Join Now
Join ePHOTOzine, the friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
Hi - I am just about to make a first step into studio lighting for amateur/hobby use. Primarily family portrait/full-length and occasional product photos. I have a Canon 20D.
I was about to order an entry-level flash kit (probably Interfit) when I asked myself: Why not get a continuous lighting kit?
And I didn't have a good answer.
Seems to me that the advantage of continuous ligting is that you can take burst photos for more natural portraits. With flash ... ? Lower overall electricity consumption over time? Greater light output for given electrical power input?
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I would be interested in knowing the pros and cons of flash versus continuous lighting.
I have a sigma flash on-camera and some cheap IR slaves which are a bit flaky but should provide fill-in flash if needed.
Cheers, all.
Lampsh.
Continuous lighting runs alot hotter, for taking portraits it can get quite uncomfortable for the sitter. Imagine sitting under a couple of desk lamps for 1/2 and hour and you'll get my meaning.
Tony
i suppose it very much depends on your subject.
under lights, (which dont neccesarily have to be hot, there is a few fluro sets that run very cool), you'll be working at slower shutter speeds, or wider apertures or higher iso's
so if your subjects wanting to move about a bit, you're restricted a little.
Some people never get their heads around flash, and are much happier working under continuous light, as its much easier for them to see the finished shot through the viewfinder.
obviously, it would be best if you could have a play with both, before deciding.
Thanks, both. these are good points. It had not occured to me that a "200W" flash setup would provide more light than a "200W" lamp.
Croberts, thanks - I would probably be looking at the fluorescent type rather than "hot" bulbs.
Hmm. No easy answers.
Cheers,
Lampsh.
Hi - If it is any use I have started out using a couple of 85W 5400K daylight lamps on stands with umbrellas, which are basically large versions of the energy saving bulbs we are all being asked to use in our homes. They give off a similar amount of light to a 400watt lamp, and don't kick out a lot of heat and should be nice and efficient. In conjunction with my office CAT 5 flourescents they have given a good light source and took all the yellow away.
Using a slight bit tweeking in PS to get the right white balance, they have been ok. (see my first two uploads on my portfolio for results).
I am just in the process of creating a bigger space, so am going to upgrade to a couple of the bigger versions (tri-lights) which have three of these bulbs in a unit, which will give me a better light fill on a bigger space (I probably should have gone for these ones in the first place), and to avoid having the stands in the way I will probably mount them on booms too.
They might not be the most classy of lights but they have worked for me so far anyway.
Hope this is of some help.
Andy
If you do go flash and want to have creative control then make sure that you have pilot/guide lights in the flash to indicate what the flash will illuminate, and balance between lights. Lighting is not just putting light on a subject but controlling how the light falls on the subject.
Looking at that EPZ tutorial it would appear the two disadvantages of continuous lighting are indeed wiped out by higher wattage 5400k balanced fluorescents. I'm probably missing something but what is the real advantage of flash given the significant price difference for someone on a very limited budget?
The Interfit cool-lights are available from the Ephotozine shop, and if you look on the interfit website they are about to release a new cool-light kit which has 2 lamps each with 5 of the lamps in (all switchable). This looks like a good bit of gear which I presume will be available through the ephotozine shop very soon.
Hi, these are all good points. I'm rather torn between the two different approaches, I must admit. This may be a rather odd argument, but one of my intended subjects (victims) is my 4 children, 3 of whom are in their teens, and I get the feeling that the flash approach may be more "impressive" somehow, and the novelty value alone may persuade them to condescend to allow me to photograph them. Occasionally. Probably wishful thinking, I know.
I came across these guys on eBay.
cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=ADME%3AL%3ARTQ%3AUK%3A1&viewitem=&item=230090852013&rd=1]lencarta ebay shop
Looks like a good spec and price. the only thing missing seems to be an output control on the modeling lamp. I should probably assume the build quality of the lamps is mediocre at best.
They have good feedback. Does anyone on this forum have any experience of their stuff?
Just another point on the flash v continuous dilemma. As someone who is just getting into all of this I felt that continuous was the simplest option for me, and one of the things I have found personally is that it allows me to do more candid shots as, especially with animals and children, under the lights they do not notice I am snapping away, as they would with flash. But that does not rule me out of using flash and would like to hear points of view from users of either.
Andy
Hi Lampsh
If you are just starting out in studio work (as I keep promising myself I will do) can I recommend you get the November 2006 and Decmember 2006 issues of Photography Monthly. In these issues they did a 2 part "Essential Guide to Studio Flash."
This covers the basics of studio flash , and though it not something I know a lot about , provided one of the most readable guides to studio flash I have read to date.
Good luck
Nathan
Hi, all - well I did go ahead and purchase those Lencarta lights and managed to get some photos over the weekend.
I'll do a more complete write-up on the lights themselves later, but in summary I'd say you get a lot of light and lights for your money, and the quality of the kit is "adequate" for hobbyist use, but would not stand up to pro use or scrutiny. The kit is clearly "made in China" but everything fitted together competently, everything worked and there were no missing parts.
I have never seen any other studio light kits, by the way, so I cannot really compare analytically.
Here are 3 photos taken using 1 or two lights, and a combination of softboxes and honeycomb/barn-doors. Suffice to say that I now have more than enough equipment to accomplish what I want. Now I just have to decide what I want. The photos are untouched, apart from some cloning to remove blemishes on the statue. Even porcelain can get spots with age, it seems.
Flat lighting
Bright lighting
Shadow lighting
The shadowy one is my favourite, and I suppose I could just as easily have done this with a flashlight, but that's not the point!
So, I'd say that my expectations for a full-featured, budget studio flash kit were met by this outfit (see earlier post for link).
Add a Comment
ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more.
Login or Join Now
New to ePHOTOzine? Join ePHOTOzine for free!
Join Our Free Newsletter
Awards
Current Competitions
foliopic 'Movement' Competition
1st May 2012 - 31st May 2012
This month's competition theme is 'Movement' which can be interpreted in a number of ways. You could photograph an animal running, a person walking or a car speeding...Featured e2 Photo
Featured Directory Listing
May's Photo Month
Check out ePHOTOzine's inspirational photo month calendar! Each day click on a window to unveil new photography tips, treats and techniques.
Interact
Photography Gallery Photography Forums Recent Forum Activity Members' Meetings Members' BlogsSearch ePHOTOzine
Having trouble or would like to make a suggestion? Create a report
Calibrate your monitor so you can see 16 different shades.
ePHOTOzine © 2001 - 2012 Magezine Publishing | Contact Us | Site Map | Top