which watt capacity light i can buy?

[eshban]

Hi

I am planning to buy Studio Lighting first time. I am not experienced in terms of lighting but I am learning day by day.

In my country, only few lighting brands are available. All brands provide lights in 300W, 500W, 600W, 800W, 1000W

I am unable to decide that which watt capacity lights are good for me.

Kindly give me your suggestions that which watt capacity light i can buy.

Budget is no problem.

thanks

 

[MLeeK]

Buy the highest WPS output you can afford for your 2 main lights. You can always dial down a light that is too powerful, but you can't squeeze more out of a light that doesn't have enough power. For a single portrait to a regular family portrait (not extended) 2 300WPS lights will. However if you have the inkling you will be doing bigger and need more light at some time? I'd go a min of the 500WPS.
For your background and hair lights the 300WPS output is fine.

 

[KmH]

When W (watt) is the only term used to describe light power, the lights are constant lights.

Strobe lights power is described in WS (watt-seconds).

For the same amount of light during a photographic exposure, 500 W, and higher, constant lights are needed. While 200 WS strobe lights provide more light during an equal photographic exposure.

If you have a 500 W constant light and have a subject that allows leaving the shutter open for 1 second, you would have 500 WS of light. One second is to long for shooting people because most people can't stay completely still for a full second. So if you cut your shutter speed in half to 1/2 second the constant light power drops to 250 WS. Cut the shutter speed in half again to 1/4 second and the constant light power is now down to 125 WS.

Realistically, for shooting people we want to keep the shutter speed at about 1/100, which makes the 500 W constant light source effectively only 5 watts, which is not a lot of light.

There are other huge advantages to using strobed light over constant light.
Less heat is generated by strobe lights compared to constant lights. the studio ait temperature doesn't heat up and people don't heat up either. There is less chance of people getting burnt from hot constant lights.
when using strobed light, shutter speed can be used to control the ambient light exposure, while lens aperture controls the strobed light exposure. The short duration of the strobed light takes over the motion stopping function from the shutter speed.

 

[MLeeK]

When W (watt) is the only term used to describe light power, the lights are constant lights.

Strobe lights power is described in WS (watt-seconds).

For the same amount of light during a photographic exposure, 500 W, and higher, constant lights are needed. While 200 WS strobe lights provide more light during an equal photographic exposure.

If you have a 500 W constant light and have a subject that allows leaving the shutter open for 1 second, you would have 500 WS of light. One second is to long for shooting people because most people can't stay completely still for a full second. So if you cut your shutter speed in half to 1/2 second the constant light power drops to 250 WS. Cut the shutter speed in half again to 1/4 second and the constant light power is now down to 125 WS.

Realistically, for shooting people we want to keep the shutter speed at about 1/100, which makes the 500 W constant light source effectively only 5 watts, which is not a lot of light.

There are other huge advantages to using strobed light over constant light.
Less heat is generated by strobe lights compared to constant lights. the studio ait temperature doesn't heat up and people don't heat up either. There is less chance of people getting burnt from hot constant lights.
when using strobed light, shutter speed can be used to control the ambient light exposure, while lens aperture controls the strobed light exposure. The short duration of the strobed light takes over the motion stopping function from the shutter speed.

Glad you caught that... If it's constant watts? You want to go with the minimum of 1000W and if they aren't cool lights? I wouldn't do it at all. Cool constant lights will cost you more to get a good wattage than decent strobes will cost.