Studio lighting for 8x10

[cyrus]

Here's a way-rough scan of a recent studio shot. 400ws, pretty huge softbox, f/11

I'm guessing 4x5. What about a 8x10? or does it make a difference? Was there any ambient light like a window nearby?

[Frank Petronio]

You might need all that power for shooting large format film of cars in a large studio, but there aren't any professional car photographers working that way anymore. A lot of the car company photos are actually rendered.

Even with 8x10 I'd still be aiming for f/22-32 in most cases, and that's everyday stuff. One Speedo 2400-watt or a 1000-watt Dynalite pack and head will give you that for most torso portraits and tabletop studio subjects.

I wouldn't buy a new retail-priced AC strobe any more readily than I'd buy a retail large-format camera. You don't need to... it's a buyer's market. Just get a couple mid-sized 800 to 2400 watt packs and two heads per pack. In the USA I'd go with Dynalite for portability, Speedotron for robustness, ProFoto for their fancy light modifiers and trendiness, Paul C. Buff products for value... and relegate the other brands out of your consideration because they have a limited market penetration in the States -- service and parts will be expensive and slow.

You shouldn't pay more than a grand for a good Dyna or Speedo pack with two heads.

Don't forget cases for location work. They are not cheap. And you'll need a cart and plenty of grip gear. In fact I'd budget more money there than on the strobes themselves... but it is all relative, you can drop $20K on an Annie Liebowitz ProFoto light gizmo or $65 on a big umbrella... and get equally good pictures.

Most professional strobe heads top out at 250-watt Halogen modeling lights. People have modified some for more, but the added heat will probably limit your light modifying choices. Try to avoid the wimpy 100-watt household bulbs some of the less expensive strobes use.

Measuring strobes w guide numbers or watts or anything isn't very useful between brands. The shape of the heads and flashtube effect 2-3 stops of light. A 1000-watt Dyna equals a 2400-watt Speedo (old heads) in a softbox. Yet a bare Speedo head is really extra strong, it's the design of the tube that matters. The Dynalite flastube's ring shape with the reflector kicks more light forward - the Speedo is a straight tube so the light floods out in all directions.

The ProFotos are nice because you can slide the flashtube in and out of the reflector and change that aspect as well. They should be nice, they cost a lot.

[Ben Syverson]

I'm guessing 4x5. What about a 8x10? or does it make a difference? Was there any ambient light like a window nearby?

That was 8x10 -- not that it would make a difference if you're shooting at the same stop with the same film...

There was a window nearby, but it didn't contribute to the exposure.

[Ben Syverson]

but it is all relative, you can drop $20K on an Annie Liebowitz ProFoto light gizmo or $65 on a big umbrella... and get equally good pictures.

Frank, that is so true that even Annie agrees. She shoots quite a bit with a $50 Photek Softlighter on the main source.

[Frank Petronio]

Yeah I saw that too ;-)

Poor Photek, they left $19,950 on the table with that one.

[Ben Syverson]

Haha... Well, I'm sure they made it back the instant that video was posted to Strobist.

[Henry Ambrose]

f22 is f22, It doesn't matter what kind of camera.

For a large group of people you need more light than for one person because you have to light a larger area. Like lighting the car that Frank wrote about. And the farther away the lights are will require more light.

For a one person portrait you can light with 3-4 monolights like the X1600 White Lightning and have plenty of light to stop way down. You can also do it with only one light.

One thing to remember is that the closer the light source is to the subject the effect is as if the light is much larger in size. The way to see this is to sit in front of the light and notice that if its ten feet away it is smaller in your vision than if its one foot away. You have to think in terms of what the subject "sees". So for a head and shoulders portrait if you place a 3x4 foot softbox about 24 inches from the sitter it'll look like they are lit from a huge big window. then fill with a reflector. The only problem here is the sitter has to tolerate being so close to the lights. But it can look great. You might get to f22-32 doing this and only one light.

Your flash is lots more powerful up close because of that ol' inverse square law.

To make more room hang a big (8x8') silk and shoot the lights through that. Then you'll want 3 or 4 but you'll have nothing for the background. So maybe you want to start with 5 or 6 lights for a real studio. More would be better if you're doing real work as some will break and you need them when the job demands. You can never have too many lights. But you can start with a few and buy more later.

Five new X1600s at $439 is a long way from $5K. Or buy some cheaper models to mix in with those. If you buy used buy something you can have fixed locally. In NYC that should be easy enough. Buy one brand so the accessories interchange. The really great brands are better than most cheap ones if you need extreme consistency in output and color temperature. But I don't think anyone is doing super critical color work with transparency film these days. By super critical I mean objects that have to be perfect. I bet you can't get a clip test even in NYC these days. So don't pay too much attention to how "perfect" one brand is over another.

You'll need more than lights so save your pennies for some good grip stuff.

I'm selling what's left of my lighting gear. There is a forum member looking at it now but if that deal does not close you might want to talk to me about it.

[Mark Woods]

One thing to remember is that the closer the light source is to the subject the effect is as if the light is much larger in size. The way to see this is to sit in front of the light and notice that if its ten feet away it is smaller in your vision than if its one foot away.

So for a head and shoulders portrait if you place a 3x4 foot softbox about 24 inches from the sitter it'll look like they are lit from a huge big window. then fill with a reflector.

I'm amazed at these posts. It would seem from the posters that there is a magic bullet regarding lighting. What about the individual? Who is it? What context does this person need to be photographed in? The lighting? Moody? Full flash?

Although Avedon's portraits were shot in one manner, for the most part, think of Karsh who did more "interpretive" portraits.

Do you think about the ART of photography? I get the feeling that most of you don't.

[cyrus]

More than one photographer uses a single light and to good effect
http://www.williamcoupon.com/

[Mark Woods]

You sure?? I see multiple sources.