Worklights from hardware store?

curveshooter · Dec 1, 2012

To boost indoor lighting in my home for picture taking, a friend suggested worklights from the hardware store as an inexpensive option. He suggested I could bounce the light off a wall for softer lighting.

Something like this can be had for $20. It's halogen and very bright (1000 watts).

I could also probably find incandescent bulbs if that would work better.

Thoughts?

SCraig · Dec 1, 2012

I have one as a worklight in my shop and they do provide a lot of light. They also provide a lot of heat so I'd recommend not putting them too close to the subject.

As I recall, and it's been a long time so I may be wrong, halogen lamps are close to incandescent in color temperature but a little bit cooler. A good bit warmer than daylight but not as warm as incandescent. I'm not sure if it's enough difference to see a mix if you add some additional incandescent lighting but you'd certainly notice a difference if you use daylight-balanced strobes or white balance.

Designer · Dec 1, 2012

As hot as these lights are, they probably will not allow for smaller apertures and fast shutter speeds. Borrow one to try before you invest your money on one.

Helen B · Dec 1, 2012

Halogen lights are incandescent, and as Scott says, they usually have a slightly higher colour temperature than standard household incandescent lamps with a lower wattage (3000 K to 3200 K vs 2600 K to 2800 K). Lights like that would be called "open face" in photography, and they work well when bounced or diffused (always make sure that the diffusion etc does not interfere with the cooling of the lamp and that it is far enough away to be safe - you can use high temp reflectors and diffusers). They are less controllable than fresnels, but usually put out more light for the wattage. Gelling with a CTB to match daylight or strobe loses a lot of light.

texkam · Dec 1, 2012

They'll work. Shot this with a shop light bounced off a white board. Don't burn anything down. As far as color temp, I thought they were the same as incandescent bulbs (tungsten). No worries though, just shoot in raw, or in this case, convert to b/w. : )

curveshooter · Dec 2, 2012

Thanks for the replies. Would I be better served by worklights that use incandescent bulbs (and their lower wattages) if I want to minimize post-processing effort?

Can a basic photography-specific light setup be had for anywhere near this price range ($20)?

Designer said:
As hot as these lights are, they probably will not allow for smaller apertures and fast shutter speeds.

I don't follow. Can you explain why the heat affects ability to use certain settings?

Designer · Dec 2, 2012

curveshooter said:
Thanks for the replies. Would I be better served by worklights that use incandescent bulbs (and their lower wattages) if I want to minimize post-processing effort?

Can a basic photography-specific light setup be had for anywhere near this price range ($20)?

Designer said:

As hot as these lights are, they probably will not allow for smaller apertures and fast shutter speeds.

Click to expand...

I don't follow. Can you explain why the heat affects ability to use certain settings?

You will not be gaining anything by switching types of incandescent bulbs, just a different color of light is all.

The lower power in these work lights mean that you will have to boost the ISO quite a bit in order to shoot "normal" apertures and shutter speeds. Sorry if my "hot lights" comment was confusing. So if you want to try to shoot above 1/125 sec., and medium aperture, those lights will probably not have enough power. Remember; strobe lights produce far more light than those work lights.

No, you cannot purchase photography strobes for anywhere near $20. Too many neophytes attempt to use regular lighting fixtures in an effort to save money, only to have less than ideal lighting for photography.

I will advise you to start saving up for either a speedlight or a studio strobe.

KmH · Dec 2, 2012

All electromagnetic radiation, from radio waves to gamma rays, are subject to the Inverse Square Law. Inverse-square law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When you bounce light for photography, you usually add quite a bit of distance to how far the light has to travel.
According to the Inverse Square Law, the intensity of radiation (like light) passing through any unit area (directly facing the point source) is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the point source.

If when pointing a light directly at a subject the distance is, say 10 feet, but we then bounce the light off a wall such that the total distance the light travels is 20 feet, only 1/4 as much light will reach the subject - not 1/2 half as much.
Of course in the real world most surfaces would not be a perfect reflector and would absorb some amount of the light too, so less than 1/4 as much light actually reaches the subject.
So your 1000 watt lights bounced off a wall will deliver something less than 1000 watts. At 2x the distance (bounced or otherwise), the Inverse Square Law indicates only 250 watts at best reach the subject.

In addition, bounced light can pick up a color cast from whatever surface that isn't white the light is bounced off of.

texkam · Dec 2, 2012

A shoplight against a reflective surface will expand your horizons a little, but soon you'll be itching to move on to something more powerful, more comfortable and less cumbersome.

You might consider an inexpensive flash and wireless trigger system like this:
Yongnuo YN-460 YN460 Flash Speedlight/Speedlite for Canon Nikon Pentax Olympus Sony | YongNuo photo equipment online store
Yongnuo RF-603 RF603 Flash Trigger | YongNuo photo equipment online store

bunny99123 · Dec 2, 2012

I use them. You can purchase different types of bulbs to go in them...soft, daylight, etc... They are not as good as professional lights, but do help in a dimely lighted room. They are affordable and do get hot. They can crank out a lot of light in a room. When on a budget, and you need light, they will work. I know a women who is a well know photographer in our area, and she uses them. That is how I found out about the lights.

Another short fall, is that the stand the lights come with do not extend tall enough for downward shots. But they are light weight so you can attach them to a taller mounting system. I bought used speaker tripods from a yard sale. The tripods were used by a band. When money is limited, use your creativity to make what you can until you can afford better.

texkam · Dec 2, 2012

FYI, using compact fluorescent lights can be problematic too.
Cleaning Up a Broken Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CFL) | Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) | US EPA
This could be a sticky situation if one breaks while you are working with a client.

Tony S · Dec 2, 2012

You can use them, but learn to set up a custom white balance or use RAW on your camera to reduce post production color correction.

Sw1tchFX · Dec 3, 2012

curveshooter said:
To boost indoor lighting in my home for picture taking, a friend suggested worklights from the hardware store as an inexpensive option. He suggested I could bounce the light off a wall for softer lighting.

Something like this can be had for $20. It's halogen and very bright (1000 watts).

I could also probably find incandescent bulbs if that would work better.

Thoughts?

No..Just...no.

why do people think that things like shoplights are a good idea? If your daughter was getting married and the photographer showed up with SHOPLIGHTS, would you think highly of them??

hell no.

texkam · Dec 3, 2012

^ Lighten up and read the first post. It doesn't appear that the OP is looking to impress anyone, rather just trying to boost lighting a bit. No wedding photogs will be harmed.