Lighting for product/lifestyle photography - need help

[gressart]

Hi guys,

Let's make a few things clear for the start I would call myself an intermediate photographer, who does product/lifestyle/animal photography. My photos go to my clients' websites, blogs, online stores, Facebook and Instagram accounts etc. I also shoot some video of the same sort.

I'm more into showing products in an interesting, nice looking setting, than white background/packshot stuff - this I don't do and it does not interest me. I guess you could call it a lifestyle product photography and videography.

Currently, my equipment is a pretty budget one. I use two softboxes and a small led lamp Funsports CN-160. I also try to use as much of natural light as possible, though it is not always the right light and I don't want to depend on the sun so much, too.

I want to start investing in my lighting. I like continuous light, allowing me to see exactly how everything is lit before taking a shot. I am wondering if two big led lamps like Yongnuo or something similar will create daylight conditions in my small studio, lighting my setups nicely and allowing to shoot easily?

Yongnuo YN1200W LED Daylight Video Light YN1200W B&H Photo Video

What do you guys recommend? Is that a good idea? I need them for video also.

Another thing I am considering is a kit like Bowens 400 RX. It's no longer available, so I would be interested in something similar of that kind. What would you recommend?

Bowens Gemini 400Rx 2 Head Kit (90-120VAC) BW-4765TXUS B&H Photo

Does that make sense for the kind of work I do? I'd like to have a continuous lighting that would work both in my photo and video work. And I would also like to try strobe lighting to improve my results, as I've noticed strobes seem to make products more pop up - is that correct?

 

[tirediron]

Using strobed light will make your life MUCH easier; there's a bit of a learning curve, but it's not difficult, and most strobes have modelling lights built in, allowing you to "pre-see" your light. How much and what type of light you need, as well as how frequently you shoot will determine the best light source. If you're shooting small products, say sort of breadbox and smaller, and not doing hundreds of them a day, then a few speedlights might be a better option; 400w/s is a LOT of light, and you could well find yourself shooting at the minimum output setting all the time. As for making things 'pop' more; that's really down to technique.

 

[Derrel]

Gotta agree...get FLASH lighting, not continuous. Good studio type flash units have modeling lamps, which allow you to move the lights around while literally seeing what the effect of the light is. This gives you a good feel for shadows, reflections, and main light and fill light relative brightness.

I do not think that speedlights are good for beginners or even intermediate shooters; my feeling is that on products, reflections are critical, and so is light placement; with a modeling light, you can literally SEE the lighting effects before the shot. With speedlights, it's a matter of shoot/review/adjust/shoot/review/adjust/shoot/review/adjust..this is inefficient and tiresome. With real studio flash units, you can SEE the lighting change, as the light is moved.

One key is to literally MOVE the light both up and down, and forward and back, and through an arc of placement, and an arc of angular adjustment. There are four basic adjustments: distance, height,angle,arc.

If you want the best lighting, you want the ability to SEE THE LIGHTING CHANGE, as the light is moved through the four critical parameters. Doing that is impossible without a modeling lamp in the light head.

With studio flash units that have modeling lights that are bright, you can also shoot video with the same lights. Can't do that with speedlights.

As far as the Bowens Gemini flash kit...yeah, studio monolights like those are nice, and what I would recommend. You need to look at the modeling lamp brightness levels; I think for video shooting, I would look for at minimum, 100 Watt quartz-halogen lamps, and avoid low-power LED light modeling lamps. I would rather have four, 150 Watt-second flash units than two, 400 Watt-second units. In a monolight, I think 400 Watt-seconds is too much power for modern digital shooting. 150 Watt-seconds is plenty for each light.

 

[gressart]

Thank you both for the very helpful advice! Yeah, I'm mostly into a kit like Gemini Bowens. Was a bit afraid it would require tons of adjustments but with a modelling light sounds like it's not that difficult. Didn't know flash units would also work with videos. So, such kit like this Bowens can also be used for videos? I thought it's just flash, not continuous. I'm definitely a noob when it comes to lighting sources

 

[Derrel]

The modeling lamps are continuous light, typically quartz-halogen bulbs in units like the Gemini. It is that light that you will use for shooting video, the hot, continuous quartz light.you will shoot you're still photographs using the flash pops.

 

[mrca]

Einsteins have 250 watt modeling lamps so you can get an idea where and how shadows of main look. But shoot tethered and you will clearly see what you are getting in seconds. No surprises when you download card. Precise view of lighting on product, confirmation of sharp eyes on portraits. Shooting into light room and you can color correct every shot as it comes in as well as any universal tweaks.

 

[gressart]

I see. Also, is it possible to shoot handheld with strobes or is tripod a must?

 

[mrca]

At lower power settings, Einsteins have a flash duration of 1/13,500 second. If you have eliminated most of the ambient strobe duration helps eliminate subject/camera movement. On the other hand, with continous light you need higher shutter speeds and that can be a problem as continous is usually lower powered. In studio, to minimize the time it takes to go from landscape to portrait orientation on a tripod, consider an L bracket as it keeps the lens in about the same place in both. If you want tack sharp images, consider a tripod. To make moving, raising in studio, I use a rolling camera stand and a cable release to get tack sharp images even at 46 mp with super sharp lenses. Hand held, I don't use the one over the lens length as a minimimum I use twice that. But with faster lenses and raising the ISO a bit, that is usually possible.

 

[Designer]

I see. Also, is it possible to shoot handheld with strobes or is tripod a must?

The flash from a typical studio strobe light is of a very short duration, sometimes (depending on the setting) so short that you barely notice that it went off. That extremely short flash is what "freezes" motion, including camera motion, so yes, you can shoot hand-held and get sharp photos. A tripod is not necessary, but some portrait photographers will use a tripod anyway to hold the camera in position while they attend to other adjustments, but it is not generally needed to freeze motion.

You will need more information than that, so I advise you continue to learn about flash photography.