Indoor shooting?

[Designer]

So 2 strobe lights will do the job then? Anybody have any suggestions on a good setup ?

Depending on the size and complexity of the subject, two should do it, while some folks might say two is the minimum, and three or four would be their preference. Why not try two with very large modifiers, and see how it goes? As I wrote earlier, reflectors are cheap and will act as helpers should there be a need for light somewhere in particular. You can make reflectors from inexpensive materials, and just position them as needed.

 

[91dope]

Depending on the size and complexity of the subject, two should do it, while some folks might say two is the minimum, and three or four would be their preference. Why not try two with very large modifiers, and see how it goes? As I wrote earlier, reflectors are cheap and will act as helpers should there be a need for light somewhere in particular. You can make reflectors from inexpensive materials, and just position them as needed.

Seen these. Any good?

http://www.samys.com/mp/Monolight-S...-Basic-Studio-2-Light-Soft-Box-Kit/53087.html

 

[Designer]

Have you checked Adorama, B&H, and KEH?

KEH deals in used equipment, and I believe the others do as well.

 

[91dope]

Have you checked Adorama, B&H, and KEH? KEH deals in used equipment, and I believe the others do as well.

Are these not good?

 

[Designer]

Are these not good?

Just seems a little high to me.

 

[91dope]

Just seems a little high to me.

I noticed a lot have different wattage. Is the higher the better? What's sufficient for what I need them for ?

 

[Village Idiot]

Just seems a little high to me.

I noticed a lot have different wattage. Is the higher the better? What's sufficient for what I need them for ?

For what you're doing, I'd personally use a higher w/s strobe. Usually even 250w/s at the lowest power setting is too high when shooting people in doors, but that's because you generally shoot with a much wider aperture and have the light and modifier close. You have to think though, the closer the light, the greater the fall off and the more uneven the lighting on the subject, so you're going to want to pull the light back. This will decrease the exposure you're getting from the light due to the incerse square law, but will also greatly decrease the fall off, allowing a greater coverage with less fall off from one light. If you stick a modifier in front of the light, subtract about a stop from it's power. When shooting larger objects, you're not going to be shooting at f/1.8 or else you're going to have a sliver in focus and nothing else. In fact, when shooting products like this, you generally want more of it in focus, so f/11 maybe? That effectively means you need more power from your lights as well or else you'll be underexposed.

So, f/1.8 to f/11 is about 6 stops. A modifier is 1 stop. Pulling a light back for greater coverage is probably about another 2-4 stops depending on how far back you go. We'll go with 10 stops more than a portrait shooter. 1 stop is double the light, so someone shooting people with 7.5w/s of power for a person would need about 7680w/s of light to make the same exposure on your furniture.

 

[Designer]

Just seems a little high to me.

I noticed a lot have different wattage. Is the higher the better? What's sufficient for what I need them for ?

I was referring to the asking price.