Simple lighting setup?

dreadpyrat · Apr 7, 2004

Hi, I want to try my hand at some glamour photography and my fiance is willing to be my subject.

I know lighting is very important and I must confess to knowing next to nothing about it. I have a Sony DSC-P7 Digital camera ....aaaaand thats about it.

I want to set up a little rig for nice glamourous and flattering lighting but dont want to spend a fortune on fancy lights. Maybe there is some common stuff I can buy that will do the trick?

And furthermore, how would I arrange them? I've read about using large white cards or back drops to create fill light, for example. So maybe someone could diagram how to point the lights and the cards?

Any advice is very much appreciated! Thanks so much!!

voodoocat · Apr 7, 2004

Something you might want to try without spending a dime on lights is use window light. It's soft directional light that is a great light source for glamour style portraits. Use a reflector (you can use a white posterboard) to fill in the shadow side.

drlynn · Apr 7, 2004

I second voodoo's motion.

Using window light is a great way to start doing portraits. Go to Target, etc, and get 2 sheets of the thick, foam poster board, one that is yellow on one side and white on the other, and one that is black/white. The two sheets should be less than $5 together, and then experiment.

Bounce the light from the window onto the "away" side of her face with the white board, and also with the yellow board. The yellow board give a warmer look, similar to a gold reflector, only $40 cheaper.

As you branch out into outdoor photography, you'll find plenty of uses for the black side of that board, also. It's great for shielding overhead sunlight without causing a color cast you don't want.

dreadpyrat · Apr 8, 2004

Thank you both! This is great advice and I cant wait to give it a try this weekend. Much appreciated!

Oh, one thing: I do have a powerful "work" ligt, the type you can get at HomeDepot. You know, insanely bright, comes in a yellow grilled frame...is that of any use for casting light or is it jsut too much?

voodoocat · Apr 8, 2004

dreadpyrat said:
Thank you both! This is great advice and I cant wait to give it a try this weekend. Much appreciated!

Oh, one thing: I do have a powerful "work" ligt, the type you can get at HomeDepot. You know, insanely bright, comes in a yellow grilled frame...is that of any use for casting light or is it jsut too much?

Are you shooting film or digital? With film, you are going to get a yellow/orange color cast from the lighting unless you use Tungsten film or an 80A filter on your lens. The lighting quality is going to be very harsh unless you diffuse it somehow. Either bounce it off a white surface or pointing it through a white sheet.

Big Mike · Apr 8, 2004

Also, those work lights get very, very hot. You don't want to put them near anything flamable/meltable...and you don't want to put your model in front of it for too long.

markc · Apr 8, 2004

A white shower curtain can make a neat diffuser, too. I love using natural light myself. I've played with stobes before, and I own a set of cheap hot-lights, but I rarely use them.

e_ · Apr 10, 2004

Hi guys!

Great to see everything's cranking along @ TPF

I had some down time and was just passing through - thought to throw in my tuppence worth for this question:

As dreadpyrat says, lighting is an important ingredient in "glamour" style photography and members have already made some good suggestions in that regard

Also (equally?) important is exposure and recommend you experiment with some high key shots - 'overexposing' from your meter readings by 1, 2 & 3 stops

I'm not familar with the control functions on your Sony camera but suggest effecting this by opening the aperture, if possible, and so as to lessen your depth of field ... be sure to focus on the subjects eyes!

As a general tip, when photographing females, 'overexposing' between 1 - 2 stops from your meter reading gives a flattering result.

Have fun!

è_