Studio Lighting - Your Own Experiences

KeriAnn

KeriAnn

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As I was taking shots this morning, I wondered... How has everyone else got on with studio lighting? Did you find it came easy to you? What did you find was your biggest hurdle? How long did it take for you to become properly confident in the studio and able to go in and get it all right first time? Did you find it easy to direct models? What did you like best?

Just ponderings :)
Hope you're all having a great day!
 
I'm still a relative novice at it and I'm OK with high key work, especially in my local studio because it has 4 heads and a cove so it's hardly tricky. I'd like to be a LOT more competant when it comes to low key work, some of mine have been real flukes rather than by design. The technical aspects don't bother me, it's a case of getting the light to do what I want it to. This is such a great place to learn and share info, I'm learning all the time. I'd also like to do much more creative lighting and that is going to take practice.

As for directing models? I went on a studio seminar with Mark Cleghorn and found that invaluable. Now I explain to my models that if I need them to move in a particular way I will ask them and if I intend to touch them at all (even to move their hair) I will always seek their permission, they don't have to say yes either. Being female is a huge help in these situations too. I always try to make sure they have privacy when changing etc and generally look after them with cool drinks etc.

I actually rather like the adrenaline rush I get out of doing it!
 
An interesting question.

I've been doing studio photography (and earning my living from it) for so long now that I can't remember the details. However, I was a studio trainee when I started, so I didn't have to pick things up as I went along and rely on (often totally wrong) forum posts for info.

What I find interesting is that I started out using continuous lighting, because there was no choice. When electronic flash became available it was horrendously expensive, pretty poor and extremely bulky but we all jumped to it because it was so much better - and yet there are a lot of beginners now who seem to think it's better...

3 things strike me as common problems for beginners
1. They don't understand that the shutter speed is almost irrelevant as long as the shutter is open at the time the flash goes off. It's impossible to get worthwhile results unless there's a basic understanding of the technicalities, and it doesn't get much more basic than that.
2. People don't seem to understand that they live on a planet with only 1 sun. They understand that with outdoor photography but immediately forget it when they move indoors, and for some reason feel that they need to use 2 or more lights (2 or more conflicting suns) and don't realise that the results inevitably look unreal.
3. People don't realise that they can only really learn about lighting if they practice on still life subjects. Humans move around, and good lighting is precise lighting, precise lighting is spoiled when people move slightly out of position. Learn HOW to light on subjects that keep still! Also, the success or otherwise of a 'person' shot is usually judged on whether or not that person is attractive and on their expression - this can be frustrating, another reason to practice on still life subjects.

Oh, and my other pet hate is people calling white backgrounds 'high key':lol:
 
Garry - This is you commenting on other people (and maybe directing at AliB), and not your own experiences which is what i'm curious to know. Unless 1.2.3 is related to you and you just don't want to say ;)
 
Just because I've also used a lastolite hilight in restricted spaces, does not mean that I don't understand the technicalities of "proper" high key lighting ,after all I was taught by Mark Cleghorn and they don't come much better than him. I can happily control all four of those lovely 1000W Bowens heads in the studio.

I do however, recognise that I still have a lot to learn and in particular about low key lighting which I would like to do well. Hence I now have a tailor's dummy to work with and I'll keep playing until I can get it right.

Once I understand that I want to branch out into more creative lighting setups which is why I have three flash heads and two continuous heads at home. It does not mean I have to use them all at once!
 
AliB said:
Just because I've also used a lastolite hilight in restricted spaces, does not mean that I don't understand the technicalities of "proper" high key lighting ,after all I was taught by Mark Cleghorn and they don't come much better than him. I can happily control all four of those lovely 1000W Bowens heads in the studio.

I do however, recognise that I still have a lot to learn and in particular about low key lighting which I would like to do well. Hence I now have a tailor's dummy to work with and I'll keep playing until I can get it right.

Once I understand that I want to branch out into more creative lighting setups which is why I have three flash heads and two continuous heads at home. It does not mean I have to use them all at once!
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This isn't designed to be a flame war, or critical of other people and the way they think things should be done. Nor am I critical of people who use more than one light - my critiscm is of people who simply don't give proper thought to lighting and who assume that 'proper' studio lighting consists of 1 light each side of the subject or that lighting should follow the stupid lighting diagrams that some photography magazines like to publish.

I applaud you for practicing with a tailor's dummy, although it will only help you to experiment with lighting effects, it won't and cannot help you to light real people because real people have real skin, which behaves very differently.

And my comment about 'high key' lighting is nothing more than a suggestion that people use the right terminology, to avoid confusion. High key photography is the absence of dark tones, it has nothing whatever to do with the colour or shade of the background, and low key photography is the absence of light tones, again the colour or tone of the background is neither here nor there. Oh, and it has nothing to do with post processing either...
 
So the next question would be is AliB reaching for a .45 Magnum or a Semi-Automatic...:exit:
 
I don't think Garry's out for a fight - just (highly?) opinionated that's all

'Studio lighting' is so accessible today due to being relatively cheap it does encourage people into the 'portable home studio' mode of being a semi-pro - and often the novice can produce horrid results (more often than the aged pro that is!!!)

The olde-way of learning within a studio before branching out has largely gone, posting pics and hoping to learn from fellows is a valuable tool we should all embrace

Oh - and I still use only one Key-light

DD
 
gman said:
So the next question would be is AliB reaching for a .45 Magnum or a Semi-Automatic...:exit:
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Oh dear, I've been rumbled! I'm an ex armed copper and my weapon of choice? ...........................An H&K MP5 thank you very much.

But don't worry Garry I promise I won't be using it on you, to be honest, I can understand some of your frustrations but believe me I''m a very patient learner. :wave:
 
yes, I'm highly opinionated - it comes of frustration at the number of people who think they can just 'pick things up' without bothering to learn the basics.

And no, I'm not looking for a fight. I care about people who want to improve, I don't give a damn about the people who think they know everything:lol:

I hold both Sect 1 & Sect 2 Firearm certificates but I prefer to use words - they're most effective (sometimes):lol:
 
I must admit I was taught lighting in the old style and was able to learn from other photographers over the years. I can understand how difficult it is to gain the skills nowadays .

Most of my lighting was product based, so in many ways it's a lot easier than photographing people, and a lot easier than animals. Nowadays most of the lighting I use is small portable flash on location.However I do get the urge :lol:( usually at Focus on the lighting stands) to splash out on a big soft box rig every now and again.
 
Chappers said:
I must admit I was taught lighting in the old style and was able to learn from other photographers over the years. I can understand how difficult it is to gain the skills nowadays .

Most of my lighting was product based, so in many ways it's a lot easier than photographing people, and a lot easier than animals. Nowadays most of the lighting I use is small portable flash on location.However I do get the urge :lol:( usually at Focus on the lighting stands) to splash out on a big soft box rig every now and again.
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I agree that it's more difficult to gain the skills today, but it's much easier to gain the knowledge - I sell a series of tutorials and videos on lighting, there are sites such as www.photo.net that have an enormous amount of free, archived material on lighting, studio lighting equipment has never been cheaper or better and digital makes the whole learning experience both easier and much cheaper.

Photographing products is 'easier' in the sense that it's more controllable, which is why I always advise people to practice on inanimate objects - but it isn't easier because it's totally unforgiving. It's the ideal learning medium because of that!
 
Err I was just joking. Anyway, it's better to pay someone else to do it hehe

On a serious note, I don't really mind if someone is nice or perhaps more direct with their approach so long as I learn something from it! Fair enough it's not good to be rude but I don't think anyone here was rude. Working with a lot of creatives and pros in Soho was a very interesting experience - you can imaging what some of them are like! But they certainly knew their stuff.
 
I don't think anyone here was rude either gman and I'm kidding too.:)

I have a lot of respect for anyone who can make a living in the field of photography.I've watched all Garry's links on Utube and enjoyed them too. It's only a hobby for me but one that I enjoy enormously and I put a lot into. Hence I answered the Op honestly in the first instance.
 
Evenly lighting backgrounds......is a cow.
Glass/shiney stuff, is a pig, and colour matching flash fill with hot lights is a chicken...:suspect:....naaayy.

I wouldn't have it any other way:)
 
AliB said:
I'd like to be a LOT more competant when it comes to low key work, some of mine have been real flukes rather than by design. The technical aspects don't bother me, it's a case of getting the light to do what I want it to.
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Low key is easy for someone like me because I not only understand the principles of lighting and have the equipment I need, I also have plenty of space.

It's all about controlling the light - softboxes (with honeycombs if possible) black flags to control light spill, high, black-painted ceilings and distant walls all make it easy to control light spill.
But I know a guy in The States who produces outstanding low key nudes in a tiny basement. Mind you, he has a PhD in physics, which brings me back to my favourite soapbox - at the end of the day, what really matters is knowledge.
 
They do say Knowledge is Power :thumbs:
 
I get that Garry, my lighting knowledge comes from microscopy so it's all wavelengths and chromatic or spherical abberation, dichroic mirrors, reflected and transmitted light. So in essence I know bits of it and I have a basic understanding of what I want to do, it's just going to take practice and, because I have a busy working life, it's not something I'm going to achieve overnight. I'll keep trying though.
 
I get my knowledge from listening to you lot harking on at each other !!! ;o)
Oh and practice... My wife can now sit on a stool watching tv for 3hrs without even a twitch !! ;)
 
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