OBN 15" Photo Lamps

[Chriss]

Ok today I just got some 15" photo lights from OBN. They are shown in the link below for reference.

OBN 15" photo lamp light  L15X2

As i am new to this, does anyone have any idea how to set these up or an article on how to set them up. Obviously i dont want to damage them. Thanks!

 

[Derrel]

Here is a web site that shows, with photos, how the placement of a main light and a second, or "fill" light can help you establish some shadows to give shape and dimensionality to a subject, and then lighten the shadows a bit through the use of the fill light, to make the image appear pleasing and well-balanced.

Foundations of Lighting Placement

In general: the "MAIN" light or "KEY" light (same thing, different names for it) is positioned off to one side of the camera, such as say 5 or 7 o'clock, and that creates shadows on the subject. Then, the second or "Fill" light is positioned very close to the camera, at camera level, and shined basically straight ahead. This is a very traditional way to position the fill light; be advised that in this internet age, many id'jots are making videos, and even Canon's own how-to on multi-flash units will demonstrate a ridiculous dual-light main and fill position that creates cross-shadows....so, be aware....you do NOT WANT to position one light on one side, and another light of the same type and power in the exact, opposite,mirror position--unless you wish to create either shadowless lighting for document copying.

Experiment with the lighting positioning page from Lowell; they have made continuous lighting, similar to what you bought, for literally decades,and their web page might be very helpful.

For portraits, with your new light, I think I would use the diffuser to get started. The nice thing about the lights you bought is that for portraiture, the lights are small-ish, and will create actual, defined shadows, and if yuo learn that way, as opposed to learning wioth huge,diffuser panels or softboxes, you'll get a much stronger sense of how to actually position a main light, since you will be seeing a crisp,clear shadow whenever the mainlight is positioned, whereas with softboxes of any size, the shadows are quite diffused and the effect is less clear-cut.