# Studiokit, is 200W enough?



## tropico (Sep 24, 2010)

I am looking to buy some studio equipment so that I can shoot some baby and kid portraits. 
I will set up a small studio in my livingroom.

I am thinking about buying three 200W strobes. 
VE 200 Valued kit - kr.4.471 : Fotoexperten

Will this be enough light for portraits? 

Does anyone have examples of photos taken with 200W studio kit? (or 150W)


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## Big Mike (Sep 24, 2010)

Just to clarify, strobes are rated in 'Watt seconds' (Ws), not just Watts.  

It's hard to say if 200 Ws will be enough, as there are several factors involved...but I think that in a small studio, it may be enough.


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## Big Mike (Sep 24, 2010)

I did a Google image search for 'Alienbee B400' and on page three, I saw one of my photos from a thread on another site.  So here you go.

Canon Digital Photography Forums - View Single Post - Single Alienbee with A Octobox?


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## ghache (Sep 24, 2010)

3 200 watt is way enought

i am using 2X250 watt and 1 150 watt and i rarely used them past 1/2 power at F8 1/125 or 1/160 iso 200 just to give an idea.


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## prodigy2k7 (Sep 24, 2010)

heh, for my first school session we used 2400 w/s single strobe, lowest power, 5 feet or so from the subject. I was using F/8, ISO 100, 1/250 shutter at the lowest power. Its pretty amazing how powerful it is...


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## tropico (Sep 24, 2010)

Thank you all for your help. 

Does anyone have any photos to show, shoot with 150-200W? 

I would love to see what kind of result it is possible to get. 

I think I might run out and get some tomorrow! lol...


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## ghache (Sep 24, 2010)

tropico said:


> Thank you all for your help.
> 
> Does anyone have any photos to show, shoot with 150-200W?
> 
> ...


 









This what shot with a opus opl-150 at a little more than 1/2 power with a shoot trough umbrella camera left , a sb-600 was use on the background (dont remember the power)

Exposure0.006 sec (1/160)Aperturef/8.0Focal Length50 mmISO Speed200








Exposure0.008 sec (1/125)Aperturef/8.0Focal Length50 mmISO Speed200

shot with the same 150 watt flash


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## Big Mike (Sep 24, 2010)

> Thank you all for your help.
> Does anyone have any photos to show, shoot with 150-200W?





Big Mike said:


> I did a Google image search for 'Alienbee B400' *[160 Ws]* and on page three, I saw one of my photos from a thread on another site.  So here you go.
> 
> Canon Digital Photography Forums - View Single Post - Single Alienbee with A Octobox?



Without knowing more about the details of a shoot, it's not really helpful to just look at photos when deciding on the power of the lights you need.

Having more power, allows you to use a smaller aperture, which gives you more DOF.  Sometimes you want more DOF, sometimes you want less.  

Light falls off over distance, so the more powerful your lights, the further back you can place them.  That's why I think that lower powered units, like these, will be OK in a small studio.  In fact, there might be some situations where you want to turn them down all the way because the lights are close and you want to shoot with a wide aperture.  In this case, it pays to have lower powered lights, and/or that ability to turn the power way down.


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## tropico (Sep 24, 2010)

Big Mike said:


> > Thank you all for your help.
> > Does anyone have any photos to show, shoot with 150-200W?
> 
> 
> ...




Thank you!!!!

I think I will buy the 200W to start with. If I ever get a bigger studio I might upgrade! 

I like to see examples, then I can see if it looks like something that will work for the type of photos I will shoot. 
 
And from the examples, it looks like this would be good enough for me.


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## DC-Photog (Sep 24, 2010)

It depends on what aperture you like shooting. Modifiers can reduce light substantially. I've used 200 w/s kits in small rooms and had to shoot at f/4, ISO 100, because the big soft boxes I was using ate up the light output.  

I had to increase the ISO to get to f/8 for the depth-of-field I wanted.

If you're comfortable shooting at higher ISOs, then yes, 200 w/s is fine for a home studio.

My recommendation for minimum power is 640 w/s, if you ever plan to use them outdoors or in big rooms - like wedding ballrooms.


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## ghache (Sep 27, 2010)

DC-Photog said:


> It depends on what aperture you like shooting. Modifiers can reduce light substantially. I've used 200 w/s kits in small rooms and had to shoot at f/4, ISO 100, because the big soft boxes I was using ate up the light output.
> 
> I had to increase the ISO to get to f/8 for the depth-of-field I wanted.
> 
> ...


 
I was shooting with one 150watt/s using shoot through umbrelllas and some sb-600 for background and air light and never had to crank my iso to get to F8/0. 

my home studio is 16"X36"


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## tropico (Oct 8, 2010)

Just a small update! 

I did buy some strobes. 

1 x 300W
2 x 800W

I am super happy with it, and I have already shot my first client! 
This little guy: 






It is so much fun finally having studio strobes!!!! Love it!


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## dcketcham (Oct 8, 2010)

i love the picture... 
but the white balance is off a little and you have the dreaded purple fringe around... 

but, may i ask how you got the reflection ?


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