Cheap lighting question

[photomc]

I ask you, is there another forum where you can get the kind of assistance and help from folks in the know? Nice job Michael, that should help anyone that is thinking about doing this type of lighting.

[noblebeast]

Yes Michael, thank you very much! I didn't even ask the question but your reply has helped me greatly in my own low budget portrait aspirations. Just thought it'd be nice to mention it.

[Cheryl Jacobs]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with Michael's equipment list. It should be noted, though, that there are a lot of photogs who work exclusively with natural light, as I do 98% of the time. Works just great, as long as you know how to use the light you're dealt.

For the situations where I absolutely have to use it, I have a White Lightning monolight with a huge softliter (60") that I use to mimic windowlight. I think I used it twice last year. Either way, you'll HAVE to have a handheld meter. Besides your camera and lenses, it's the most important piece of equipment you can buy IMO.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I like Michael's list as well.

I'll note that umbrellas are considerably less costly than a good softbox and both are useful, if that's a concern. Look at the portraits of Timothy Greenfield-Sanders--almost all done with one umbrella, sometimes a fill reflector, sometimes with background lighting.

I started with seamless paper rather than muslin and still like it for most purposes. If you have a background light, one roll of medium grey seamless can be quite dark, neutral, or virtually white, depending on how much light you throw at it. A roll of super white, one medium grey, and one black will cover most situations.

[Ed Sukach]

Nah!!! Don't go with monolights. The large drawback is weight. Separate "heads" are far more comfortable on stands and booms, and, unless you go for the sophisticated stuff, are more easily controlled from the power packs themselves.

That said .... you could easily get into a powerpack/ monolight argument - as easily as -- *more* easily than ...photographers arguing over the "best" film / developer combination to use.

[jnanian]

i kind of like my monolights
it is much easier to "dial down" the light
than it is to plug a head into the powerpack
and ditch it to "bleed-off" some of the light ..

[Thomassauerwein]

Ed, I had Normans and speedo's for a long time and your right their great. But now that I run my commercal side on location now I find the mono lights far more mobil and effeciant. Their light weight,set up quickly and are complete in individual cases for easy packing. The power packs are very heavy and take a lot of room and require more setup. They also pull more amp on a surge(20) than the momo's so your more subject to tripping circuits. In an established studio these issues are not a problem. But for someone going from location to location they can be a nightmare.

Michael, Your list is perfect, I still suggest that when your starting out that your a little more creative in solving the equipment bug. These other options give an individualized look to your effort at exacuting images.

[Thomassauerwein]

Ed, I had Normans and speedo's for a long time and your right their great. But now that I run my commercal side on location now I find the mono lights far more mobil and effeciant. Their light weight,set up quickly and are complete in individual cases for easy packing. The power packs are very heavy and take a lot of room and require more setup. They also pull more amp on a surge(20) than the momo's so your more subject to tripping circuits. In an established studio these issues are not a problem. But for someone going from location to location they can be a nightmare.

Michael, Your list is perfect, I still suggest that when your starting out that your a little more creative in solving the equipment bug. These other options give an individualized look to your effort at exacuting images.

[Ed Sukach]

Ed, I had Normans and speedo's for a long time and your right their great. The power packs are very heavy and take a lot of room and require more setup. They also pull more amp on a surge(20) than the momo's so your more subject to tripping circuits. In an established studio these issues are not a problem. But for someone going from location to location they can be a nightmare.

True that Normans and Speeds *are* heavy, but Dynalite M1000s are hardly heavier than some Monos. To me (n.b. "me"), the remote situation of the head/entire monolight is a consideration. One simply can not bury a monolite (sans remote control a' la White Lightning) in a light modifier - I use a BrittDome - or out on the end of a boom, or in sundry other places out there - and have reasonably intimate control over the flash output.

However, going back to "me", others will swear by monolights.
Y' pays yer money, and y' takes yer choice ... I really can't see a clear-cut winner here.

BTW -- I'm running two (2) Dynalite M1000x packs from one (1) 15A circuit - less than Dynalite lists for momentary surge to charge their caps - and I haven't tripped a circuit breaker once in - sheesh - it has been eleven years now, in my studio. Hasn't happend on location, either.

Be that as it may ... The first thing to take care of when visiting an unfamiliar location - no matter what flavor is used - is to locate the electrical service - just in case.

[Mark H]

I'm also new to the forums. I was using the Home Depot lighting with various diffusion techniques and finally decided to spend a bit more. I purchased a new Lowel DP(1ooo w hot light) for around $125, a used light stand ($25), and umbrella ($25). I position that to one side and bounce it off white foamcore (it helps to have an assistant) for fill light. Works great and is a good way to learn about basic lighting (I only shoot B & W). For small subjects (such as flowers) I prefer using a 100w halogen light ($12 at Targets) and shoot through an embroidery hoop ($1) lined with a plastic shopping bag ($0) pulled taut. The downside is having long exposures, so a tripod is necessary.
Hope this helps. Good luck!