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Basic lighting setup for family protraits

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I'm looking for advice re what equipment is needed to set up a basic home lighting rig for family portraits. Two continuous softboxes over strobes etc - that kind of thing.

Any and all help greatly appreciated.
 

Strobist

strobist.blogspot.co.id strobist.blogspot.co.id

--

Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game. From Bob Dylan's 'Hurricane'
 
Solution
You will find many recommendations for complex setups, but I always tell beginners at studio lighting to keep it very simple and start with one light. You can do a lot with just that one light, an umbrella to soften the light, and a reflector to lighten the shadows.

A compact, battery-powered flash would do, but that doesn't give you a way to preview your lighting. Instead, get a cheap studio strobe with a modeling light, plus a stand for mounting it and the umbrella.

Start with a dark background, so you don't have to worry about lighting it separately.

Once you're comfortable, add another light or two.

Here is a pretty good starter light.

 
When you say 'Family Portraits' I assume you mean family groups as opposed to individuals.

First of all, you don't need 600WS+ for family portraits -- a 200WS system is more than adequate. I would steer clear of continuous lighting, as it tends to either generate heat and often does not produce enough light output for family groupings.

A system that uses both AC and DC power is excellent, as they are very mobile and don't require that you have cords strung about for kids to trip on. In a pinch you can use AC cords and plug them in.

A simple hot shoe flash on a stand is fine for a background light -- likewise on a boom arm for a hair light if desired.

I would suggest using umbrellas rather than softboxes, as they are less expensive and spread the lighting better for a group. A softbox set up is excellent for an individual or couple.

So, my recommendation would be a couple 400WS AC/DC monolights with umbrellas, and one or two hotshoe flashes for background/hairlights, and a decent quality radio slave system. A grid adapter for the hotshoe flashes would be good too.

Adorama has some really good lighting options in their 'Flashpoint' brand at reasonable prices. I have a couple of these and they are excellent:

 
Its very simple , a single strobe 160w or flash yn560iii (will do), brollybox (they are awesome) positioned slightly of centre to the camera and as high as the stand will go. you don't need any thing complicated . If you wont to create images with mood then it gets more complex. and a couple of radio triggers.

Don
 
User8558873446 said:
I'm looking for advice re what equipment is needed to set up a basic home lighting rig for family portraits. Two continuous softboxes over strobes etc - that kind of thing.

Any and all help greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Bare basics

A single flash unit, a stand, a brolly, brolly flash attachment, a 5 in 1 reflector, these are dirt cheap about 12 quid or sheets of white or silver card and a plain wall.

Start with basic butterfly/clamshell lighting, its quick, its easy, its simple.



The above is great for single portraits, for groups you will probably need extra lights, brollys etc.

For single flash have a go with off camera TTL first, RC if you can get it working (within the modifier) or a 2 or 3m flash lead.

As your experience grows switch to manual flash and add in extra lights but keep it all simple and fun to begin with.
 
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Jim,

I have a very basic question. Why start with a strobe rather than with continuous lighting? Isn't it easier to see what you are going to get with continuous lighting rather than a strobe?

Best,

Ryan
 
Ryan Rosenberg said:
Jim,

I have a very basic question. Why start with a strobe rather than with continuous lighting? Isn't it easier to see what you are going to get with continuous lighting rather than a strobe?

Best,

Ryan
Click to expand...
Continuous lights usually aren't strong enough without blinding or burning the subjects. The are also harder to use with light modifiers, like softboxes. And, a strobe with a modeling light lets you see what you are going to get. I would not try to start with a strobe without a modeling light.

The only reason to use continuous lights, in my opinion, is for video. Besides, the cost of decent strobes is so low that anyone interested in doing studio work should just get them.
 
I bought a Blazzeo three light set for photographing my wife's ceramics from Linkdelight.

Some photos of my setup here:


Totally different end use, I know, but these lights are really cheap and have served me well for some years. About AUD$ 450 delivered.
 
Good advice! I was taught a very similar train of thought - get really good at using a single light. Once you've mastered that, every additional light you use in a shot is only for accents to help create depth or mood in your shot.
 
Paul actually gave the most salient advice. While Strobist has excellent advice, it's so involved and detailed that you'd better have the patience of a corpse to go through even a small part.

One flash, a diffuser and a reflector is all that you need. Continuous lighting is an option, given the latest LED lights available, but you will need to spend more because the powerful units aren't cheap. Continuous lighting is easier when it comes to 'seeing' what's happening.
 
Ray,

Unless the OP is talking about one or two subjects, the one light and reflector approach is not a good solution.

In order for the reflector to have any influence on filling shadows it has to be positioned close to the subjects, and at an angle that will reflect the main light back onto the subjects. With a family group of 3 or more people you end up with very skewed lighting ratios -- flat lighting near the reflector and split lighting farthest from the reflector (Inverse Square Law).

A two light set up is pretty much necessary for groups unless you are shooting with your main light in close proximity to the lens axis (flat lighting) -- not good for studio portraits.

A two light set up can be had fairly inexpensively.
 
daddyo said:
Ray,

Unless the OP is talking about one or two subjects, the one light and reflector approach is not a good solution.

In order for the reflector to have any influence on filling shadows it has to be positioned close to the subjects, and at an angle that will reflect the main light back onto the subjects. With a family group of 3 or more people you end up with very skewed lighting ratios -- flat lighting near the reflector and split lighting farthest from the reflector (Inverse Square Law).

A two light set up is pretty much necessary for groups unless you are shooting with your main light in close proximity to the lens axis (flat lighting) -- not good for studio portraits.

A two light set up can be had fairly inexpensively.
Click to expand...
 
daddyo said:
Ray,

Unless the OP is talking about one or two subjects, the one light and reflector approach is not a good solution.

In order for the reflector to have any influence on filling shadows it has to be positioned close to the subjects, and at an angle that will reflect the main light back onto the subjects. With a family group of 3 or more people you end up with very skewed lighting ratios -- flat lighting near the reflector and split lighting farthest from the reflector (Inverse Square Law).

A two light set up is pretty much necessary for groups unless you are shooting with your main light in close proximity to the lens axis (flat lighting) -- not good for studio portraits.

A two light set up can be had fairly inexpensively.
Click to expand...
As Jim alluded, if we're talking about a very large group, then we may be talking apples and oranges.

That said, even a modest group of people (in the right environment) can be accommodated with a simple setup.

If it's inside a home that has relatively low ceilings and light coloured walls, and even a large north(ish) facing window, then a single setup can be sufficient to cover even half a dozen or more people that are grouped together.

I think the idea that was being conveyed is to try from a simple configuration at first, to see how it can work, before going overboard with accessories.

--
Thoughts, Musings, Ideas and Images from South Gippsland
http://australianimage.com.au/wordpress/
 
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OzRay said:
Paul actually gave the most salient advice. While Strobist has excellent advice, it's so involved and detailed that you'd better have the patience of a corpse to go through even a small part.

One flash, a diffuser and a reflector is all that you need. Continuous lighting is an option, given the latest LED lights available, but you will need to spend more because the powerful units aren't cheap. Continuous lighting is easier when it comes to 'seeing' what's happening.

--
Thoughts, Musings, Ideas and Images from South Gippsland
http://australianimage.com.au/wordpress/
Click to expand...
I`m also a big fan for working out doors when ever possible, if you have great light then make the best of it and nature around you can produce lots of interesting beautiful backgrounds.

Me, often out doors all I use is a 5 in 1 reflector, a flash on a stand with a soft box or flash/softbox on a poll hand held and a bit of HSS TTL from a single speedlite, its just about as simple as it gets.

These guys make it look simple, it really is
 
We regularly do model shootings in apartments, hotel rooms, abandoned buildings etc. It's a similar lighting situation to doing a family portait.

For the last 2-3 years we've stopped using flash. It takes too long to set up and the effect is never quite right. We use room light + window light with some extra continuous lighting to increase the general level and put the light where it's needed. We often use a "mandarine" which is a big halogen light pointed at the ceiling. This afternoon we will use a softbox mounted on a flash with just the pilot lamp of the flash.

It's relatively easy to set up the light - you just look closely at the effect and adjust it. I particularly like the effect of using room light.

HOWEVER everyone in the group is using a full-frame DSLR with big lenses. We're working between 1600 ISO and 6400 ISO. There is noise which softens the image but this just means I don't have to correct minor skin blemishes in post-production. I'm delighted with the results.

I don't know how this would work out in MFT..
 
It'll be inside our home, I'll be using a panasonic GX8 and the subjects will be myself, my wife, our 4 year old son and our newborn (come March 2017)
 
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