Mole Richardson Lighting for Portait Work

[BrianShaw]

Frank,

That portrait isn't lame... that's what most people want!

[robert_4927]

I use Moles, A 412 and a 4131. Both can be lamped at 2000 watts . I lamp them both at 1500 watts and have no problem with a standard household outlets. You can work easily at f22 and f32 with 1/2 sec exposures. A lot depends on film speed as you know. But I love the quality of light from these old fresnels. The 650 lowels are nice also. I use a lowel 500 watt omni with a gobo for most of my background lighting and a 200 watt lowel fresnel with a diffuser for alot of hair light applications. Setting up the shots and pre-shot light readings makes a big difference. Turn the lights off ....move the model in place...lights on.....compose...shoot....turn lights off...helps keep the heat issues down. Plus having central air in the studio makes a big difference. Theres nothing like seeing the lighting being used on the ground glass as you compose. It worked for Hurrell.

[Christopher Nisperos]

Bruce,

I don't know what your studio dimensions or ventilation conditions are, but to me, using a 5k spot would be more appropriate for a barbeque than a portrait session!

Kidding aside, in your question, you said, "More important is the quality of light delivered". I happen to agree 3000%. If you're serious about that, check out Dedolight. I use the 400 series spotlights for my 8x10 portraiture, and soon for 11x14, like you. (http://www.dedolight.com/400series.html). Their sliding dual-lens (like a zoom) gives you a pretty effecient output, so don't let the "little" 650w fool you . . . I often have to back mine away from the subject, even with scrims in the slot (I'm thinking about putting a rheostat into the power cord).

I like the clean light and even distribution the Dedo's put out. I call it "intense moonlight". Sorry, but the venerable Moles can't compare. The only Mole I'll use in the small Softlite, as a fill or a couple, to broadlight a background (though a Lowel Omnilight is probably more practical). Anyhow, don't believe me or anyone but yourself; go rent some Dedos and check them out before you buy anything at all. See for yourself. For me, the quality of light from these units absolutely motivates me to shoot more creatively --makes me want to try different things and "play" with the light. Sorry if I sound kid-like about it.

Honesty clause: As you might guess from my enthusiasm, I'm an absolute Dedo fan. Yes, I have given (unsolicited) advice to Dedo in the past, but he's never used it!

Best of luck,

[Bruce E. Rathbun]

There have been some very good suggestions. I honestly figured that above 4k would cook the subject. I have used the 4k super softlight in the past and that bright yet not overly offensive to the subject. As I want to stay around 1/60 of a second I am starting to lean toward a strobe syetem. The White Lightning X1600's may be an option. I will also look into the Dedo system as well.

Don- I wonder what speed of film you are using? I plan to use 400 speed with a 24" Artar.

[Ralph Barker]

Bruce - if you go with White Lightnings (solid brand), you might consider the X3200s. The higher output will give you considerably more flexibility. You can always dial the output down if you need to.

[Ted Harris]

Some of the other responses have walked around the edges of yet another choice you might want to consider, the use of stage lighting. At the moment I use mainly strobes but in the past I have worked extensively with stage lights, a mixture of lekos (ellipsoidal spots) anf fresnels (softer lights) . They are both focusable and infinitely adjustable. Costs are moderate but again you can build up a lot of heat if you aren't careful. A standard configuration would run the lights through a dimmer board that allows you to control the output of each individual light. Such a panel for 5 or 6 lights is not a difficult or expensive operation but you will need to run it off 220. IMO it gives you tremendous flexibility. The new studio whcih I hope to have operational in another two to three months will have a grid of theatrical lights that I will use in conjunction with stand mounted strobes.

Stage lighting is relatively easy to find used at great prices, another consideration. The variations and ability shape your light and gel the instruments gives you absolute total control at a fraction of the cost of doing the same with strobes. Finally it is muc esier to see andmold yoru light.

[Mark Woods]

Be aware that the "warmer" the light is, the more the light meter is incorrect. This isn't a problem for digital shooters.

MW

[Bruce E. Rathbun]

"Be aware that the "warmer" the light is, the more the light meter is incorrect. This isn't a problem for digital shooters."

Not sure if you are referring to the physical heat or the color temperature. Either way I fail to see why this would make a difference when shooting black and white. A light meter will measure light regardless. If I have missed something please explain further.

-Bruce

[Mark Sampson]

Bruce, I think that in the past, b/w film was less sensitive to tungsten light than to daylight. Some films were rated (say) ASA 50 daylight, 40 tungsten. I've never noticed this effect with the films I use now, nor when I used Plus-X and hot lights in the studio 20 years back. Doesn't mean it's not true though. My Kodak reference book isn't handy, but I believe this effect is what the previous post refers to. As if there aren't enough problems...

[Scott Davis]

I think your power needs are entirely dependent upon the look you want to achieve. If you NEED the entire head to be sharp, from the last hair on the back of the scalp to past the end of the nose, then yes, you do need something north of 2400 WS. I've been shooting 8x10 portraits with a 750 WS Bowens monolight (aka Calumet Travelite) in a medium softbox (24x30 or thereabouts) and at about 24-30" from the subject, I get F22-32, which is enough on my Commercial Ektar 14" to get me nose to ears, shooting FP4+ rated at ISO 64 (I'm processing in PyrocatHD).

I went to a seminar on self-portraiture in New York a few weeks ago and did an extreme closeup (face only, tightly cropped) on a Studio Deardorff 11x14 with a 19" Dogmar F5.5 . We were hitting F8.5 @ 1/15th using Tri-X (TXP) rated 250, with a 1200 w tungsten lamp in a large softbox. Now THAT was running out of DOF- my eyes are sharp, but the end of my nose isn't. I've seen other shots from that session though that had excellent DOF.