Setting up a studio

[musicalhell]

Dear Members of DPReview,

Some introduction-like stuff (Skip able):

It has been a while since my last post (months I believe). In this time I have come to learn more about photography and am eager to progress further. To this end I am planning on focusing on two fields which I wish to explore, one being portraiture (primary interest) and the second being products (I would also like to explore some food photography).

I would like to create a studio space in my home and I kindly request the advice and guidance of the community with this regard. I would like to share a few things in short bulletin points:

• I currently get paid for my photography (though not much), I would like to do what I can to raise my abilities.
• My skills are still developing and my studio space will serve both as a space to learn and experiment as well as for some commercial activity (I hope).
• I am from India and sadly the only internationally known strobe brand that I could find is Elinchrom, all the others are Chinese made strobes.
• There is also a lack of quality modifiers and the like.
• While my finances are limited they are not non-existent, still I would like to economize when and where possible.

Now to the reason for the topic:

I have a building in my compound that used to be a play home for children, I would like to make this into my studio for the foreseeable future. As stated above there aren't too many options when it comes to studio lighting and the modifiers are also rather limited.

I would like to hear from the members what they would do with such a space (for the intended purpose). What would you buy with regards to lights, modifiers, background cloth etc.

I will share with you some photographs of the location, the one strobe I already own and my possible options.

Location:

The area needs clearing and cleaning. The windows are facing north-south and are blocked by my home on one side and the compound wall on the other, thus there isn't too much natural light that can come in that way. The large door faces west. The main room is supplemented by a smaller room that could be turned into a function-able changing room if pressed and there is a small restroom.

The area seen here is the widest and tallest. There is a mezzanine which cuts the amount of height available for part of the room.

The stairs leading to the mezzanine as well as a view of how low the 'roof' is under it. Seen here are also back background stands and my strobe.

The mezzanine area which is currently our library space. The roof slants at a rather steep angle as it comes down towards the main doors.

My current lighting equipment:

Very cheap and basic Chinese strobe. 250 W/s, Has half and full power only, with a radio trigger attached and optical slave functions. Attached to it is my 130x50 soft box, apart from this I have a small shoot through umbrella and a normal reflector.

My options were between a Yongnuo 560 IV and the strobe (they cost the same). The strobe came with a light stand, the umbrella and reflector and hence at the time felt like a good value-for-money buy.

Some photographs with the strobe may been seen in my DPR gallery album titled 'Studio space'.

My future options:

Here are links to the strobe brands I could find, please let me know what kind of set up you would build with the given links.

http://www.soniaphoto.com/products.htm

Info: Cheaper of the two brand but not by much, they claim to use the Elinchrom speed ring. Compared to the second brand listed below the differences seem to be:

1. Most if not all strobes only have two output levels (half and full).
2. Very few accessories, most are double diffusion.

http://photopro.in/product_list.php?alias=a-studio-flash-lights

Info: Photopro seems to have a larger range of lights and they have a very affordable 125 W/s strobe that does down to 1/4 power. They have up to 3 diffusion material, or so they say on their website, in the modifiers. They seem to also have a wider range of modifiers.

125 W/s strobe with output 1/1-1/4

I am leaning towards the 125 W/s strobes since I find myself rarely, if ever, using full power on my current 250 W/s strobe. Also given the rather limited space I felt that these would serve me better as they have more than just 2 steps for output.

For background cloth I plan on going through the stores selling clothing and the like. For the moment I hope that I can use bed sheets and curtains as background cloth.

I apologize for yet another long post, but as this is a rather important step for me I feel, I would kindly request the assistance of the forum members.

Thanking you,

Musicalhell

PS As I improve and earn more through my photography I will try set up a more 'professional' studio space, but for the moment this will have to suffice.

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131433672@N03/
http://arjun-photog.deviantart.com/
https://500px.com/arjunphotog

 

[John Tait]

I'm probably not the best person to answer your questions, but it will help others to know the height, width, and depth of the room.

John

 

[musicalhell]

I'm probably not the best person to answer your questions, but it will help others to know the height, width, and depth of the room.

John

Dear John,

I am working on that as we speak. I will edit this post when I get the numbers.

Regards,

Musicalhell

 

[Sailor Blue]

It is very hard to use any strobe that doesn't have at least 5 stops of power variation. You can make do with less but as you know your photographic options are limited.

Sailorblue - Equipment Guide for Setting up a Small Home PortraitGlamor Studio

One way to gain more stops of power adjustment is to add layers of translucent white nylon or Dacron fabric to the front of the softbox. It isn't hard to find fabric that will reduce the light intensity by about 1 or 2 stops. Just check out the local fabric stores.

Use your camera's meter to measure the light reduction by measuring the exposure from a window or the sky without then with the fabric over the lens. Simply use clothespins to hold the fabric on the front of your softbox or umbrella.

The Chinese companies Godox and Jinbei have some good quality studio strobes. The Godox QT, QS, and DT are all good. The Jimbei HD 600 is a good battery powered studio strobe but may be more expensive than you can afford. See if you can find any other studio strobes by them.

How much power you need for a studio strobe for portraits depends on the size of your diffuser. 300Ws is a good choice since it allows you to shoot at ISO 100 between f/2.8 and f/16 with a medium sized softbox or umbrella (1500-2000 in² front surface) at distances between 1 and 2 times the diagonal or diameter. By adding extra layers of diffuser fabric you can use it with smaller softboxes or umbrellas.

Sailorblue - Diffuser Size and Studio Strobe Power

For small subjects such as food you will use smaller diffusers so you need less power or additional layers of diffuser fabric.

Your first image shows a very good feature of your space. You can do natural light photography in the mornings by simply opening the doors. In effect they become a huge softbox in the morning. This wouldn't work in the afternoon since the doors are facing West.

Having a low overhead isn't all that limiting. I can do virtually anything I want and I only have an 8' ceiling. What is more important is the length and width of the room. For a 9'8" wide background plus room for the lights you need a room 14'-16' wide. For background stands, a 6' separation between the background and the subject, and a 15' shooting distance you need around 25' of length. If the size is smaller than that you can still use the space, it just isn't as easy.

Good luck with your venture, it won't be easy at first but I hope it is rewarding.

 

[musicalhell]

I'm probably not the best person to answer your questions, but it will help others to know the height, width, and depth of the room.

John

Dear John,

As requested measurements. Its a bit inaccurate but will give a good idea of the distances.







--

arjun prakash

Explore arjun prakash’s 37 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

http://arjun-photog.deviantart.com/

500px

500px.com

 

[musicalhell]

It is very hard to use any strobe that doesn't have at least 5 stops of power variation. You can make do with less but as you know your photographic options are limited.

Sailorblue - Equipment Guide for Setting up a Small Home PortraitGlamor Studio

One way to gain more stops of power adjustment is to add layers of translucent white nylon or Dacron fabric to the front of the softbox. It isn't hard to find fabric that will reduce the light intensity by about 1 or 2 stops. Just check out the local fabric stores.

Use your camera's meter to measure the light reduction by measuring the exposure from a window or the sky without then with the fabric over the lens. Simply use clothespins to hold the fabric on the front of your softbox or umbrella.

The Chinese companies Godox and Jinbei have some good quality studio strobes. The Godox QT, QS, and DT are all good. The Jimbei HD 600 is a good battery powered studio strobe but may be more expensive than you can afford. See if you can find any other studio strobes by them.

How much power you need for a studio strobe for portraits depends on the size of your diffuser. 300Ws is a good choice since it allows you to shoot at ISO 100 between f/2.8 and f/16 with a medium sized softbox or umbrella (1500-2000 in² front surface) at distances between 1 and 2 times the diagonal or diameter. By adding extra layers of diffuser fabric you can use it with smaller softboxes or umbrellas.

Sailorblue - Diffuser Size and Studio Strobe Power

For small subjects such as food you will use smaller diffusers so you need less power or additional layers of diffuser fabric.

Your first image shows a very good feature of your space. You can do natural light photography in the mornings by simply opening the doors. In effect they become a huge softbox in the morning. This wouldn't work in the afternoon since the doors are facing West.

Having a low overhead isn't all that limiting. I can do virtually anything I want and I only have an 8' ceiling. What is more important is the length and width of the room. For a 9'8" wide background plus room for the lights you need a room 14'-16' wide. For background stands, a 6' separation between the background and the subject, and a 15' shooting distance you need around 25' of length. If the size is smaller than that you can still use the space, it just isn't as easy.

Good luck with your venture, it won't be easy at first but I hope it is rewarding.

 

[Sailor Blue]

First a correction for my last post. I meant the Godox DS, not DT. The Godox DS is a 200Ws 6-stop (1/1 to 1/32) studio strobe that has a very attractive price and accepts Bowens S-Mount light modifiers. Bowens S-Mount modifiers are easily found for very good prices from many third party suppliers.

You can easily work with the 6.17m length and 2.42m height. The biggest impact on your usable space is the width between the stairs and the bathroom.

An unconventional but very good solution would be to place your backgrounds in front of the doors and shoot from between the stairs and bathroom.

You can use your stands but a better solution would be to buy or have someone locally make some metal hooks that would hold pipes or 1" corrugated aluminum tubes. You would attach these to the walls on each side of the door just below the ceiling. The pipes or tubes would hold fabric backgrounds or rolls of paper backgrounds. Here is a commercial product that holds three rolls but for a locally made brackets you would need larger slots for the pipes or tubes.

Kupo Triple Hook Set for Background Paper Drive (2 Hooks)

Here is a photo showing the 1" corrugated aluminum tubing I was able to buy at a very low price here in Thailand. That is a 1.7' x 3m black background wound around the tube.



I like being able to shoot at the minimum ISO of my camera, which is why I like my 300Ws studio strobes. What is even more important than the power level is that they have 5-stops of power adjustment.

I can still get good quality images at ISO 200 or even 400 so I would have no problem working with any 5-stop (or more) studio strobe with a maximum power of 100Ws to 300Ws.

You are much better off having one good quality studio strobe with a minimum of 5-stops of power variability than having 3 strobes with only 2-stops of power variability.

Look around and see if you can get the Godox DS locally or via mail order. I found it on eBay for just under 8600 INR with free international shipping from China.

eBay - Godox DS200 Photography Studio Strobe Flash Lighting Light Lamp Head 200W 220V

Here are the modifiers I recommend in order of when to get them.

The 7" metal bowls that come with studio strobe are frequently all that is needed for background lights. A grid or barn doors can be useful for hair/accent lights but wait to buy them until you find a real need for them.

The cheapest modifiers are umbrellas so they are frequently the first modifiers that are bought. A 45" and a 60" white umbrella with removable black backings are a good combination but you will have a bit more stray light than with softboxes. Just be sure any umbrella that you buy has a stem the right size to fit the studio strobe umbrella mount.

Buy softboxes instead of umbrellas if you can afford them. If not don't worry, many successful photographers have used umbrellas for many years.

The most useful modifier is a softbox in the 4'x5' (120x150cm) size range. This modifier can be used vertically for a standing portrait or horizontally for waist up portraits or head shots for individuals or small groups.

Add a second softbox, the same size or in the 2'x3' (60x90cm) size range for a fill light. A 45" umbrella makes a good low cost fill light modifier.

A beauty dish is a good modifier for beauty portraits of young women with good skin. When used close (1 diameter) the light is somewhat soft but with a specular quality that causes the skin to glow. It doesn't work as well with older women, where much softer light from a softbox or umbrella is needed to smooth the skin.

For fashion you want a hard main light to emphasize the drape of the clothing and the weave of the fabric plus soft fill light to keep the shadows from going pure black. A beauty dish used at longer distances is hard enough but lights a big enough area that it is a very good light modifier for fashion.

Strip softboxes can be used for background/hair/accent lights but aren't necessary.

Other light modifiers are specialty items that won't normally be used as much.

Much of the time a single main light with a reflector for fill light is sufficient, leaving a second light for the background. Many times hot-shoe flash units can be used for hair/accent/background lights.

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

 

[musicalhell]

First a correction for my last post. I meant the Godox DS, not DT. The Godox DS is a 200Ws 6-stop (1/1 to 1/32) studio strobe that has a very attractive price and accepts Bowens S-Mount light modifiers. Bowens S-Mount modifiers are easily found for very good prices from many third party suppliers.

You can easily work with the 6.17m length and 2.42m height. The biggest impact on your usable space is the width between the stairs and the bathroom.

Yes that was my intention, shoot from under the mezzanine and leave subject and lighting to the part of the room with higher ceiling.

An unconventional but very good solution would be to place your backgrounds in front of the doors and shoot from between the stairs and bathroom.

You can use your stands but a better solution would be to buy or have someone locally make some metal hooks that would hold pipes or 1" corrugated aluminum tubes. You would attach these to the walls on each side of the door just below the ceiling. The pipes or tubes would hold fabric backgrounds or rolls of paper backgrounds. Here is a commercial product that holds three rolls but for a locally made brackets you would need larger slots for the pipes or tubes.

Kupo Triple Hook Set for Background Paper Drive (2 Hooks)

Here is a photo showing the 1" corrugated aluminum tubing I was able to buy at a very low price here in Thailand. That is a 1.7' x 3m black background wound around the tube.

Would a curtain holder do? I can put two 'sockets' at the end and use a smaller diameter pipe so that it can easily be rolled.

I like being able to shoot at the minimum ISO of my camera, which is why I like my 300Ws studio strobes. What is even more important than the power level is that they have 5-stops of power adjustment.

I can still get good quality images at ISO 200 or even 400 so I would have no problem working with any 5-stop (or more) studio strobe with a maximum power of 100Ws to 300Ws.

You are much better off having one good quality studio strobe with a minimum of 5-stops of power variability than having 3 strobes with only 2-stops of power variability.

Look around and see if you can get the Godox DS locally or via mail order. I found it on eBay for just under 8600 INR with free international shipping from China.

eBay - Godox DS200 Photography Studio Strobe Flash Lighting Light Lamp Head 200W 220V

Here are the modifiers I recommend in order of when to get them.

The 7" metal bowls that come with studio strobe are frequently all that is needed for background lights. A grid or barn doors can be useful for hair/accent lights but wait to buy them until you find a real need for them.

The cheapest modifiers are umbrellas so they are frequently the first modifiers that are bought. A 45" and a 60" white umbrella with removable black backings are a good combination but you will have a bit more stray light than with softboxes. Just be sure any umbrella that you buy has a stem the right size to fit the studio strobe umbrella mount.

Buy softboxes instead of umbrellas if you can afford them. If not don't worry, many successful photographers have used umbrellas for many years.

The most useful modifier is a softbox in the 4'x5' (120x150cm) size range. This modifier can be used vertically for a standing portrait or horizontally for waist up portraits or head shots for individuals or small groups.

Add a second softbox, the same size or in the 2'x3' (60x90cm) size range for a fill light. A 45" umbrella makes a good low cost fill light modifier.

A beauty dish is a good modifier for beauty portraits of young women with good skin. When used close (1 diameter) the light is somewhat soft but with a specular quality that causes the skin to glow. It doesn't work as well with older women, where much softer light from a softbox or umbrella is needed to smooth the skin.

For fashion you want a hard main light to emphasize the drape of the clothing and the weave of the fabric plus soft fill light to keep the shadows from going pure black. A beauty dish used at longer distances is hard enough but lights a big enough area that it is a very good light modifier for fashion.

Strip softboxes can be used for background/hair/accent lights but aren't necessary.

Other light modifiers are specialty items that won't normally be used as much.

Much of the time a single main light with a reflector for fill light is sufficient, leaving a second light for the background. Many times hot-shoe flash units can be used for hair/accent/background lights.

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

Thank you for such a detailed explanation, also I hope you don't mind but I downloaded a copy of the earlier linked documents. I'll check on what the procedure is on getting stuff shipped via Ebay. The problem we faced was customs charges. I wanted to import a music stand worth a little over 2000 Indian rupees, shipping and customs made it over 9000 Rupees haha.

By any chance do strobes get adapter rings? Locally the Elinchrom speed rings seem to dominate the market so any modifier I get would have to be imported. Is there any way of getting something to make the strobe a little bit more universal?

There are a few options among the brands here that do have more options for output, would you mind having a look? The information is a bit spare though so I will make further inquiries if you would suggest it.

D-max 400 (I'm guessing its a 400w/s with lowest being 40?)

500 DLR (no info on the site but I can have a look at brick and mortar stores)

Regards,

Musicalhell

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131433672@N03/
http://arjun-photog.deviantart.com/
https://500px.com/arjunphotog

 

[musicalhell]

Dear members on DPreview,

I thought I'd do a few exposure tests to see if that would help any. They aren't any fancy artsy shots though haha. The strobe with the strip was around 1 meter from the subject at all times. I added my speed light and the 42" reflector on some of the shots.

I have a few questions regarding the effect a strobe has on different types of subjects and different cameras. The portraits I shot earlier (seen in my gallery on this site) were with my Nikon D5200, at the time it felt like the lights were a little too strong.

This would be the first time I used my Nikon D750 with the strobe and it does not feel all that overpowering. Is there going to be a difference depending on subject matter (such as people Versus Objects)?

f8

f9

f13

Regards,

Musicalhell

--

arjun prakash

Explore arjun prakash’s 37 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

http://arjun-photog.deviantart.com/

500px

500px.com

 

[Sailor Blue]

Your strip softbox is a good choice for round reflective items like bottles. When positioned correctly it produces a nice highlight down the length of the item.

If this is one of the type of items you will be photographing I suggest you see if you can buy a copy of Light Science and Magic locally. It is one of the best all around books on lighting, even having specific information on shooting reflective cylinders, spheres, and glass. Here is a link to the book on Amazon.com.

Amazon.com - Light Science and Magic, Fourth Edition: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (9780240812250): Fil Hunter, Paul Fuqua, Steven Biver: Books

 

[musicalhell]

Your strip softbox is a good choice for round reflective items like bottles. When positioned correctly it produces a nice highlight down the length of the item.

If this is one of the type of items you will be photographing I suggest you see if you can buy a copy of Light Science and Magic locally. It is one of the best all around books on lighting, even having specific information on shooting reflective cylinders, spheres, and glass. Here is a link to the book on Amazon.com.

Amazon.com - Light Science and Magic, Fourth Edition: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (9780240812250): Fil Hunter, Paul Fuqua, Steven Biver: Books

 

[Sailor Blue]

Sailor Blue wrote:You can use your stands but a better solution would be to buy or have someone locally make some metal hooks that would hold pipes or 1" corrugated aluminum tubes. You would attach these to the walls on each side of the door just below the ceiling. The pipes or tubes would hold fabric backgrounds or rolls of paper backgrounds. Here is a commercial product that holds three rolls but for a locally made brackets you would need larger slots for the pipes or tubes.

Kupo Triple Hook Set for Background Paper Drive (2 Hooks)

Here is a photo showing the 1" corrugated aluminum tubing I was able to buy at a very low price here in Thailand. That is a 1.7' x 3m black background wound around the tube.

Would a curtain holder do? I can put two 'sockets' at the end and use a smaller diameter pipe so that it can easily be rolled.

Didn't see this question earlier.

They make curtain rods that seem to be a slightly similar corrugated aluminum and holders for these. These should be fine for fabric but depending on the design might not be strong enough for a roll of paper, which is pretty heavy.

This kind should work.

And here is a Do It Yourself (DIY) one.

 

[Sailor Blue]

Light Science and Magic is the number one reference on lighting.

For accurate colors daylight, flash, or strobe is your best types of full-spectrum lighting. Tungsten lighting is also full spectrum lighting and will also give you accurate colors but produces a lot of heat. Fluorescent and LED lights are not full spectrum lighting - their spectra have hills, valleys, and spikes that can make some colors look dull or too saturated or give a color cast to images (the green cast from fluorescent lights is a good example).

For the most accurate colors you need to color correct your camera's sensor, lenses, and lighting. Using a Datacolor ColorChecker Passport is the best way of doing this. Look at some of the free information and tutorials on the X-Rite web page.

X-Rite ColorChecker Passport – X-Rite Photo – X-Rite Passport

If you don't have a ColorChecker then you should at least be using a good WB card. You can make a WB card for only a few US dollars, and it is as good as any commercial product.

Using a DIY Plastic White Card for WB

Hundreds of years of experience by painters and over 150 years of photography has narrowed down the types of lighting that is normally used for portraiture.

Portrait Lighting - Project 3 - Portrait Lighting Set-Ups

By far the most common is loop lighting. The Broad and Short lighting examples in the above link are loop Lighting. Rembrandt lighting is a specific type of loop lighting. After that is Butterfly lighting, also called beauty lighting or Paramount lighting. Split lighting is more of a special effect lighting but can be very interesting.

Not shown is Side lighting for a profile portrait where the light is 90° to the camera and the face is turned 90° to the camera and the subject is looking directly into the light.

Here are some examples of how you tilt the head for men and women - all the images are taken with a fixed light that is producing loop lighting. Notice how the camera position with respect to the face can give different looks.

Clay Blackmore - Head Posing Guide.pdf

Clay Blackmore is an interesting portrait photographer. He was a student of Monte Zucker, one of America's best portrait photographers and lighting instructors who unfortunately died in 2007.

Here is a good free video tutorial by Clay Blackmore. I also like this series of tutorials by Gavin Hoey on how to work in a small home studio - the links to all the pervious lessons are in the link to the final lesson.

Clay Blackmore - YouTube - Techniques For Posing and Lighting

Clay Blackmore - How to Find Rembrant Lighting When Posing Portraits - YouTube

Adorama - Gavin Hoey - Home Studio Essentials Part 10

Here are a very good series of free tutorials. A flash meter is used in these series but you don't have to use one, they just make it easier and faster to find the correct exposure.

Sekonic - Joe Brady - Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 1 — Portraiture Using Available Light

These are very good at showing you how to use only a small amount of added light from a flash to give you beautiful lighting outdoors.

Sekonic - Joe Brady - Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 2 — Better Environmental Portraiture

Sekonic - Joe Brady - Blending Flash & Ambient Light for Beautiful Outdoor Portraits

These two take you back into the studio. The second one has some very helpful tips on fine tuning a pose, something that many photographers don't do. Fine tuning a pose can give you better portraits, giving you an advantage over other photographers that don't do this.

Sekonic - Joe Brady - Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 3 — Studio Portrait Lighting

Sekonic - Joe Brady & Frank Dispensa - Classical Posing and Portrait Lighting

 

[musicalhell]

Light Science and Magic is the number one reference on lighting.

For accurate colors daylight, flash, or strobe is your best types of full-spectrum lighting. Tungsten lighting is also full spectrum lighting and will also give you accurate colors but produces a lot of heat. Fluorescent and LED lights are not full spectrum lighting - their spectra have hills, valleys, and spikes that can make some colors look dull or too saturated or give a color cast to images (the green cast from fluorescent lights is a good example).

I got the book, as per your suggestion, on kindle yesterday. An amazing book albeit a little technical making a few reads and a lot of testing important. A non factor though since this field is about doing rather than just reading haha. Thank you for the wonderful reccomendation.

For the most accurate colors you need to color correct your camera's sensor, lenses, and lighting. Using a Datacolor ColorChecker Passport is the best way of doing this. Look at some of the free information and tutorials on the X-Rite web page.

X-Rite ColorChecker Passport – X-Rite Photo – X-Rite Passport

I will have to put this slightly lower on the priority list but I will keep it in mind.

If you don't have a ColorChecker then you should at least be using a good WB card. You can make a WB card for only a few US dollars, and it is as good as any commercial product.

Using a DIY Plastic White Card for WB

I used to just use a white sheet of printer paper haha. I'll make on one of these in the coming few days.

Hundreds of years of experience by painters and over 150 years of photography has narrowed down the types of lighting that is normally used for portraiture.

Portrait Lighting - Project 3 - Portrait Lighting Set-Ups

By far the most common is loop lighting. The Broad and Short lighting examples in the above link are loop Lighting. Rembrandt lighting is a specific type of loop lighting. After that is Butterfly lighting, also called beauty lighting or Paramount lighting. Split lighting is more of a special effect lighting but can be very interesting.

Not shown is Side lighting for a profile portrait where the light is 90° to the camera and the face is turned 90° to the camera and the subject is looking directly into the light.

Here are some examples of how you tilt the head for men and women - all the images are taken with a fixed light that is producing loop lighting. Notice how the camera position with respect to the face can give different looks.

Clay Blackmore - Head Posing Guide.pdf

Clay Blackmore is an interesting portrait photographer. He was a student of Monte Zucker, one of America's best portrait photographers and lighting instructors who unfortunately died in 2007.

Here is a good free video tutorial by Clay Blackmore. I also like this series of tutorials by Gavin Hoey on how to work in a small home studio - the links to all the pervious lessons are in the link to the final lesson.

Clay Blackmore - YouTube - Techniques For Posing and Lighting

Clay Blackmore - How to Find Rembrant Lighting When Posing Portraits - YouTube

Adorama - Gavin Hoey - Home Studio Essentials Part 10

Here are a very good series of free tutorials. A flash meter is used in these series but you don't have to use one, they just make it easier and faster to find the correct exposure.

Sekonic - Joe Brady - Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 1 — Portraiture Using Available Light

These are very good at showing you how to use only a small amount of added light from a flash to give you beautiful lighting outdoors.

Sekonic - Joe Brady - Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 2 — Better Environmental Portraiture

Sekonic - Joe Brady - Blending Flash & Ambient Light for Beautiful Outdoor Portraits

These two take you back into the studio. The second one has some very helpful tips on fine tuning a pose, something that many photographers don't do. Fine tuning a pose can give you better portraits, giving you an advantage over other photographers that don't do this.

Sekonic - Joe Brady - Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 3 — Studio Portrait Lighting

Sekonic - Joe Brady & Frank Dispensa - Classical Posing and Portrait Lighting

 

[Sailor Blue]

Definitely not as master. I'm just a retired professional who has been an amateur photographer for almost 60 years. I simply have the time to respond in depth while others who are working professionals don't have the free time.

Printer paper may contain UV fluorescing compounds to make it look whiter so it isn't a good choice for a white balance.

The DIY White Card/WB card can also be used to determine exposure. This isn't as quick as using the camera's meter or a flash meter but it is more accurate than the camera's meter - on a par with a flash meter.

For JPGs place the DIY White Card just in front of the brightest highlight on the subject's face and aim the card at the main light. Take the test shots while standing next to the main light.

Set the camera for an overexposure and with the camera's Highlight Alert turned on you will see the body blinking (not just the edges which can throw strange reflections). Reduce the exposure until the body of the card stops blinking. That is the correct exposure.

For RAW, which has a greater dynamic range than JPGs, reverse the procedure. Start with an underexposure and increase the exposure until the body of the card starts to blink.

If you add fill light that is one stop less intense than the main light you will have to increase the exposure by about 1/2 stop. For two stops lower in intensity the exposure increase will be less than 1/3 stop.

There are many current photographers who take great photos. Frank Doorhof, Christa Meola, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Hurley, Jimmy McIntyre, Matthew Jordan Smith, Neil van Niekerk, Serge Ramelli, Tamara Lackey, and Zac Aris are just a few.

Frankly I can't recommend any of the Photopro lights since their power range is only 2-stops, i.e. full to 1/2 power. I can't recommend any studio strobe with less than 5-stops for the power range, and more stops is better.

A basic studio consists of some space, a single good monolight, a 7' stand, 45" and 60" white umbrellas with removable black backings, a sheet of white foam core board or Coroplast for a reflector, and some sort of background.

Digital Photography Review - Thomas Park - The One-Light Studio

Zack Arias used to have a great One Light Workshop DVD but it is no longer available from him. You might find it available on a torrent site for download.

If you have the money then it is nice to have a second studio strobe and stand. You can use this second strobe as a fill light or as a background light, but it isn't an absolute necessity.

As you go along you will find yourself needing more equipment. That is when you know what to buy.

 

[musicalhell]

Definitely not as master. I'm just a retired professional who has been an amateur photographer for almost 60 years. I simply have the time to respond in depth while others who are working professionals don't have the free time.

Printer paper may contain UV fluorescing compounds to make it look whiter so it isn't a good choice for a white balance.

The DIY White Card/WB card can also be used to determine exposure. This isn't as quick as using the camera's meter or a flash meter but it is more accurate than the camera's meter - on a par with a flash meter.

For JPGs place the DIY White Card just in front of the brightest highlight on the subject's face and aim the card at the main light. Take the test shots while standing next to the main light.

Set the camera for an overexposure and with the camera's Highlight Alert turned on you will see the body blinking (not just the edges which can throw strange reflections). Reduce the exposure until the body of the card stops blinking. That is the correct exposure.

For RAW, which has a greater dynamic range than JPGs, reverse the procedure. Start with an underexposure and increase the exposure until the body of the card starts to blink.

If you add fill light that is one stop less intense than the main light you will have to increase the exposure by about 1/2 stop. For two stops lower in intensity the exposure increase will be less than 1/3 stop.

There are many current photographers who take great photos. Frank Doorhof, Christa Meola, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Hurley, Jimmy McIntyre, Matthew Jordan Smith, Neil van Niekerk, Serge Ramelli, Tamara Lackey, and Zac Aris are just a few.

Frankly I can't recommend any of the Photopro lights since their power range is only 2-stops, i.e. full to 1/2 power. I can't recommend any studio strobe with less than 5-stops for the power range, and more stops is better.

A basic studio consists of some space, a single good monolight, a 7' stand, 45" and 60" white umbrellas with removable black backings, a sheet of white foam core board or Coroplast for a reflector, and some sort of background.

Digital Photography Review - Thomas Park - The One-Light Studio

Zack Arias used to have a great One Light Workshop DVD but it is no longer available from him. You might find it available on a torrent site for download.

If you have the money then it is nice to have a second studio strobe and stand. You can use this second strobe as a fill light or as a background light, but it isn't an absolute necessity.

As you go along you will find yourself needing more equipment. That is when you know what to buy.

 

[Macro guy]

I think you guys are putting the cart before the horse when you start a conversation about lights without addressing the space. From what I can see, the space is pretty small. It would be ok for small product shots, but really tight for portraiture. I think the mezzanine has to go. It serves no practical purpose and it's detrimental by lowering the height of your working space and having the stairs, which take up valuable space as well.

The windows have to be addressed as well as climate control. That place must get awfully hot and you need a good A/C to cool it down. Otherwise, your subjects will all sweat during your portrait session. Some products may not stand up too well to heat and you're going to shorten the life of your strobes (regardless of the make), especially if you're going to use modeling lights (which you should)

So, before worrying about lights and modifiers, I would give some serious thought to space, cooling, backgrounds, layout, set up and the like. The space is pretty tight, so you have to plan it out really well before investing any money into equipment.

Good luck to you

 

[musicalhell]

I think you guys are putting the cart before the horse when you start a conversation about lights without addressing the space. From what I can see, the space is pretty small. It would be ok for small product shots, but really tight for portraiture. I think the mezzanine has to go. It serves no practical purpose and it's detrimental by lowering the height of your working space and having the stairs, which take up valuable space as well.

The windows have to be addressed as well as climate control. That place must get awfully hot and you need a good A/C to cool it down. Otherwise, your subjects will all sweat during your portrait session. Some products may not stand up too well to heat and you're going to shorten the life of your strobes (regardless of the make), especially if you're going to use modeling lights (which you should)

So, before worrying about lights and modifiers, I would give some serious thought to space, cooling, backgrounds, layout, set up and the like. The space is pretty tight, so you have to plan it out really well before investing any money into equipment.

Good luck to you

Dear Macro guy,

I wholeheartedly agree with you on the lack of space. As to heat, currently my city is cruising around 38C or there about. Sadly remodeling the space isn't going to be too viable an option since it will be temporary. There is a chance that I can create a new studio space in the coming year or two but till then this will have to do. Irrespective of whether I build a space or not I intend to create a 'proper' studio in the (not too distant) future.

Thanking you,

Musicalhell

 

[Sailor Blue]

I think you guys are putting the cart before the horse when you start a conversation about lights without addressing the space. From what I can see, the space is pretty small. It would be ok for small product shots, but really tight for portraiture. I think the mezzanine has to go. It serves no practical purpose and it's detrimental by lowering the height of your working space and having the stairs, which take up valuable space as well.

The space actually works out pretty well if you shoot from under the mezzanine and put the backgrounds right in front of the sliding doors.

The windows have to be addressed as well as climate control. That place must get awfully hot and you need a good A/C to cool it down. Otherwise, your subjects will all sweat during your portrait session. Some products may not stand up too well to heat and you're going to shorten the life of your strobes (regardless of the make), especially if you're going to use modeling lights (which you should)

Yes, heat will be a problem but the windows are fairly easy to take care of with some black cloth or just cardboard and tape.

So, before worrying about lights and modifiers, I would give some serious thought to space, cooling, backgrounds, layout, set up and the like. The space is pretty tight, so you have to plan it out really well before investing any money into equipment.

Good luck to you

 

[Sailor Blue]

After taking your advice into account I dug through the net for current prices on the Elinchrom D-Lite Rx series, this is also how I ran into your responses on the matter (as well as on the topic of the power required to shoot through a 135cm Octa) some time ago haha.

I know that the Dlite series had a bad reputation for lack of/poor cooling but I believe that has been fixed in the current edition, also they give out the trigger which allows remote power control instead of the basic trigger.

If I raise my budget a little more there are a few options from elinchrom to consider each of which offer 5 stops of control:

Dlite Rx 1 (100 w/s kit)

Dlite Rx 2 (200 w/s kit)

Dlite Rx 4 (400 w/s kit)

FRX 200 (200 w/s 'semi-pro model')

Yes, Elinchrom does seem to have solved the problems with their early Dlite lights and the current ones seem to be fine. Remote power control with a RF controller/trigger is great to have.

I see little difference in the results I get with my Canon 7D at ISO 100 or 200. At 400 I start to see a bit of noise and while the images are acceptable I prefer using 100 or 200 if possible. I'm sure your camera will be similar.

The Dlite Rx 2 will allow you to shoot at ISO 100 or 200 with small or medium sized main light diffusers - any diffuser with a surface of up to about 2000 in².

You can get by at ISO 400 with only 200Ws of power for a main light large diffuser (a surface area greater than about 2000 in²), but in my opinion the Rx 4 is a better choice for large main light diffusers. Only 200Ws of power is fine for a large diffuser used as the fill light since you typically use the fill light at 1 to 2 stops lower in power than the main light.

My advice would be to start with the Rx 2 kit and if you find you really need it then add one or more Rx 4 units in the future.