Studio lighting for digital photography

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28 Jun 2004 - 10:16 AM

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spaceman

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28 Jun 2004 - 10:23 AM

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I'd go for continuous - it's cheaper and you won't need a flashmeter, although you may need a tripod.

nikon5700ite

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28 Jun 2004 - 10:44 AM

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If you want to fry your subjects, or keep them warm on a winter's evening, then go for continuous. It is easier, more obvious what each light is doing to the subject.

So most important if you go for flash you organise tungsten lamps in each light to enable you to see the effect of that's light's placement.

Before you invest too much money also check that whatever slave trigger you get will work with your digital camera. From what I have read I must be lucky with the 5700 but apparently some cameras emit a pre-flash [ NOT RED EYE ] which triggerz the flash and with it gone there is nothing left for the exposure of the subject.

Assuming that you are not starting a professional studio but operating in a home studio read on....

If you attach a torch or similar low powered light to an ordinary flash gun you will get a reasonably good idea of what the flash will do.

A cheap way is to get an ordinary flashgun of the likes that you find in pawnbrokers and a trigger perhaps from Jessops [about 10 pounds ].
There are two types, for flash working off a hot-shoe and the other if the flash has a sync lead to plug into the trigger.

Organise yourself some reflectors, silver builder's paper and a sheet of polystyrene, so that you can reflect light into the shadows cast by your single flash [ or else use the camera's flash as a fill for this purpose. They are pretty good for this purpose.

Then get a second flash and use it to light the background and develop things from there.

One thing with flash to control the light it is easy to make 'barndoors' out of cardboard and turn the flash into a spot light and things like that.
See this for a little experiment I did along these lines. I do have an aluminium boom tripod which I used to hold the flash and the camera's flash was masked off by some cardboard so only the trigger saw the flash.

nikon5700ite

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28 Jun 2004 - 10:56 AM

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PS. You do not need a flash meter in the situation I describe but a knowledge of how to calculate your exposures.
A flash has a guide number and irrespective of where the camera is the aperture is organised by the distance of the flash to the subject.

Say the GN is 56. Divide the flash to subject distance [in feet] into it and that is the aperture to use.
ie. GN56 distance 10ft use f/5.6

Shutter speed has no effect on exposure and probably digital cameras will flash sync at all speeds. See the other pages adjacent to the one in the first message for possibly unnecessary background info on the subject.

The unit I used has two 'auto' settings and so long as the flash-to-subject distance is equal or less that the setting the flash will cut itself off if the subject is closer.
That applies to a full sized subject and not the little man in the shots I had to fiddle things for him with a camera which only closes down to f/8. The flash was a bit over 2ft from him.

So 56/2 == f/28 So I told the flash I was using faster 'film' and it cut off the light after less light bounced back of the subject at it. 800ISO results in a eighth of the light ...f/10 which was close enough since I couldn't do any better.
Except to hold a tissue in front of the flash .....

Have fun!

sabretalon

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28 Jun 2004 - 1:26 PM

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See my post above

sabretalon

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28 Jun 2004 - 2:23 PM

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I think the lights they provide are interfit? As to the difference I would not know, just looking at buying myself.

I would guess you get more control than the floodlights and that the floodlights may be a little harsh, but I guess if you rigged them up to a dimmer switch you may get some control etc..

The other thing could be temperature, not the light temp but the heat given off?

Last but not least, presentation, the one you buy from the DIY store might give your clients the wrong impression.