Softbox selection for my hobby room

Question

My hobby room is a fairly standard room size, say 3x3M. The lighting isn't that great which doesn't help when I take photo's or record videos of projects etc.

I have a softbox that I use for 'product' type shots, but most of my pics are taken on the workbench, ie, during construction. Ok, so that's the situation. I am looking at lighting solutions and have stumbled onto this product:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Photography-Photo-Studio-Softbox-Continuous-Video-Light-Lighting-Kit-VL-9026S3-/120804403445?pt=AU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessories&hash=item1c2080e8f5

This kit appears far more high power than other 'budget' kits (less than $300). I am sceptical about the light thrown though. My hobby bench is about 1.8x1.1M and I'd like to know (without going into to much detail) will these lights throw 'enough light' to scrub the shadows from my workarea for photos and videos? I am a little worried they will only be suitable for portrait type stuff.. Please rid my fears.

Bonus question - what max distance do you think these lights could adequately light a subject?

Asked by Graham

Answer

Reading the details of the eBay auction, you're right, it's not quite what they claim.

• 7650 watts / 15 bulbs = 510 watts/bulb.
• Each softbox takes five bulbs, and two softboxes are included (or three, depending upon what part of the description you read). That will therefore supposedly output 5100 watts, and give you five extra bulbs.

They are supplying 85 watt fluorescents, which are supposedly equal to 510 watt traditional bulbs. Based on a little searching, I'd say an 85 watt fluorescent bulb is probably more like 375 watts from a traditional bulb. The best way to judge light output would be to know lumens or a guide number, but they don't supply those. Also, note the size of those bulbs. They are not your standard compact fluorescent -- they're much bigger at about 4.5 in diameter and 9 in long. So, five of those means this is a big package.

For photo-only work, I would avoid getting a continuous lighting system because of price, size, and heat. But since you mention video, continuous lighting is necessary. Is it worth it? I think this all looks like low quality gear, and a cheap light stand would drive me nuts because it's likely to move too easily... but it may well be worth it, yes.

Answered by Dan Wolfgang

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What does “Open-N-Use” mean?

Question

In the description of a softbox kit it says "Open-N-Use as studio umbrella. More convenient than traditional soft box." What does that mean exactly?

Here's the product http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Photography-Photo-Studio-Softbox-Continuous-Video-Light-Lighting-Kit-VL-9099-/120804387578?pt=AU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessories&hash=item1c2080aafa

Asked by Graham

Answer

Open-n-use has a similar meaning to the much more common "plug-n-play" adjective of computer peripherals, it means you just open it up like an umbrella and start using it right away.

Essentially it's an umbrella softbox hybrid that opens quickly like an umbrella, but has a front diffuser screen like a softbox, giving a softbox like quality of light but without the hassle of assembling a softbox (which can be like putting up a small tent at times).

Answered by Matt Grum

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What should I consider when choosing continuous lighting vs. strobes for studio photography?

Question

If one were to want to get started with studio photography (I'm thinking things like portraits, headshots, perhaps pets, etc) what would be the considerations in choosing whether to go with continuous lighting vs. strobes for the lighting equipment?

Asked by ahockley

Answer

Studio strobes:

• + More light means lower ISO, larger aperture etc.
• + Can freeze motion
• + Can overpower the ambient light meaning you can leave the room lights on to see what you're doing
• + Greater choice of flash units / accessories / lighting modifiers
• + Can be used with battery pack for location shoots
• - Have to be triggered somehow
• - Need to use a flash meter, or test shots to set exposure
• - Can be too bright (some have limited options to turn the power right down)
• - Can be more expensive to start off with

Continous Lighting

• + Can be done on the cheap using gear lying around the house
• + Can use the camera's metering system
• + Can be used for video as well
• + No need to trigger
• - Limited power output
• - Can cook your subject
• - High levels of ambient light can be undesirable when working
• - Fire risk with homemade mods!
• - There can be colour issues with some florescents

Answered by Matt Grum

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What is “feathering” a light?

Question

When I read instructions about lighting setups, I often see reference to to "feathering" this or that light.

I have some ideas what that means: for example, I imagine taking a flashlight and instead of holding it perpendicular to a wall to make a circle, rotating the light "down the wall" so it forms a parabola, and has an extended falloff.

Asked by jfklein13

Answer

The "feather" of a light source is the transition between full light straight on, and no light when a light source is rotated away from the subject. Imagine you have a main light source say at 45 degrees to the line between the camera and the subject and the light source (say a square soft box) is pointed straight at the subject. If you rotate the light source away from the subject (keeping the light at the same location), the light source will appear to become a narrower and narrower rectangle (thinner vertical) until it totally disappears because it it is eventually facing away from the subject.

The great thing about feathering is that, as you rotate and narrow the light say over the first 45 degrees there is little change in the quantity or quality of light, but as you get close to the light disappearing there is a more rapid drop-off. This is the "feather." This is a sweet light to use. Experiment with it by rotating little by little.

An added advantage is when photographing say group of people in a straight line all facing the camera. If the main light is say at 45 degrees to the persons with the face of the source pointing at the center of the group, the end of the line closest to the light will be much brighter than the end furtherest from the light (because of drop-off due to distance). By feathering the light by pointing it at the end of the line of people furtherest away, they see the light as a square, and those closest see the light as a thin vertical light. Consequently those furtherest away get more light (it's full on to them) while those closest get less light (as the area they 'see' is smaller and the quantity of light is dropping off). Thus you get even lighting across the entire line of people.

Answered by John Hopkins

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What is split portrait lighting?

Question

Ok, so I got interested enough in the other lighting setups, what is split portrait lighting and when is it appropriate to use?

Asked by rfusca

Answer

What is Split Lighting?

Split Lighting is one of the 5 basic lighting setups used in studio portrait photography. Split lighting at its most basic level is constructed with a single light source placed 90 degrees offset from the subject and a bit higher than eye level, lighting one half of the face, and leaving the other in shadow.

The thing that distinguishes Split Lighting from Short or Broad lighting is the placement of the subject’s head- Split Lighting is always taken with the subject facing square to the camera, unlike Short, Broad, and Rembrandt lighting which all have the subject’s head angled in relation to the camera.

One-light Split Lighting setup:

When do I Use Split Lighting?

Split lighting is a very ‘moody’ lighting option, so it is generally used when the photographer wants to create a strong sense of drama with the image. It is less frequently used in portrait photography because generally people want to see a subject’s whole face in a picture, though it does go in and out of fashion for commercial and advertising photography every few years. This is often referred to as ‘the comic book villain’ lighting style, and indeed, many comic artists use this technique when they are portraying the bad-guy in their comic books. Whereas Short Lighting and Rembrandt Lighting are 'everyday' lighting choices and the vast majority of portraits will use one of these lighting setups, Split Lighting is an 'accent' lighting choice... A session with a small number of Split Light portraits can add some variety, but a little goes a long way and an entire session of Split Light portraits can become boring very quickly.

Answered by Jay Lance Photography

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What lighting effects do the various surfaces of a 5-way reflector produce?

Question

I have a '5 Way Reflector' that I want to use in my photography, which includes the following 5 options:

• Gold reflective
• Silver reflective
• Gold/silver alternating pattern reflective
• White
• Scrim/opaque
• Black*

What is the basic effect that each of these surfaces produces, and what are some examples of when I would want to use each of them?

Asked by Jay Lance Photography

Answer

The white reflector provides the softest, most natural-appearing light. The reflected light is very diffuse, and matches the colour temperature of the ambient (or main) light. Except when it is used as a main front light on a backlit subject (and similar situations) it doesn't add any noticeable highlights or shadows of its own, apart from a soft catchlight in the eyes (or other elements of the subject that have specular reflection). Used as a main light source, especially as a front light, it may be too "flat". Its main failing, though, is that in order to provide enough reflected light for many shots, it needs to be very close to the subject in relation to its size. It may not be possible to both frame and light the shot the way you want using a white reflector.

The silver reflector has a lot in common with the white reflector, except that it is more reflective and usually much more directional. The light from a silver reflector is "hotter" (it is more likely to cause noticeable highlights and shadows), but it also has a greater reach (the reflector can be farther away from the subject). You can get much lower lighting ratios (the range of light intensity falling on the subject) using single-light setups using a silver reflector than using a white reflector. Because of the directionality of the reflected light, it can reveal texture better than a white reflector -- but that's a two-edged sword, since it also reveals skin problems. Placement and aiming are also more critical than with a white reflector; outdoors it's almost always necessary to have an assistant hold a silver reflector rather than just clamp it to a C-stand.

The gold reflector had all of the lighting characteristics of the silver reflector, except that it radically shifts the colour temperature. In the film days, it would be used to give people a healthy tanned appearance, lke using an 81C warming filter, but without affecting the rest of the scene. It can still serve much the same function, but it will often look unnatural unless the overall light is balanced very cool (like "north light" -- indirect sunlight from a blue sky, which is often at 6500 kelvins or more). Note that the gold reflector will shift the colour temperature of everything it hits, so if you're photographing a model wearing white, and that white has to look white in the final picture, you're just going to have to put things back the way they were in post anyway

The zebra reflector (the one striped silver and gold) is a better compromise for warming the colour temperature of the reflected light in many circumstances. It adds that glow of tan, but not to the same degree as the gold reflector.

The scrim is not a reflector (although a white one can be used as a reflector in close if you're really in a pinch). They come in a variety of materials, each used for a slightly different purpose. A white, tight-weaved scrim (one you can't see through clearly when you hold it close to your eyes) is used most often to soften a harsh light source. Think of it as a shoot-through umbrella (or a softbox) for the sun. This is the type normally included in a multi-reflector kit. It will allow you to take pleasing pictures of people in lighting that would normally be far too harsh. (White scrims used in the movie industry can be the size of a large event canopy/tent, but are usually of a looser weave so the sunlight isn't comletely flattened.) It does, though, hold back a considerable amount of light, so you need to be careful balancing your subject and background (no scrim is that big).

That's where the looser-weaved varieties of scrims come in. Often, they are black rather than white, and they are place behind the subject you are lighting. Think of them as a neutral density filter that affects only the background. (A white one will also brighten and reduce the contrast of the background.) It's not likely you'll find a black scrim in a 5-in-1 kit, but it's worth including for completeness.

The black "reflector" is quite emphatically not the same thing as no reflector at all. Its task is to prevent uncontrolled reflections from falling on your subject (or other elements in the picture). It is often used to increase contrast, but it can also keep that lovely mint-cream green wallpaper from giving your otherwise carefully-lit subject a sort of undead pallor.

As always, I invite edits and suggestions for editing -- the point of the game is to have the best answer on this site, not reputation or self-promotion.

Answered by Stan Rogers

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Can I shoot sports photography in the studio with continuous lights?

Question

I want to try to shoot some sports action, for example shattering bricks and wood. My lighting equipment is not so advanced and needs 0.8 sec to recharge for the next flash, so I can't use high fps. My question is:

Am I able to use cinematic continuous lights? Are there any tips to action photography with this kind of lights?

And if you know any good resource on studio sports photography please share.

Asked by Synxmax

Answer

You can use continuous lights to shoot sports in a studio but you're going to have to up the ISO a lot to get a fast enough shutter speed. A better solution however is to use flash. The shortness of the flash duration when using a flashgun that uses trail trimming (where a transistor cuts power after a certain delay when lower power is required (thus giving a very short pulse)) such as most hotshoe flashes is ideal for stopping motion, and you'll maintain image quality as you'll capture a lot more light than continuous lighting will provide.

You'll lose the ability to shoot at a high framerates, but the action you're trying to capture will most likely be over in a shorter time than the gap between frames anyway, so you're better off working on your timing and shooting the same action many times to get the shots you want.

Answered by Matt Grum

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What lighting equipment do I need for a high contrast portrait photo?

Question

I am an amateur photographer, and I have little to no experience in shooting studio photos. There is one subject in particular that interests me more than others in that area - high contrast portrait photos.

What is required to achieve a high contrast light portrait on a dark/black background and a dark portrait on a light/white background?

Is there a way to do it at home without professional equipment?

Asked by Igor Zinov'yev

Answer

I believe the photos can be made this way:
for the light on black (You don't necesarrily need to have black background to make it look black. This photo was taken in a normal room, I just put the lights on the sides and really close to the toys, so the main direction did not hit the wall, and the subject was so bright that the difference made the wall look black. See Strobist for better explanation.)

for the white background one (you might get better contrast without the softening sheet and with the light on camera right a bit more to the back)

Answered by che

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How to do lighting for product photography of scrapbooking stuff?

Question

I have tried to do some simple product photographing. It is mainly some scrapbooking stuff my wife has produced, like candles and gift cards. Up until now I have been using my Nikon SB-700 for lighting. I bounce the light in the ceiling and I find the light to be rather even. However my wife is not satisfied :(

She wants it to look like this. How do I achieve this result? I have been reading some books and searching the Internet, but still I have not found any good answer to my questions.

I have found a lot of rather cheap lighning kit for product photographing. These usually include some kind of table and some halogen lights. This seems like a good choice. What confuses me is that sometimes there are some cheap studio flash kits that is said to work for product photographing and portraits. So I was thinking; why not use my studio flash with a softbox? It has a color temperature around 5600° Kelvin. I have also found some light bulbs that has a color temperature around 5500° Kelvin. Could I use a couple of them? These cost around $20 each.

All the articles I have been reading explains a lot of color temperatures and little bit on how to setup the lightning. However they do not motivate why.

Could you please help me to sort the things out?

Answer

Product photography requires some way of isolating the subject completely within the shot, and even lighting. For this reason I think you would find a light tent extremely useful.

A light tent has two advantages. Firstly, the translucent sides allow you to use virtually any light source (even, in a pinch, regular household lamps) as they diffuse the light evenly across the subject. Halogen lamps aren't essential by any means.

Secondly, the curved backcloth gives an 'infinity curve' effect to the photo - in other words, you can't see where the bottom ends and the back starts, isolating the subject nicely.

Prices vary by size and location, but they will rarely cost more than $30/€25. If you're on a tight budget, you can even make your own using a cardboard box and cooking paper.

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In portrait photography, what is 'broad' lighting? What is 'short' lighting?

Question

What are 'broad' and 'short' lighting when it comes to studio portraiture, and when should I use each?

Answer

Broad Lighting: Is when a subject is posed such that the main light is directed at the side of the face that is closest to the camera. Broad lighting can add weight to a thin face, but it does this by 'adding' roundness/thickness to the face, so it is not a good style of lighting to use with bigger subjects (or even 'normal' subjects with rounder faces.

Broad Lighting Example:

Short Lighting: Is when the subject is posed such that the main light is directed at the side of the face that is furthest away from the camera. Short lighting can help 'thin' a subject who is heavy, or who has a rounder face.

Short Lighting Example:

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To take my portrait photography to the next level, should I get a second flashgun or a monolight?

Question

I am a hobbyist and using a Canon 600D with 50mm f/1.8 and 18-135mm lenses.

I bought 430EX-II flashgun, and it works great as off-camera flash with the 600D's built in transmitter. I also have a flash-modifiers kit from eBay.

Things are working great, but I want to take my portrait photography to next level. I am thinking to add a second light source along with the umbrella setup.

Am I on the right track? Should I go for a second flashgun or go for a monolight (or monolights)? What you suggest, and why?

Answer

Either way you're getting more lights, so you'll be adding some additional tools to sculpt your light either way.

So what to get depends on how you want to use it.

I say get the monolight(s) if:

1. You want or need more power
2. You want or need faster recycle times
3. The important one: you have consistent and easy access to power outlets (like, you're always in a studio)

Get the second battery-powered strobe if you won't consistently have access to a power outlet for the monolight (like, you're shooting on location with no access to an outlet) and you can live with the lower power, reliance on batteries, and longer recycle times.

Strobist has many articles on what to consider if you're stepping up to big lights and specifically has a lengthy look at doing it (relatively) cheaply with the AlienBees line of lights if you want some additional reading.

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To take my portrait photography to the next level, should I get a second flashgun or a monolight?

Question

I am a hobbyist and using a Canon 600D with 50mm f/1.8 and 18-135mm lenses.

I bought 430EX-II flashgun, and it works great as off-camera flash with the 600D's built in transmitter. I also have a flash-modifiers kit from eBay.

Things are working great, but I want to take my portrait photography to next level. I am thinking to add a second light source along with the umbrella setup.

Am I on the right track? Should I go for a second flashgun or go for a monolight (or monolights)? What you suggest, and why?

Answer

Either way you're getting more lights, so you'll be adding some additional tools to sculpt your light either way.

So what to get depends on how you want to use it.

I say get the monolight(s) if:

1. You want or need more power
2. You want or need faster recycle times
3. The important one: you have consistent and easy access to power outlets (like, you're always in a studio)

Get the second battery-powered strobe if you won't consistently have access to a power outlet for the monolight (like, you're shooting on location with no access to an outlet) and you can live with the lower power, reliance on batteries, and longer recycle times.

Strobist has many articles on what to consider if you're stepping up to big lights and specifically has a lengthy look at doing it (relatively) cheaply with the AlienBees line of lights if you want some additional reading.

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What software can I use for 3D lighting simulation?

Question

I've got a shot in mind that's going to require precise lighting (sources & angles).

I'd like to do a lighting simulation. I want place objects & light sources in some sort of 3D virtual environment and see the results. Adjust & repeat until I achieve what I want. Then I can set up the physical lights to match and shoot the real thing — without wasting precious time with my model.

What are my options? My ideal software would simulate lots of modifiers, be free, and run on OS X.

Note that I'm not (just) looking to create a lighting diagram; for that, I already have several options.

Answer

You may just have uncovered a niche for somebody to develop for. I've used a lot of 3d graphics programs, from the text-based POVRay through Blender, 3dsMax, Maya, SoftImage 3D and the quirkier stuff from Daz. They all have steep learning curves, and except for the FOSS family (which have a high entry point from a usability perspective) they're pretty expensive. Like good, fast, long glass expensive -- certainly more expensive than you'd want to pay if you then have to spend a month learning how to do the basics, create stored light objects (different sotboxen, reflectors, grids, barndoors that obey the laws of physics, lights with different power characteristics, etc., that won't let you simulate perfectly something your gear can't actually accomplish).

The one truly usable-out-of-the-box app, Caligari's TrueSpace, is Windows-only and orphaned since Microsoft acquired them, but it is a free download. Unfortunately, the online tools and tutorials mostly refer to a feature set that was cut from the free version, but you can still accurately model lights, reflectors and so on. There's also a free "learning edition" of Maya, but the ability to save out objects for reuse is either missing or extremely limited (perhaps the one time I managed it represented a bug in the crippling code). Too bad, because Maya does lighting very well, and you don't really need high-rez unwatermarked renders for this application.

If you want to go the 3D simulation route, then the most cost-effective option would probably be Blender. It would help considerably if you could find, create (or, preferably, have created for you) a standard set of lights and reflector panels as objects you can just add to the scene, then drag around and play with controls that mimic the ones actually on your gear. Unless you're in it for the curiosity, there's too high a frustration factor in building the world from the ground up every time.

All that being said, though, there's no substitute (yet) for a mannequin (or an assistant). Even a grey-painted styrofoam wig head on a light stand will tell you everything you need to know to get the broad strokes right, then you can just do minor refinements when your model/subject arrives. (Or major refinements if your subjects are much like the real people I used to work with -- sometimes it's all about lighting that one good eye perfectly and letting everything else fall into shadow, you know?) And for just playing around with ideas, an "action figure" or two, a couple of flashlights, one small sheet of one-stop ND gel to selectively lower the output of each light, and tabletop tripods (the cheap ones the sell at non-photography stores) will let you noodle about quite effectively without wasting anyone else's time.

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How do you light the background for chroma key work?

Question

How do you use flashes to achieve an even, well-lit background when photographing a subject against a green or blue chromakey background? One flash, two? What position? What about light modifiers, like an umbrella or soft box?

Answer

I'm no expert on this, but my basic understanding is that you generally want two lights, on either side of the background (not at 90 degrees to it), aimed towards the center, far enough back to illuminate evenly, and angled downwards to reduce spill. Continuous lighting is probably better for this, or at least makes it easier to ensure that you're correctly lit.

In terms of lighting modifiers, it will depend. If you can control the strengths of the strobes sufficiently, you might not require them. That'll probably require some experimentation. In generally, your background light should be about a stop less than your foreground.

Anyways, that's a nutshell summary of various articles I've read and hardly an exhaustive tutorial on the subject. For further info, unless we have a real lighting wizard pop in here to fill in better details, you might want to look at what videographers do, it's the same principle just at more frames per second.

Also, as a final tip, make sure your subject isn't wearing something matching the key. Unless, of course, you're looking to partially remove them. :)

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