Portrait lighting

rookies said:
I don't want a studio lighting I want some kind of lighting to shine on the person to take portraits with in dark or what ever when out about. Though about this

http://www.harrisoncameras.co.uk/pd/Dorr-AVL-102-LED-Video-Light_371057.htm

An alternative to the rotolight
Click to expand...
If you are happy with the look of on camera flash, super high ISO's and poor colour rendition, then it's perfect for you.

IMHO an ETTL flashgun and some reading about bouncing techniques is a much better start.
 
It won't be on camera it be on a pole to shine at a angle.
 
The beauty of this sort of lighting is that you can see what you're doing and the immediate effect of moving / modifying it

Which is why its so odd this guy (in the link) uses 2 of them giving cross-shadows, which looks odd, and his Key is too low, which is poor for a portrait tog

The down side is that they kinda blind the model/subject and they fully dilate the pupil, which is deemed less attractive than a wide open pupil

If you're really new to portraits though, and you wish to at least initially learn about lighting patterns and mixing your light source to the ambient, then go for it :)

Personally, I love flash (small flashguns c. £50 a pop) as they are more flexible than the light you're considering, and of course they give more than enough power to be used in daylight too. Cheaper on batteries too lol

Dave
 
Hi

Thanks you for your reply. But a flash set up would cost more as would need a wireless trigger etc? And know how to set it up and how much power to out into the flash?
 
But a flash set up would cost more as would need a wireless trigger etc?

Yep - I'd always go for a trigger where you can remotely alter the power and zoom of the flash, so about £100 in total

And know how to set it up

This is the 'biggy', in that its all about knowing lighting patterns and being able to visualise the effect. This is why (if working in darker places) the continuous lighting will help you initially as you can see what's happening. But you still need to learn & apply those lighting patterns. Once you've got the idea, you'll most likely realise how limiting this light is as its just not powerful enough to be used in daylight too. But its a good learning source, so try it

how much power to out into the flash?

That's the easiest bit, and no you don't need to buy a flashmeter either :)

Dave
 
Do you see how cheap that thing is??? There's a reason for it.
It's equivalent to (almost) a 60w incandescent household bulb... that's why Phil mentioned super high ISO's. Pretty much any LED or constant light system will put out pathetically little light compared to even the lowliest speedlight.

There are advantages to constant lights as Dave mentioned. And I've been using/developing an LED system for product type work. But there's a very good reason for speedlights/strobes being the preferred systems.
 
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