Studio lighting -getting started

[krfessl]

Ok, you Guys are now scaring me!! :-) I just actually measured and it's only 10x12 "studio usable" space in a bigger room (10' from backdrop to camera... So maybe the ABs are overkill for now... And the Impacts better for now... 400 w/s heads and a 100w/s backlight. Nice kit on B&H which has it all, inc radio trigger/components, and the modifiers... Even a remote for power adjustments... I can even upgrade the radio stuff and still be less than the ABs... No, don't get me wrong... I'm a Bimmer guy and love my toys, and as said earlier usually go higher-end (and will probably bitch about it later that I should have gone AB, which is one of the CFOs points) ....And then there's about 300.00 in backdrop stuff... Remember I'm just getting started with an initial studio set-up...

Ceiling is 8' and painting it black is for Phase "n" :-) ... Might have to go with some sort of black mat board set-up if needed...

[Mike Buckley]

Ok, you Gus are now scaring me!! :-) I just actually measured and it's only 10x12 "studio usable" space

The maximum useable space in my makeshift studio is 6' x 9'. (That's the primary limitation that makes it a makeshift studio. The other limitation is the dust.) I couldn't do some of the stuff that you want to do in such a small space, but I do macro work and product photography and have plans for other styles of photography. View the photos of glass that I made in it at my website.

Due to the special requirements of photographing glass in a small room that has lots and lots of items that would be reflected in the subjects, I created an entirely black area using a cheap black rug for the floor and black fabric from the $1 bin for the walls. You could also use the black fabric for a temporary ceiling, which would be a better choice than the one that I made. Simply convince your CFO to allow you to put eye hooks where the walls and ceiling meet. String a cord between the eye hooks. Hang black fabric over the cords to create temporary black walls and a ceiling.

[RustBeltRaw]

I just actually measured and it's only 10x12 "studio usable" space in a bigger room (10' from backdrop to camera... So maybe the ABs are overkill for now...

The lights you select are mainly determined by the work you want to do, not the studio you want to do it in. I don't know why a small studio would change your choice of lights. Also, I would avoid "for now" purchases. Save up, play the long game, and get good gear. Ultimately, you won't lose money re-selling the intermediate stuff, and you will spend less time cussing at it.

400 w/s heads and a 100w/s backlight.

If you want to do white-background work, you will probably need more backlight power than key light power. The subject will be about 1 to 1.5 stops darker than the background (which will be just under blown out). For a full-body, on-white portrait, you will probably want at least two heads, or one powerful head placed far away. In the space you have, a headshot studio is quite possible. A full-body setup? Tight.

I recommend shooting on black to start. No fancy background stuff required - just pump a ton of light on your subject, expose for flash only, and let the background disappear. This, for instance, is a two-light portrait with an ugly off-white wall in the background.

Full disclosure: I used Speedlites for this. My whole setup is portable, because I do not have, and do not intend to have, a studio. To my mind, working on location is more interesting.

[Colin Southern]

I just actually measured and it's only 10x12 "studio usable" space in a bigger room (10' from backdrop to camera...

10' from backdrop to SUBJECT would be good for portraiture.

So maybe the ABs are overkill for now... And the Impacts better for now... 400 w/s heads and a 100w/s backlight.

Sorry, but I just can't see how this is going to work for you. Ideally, a studio is an environment that supports the kinds of images that you want to produce; it shouldn't be what limits and defines the types of images that you're able to produce.

Nice kit on B&H which has it all, inc radio trigger/components, and the modifiers... Even a remote for power adjustments... I can even upgrade the radio stuff and still be less than the ABs... No, don't get me wrong... I'm a Bimmer guy and love my toys, and as said earlier usually go higher-end (and will probably bitch about it later that I should have gone AB, which is one of the CFOs points) ....And then there's about 300.00 in backdrop stuff...

The most expensive route is the one you pay for twice.

So in summary, you want a studio, but ...

- the area you have is too small

- is the wrong colour

- and the gear you're about to buy inadequate

I went through the same process; I always wanted some "descent lights" and I finally bought a couple, but had no place to use them. Brilliant plan - I moved my dining room table and chairs and couch out the way to "make room" and then hung backdrops etc. That happened exactly ONCE.



I thought of hiring a hall when I needed more space; that happened exactly ... well actually it didn't ever happen.

Next plan was to use a 12 x 40' storage shed; the length was great, but even the 12' width was limiting (light stand legs stick out a bit at the bottom - then there's the overhang of the lights themselves and then the softbox - and then all of that times 2. But I got some OK results in there.



In the end I just had to bite the bullet - get 2 storage sheds - knock out the adjoining wall - spend $5000 on a steel beam to support the roof - and plasters - and painters - and builders - and just do the job right. Without having to work around the limitations of a small space with light bouncing around everywhere - and with enough lights to do the job, I finally enjoyed creative freedom to create any kind of image.

[Colin Southern]

If you want to do white-background work, you will probably need more backlight power than key light power. The subject will be about 1 to 1.5 stops darker than the background (which will be just under blown out).

Yes and no. Yes, you need more power (because you're illuminating a bigger area) (ignoring soft-box loss), but the subject is exposed almost exactly the same (I usually make the background 1/3 stop brighter so it blows first in PP).

For a full-body, on-white portrait, you will probably want at least two heads, or one powerful head placed far away.

One light would be a struggle without full-length reflectors, and the further away you place a light (a) the harder the light gets and (b) the more it becomes uncontrollable (even with a reasonably tight grid).

In the space you have, a headshot studio is quite possible. A full-body setup? Tight.

I wouldn't like to try it.

I recommend shooting on black to start. No fancy background stuff required - just pump a ton of light on your subject, expose for flash only, and let the background disappear. This, for instance, is a two-light portrait with an ugly off-white wall in the background.

Generally, black background work requires rim lights or kicker lights (inc a hair light) or it looks a bit "meh"; one of those occasions where it may look ok ... until one compares it to a setup with kicker/rim lights at which point one vows to get some rim/kicker lights!

eg imagine how "flat" this shot would have looked without the extra lighting on the arms:

Full disclosure: I used Speedlites for this. My whole setup is portable, because I do not have, and do not intend to have, a studio. To my mind, working on location is more interesting.

To be honest, I think the OP may well be better served by abandoning the studio idea and going for something bigger and better ... LOCATION PORTRAITS. One still needs additional lighting, but there are no space restrictions and an infinite number of great backdrops. To be honest, I find studio portraiture to be a bit like studio audio recording; you can control everything but it tends to be quite "sterile" whereas outdoors is like a live concert; not as "clean and controlled" but it takes on an ambiance and a life all of it's own eg

[Mike Buckley]

This thread reminds me how lucky I am on many levels that I enjoy photographing relatively small, inanimate objects in my makeshift studio.

The OP explains that he wants to shoot macro, portrait and product shots. Two of the three are very doable in his 10' x 12' studio if the products are sufficiently small. Colin's post immediately above certainly clarifies that portraiture would be extremely limited at best.

[krfessl]

Great stuff Colin (advise and photos)! So, if I add the backdrop to the ceiling the long way, that will help... In my next house (on the drawing board) I will have a garage area space dedicated... It's a few years away, as we get out of NYS and down to the mid-Atlantic somewhere... Candidly, it's why I'm trying to ramp-up now on some of this... To get the base hands-on and really know what I want... Not everybody's scenario, but, at 61, it's mine :-). And ALL of the great advice from you guys goes into that mix... This is, for the moment, a weekend and learning set-up, so I can get positioned to (hopefully) do what you guys do AT SOME POINT. ... I have the eye... Been photographing for as long as many of you, just not as well, in the last too many years... (I went to photo school with Cindy Sherman)... And many of my bones came from do-it-myself lighting, nudes and a ton of darkroom time with B&W prints starting back in the 70's with FTNs and F2s (I have a Pristine pair if anyone is looking)... I know and appreciate that you guys are trying keep me from making mistakes and double spending...

So, net, net... Please keep commenting, it's all absorbed and it all sets the bar higher for me (and others I hope)... I've already made adjustments to the gameplan based on all the input, like adding a 2nd backdrop to extend the SUBJECT to camera distance), adding better triggers and backlighting, etc

[Colin Southern]

Not sure what more I can add Keith. At the end of the day, a small space it going to lend itself well to things like macro shooting, but I think that the bigger your subject, the more you're going to progressively come up against limitations that will ultimately impact the quality of the work.

In contrast, why not consider the location shooting scenario? Things like DIY diffusers are cheap and easy to build, and you can put the $$$ you would have spent into things like a 30" 4-Square with several flashes inside (that's what I use). Then the world becomes your oyster for space and backdrops.

[William W]

. . . "I find studio portraiture to be a bit like studio audio recording; you can control everything but it tends to be quite "sterile" whereas outdoors is like a live concert; not as "clean and controlled" but it takes on an ambiance and a life all of it's own . . ."

Has to be nominated for one of the top ten quotes for CiC this year.

Bravo.

WW

[Colin Southern]

Has to be nominated for one of the top ten quotes for CiC this year.

Bravo.

WW

Thanks Bill,

It should make it to #1 - can't be sure, but will confirm when I've finished judging!

[William W]

Keith,

I have built three Studios and two Darkrooms. I have found that when planning each Studio (and the Darkrooms), it was really a tough balance to align the vision and the passion to achieve what I wanted to the reality of the logistics and the gear at my disposal, to achieve that vision.

You will choose to do, what you choose to do - but what I do hope is that you enjoy what you do.

So my advice is when thinking on that "enjoyment" factor, do not lose sight of all of the "realities" of the gear and the logistics.

Good luck in your endeavours.

WW

[krfessl]

Again, thanks to all for inputs!

Made some additional room, and now have 10.5' x 14'... Full use studio space (Colin's phenomenal studio pic is indelibly etched in my head)!!

Just ordered 2 black and 2 white 107" backdrops and hanging kits (yes, the Impact kit, as I've seen I can hang it from wall on one side (in front of white wall, 14' side wall) and with some additional effort, and I am a VERY handy guy on that stuff) to hang from ceiling in front of rest of room behind.. Giving me a 45 angle of backdrop, both 107" to work with...

and I'll have the operational 10-12' of camera to backdrop (and hope with the subject to still have a decent, maybe not perfect, setback)... I can still move back a couple of more feet if I setup in the wide doorframe to my "wine cave", and use a couple of feet into it, which starts at the other end of the 14' opposite the portrait space.

I will use both wide and narrower space as needed, given the 2 backdrop set-ups.

I am STILL churning on lights though... Just asked Buff to do a little better on pricing, as I really like their stuff, and their radio command set-up which can both control and fire, with built-in metering, and apparently can add a receiver to my SB-700 also... The Impact set I configured is about the same bucks but with a little more gear, and a little more power per head (400W vs 500) but their radio command is not as slick... Buff seems a bit inflexible on packages/pricing... But as was pointed out by you guys, does offer a path to bigger lights and invest protect...

The saga continues, and with all ya-all's inputs, This is gonna turn out great! The CFO even said I could paint the ceiling ( but I will wait on that) :-0

[krfessl]

I also should have asked this question: If I buy the ABs, I think I'd like a smaller umbrella than they offer, given the space we've been talking about... I almost hesitate to ask, but... Any opinions on whose umbrellas to buy to keep them a bit smaller?? Say 30" or so... The ABs look like they support anyone's umbrellas from the B800 manual review... I did plan to order one of their soft boxes to replace the basic version I got from B&H (Westcott) as adding a speed ring to the AB for the Westcott softbox seems dumb... I will have 2 extra "always on" lights, 500w now... Talk about bad choice. :-) No internal baffle, but I didn't get that was important until too late... I'd used 2 old tripods to mount them with a DIY set-up made from PVC pipe and reducer rings, and I was pretty proud until I got some Pro input from reading and posting (aka you guys). :-)

[Colin Southern]

really like their stuff, and their radio command set-up which can both control and fire, with built-in metering,

I may be jumping on the wrong horse here, but in a studio all exposures are strictly manual - no built-in metering is used by camera or lights.

[Colin Southern]

I also should have asked this question: If I buy the ABs, I think I'd like a smaller umbrella than they offer, given the space we've been talking about... I almost hesitate to ask, but... Any opinions on whose umbrellas to buy to keep them a bit smaller?? Say 30" or so... The ABs look like they support anyone's umbrellas from the B800 manual review... I did plan to order one of their soft boxes to replace the basic version I got from B&H (Westcott) as adding a speed ring to the AB for the Westcott softbox seems dumb... I will have 2 extra "always on" lights, 500w now... Talk about bad choice. :-) No internal baffle, but I didn't get that was important until too late... I'd used 2 old tripods to mount them with a DIY set-up made from PVC pipe and reducer rings, and I was pretty proud until I got some Pro input from reading and posting (aka you guys). :-)

That's an easy one; studios are all about controlling light - and umbrellas spray light everywhere, so my suggestion is to normally avoid them unless that's what you're wanting. Reflective brollies have their place for things like helping with group shots, but in a small space like you have they'd contaminate the background light zone badly. Shoot-through brollys are more controllable in terms of the forward-facing light surface, but so are softboxes; the advantage of a softbox is that it doesn't spray light out the sides and out the back. Think of a softbox as giving you a 90 degree light segment and a brolly as giving you an uneven 360 degrees of light (the other 270 degrees worth bounces around the studio and makes controlling things difficult) (it can work for you as fill light, but personally I'd rather control that with a separate light rather than rely on it as "random and inconsistent" light).

In short, use softboxes, not umbrellas (I can't remember the last time I used an umbrella). Umbrellas are better suited to outdoor location shoots and big spaces where we're not too worried by light heading off in non-critical directions. In a small studio if you use them then you'll ultimately be making things harder for yourself (initially you'll like the shots because they're lit with plenty of good and soft light, but as you progress you'll bemoan the lack of shadow control and get sick of the two-dimensional "flat lighting" look.

[krfessl]

Colin, pls look at this URL.... http://www.paulcbuff.com/cc.php#

As usual I may be in over my head on what this does... Love your opinion....

[krfessl]

More good advice thx.... For the backlight they have a modified that is a white 1/2 shell housing... I had that on the list... As I did a 32x40 softbox... I was expecting to use either an shoot thru umbrella, or black covered one (white inside) with low power for the fill lig

[Colin Southern]

Colin, pls look at this URL.... http://www.paulcbuff.com/cc.php#

As usual I may be in over my head on what this does... Love your opinion....

Interesting.

Being able to control lighting groups from the camera helps a lot if you don't have a VAL (VAL = Voice Activated Lighting) (insider joke for assistant) (or "Lighting B!tch") (hey, it ain't pretty, but it's real!). so from that point of view it looks good.

I see that they've incorporated a light meter too, which in theory is great, but in practice, because it's camera based it's only going to be able to calculate the overall exposure -- it's not going to be able to sense lighting ratios (which are important) (although the lights can control output ratios that's not the effective light that's delivered because that inturn depends on the light modifier used and the distance from the light to the subject).

So in summary, the remote control is good, the rest I personally wouldn't use. Then again, it's possibly better than nothing if you don't have a lightmeter (I use a Sekonic 758DR) (but then again, after a while you kinda get used to the settings you use commonly anyway - I know if I setup a key light on 5.6 into an octabox - floor to ceiling reflectors on other side - camera 1/125th @ F11 @ ISO 100 I'll get a good exposure with about a 2:1 to 3:1 fill ratio (cookie cutter h&S portrait).

[Colin Southern]

More good advice thx.... For the backlight they have a modified that is a white 1/2 shell housing... I had that on the list... As I did a 32x40 softbox... I was expecting to use either an shoot thru umbrella, or black covered one (white inside) with low power for the fill lig

The brollies that have the black backing (that the light installs into) are definitely better, but still spread light further due to the convex nature of the front. They're not "bad" as such - end of the day they're just a tool; sometimes it's a tool you'll use, often not.

[Loose Canon]

I may be jumping on the wrong horse here, but in a studio all exposures are strictly manual - no built-in metering is used by camera or lights.

Maybe I was unclear in the way I said it. The transmitter has a built-in light meter. You still have to put the meter in the scene, fire the lights to get a reading (after setting the shutter/ISO on the meter), and set your camera to that desired setting, but after you have registered a reading any adjustments in power are shown in the readout so you don't have to take continuous readings after making adjustments. It will read out individual lights, groups, or the entire lighting scheme according to power adjustments. The metering is built-in to the trigger system and talks to the lights.

If you don't like that you can use your Sekonic and calibrate the two together if you want.

http://www.paulcbuff.com/cc.php