Beginner's lighting. What do you want to know?

[mamarazzi_hrd]

Your in camera meter meters ambient regardless of what's connected to it. As long as you have the Flash Exposure Sorrection (FEC) set for the scene, the flash will fire based off of several things like aperture and focal length of the lens. Shutter speed has not a lot to do with flash photography unless you start talking about sync speeds.

So if you were to expose properly via the in camera meter and use the flash, you'd get a photo with everything exposed correctly and then a correct exposure from the flash as well.

Awesome! Thanks for not beating me over the head! Some forums I have used in the past - they would rip me apart and tell me to just give up. I love this forum!!!!!

One more......does this work the same with studio strobes?

 

[Village Idiot]

Awesome! Thanks for not beating me over the head! Some forums I have used in the past - they would rip me apart and tell me to just give up. I love this forum!!!!!

One more......does this work the same with studio strobes?

Essentially, but studio strobes are 100% manual, so you have to set the power then set your camera settings. The aperture setting is what controls how much your exposure varies in your photos, after you have your power on your strobes set.

You can always get a light meter and it will fire your strobes and tell you that the exposure is f/5.6, f/9, etc... or you can just shoot and change your settings until you get it, or you could just learn what powers generally require what f stops at what distances.

 

[Senor Hound]

If someone wanted to learn about studio portraiture and didn't want to invest a lot into it until they figured out if they liked it, what sort of lighting/backdrops would you recommend they get to "fool around" with?

I've seen lighting packages go for a few hundred, but I see power packs for a few GRAND. Are they necessary? Do you want to get continuous light or flashes? And is a studio flash (like the ones you can put softboxes and umbrellas on) the same thing as a strobe?

I don't know anything about this stuff, so maybe a link would do me better until my questions are more specific.

 

[andrew99]

If someone wanted to learn about studio portraiture and didn't want to invest a lot into it until they figured out if they liked it, what sort of lighting/backdrops would you recommend they get to "fool around" with?

I've seen lighting packages go for a few hundred, but I see power packs for a few GRAND. Are they necessary? Do you want to get continuous light or flashes? And is a studio flash (like the ones you can put softboxes and umbrellas on) the same thing as a strobe?

I don't know anything about this stuff, so maybe a link would do me better until my questions are more specific.

You can get started quite cheaply with small flashes (Vivitar 285HV, less than $100 each), some light stands and umbrellas. There are several ways to trigger the flashes, either with cables, RF or optical slaves.

Go here: http://strobist.blogspot.com/ Click on Lighting 101 and read all that, it's a great resource.

 

[Lamha]

I am still a beginner and I have just bought 2 soft boxes. I wanted to know how I can adjust the lighting in my home studio. Do I need to buy Flash meter or I just keep playing with the soft boxes until I get a good result. How close do I place the soft box to the object?

many thanks

 

[Village Idiot]

If someone wanted to learn about studio portraiture and didn't want to invest a lot into it until they figured out if they liked it, what sort of lighting/backdrops would you recommend they get to "fool around" with?

I've seen lighting packages go for a few hundred, but I see power packs for a few GRAND. Are they necessary? Do you want to get continuous light or flashes? And is a studio flash (like the ones you can put softboxes and umbrellas on) the same thing as a strobe?

I don't know anything about this stuff, so maybe a link would do me better until my questions are more specific.

the b&h link up top is the best place to shop.

2x Sunpak 383 = $160
2x Impace Light stand = $40
2x Westcott White shoot through umbrella = $40
2x Impact Umbrella adapters = $30

$270

You'll need triggers. www.gadgetinfinity.com sells the Cactus V2S. One transmitter and two receivers will run about $40

Home Depot/Lowes/Wal Mart will have the backdrop. You can make a stand out of pvp. Buy some spring clamps. Then buy some material and clamp it to the backdrop. $30?

All that I listed is about $310. That's cheap seeing as how I've spent over $1800 in lighting and I'm planning on buying more.

I am still a beginner and I have just bought 2 soft boxes. I wanted to know how I can adjust the lighting in my home studio. Do I need to buy Flash meter or I just keep playing with the soft boxes until I get a good result. How close do I place the soft box to the object?

many thanks

What lights are you using? Also, the closer the soft box is to a person, the smaller the light source will be. Shadows will be harsher. Move it away and the light source will be larger and softer. Placement is all personal preference. Check out www.strobist.com or a book called "Light Science and Magic".

 

[andrew99]

Also, the closer the soft box is to a person, the smaller the light source will be. Shadows will be harsher. Move it away and the light source will be larger and softer. Placement is all personal preference. Check out www.strobist.com or a book called "Light Science and Magic".

I believe you have this backwards. The closer the lightsource, the larger it is relative to the subject, and therefor softer.

 

[Lamha]

Thanks Village Idiot & Andrew 99

 

[KD5NRH]

My DH made me a soft box about 3feet square. I used draped white fabric off the top, sides and bottom. Attached 2 clamp lights to either side with 40 watt regular light bulbs. Pictures still don't look the way I want them to.
Do I need higher wattage? A specific light bulb?

By regular, you're most likely referring to Soft White. I use a pair of 100W equivalent Daylight compact fluorescents. They're about $7.50 a pair, and the difference is really noticeable, both in light quality and in the amount of heat coming from the lights; 100W incandescents used this way will eventually start to scorch the box unless special fabrics are used, and will certainly add strain to the air conditioner.

Do I set my white balance on auto or must it be set to the type of light bulb used?

Look up the custom white balance setting for your camera, and set it for the box interior. This will usually involve taking a full-frame shot of a white card where your subject will be.

 

[Village Idiot]

Awe yeah!

 

[Raizels]

OK, my question: (someone tried to answer it before, but I feel I need more info)

How do I take pictures of flowers on sunlight without overexposing parts of it?
Or: how do I take pictures of flowers in direct sunlight without making it look flat?

and... define "flat"?

 

[Village Idiot]

OK, my question: (someone tried to answer it before, but I feel I need more info)

How do I take pictures of flowers on sunlight without overexposing parts of it?
Or: how do I take pictures of flowers in direct sunlight without making it look flat?

and... define "flat"?

The problem you're having here is that direct sunlight is harsh. It's a small light source, like a bare flash head with a reflector (any general speed light with no modifier basically), and small light sources produce hard light.

Hard light is light that is focused and creates defined, hard edged shadows.

When you have an object that has texture, hard light is going to cause portions that aren't directly facing that light source to quickly be covered in shadows, having only smaller portions of that object exposed to the main light with others underexposed in the shadows.

To take photos of flowers in direct sunlight, you would need a fill flash, reflector, or some other light source to help illuminate the rest of the flower to be closer to the correct exposure of the parts of the flowers that are in direct sun light.

That's if you're shooting when it's sunny and cloudless.

Flat = a very even exposure lacking contrast.

A dynamincally lit exposure:

A flat exposure:

The first photo has a lot of contrast between the shadows and the highlight where the second photo is pretty much evenly lit all the way across the board with the only variances coming from the light from the sun and the shadows across the back wall.

When it's cloudly outside, the clouds act like a giant softbox. They turn the sun from a small light source into a huge light source. The light from the sun hits the clouds and reflects bouncing around on everything and creating very soft, vague shadows.

If you're photographing flowers in these conditions, they're most likely going to be evenly lit without and big contrast variations creating a flat exposure. To combat this, you can do editing in PhotoShop or create your own dynamic light. A reflector would be less effective in this scenario, so using a flash as the key (or main) light and underexposing the the ambient by a stop or three would create a dynamic lighting setup. With a setup like this, you're going to want to use a modifier like an umbrella, that diffuses the light giving it a nice soft shadow, so you're not getting the hard edges.

And remember this, the smaller the light source, the harder the light and shadows it creates. So as you increase the size of the light source, you make the light softer and the shadows softer.

 

[jake337]

ok i read every page of this thread so far and great info and links to point someone wanting to learn in the right direction.

now onto my question on home lighting. What are some of the brands/bulbs you would use in home lighting. I don't want to set up a studio or anything, just get the best out of the light fixtures and lamps already in our home. I mostly looking for any specific brand that is truly full spectrum and brighter so there is less of a need for flash indoors and still be able to use higher shutter speeds (not crazy high, but a 7 month old is never still enough. would building a few DIY softboxes on lamps be an idea.

 

[gsgary]

if I am using a reflector (which i have never done yet) how do I know where to place it?

You will be able to see where the light is reflecting if you can't you have the reflector in the wrong place and the camera will not see it, you use the reflector to add a bit of light to the shadows

 

[gsgary]

Also, the closer the soft box is to a person, the smaller the light source will be. Shadows will be harsher. Move it away and the light source will be larger and softer. Placement is all personal preference. Check out www.strobist.com or a book called "Light Science and Magic".

I believe you have this backwards. The closer the lightsource, the larger it is relative to the subject, and therefor softer.

You are correct, the nearer the softbox the softer the light move it away and it gets harder