How do you shoot at f1.8 with studio lights?

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Hi all, as per subject how would you manage this?

I did have a very quick attempt and laughed at my results then realised that i couldnt work out how this is done without filters and the like which i would rather not use in a studio.

I would like to have a narrow dof which with sb600 on camera bounced is effortless, just how is this done with a studio lighting? :thinking:

D90 - Nikon 50mm f1.8 - Nikon 85 f1.8 - Tamron 17-50 f2.8 - Lencarta Smartflash - Lencarta 100x70 softbox (grid available too) - shoot thru / bounce brollies

Mike
 
andysmee said:
with ND filters, same as you would trying to shoot at f1.8 at midday on a caribbean beach
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Thanks for the quick reply, ok so i guess that is the only way, i do have Lee fiters and im happy to use them for Land /Sea scapes but never thought i would use them inside with people.

Anything to watch out for if i try this, skins tones / glare???
 
If you don't want to put a filter over your lens, you can always put an ND filter n front of your lights.
 
If you have decent modelling lights, if you nudge the ISO up a bit, you can just use them. Plenty of folks do that, including me, but not ideal.

Or ND4 or 8 over lens works well, but darkens viewfinder. ND gels over lights is perfect but more of a fiddle.
 
As hoppy I sometimes just use the modelling lights. I think that's the only way to do it
 
boyfalldown said:
As hoppy I sometimes just use the modelling lights. I think that's the only way to do it
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just bear in mind that if you're dimming the modelling lights, you'll likely see considerable colour temperature shift as you dim the bulb. Only an issue if you're using multiple lights at different powers, but something to bear in mind.

A 4 stop ND filter pretty much lives on my 50mm 1.4 :)
 
itsdavedotnet said:
just bear in mind that if you're dimming the modelling lights, you'll likely see considerable colour temperature shift as you dim the bulb. Only an issue if you're using multiple lights at different powers, but something to bear in mind.

A 4 stop ND filter pretty much lives on my 50mm 1.4 :)
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Interesting - cheers
 
itsdavedotnet said:
just bear in mind that if you're dimming the modelling lights, you'll likely see considerable colour temperature shift as you dim the bulb. Only an issue if you're using multiple lights at different powers, but something to bear in mind.

A 4 stop ND filter pretty much lives on my 50mm 1.4 :)
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Another advantage of the ND filter on lens approach, is you don't have to worry too much about ambient studio light or whatever other room light there might be sneaking around - the flash just blitzes it.
 
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HoppyUK said:
Another advantage of the ND filter on lens approach, is you don't have to worry too much about ambient studio light or whatever other room light there might be sneaking around - the flash just blitzes it.
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yep, saves having to have the rest of the studio in depressing gloom!
 
DannyDMR said:
Can't you just move your lights further away?
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Given that the larger the light source, the softer the shadows, and moving the lights back makes them, relatively, much smaller - no.
 
The overall working range of studio lights is as important as overall power, flash duration and so on. For the past 30 years I've only once required more than 200ws heads but many times wished I could turn them down lower - up until recently I also only owned heads which worked at either full and half power.

One of the more important items on my 'tick list' when I wanted to choose a replacement set of heads, was a wide working range. The ability to reduce power over 7 stops on my current heads does allow shooting very close with a softbox at f2.0. A 10 stop range would have been better still, then I could have used some more effeicient light modifiers - but that tends to only be available on more powerful lights, so no real benefit for a considerable increase in cost.

Paul
 
paul williams said:
The overall working range of studio lights is as important as overall power, flash duration and so on. For the past 30 years I've only once required more than 200ws heads but many times wished I could turn them down lower - up until recently I also only owned heads which worked at either full and half power.

One of the more important items on my 'tick list' when I wanted to choose a replacement set of heads, was a wide working range. The ability to reduce power over 7 stops on my current heads does allow shooting very close with a softbox at f2.0. A 10 stop range would have been better still, then I could have used some more effeicient light modifiers - but that tends to only be available on more powerful lights, so no real benefit for a considerable increase in cost.

Paul
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Very true. If you're only doing portraits, you really don't need much power at all. Only time I've wanted more than 200Ws is lighting larger interiors, when you often need tons.

Being able to turn the lights down is vital. When manufacturers say 'five stops range' they actually mean a difference of four. And then they don't always quite make the full range.

Widest range I've tried is Profoto with seven stops (actually six ;)) and they also have a very bright modelling light so there is almost an overlap, but not quite. Monolights with a wide range like that tend to be noticeably warm on the colour temp at the low end. And with longer flash durations.

In the olden days, when Garry was a lad, there was not much power control on most flash heads, and also ISO was fixed by the film. Then you had to shunt lights back and forth to moderate exposure. It was a right PITA, and rarely ideal.
 
HoppyUK said:
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In the olden days, when Garry was a lad, there was not much power control on most flash heads, and also ISO was fixed by the film. Then you had to shunt lights back and forth to moderate exposure. It was a right PITA, and rarely ideal.
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No, when Garry was a lad the only flash we had was flashbulbs - magnesium foil with incredibly long flash durations, low power and high cost. They were coated with plastic to stop the bulbs exploding, which (usually) worked. We controlled power by changing flashbulbs, e.g. PF1, PF2 - can't remember the rest, but basically the PF1's had no cap (just a couple of wires for the contact, then there was a series of different cap fittings going right up to E27 Edison Screw, which meant that we had to have a range of different flashguns so that we could use different bulbs. We used these monsters instead of the hotshoe flashguns we have now.

We did have electronic flash, there was a Braun and a Mecablitz from memory, both very similar, with hammerhead flash heads and a 'portable' pack that went over the shoulder and it was a great help for photographers who wanted to build up their muscles.. Again from memory, very low power, non adjustable and a claimed 40 flashes from the lead acid battery - but that claim was before the Trades Description Act... most of us stuck to flashbulbs.

In the studio, it was continuous lighting. That too has improved since then but it still has the same limitations.

Then studio flash came in. The first units were the size of a fridge freezer and had the power of a hotshoe flash. They weren't adjustable and in terms of electrical safety, they were lethal. They never had enough power for the large film sizes we had to use then, and as new models with more power came in we learned to adjust the power using ND gels, which we learned from the movie industry (which has always had the very best lighting Gods).

History lesson over:)
As Richard says, the problem with a wide range of power adjustment is colour temperature shift, and long flash durations. There is often also a problem with very inconsistent flash energy. I know of one manufacturer that has colour temperature shifts of up to 1000K over 5 stops and up to 2300K over 7 stops, and with flash energy inconsistency of 120%, pop to pop, at the bottom end - and yet, in their own country, they are praised to the heavens by the beginners who buy them...
 
Byker28i said:
Would you recommend the use of grids?
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Not as a means of reducing effective power, because it alters the quality of the light, just as changing the distance alters it.
 
Cheers Garry.
I've seen the metal honeycomb grids used in constant studio lighting, and have also seen them suggested for flash but was never sure.
 
Byker28i said:
Cheers Garry.
I've seen the metal honeycomb grids used in constant studio lighting, and have also seen them suggested for flash but was never sure.
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they're not so much grids as meshes of wire to reduce some of the light.

WIth flash, because heat isn't really an issue, unlike with continuous lights, just use ND filters instead.
 
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