It not only works it results in beautiful photographic lighting.

It could be far more interesting and may set a new trend.
http://img.readtiger.com/wkp/en/Sir_John_Herschel_with_Cap_by_Julia_Margaret_Cameron_(detail).jpg
Click to expand...

Daylight, yes for sure. But tungsten NEVER. It's hell, and just as hot. There is a good reason (many, actually) why nobody uses it now. It's not even cheap.
 
Well, I have had some great news, at the place where I hold the group sessions, there is a lighting kit there, consisting of 3 Bowen GM500's, two unbrella heads, so, we are pretty much set up now, just need to get the backdrop stuff.

We also had a model come to todays meet and she has said she can get us some models to pose, so, all in all, been a very productive day.
 
kry10 said:
Well, I have had some great news, at the place where I hold the group sessions, there is a lighting kit there, consisting of 3 Bowen GM500's, two unbrella heads, so, we are pretty much set up now, just need to get the backdrop stuff.

We also had a model come to todays meet and she has said she can get us some models to pose, so, all in all, been a very productive day.
Click to expand...

Nice result :thumbs:
 
Before you start using the lights, did you ask who owns them? Are they OK for it being used.

If you have been given permission then enjoy.

PS. Do let the flash head time to cool down, too many continuous flashes can easily burn out the bulb!
 
HoppyUK said:
Daylight, yes for sure. But tungsten NEVER. It's hell, and just as hot. There is a good reason (many, actually) why nobody uses it now. It's not even cheap.
Click to expand...

Tungsten is probably the easiest form of studio lighting to use and certainly the most precise.
It is only hot on the subjects, if the lights are too close. So called photo floods that were used by many amateurs are "over run" and are certainly hot.

Decent quality spots and floods have "Always" been quite expensive.
You can still get 2kw spots with Fresnel lenses and barn doors and also smaller ones down to about 250w The prices are about in the same range as studio flashes and rather less than off camera flashes.
If you want to show form and texture there is nothing better.

Spot lights can be focused to give anything from spot to a flood. Contrary to what some might think they are mostly used flooded for portraiture.

In times gone by, spots were dimmed with Giant rheostats but that does not work with colour as the colour temperature changes. Shooting through gauzes can control light levels very well for fill lights, and is better for this as the light becomes softer. Widening the focus also reduces the light level.
As the light from spots is focused it does not fall off by the inverse square law in the same way as flashes do, so the lights can be further away.
 
Ricky said:
Before you start using the lights, did you ask who owns them? Are they OK for it being used.

If you have been given permission then enjoy.

PS. Do let the flash head time to cool down, too many continuous flashes can easily burn out the bulb!
Click to expand...

That'll never happen, you can hammer them all day. Flash tubes last for tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of flashes. I've never had to replace one.

The capacitors may over-heat and cut out, though that's mainly through heat from the modelling lamp (that you can turn off) but is also very unlikely to happen with a fan-cooled head.
 
Ricky said:
Before you start using the lights, did you ask who owns them? Are they OK for it being used.

If you have been given permission then enjoy.

PS. Do let the flash head time to cool down, too many continuous flashes can easily burn out the bulb!
Click to expand...

I had permission from the person who owns the place I volunteer at, but, he is passing me the contact details of the owner of the lights.
 
Need a bit more advice.

I am going to need a backdrop kit and I have been looking on ebay for a suitable one, my budget is around the £30-£40 limit, I have seen plenty for sale, but, not sure which to go for regarding size, type of background material and such like.

Advice is appreciated.
 
Guess I will need the iron then, gone and purchased a muslin cloth backdrop kit, not bad for £22, looking forward to our first studio session.
 
I will have to ask the owner of the organisation if they have liability insurance, I would assume so due to it being a place where the public tend to frequent and they have lots of stuff like hot kettles, computers and other stuff, as for the PAT check, I shall have to speak to the owner of the lights.
 
Right, spoken to owner of lights, they are PAT tested and we have permission to use them, he has also generously offered help and advice.
 
It turns out you're one of life's lucky individuals. Well done and good luck.
 
Just a suggestion is the a blank wall you can use as a back ground ?
 
the blank wall is a good point... - and if my house wasnt so cluttered etc I would be able to use it :P

as for backdrop material... the one i purchased the backdrop was useless when it came (so many creases) - roll it up if you have an old poster tube... ensure it doesnt get flattened - and might not need to iron it every time ;) ... but Ive got lots of sheets / etc upstairs, and im testing with them... (anything plain can do as a backdrop... and ive been told that GREY is the best to choose - as its easiest to manipulate with flash (black / white / colour gels etc) - [im sure somebody will correct this if its wrong info though? :)]

- on these forums ive seen people making photos using a collection of black t shirts as a background etc too :)
(think it was in this pagey thread - which will be of use for you :) http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=357748 - has given me some ideas / etc)

[edit:Adding]

and heres a link with some useful info on background for portraits etc...
http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/photography-background.html]
 
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