Beginners guide

[@imagesBV]

Can anyone recommend a beginners guide to indoor lighting/studio lighting - what do I need for a starter set-up, what light source options are there and how do you use them?

[EOS_Jim]

Re: Beginners guide

Brian I looked at part of the response from the other post requesting this so I guess you don't own any lights?

What sort of budget do you have? You can buy cheap sets on ebay (not recommended) or spend a bit more and get a better quality, more consistent light output with a range of modifiers.

You can also use a small form flash off camera in a brolly to create beautiful shots.

I note in a previous thread you asked about what a light source is. Well the light source is the location of the burst of flash - be that a small on-camera flash or a studio strobe. The source however can be modified by placing something between it and the subject. A softbox for example will allow the flash to fire and rebound inside the box and exit as a much larger source of light (a brolly does something similar). So you have a larger light source which is good as tyhe larger the source (relative to the subject) the softer the light will be.

There are a couple of types of light. A continuous source has a bright light that is on all the time and you can turn up/down the power and what you see is what you will get. Not a great way to work though as there is a lot of heat produced by these bulbs making it uncomfortable for any models you have and the power is nowhere near that of the power that can be produced by flash. You are not limited by the camera's sync speed though.

A studio strobe has two light sources. A modelling light is an almost continous source of light that lights the subject before the flash is fired. It produces a small amount of light so you can see where the shadows are on your subject. This modelling light generally turns off briefly when the flash is fired so does not impact the flash exposure. The flash when fired produces a very short and powerful burst of light (typically 1/1000th or faster). (think of this as your shutter speed). Canon's speedlites also have a very brief burst of light - the lower the power the more brief the burst (usually faster than an average strobe). At 1:1 power I believe a 580EX speedlight fires for about 1/850th sec and at 1/64th power it fires at 1/4200th! So shutter speed is less important than you may think. So your SS only affects the ambient light. Aperture is where the power of the flash is controlled. At small apertures you need more light and at wider apertures less light.

This is a very basic description and there are plenty of places on the web to describe more.

Before I go on though, what sort of subject do you plan on shooting? And what is your budget?

[codachrome]

Re: Beginners guide

Brian..have a quick look on you tube you can find almost anything on there.

Coda

[EOS_Jim]

Re: Beginners guide

Brian..have a quick look on you tube you can find almost anything on there.

Coda

Although I agree, with very little info at hand there is so much info on You Tube it's difficult to know what is good and what is bad info...... Bit like forums too :) All we as individuals can do is advise what we think is good but that does not necessarily mean is so for that person.

[@imagesBV]

Re: Beginners guide

Jim,
I'm planning to take portraits and pets and some still life - so no big studio shots. I'm at the planning stage - if I need some meaningful investment then I'll wait a while but if I can get set up with a starter kit for less than £200 then I'll do it sooner rather than later.

I've seen several you-tube videos but for me I feel I'm trying to piece together lots of different info - sometimes conflicting.

[EOS_Jim]

Re: Beginners guide

Yes because there is almost always more than one way to make an image.

Re portraits, you can do so with a single light be that a strobe or a camera flash or even window light!

The problem you have is you need the following

A light - Look at the Elinchrom D-Lite it -£183

A stand for the light - Wexpro stand @ £20
A modifier to make the source larger - There is a huge range of modifiers. These can be expensive - I'd suggest a 109cm brolly @ £22
A background - You can buy some cheap black or grey material for use as a backdrop. I say black or grey because you don't need to add any light to it to use it. If you want white you need to add a background light. You can use a white backdrop but it will more likely be grey when you use it with onlt one light. Also a background system although a couple of clamps may hold it up.

Ideally you also want to add some radio triggers (cheap ebay ones are about £20). However the Elinchrom Skyport will allow remote control of the studio lights themselves - A fantastic + for the Elinchrom system.

You really don't need anything more than that. As you increase your knowledge, add a light or two to the setup.

Total cost around £225 + cloth for background + wireless triggers

You may be as cheap buying a kit though.

[@imagesBV]

Re: Beginners guide

Thanks Jim,
lots of info there, I will look-up those products and kits with similar content.

[EOS_Jim]

Re: Beginners guide

The DLite 2 kit is pretty decent.
Other brands are Lencarta and Bowens who both offer cheapish kits.

[@imagesBV]

Re: Beginners guide

There is an article in Amateur photographer (far inferior) magazine this week on studio flash

[EOS_Jim]

Re: Beginners guide

EOS Magazine is just different to AP rather than AP being inferior ;) The other mags cover many other things - some better some not so well.

[@imagesBV]

Re: Beginners guide

I agree.....maybe I was a little unkind

[Thndr_strck]

Re: Beginners guide

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/studio-lighting---a-beginners-guide-to-studio-lighting-132

Might be a bit old, but good info