Lastolite backdrops & lights

[kellyanne1703]

Can anyone recommended a good place to get lastolite backdrops and lights?

Ideally want a 7ft x 6ft backdrops as I'm going to focus on portraits till I get more knowledge of photography!

I know nothing about the lights needed, I know with lastolite backgrounds u light them up from within the frame! I don't want to buy lights that are gonna burn into material.

 

[dan_yorkshire]

Light them up from within the frame as in the Lastolite Hilite?

I have the 7 x 6 hilite. I light it with two Lencarta smartflash 200's and then use a Elitepro 300 to light the subject although 3x200's would do a good job.

Another option is to use speedlights like I did initially and found to my expense as many others do that I should have bought studio lights first time around.

 

[Phil V]

It's both a tricky and expensive start for portraits.

I've said this to others:

Show me your 10 favourite portraits - taken by anyone at all.

Why do you want to shoot flat lit portraits against a white background? (I know that none of your favourites were that type of picture (spooky isn't it!).

Look up some other lighting styles, there's tutorials all over the internet.
A starter kit with a hilight, will be a hilight, a train and four lights (you might get away with 3).

For the same outlay, you could buy a battery powered 2 head outfit, or several speedlights and ettl controllers, or a good course 2 lights and a background system. All of which IMO would be money better spent.

Self taught Shooting boring portraits against a white background puts you straight up against every budget portrait photographer in your town. Wouldn't you rather develop a proper style that you can charge decent money for? Look at the People and Portrait section here for the advantage that skill and good light have over white backgrounds and flat light.

 

[kellyanne1703]

Light them up from within the frame as in the Lastolite Hilite?

I have the 7 x 6 hilite. I light it with two Lencarta smartflash 200's and then use a Elitepro 300 to light the subject although 3x200's would do a good job.

Another option is to use speedlights like I did initially and found to my expense as many others do that I should have bought studio lights first time around.

Thank you will have a look into those lights! Can I ask where u got yours from?

 

[kellyanne1703]

It's both a tricky and expensive start for portraits.

I've said this to others:

Show me your 10 favourite portraits - taken by anyone at all.

Why do you want to shoot flat lit portraits against a white background? (I know that none of your favourites were that type of picture (spooky isn't it!).

Look up some other lighting styles, there's tutorials all over the internet.
A starter kit with a hilight, will be a hilight, a train and four lights (you might get away with 3).

For the same outlay, you could buy a battery powered 2 head outfit, or several speedlights and ettl controllers, or a good course 2 lights and a background system. All of which IMO would be money better spent.

Self taught Shooting boring portraits against a white background puts you straight up against every budget portrait photographer in your town. Wouldn't you rather develop a proper style that you can charge decent money for? Look at the People and Portrait section here for the advantage that skill and good light have over white backgrounds and flat light.

Hi

I currently have a backdrop set with white, black and green drops, as a cheap start up, but looking for something a bit better as with those ones especially when using the black and the green u can see through the material plus no matter how many times I iron it the creases are always there with regards to lights I'm currently borrowing a set which my evening college has allowed me to borrow from them.

As with the lights they start getting confusing as there is so many different types you can get to do different things!

I get what you u mean about personal favourite photos none of my favourites have plain white backgrounds

 

[dan_yorkshire]

Thank you will have a look into those lights! Can I ask where u got yours from?

Lights from the lencarta website.

For a much cheaper setup you could buy an eBay backdrop stand and white/grey/black backgrounds and then use one light and a reflector to experiment with.

I have a hilite for when someone wants those type of photos but I have plain backgrounds too.

 

[Phil V]

Hi

I currently have a backdrop set with white, black and green drops, as a cheap start up, but looking for something a bit better as with those ones especially when using the black and the green u can see through the material plus no matter how many times I iron it the creases are always there with regards to lights I'm currently borrowing a set which my evening college has allowed me to borrow from them.

As with the lights they start getting confusing as there is so many different types you can get to do different things!

I get what you u mean about personal favourite photos none of my favourites have plain white backgrounds

Paper rather than material - the problems you're having are due to a mix of lighting and cheap muslin backgrounds.

As with all things, an expert can get great results with cheap gear - but us mere mortals need all the help we can get from quality materials. Unfortunately, most newbies start off by thinking they can start with cheap gear and build up if they get decent results (usually leads to them giving up out of frustration).

 

[HoppyUK]

Can anyone recommended a good place to get lastolite backdrops and lights?

Ideally want a 7ft x 6ft backdrops as I'm going to focus on portraits till I get more knowledge of photography!

I know nothing about the lights needed, I know with lastolite backgrounds u light them up from within the frame! I don't want to buy lights that are gonna burn into material.

What you need depends on what you want to do, and your budget. But either way, start by reading the numerous threads, like this one http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=455817

My advice is to start with just one head and a couple of umbrellas plus reflector, and master the basics with that - from £200. It's surprisingly versatile and will teach you the basics, it closes down no future options, and then you will know how and where to progress. Jumping in with a HiLite and three heads is not only expensive but will almost certainly end in tears. Knowledge is key, you can learn a lot by reading (and should), but you will soon get the hang of it once you've had a few sessions

 

[kellyanne1703]

What you need depends on what you want to do, and your budget. But either way, start by reading the numerous threads, like this one http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=455817

My advice is to start with just one head and a couple of umbrellas plus reflector, and master the basics with that - from £200. It's surprisingly versatile and will teach you the basics, it closes down no future options, and then you will know how and where to progress. Jumping in with a HiLite and three heads is not only expensive but will almost certainly end in tears. Knowledge is key, you can learn a lot by reading (and should), but you will soon get the hang of it once you've had a few sessions

Thanks for that, I have played around with some lights and umbrellas, but as can only borrow for a week at a time it doesn't give you long to get the knowledge of it and having it set up in the correct places before having to take it down and take back. I will have a look at that thread and see what it entails.


Thanks

 

[the_local_jacko]

I purchased a Hilite as an entry into the home studio world and I would say I kind of regret it now. Yes if you want that high key white clinical background then the Hilite is a great tool but exactly as Phil suggests I am finding it a little restrictive in terms creativity and im looking at buying some alternative options. It's a lot of money to invest in one generic back ground that is quite limiting. Yes you can add additional coloured trains but you can end up spending a huge amount on something that can be achieved at a third of the price via a standard stand and selection of more interesting vinyl back grounds.

If you do decide to go the Hilite route then I have been able to light my 6x7 with a single Lencarta SmartFlash. Yes there can be a slight light fall off at the extremes which requires a 30 second adjustment in PP to set the white point (to see how to do it then google mark Cleghorns Hilite post processing video) but you can get away with one light in there if budget is a factor. If you want to get it right in camera and have no PP concerns then two lights is the way to go for lighting the Hilite.

 

[HoppyUK]

You can't light a HiLite properly with just one light - not if you want to make use of the whole area. Fine if you just have a solo head and shoulders in the middle, you can just post-process out the borders, but it's very limiting.

The difficult thing about white backgrounds is they have to be blown, but only just blown, and perfectly evenly blown over the full area. It's easy to blitz the whole thing but then you'll get hot-spots that are grossly over-exposed and they will cause flare, often reducing contrast severely, and the excessive brightness eats away at the subject outline and fine details like hair are lost.

 

[Phil V]

It's that old:

Easy to do

Difficult to do well.

And as I said, even when done well, it's not exactly a great look.

 

[Garry Edwards]

As Richard and Phil have said (more politely than me) KISS

Lighting is all about care and knowledge, not about the amount of equipment you have - so start with a little, learn a lot and go from there.

 

[The Noir Dude]

All the talk that the Hi-Lite is limiting and just for flat lighting is rubbish. All you need to know is how to use them. Out of all backdrops out there the Hi-lite is the most versatile of them all.

And you can light all Hi-lites with one light without any fall off if you light them properly.

 

[The Noir Dude]

From a recent training day. This is the largest Hi-Lite lit with one light (as seen right of image). Where is the fall off?

 

[Wildsnaps]

I love my Hi-lite! It is an incredibly flexible bit of kit - and is not just for Hi-key work. I took this shot as part of my Event Photography training course last weekend. One light in a hi-lite and a daylight bulb to lift the background (a Lastolite black)

 

[HoppyUK]

It's simply not possible to illuminate a HiLite evenly with just one light. It's easy to get it blown all over just by whacking up the light, but if you run a meter over the surface you will find some areas are much brighter than others, maybe a couple of stops brighter, when it needs to be nearer to half a stop.

 

[The Noir Dude]

Really? The image above (no post processing)suggests differently. It depends on your positioning of your key light!

You are basing your assumption on just the light inside the Hi-lite, and you would be right. However, you need to factor in the position of the key light and the modifier used with it. Done correctly, this can balance out the light across the Hi-Lite. As can be seen in my example.

 

[The Noir Dude]

This is an image shot with one light into the Hi-Lite. It is a reflector with a green gel. This highlights what Richard is saying, that the light intensity drops off as you move further away from the light source. This is only lit with the light inside the Hi-Lite

However if you remove the gel and add a key light, and set the power to no more than 0.5 of a stop lower than the hi-lite light (not blasting it!!) You can, with correct positioning of your key light achieve and even light level across the Hi-Lite. It is important to meter towards the camera as this is what the camera will see. In the set up below the difference in light across the Hi-Lite is less than .3 of a stop.

In this shot you can see the ripples in the Hi-Lite (bottom right) this proves that Hi-Lite is not being blasted!

One for fun, if you want a really soft light stick your subject inside the Hi-Lite

It's also good as a grey background