# I have no experience with lighting, where to start?



## topazsol (Aug 24, 2012)

All of my photo shoots have been outdoors but now I have an opportunity to use a great space as a temporary studio. I can use it whenever I like for free, as long as I take all my equipment with me when I leave.

So I want to experiment! I have only used natural light so far. What kind of lighting equipment should I buy? Should I buy a lighting kit and just take it from there? Any links or advice would be appreciated, thanks.


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## Designer (Aug 24, 2012)

What kind of budget are you talking about?


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## MLeeK (Aug 24, 2012)

You really have to give us a budget. For a bit of education try looking at StudioLighting.net and Strobist


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## KmH (Aug 24, 2012)

I almost always used supplimental lighting when I shot outside.
In fact, I usually used more lighting and light modifying gear when I was shooting outside, than I did when I was shooting inside.

I was never given access to the ambient lighting controls outside (sun, clouds, weather, etc), which is why it usually took more gear.


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## topazsol (Aug 24, 2012)

I guess my budget is around $500, just to buy simple equipment to start off with.


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## unpopular (Aug 24, 2012)

> [h=2]I have no experience with lighting, where to start?


[/h]
How about the 'on' switch?


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## LizardKing (Aug 25, 2012)

Light Science & Magic and Strobist are two great places to start and probably keep coming back in the future as you go through the learning process. I'm still starting to make sense of all this myself, but you can learn the basics with just using an off-camera flash and some sort of diffusion material like a sheet.


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## tirediron (Aug 25, 2012)

unpopular said:


> > *I have no experience with lighting, where to start?*
> 
> 
> How about the 'on' switch?


Smart ass!


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## tirediron (Aug 25, 2012)

Do you have a speedlight for your camera now or not?  I almost always recommend a good, camera-brand speedlight as the first piece of lighting kit anyone should get.  Once you've got that, then you can add on in a number of ways...  my preferred lighting gear for most situations now are my big bag of old SunPak 3 and 500 series hammerhead flashes...  Very versatile, can use AA batteries or 120 adaptor, guide numbers in the 130+ range... and cheap like borscht on eBay and Craig's List.


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## IByte (Aug 25, 2012)

tirediron said:
			
		

> Smart ass!



That's why we love him lol.


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## Mike_E (Aug 25, 2012)

If Adorama is actually putting two heads in this kit get it now before they sell out.

Flashpoint 1220APWK Portrait Wedding Monolight Kit 1220APWK

This is a good deal with just one but with two it's a screamer!


Edit:  a review- FlashPoint Monolight Review - Cheap High Quality Studio Lights &lsaquo; Joel Dryer PhotographyJoel Dryer Photography


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## KmH (Aug 25, 2012)

My #1 recommendation -On sale - Calumet Genesis 200 2-Light Kit

Recommendation #2 - Flashpoint 320M Portrait Wedding Monolight Kit, with Two 320 Monolights,9.5' Stands,Umbrellas, Snoot and Carrying Case

If you want something more portable like a Strobist speedlight set-up, start with this umbrella kit, radio triggers, and a couple of Vivtar 285HV speedlights - Impact Digital Flash Umbrella Mount Kit 

Vivitar VIV-285HV  Pro Thrister Flash (Black) 
StudioHut 4 channel Wireless Radio Hot Shoe Flash Trigger Kit for Canon EOS, Nikon, Olympus & Pentax Flashes with 2 Receivers 

Note - speedlights don't deliver as much light as the studio type monolights in the first 2 kits.


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## Mike_E (Aug 25, 2012)

BTW the Flashpoints I linked to have battery packs, a good thing.


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## unpopular (Aug 25, 2012)

I only recommend the Flashpoint stuff that is built by Mettle. I don't have any experience with any other Chinese brand, other than Britek - which is bad, like fire hazard bad. But Mettle is good, at least as good as Alienbee, and my 300w/s units actually produce more than teh Alienbee spec sheet - according to my own measurements anyway.

The Flashpoint II 620M is essentially the same light I have, but factory modified for DC operation.

Mettle lights have a pretty distinct body. Aside from some really low end units, they all have an aluminum canister-style enclosure with ribs that run all the way down the sides and into the end caps.

Look at photos here:

Studio Flash direct from China (Mainland)

and compare against photos at adorama.

Other units may be OK, but i'd be careful. Mettle was the original Flashpoint manufacturer, and it is really Mettle that is responsible for Flashpoint's positive reputation. Because Adorama buys stuff from a number of Chinese manufacturers and puts their own name on it, you can't really trust that all Flashpoint stuff will be equal in quality. I am sure that Adorama is careful, but I am also sure as time goes on, corners have been or will be cut.


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## MLeeK (Aug 25, 2012)

I'll second or third endorse the flashpoints. I'd say that two to three 320's are great for a good basic studio setup. 620's would be better. The 1220's are a LOT of power and if you have a huge space or something they are awesome. For basic stuff? They won't turn down far enough and one powerful strobe does not equal 3 lesser strobes: you can't move one powerful strobe to fill in on all sides, whereas you can position 3 strobes in 3 different positions and at different powers to create exactly what you  need.


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## Derrel (Aug 25, 2012)

Here you go:  Amazon.com: Flashpoint 320M Portrait Wedding Monolight Kit, with Two 320 Monolights,9.5&#39; Stands,Umbrellas, Snoot and Carrying Case: Camera & Photo


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## unpopular (Aug 25, 2012)

MLeeK said:


> The 1220's are a LOT of power and if you have a huge space or something they are awesome.



ND gels are cheap. Get the most powerful lights you can afford.


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## Mike_E (Aug 25, 2012)

unpopular said:


> MLeeK said:
> 
> 
> > The 1220's are a LOT of power and if you have a huge space or something they are awesome.
> ...



600 ws down to 1/32 power is about 19 ws.  Add a modifier to that to loose another stop and you're at 9 ws or so.

I don't know how low you'd want to go but 9ws is pretty dim.

As Unpopular alluded to, it's a lot easier to loose the wattage than it is to add it.  

You can also use a more powerful strobe in ways that make up for fewer heads.  For instance you can use a diffusion panel for a main, have part of the beam off a reflector for the fill and use another part off a small reflector for a hair light.  If you have a largish silver reflector you can even add a kicker to that.

With two 600ws lights you can use one for the main, the fill and the hair then the other as a kicker and a background light.  With 150ws lights or even 300ws- not so much.


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## MLeeK (Aug 25, 2012)

I like the kit Derrel linked to quite a bit and I have one of those lights. For more power I'd go with this one Flashpoint FP620MPWK Portrait Wedding Monolight Kit FP620MPWK within your budget by pennies, but it's the most you can get for what you want to spend!


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## unpopular (Aug 25, 2012)

Yeah. Once you start diffusing those 150w/s, you're going to loose intensity at any one place very quickly. In a perfect world, the intensity per square unit you had from an 11" reflector is reduced to about 13% with a 30" diffusor, and that is assuming that the diffusor itself doesn't absorb any light - which they do, and do significantly.


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## ewick (Aug 25, 2012)

topazsol said:


> I guess my budget is around $500, just to buy simple equipment to start off with.




For that budget you can buy alien bee's by paul buff. I got a pair and havent looked back. they also sell the mini vagabond which allows you to use them outdoors as well. Thats only for the lights though and when you start buying softboxes or umbrellas or reflectors or beauty dish ect. is were it gets expensive.


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## unpopular (Aug 25, 2012)

I thought I'd also mention that w/s is not a measurement of how bright the lights are. Like I said, my 300 w/s lights measure brighter than the alienbee 320 w/s units, according to their own specification sheet. That doesn't mean that alienbees isn't outputting true 320 w/s, only that the design of the mettle is more efficient at converting electrical energy into light. It's kind of like how a 30 watt incandescent bulb puts out less light than a 30 watt mercury vapor bulb, regardless that both bulbs consume 30 watts of power.

My point is that you can kind of have an idea of what class of output a light will have by it's wattage - i'd say that my mettle C300's and teh Alienbee B800 are _similar _side by side as far as light output, but the exact amount of light mine puts out is slightly more. At the same time, the alienbees have a faster recycle rate and shorter flash duration.

On the other hand, less reputable manufacturers might be even less efficient or - and more likely _and_ - a little creative in how they rate wattage.

Unlike watt second, Guide Number or Lumensecond actually measures the amount of light that is being generated.


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## Village Idiot (Aug 27, 2012)

ewick said:


> topazsol said:
> 
> 
> > I guess my budget is around $500, just to buy simple equipment to start off with.
> ...



Barley. Two 320w/s B800's would be over budget and that's without stands, triggers, modifiers, or anything else. They're not so special as to spend the extra money when you can get other lights that produce nearly the same type of light for cheaper. The only difference is that no one produces Buff Light like the Bees...at least that's what my brainwashing sessions have lead me to believe.


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## 2WheelPhoto (Aug 27, 2012)

i attended a studio lighting and a studio lighting advanced course.

Of course asking on the internet i reckon will serve you well too


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## Derrel (Aug 27, 2012)

2WheelPhoto said:


> i attended a studio lighting and a studio lighting advanced course.
> 
> Of course asking on the internet i reckon will serve you well too



All that in-person edumacation serves to do is make a guy vastly better really fast. Bad, bad idea learning from real people...it can bring on TMI episodes and brain fatigue...very,very risky business....


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## 2WheelPhoto (Aug 27, 2012)

Derrel said:


> 2WheelPhoto said:
> 
> 
> > i attended a studio lighting and a studio lighting advanced course.
> ...









You're right!


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## topazsol (Sep 1, 2012)

haha thanks for all the links and recommendations


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## pgriz (Sep 1, 2012)

Lights and strobes are good.   But knowledge will help you put it together and know what you actually need.  I recommend investing in some reading material first.  KmH recommended this book to me, and LizardKing mentioned it as well:  Amazon.com: Light Science and Magic, Fourth Edition: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (9780240812250): Fil Hunter, Paul Fuqua, Steven Biver: Books

Excellent, example by example illustration of basic to advanced lighting techniques.  If you know, understand, and can do reliably what's in this book, you're going to be very, very good at lighting.


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## LizardKing (Sep 2, 2012)

pgriz said:


> Lights and strobes are good.   But knowledge will help you put it together and know what you actually need.  I recommend investing in some reading material first.  KmH recommended this book to me, and LizardKing mentioned it as well:  Amazon.com: Light Science and Magic, Fourth Edition: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (9780240812250): Fil Hunter, Paul Fuqua, Steven Biver: Books
> 
> Excellent, example by example illustration of basic to advanced lighting techniques.  If you know, understand, and can do reliably what's in this book, you're going to be very, very good at lighting.



Yeap, this is a great book. KmH recommended it to me, too. Haven't got the time nor equipment to do all the exercises yet, but it definitely changed the way I see light and think of photography.


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