lighting stands for small studio with small footprint?

[momoftwins]

I am still deciding exactly which lights I will get - but I know I want to be able to do a HOT WHITE background and some High Key work. My floor space is very limited. So I am looking at what background stands to get. I am either probably starting with 2 AB400s or 800s. And either umbrellas or softboxes - still trying to decide.

I am trying to figure what the best stands are - I need sturdy in a way - as I have 4 yr old twin girls. But I also do not want them or me to trip on the stands since the room is 11x12. So, any ideas about stands? Can you light a background from a boom - I saw wall mounted bogen booms and thought that plus one floor stand could work?

Let me know if you have any creative ideas. I see auto poles are an idea - but no idea how lights even attach to them - does anyone know? Or have pictures of their set ups?

Thanks so much.

Jodi

 

[chris3010]

You can get a ceiling-mounted track system that eliminates stands altogether. Amvona has some low-priced ones like this: http://www.amvona.com/v7/shop/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=1494

I use AutoPoles and have mounted boom arms to them. Super Clamps are used to connect the arms - or the background holder hooks.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=5205&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

If you do mount from the ceiling or boom arms, consider getting the AB wired (or wireless) remote to control the power levels.

Chris

I am still deciding exactly which lights I will get - but I know I
want to be able to do a HOT WHITE background and some High Key
work. My floor space is very limited. So I am looking at what
background stands to get. I am either probably starting with 2
AB400s or 800s. And either umbrellas or softboxes - still trying
to decide.

I am trying to figure what the best stands are - I need sturdy in a
way - as I have 4 yr old twin girls. But I also do not want them
or me to trip on the stands since the room is 11x12. So, any ideas
about stands? Can you light a background from a boom - I saw wall
mounted bogen booms and thought that plus one floor stand could
work?

Let me know if you have any creative ideas. I see auto poles are
an idea - but no idea how lights even attach to them - does anyone
know? Or have pictures of their set ups?

Thanks so much.

Jodi

 

[Augusta]

Your 11x12 ft is still a good room. To achieve the HOT WHITE Background, You need a light own of the Background to over-expose it, ok.

I have an about 15x20 ft studio room. I often keep both the Hair-Light and the Background-Light on a single Stand; the Stand is on a side behind the Subject. The Hair-Light is on the top of the Stand as usual, a Studio Flasher; the Background-Light is on an "A"-Clamp and the Clamp stays at any level You want, along the stem of the Stand; obviously, the Background-Light is turned back (toward the Background) and the Hair-Light (from above) hit the Head of the guy. Everything handy on one Stand only.

If I would be in Your shoes, I would avoid to employ a 'bulky' big Strobe as Background-Light. These figure out a great Background Lighting, by one hundred of $$:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=194963&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation



http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=246867&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation



The $38 "A"-Clamp has rubbered jaws and won't scratch the Stand anywhere; it has 1/4"-20 Standard Screw and can take many other thing, too; a Camera including.

The $65 Mini-Strobe is powerfull as an AB400 at 1/2 Pw; it is enough to 'burn' a Background out. It has its own power cord taking the 110 Volt (no batteries).
-
Don't forget a Grid for the AB doing Hair-Light; the 20° Grid is fine:
http://www.alienbees.com/hg4x.html

Anton

 

[momoftwins]

does a background light need to be low on the ground or can those work off a wall boom - since my space is limited?

 

[Augusta]

does a background light need to be low on the ground or can those work off a wall boom - since my space is limited?

Yes, You are not obliged to keep the Background-Light on the floor; an arm moving from a wall is a very good choice. Which attach/mount are You planing for, on the wall?

On those case You want Background uniformly lit, You would need (two) Lights from both the left and the right sides; or, if a single Light, this should stay farther back. Otherwise, the area nearer the Light, will be getting more light. To achive the 'WHITE AT ALL', instead a Light is easily enough, however.
Anton

 

[BAK]

I'm a little confused. Stands to hold the balckground, or stands to hold the lights that illuminate the background.

If it is the former,you can screw brackets into the end wall, and hang background paper from these brackets.

We use brackets from IKEA, where there are strips screwed into the wall and then extenders that come out from the wall. Normally these hold shelving bu we just rest plies on them, with the poles running through the core of the roll of background paper.

We have three barackets on ech side, so we can have three rolls of paper already in position, and then we just pull downt he roll we want.

And this system lets us get the paper a little closer to the wall than we would with normal background stands with tripod like legs.

If you are trying to get lights to shine on the background paper, the autopoles mentioned earlier are certainly less tippy than normal lightstands, but regular stands can be made much more stable by using sandbags placed over the legs, down on the floor. Fancy camera stores have these sandbags, or you can make your own, using washed pebbles from any good garden supply store.

BAK

 

[momoftwins]

I am looking for light stands that have small footprint. I have 2x4's with slits wall mounted as a background stand.

Thanks - so what do you think will work for this?

Thanks again - Jodi

 

[Chirebel]

Damn this Dynatran stuff looks just like the Manfrotto. Is it the same for less $$.

I got the Autopoles and after a little bit of scratching my head put it together last night. Replicated what I had with stands for starters. Sure is lot less to trip over and makes it feel like a bigger room. I like that the background now is farther back against the wall. As setup should work ok for seated shots.

Since I didn't know any better, got a couple of super clamps and a magic arm which came in handy for the disc holder. The torque of the disc is so great that it can be mounted only in the vertical position like on a light stand. The arm has ball joints ends with detents (like a tripod head for portrait shooting) which can lock vertically. Trying to mount on a pin sticking out horizontally won't hold it, so it wouldn't work with just a pin in the superclamp. There's another option, too, but it's shorter and wont have the adjustability of this thing. The arm really is magic, once you tighten the wheel in the elbow, the ball joints immobilze as well. Took me a while to catch on! I thought it was useless at first.

I didn't want to do any damage to the room hence I went this route. I need a smaller hair light, thinking about a reflector with grid, or the small ac slave, but with barn doors it's almost as long as the softbox. I suppose I can try my umbrella reflector to see how it would look. It's a 90 degree with no grid, so which grid would be the best 10,20,30?

The cool thing is that you can move these poles around fairly quickly from place to place with no damage.

This is the first time I'm seeing the light bouncing around the room. Looks like I dont need any fill but maybe a color cast removal..
Mark



Mark

 

[Augusta]

I am looking for light stands that have small footprint. ...

Footprint is adjustable, when You go opening a Light Stand like this, by sliding that black screw-vice along the central tube:



however, it remains possible, anyone trips over the legs going obliquely even though short a footprint adjustment. At the end, it may be preferable opening almost wholly the footprint, then.

For shorter Light Stands (mt.1), as used for Background Lighting or Table-top works, instead they do exist versions having legs going flat on the floor:



http://www.adorama.com/SALS3HB.html

Otherwise, wanting to get short a footprint on higher (normal) a Light Stand, the stability must be assured by more than three legs/foot and by weightier a base. "CASTER BASE":
http://www.photogenicpro.com/store/index.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=52

At here an 8' high x 19-inch base only, Stand coming with 5/8" top mount taking AB without needing any other accessory:



http://www.photogenicpro.com/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=369&DEPARTMENT_ID=52

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=106133&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

You could just invest on one only of this, as Your main Light Stand in portraits; more, one common by Bogen as You listed already (as second stand).
-

Since You do not think to extend it up to all the 8' and ABs are not too heavy, You could even dare on a combination getting 14-inch footprint only:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=396514&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=161657&is=REG&addedTroughType=search
I WON'T BE SURE ABOUT COMPATIBILITY OF THESE TWO PIECES, yet !!!
Anton