Poor Man's Lighting set up! :cheer:

rfosness88 · 02-21-2009, 11:50 PM

Looking to set up a small crappy studio in my room for practicing. I have my normal room light, 2 normal lamps, and 2 lamps with bendable necks I can position to aim anywhere. Can someone explain or point to a tutorial online that would show me a good lighting setup for portraits? I am very good with PS so could I get by with using my white wall as a backdrop, or should I hang a sheet or some other kind of fabric up, what color? What are some things I should purchase/make IE flashes and lightboxes. I have a very limited budget and am hoping to jerry rig most of this

almost forgot. My room is a rectangle 12'x24' with a 5' window in the middle of a long side.

Its 1:00am and im off to take some night shots of drunk people in my college town walking out of bars and getting hassled by police

hopefully i'll post some pics, but with the lens I have and the lack of a tripod im not expecting anything less than blurry from my night shots.

Thanks

Katier · 02-22-2009, 07:09 AM

As long as you bump your ISO up to 800ish you can probably hand hold ok - urban night is surprisingly bright. There is also a huge range of 'natural' tripods in a city

As for your lighting setup I use :-
Pair of lightstands - cost about £20 off ebay.
Pair of umbrella/flash holders - about £20 off ebay
Pair of Cacti triggers (two flash, 1 trigger) - about £30 for the 3 off ebay
Single shoot through umbrella - about £5 off ebay
Two Nikon SB-20 flashguns for about £60 off ebay.

This setup will work find for what you want to start. The SB-20's aren't perfect as they don't have a flashead that sticks out so it's hard to mount gels and stuff but they're cheap and have manual flash level adjustment so will do the job.

Vivitar 285's, SB24's, SB25s are other good choices although with the take off of strobist they often go for close to £100 each ( still cheaper than new ).

Samanax · 02-22-2009, 11:05 AM

StudioLighting - Studio Lighting Setups

Strobist

Lighting Essentials - Studio Lighting

Home Studio & Lighting

Studio Lighting - Lighting Diagrams, Planning and Explaining

Studio Lighting - A Beginners Guide To Lighting

Studio Photography

Studio Lighting On A Budget

Portrait Lighting For Beginners

rfosness88 · 02-22-2009, 01:35 PM

Wow I didnt know I could get by so cheap. Thanks for the links also.

PS: Princess Monenoke is amazing!

02-21-2009, 11:50 PM	#1
rfosness88 Been spending a lot of time on here! Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Whitewater Wisconsin Posts: 129 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post My Gallery: (0)	Poor Man's Lighting set up! :cheer: Looking to set up a small crappy studio in my room for practicing. I have my normal room light, 2 normal lamps, and 2 lamps with bendable necks I can position to aim anywhere. Can someone explain or point to a tutorial online that would show me a good lighting setup for portraits? I am very good with PS so could I get by with using my white wall as a backdrop, or should I hang a sheet or some other kind of fabric up, what color? What are some things I should purchase/make IE flashes and lightboxes. I have a very limited budget and am hoping to jerry rig most of this almost forgot. My room is a rectangle 12'x24' with a 5' window in the middle of a long side. Its 1:00am and im off to take some night shots of drunk people in my college town walking out of bars and getting hassled by police hopefully i'll post some pics, but with the lens I have and the lack of a tripod im not expecting anything less than blurry from my night shots. Thanks __________________ Canon 40D Canon EF-S 18-55 F3.5-5.6

02-22-2009, 01:35 PM	#4
rfosness88 Been spending a lot of time on here! Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Whitewater Wisconsin Posts: 129 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post My Gallery: (0)	Wow I didnt know I could get by so cheap. Thanks for the links also. PS: Princess Monenoke is amazing! __________________ Canon 40D Canon EF-S 18-55 F3.5-5.6

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02-22-2009, 07:09 AM	#2
Katier I spend too much of my life on TPF! Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 453 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Gallery: (0)	As long as you bump your ISO up to 800ish you can probably hand hold ok - urban night is surprisingly bright. There is also a huge range of 'natural' tripods in a city As for your lighting setup I use :- Pair of lightstands - cost about £20 off ebay. Pair of umbrella/flash holders - about £20 off ebay Pair of Cacti triggers (two flash, 1 trigger) - about £30 for the 3 off ebay Single shoot through umbrella - about £5 off ebay Two Nikon SB-20 flashguns for about £60 off ebay. This setup will work find for what you want to start. The SB-20's aren't perfect as they don't have a flashead that sticks out so it's hard to mount gels and stuff but they're cheap and have manual flash level adjustment so will do the job. Vivitar 285's, SB24's, SB25s are other good choices although with the take off of strobist they often go for close to £100 each ( still cheaper than new ).

02-22-2009, 11:05 AM	#3
Samanax TPF Junkie! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kaneohe, Oahu Posts: 2,559 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 64 Times in 64 Posts My Gallery: (0)	StudioLighting - Studio Lighting Setups Strobist Lighting Essentials - Studio Lighting Home Studio & Lighting Studio Lighting - Lighting Diagrams, Planning and Explaining Studio Lighting - A Beginners Guide To Lighting Studio Photography Studio Lighting On A Budget Portrait Lighting For Beginners

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