What light for studio headshots? No flash.

[Indio]

Hello,
I'm looking for 2 or 3 continuous light for portrait and my budget is 300-400 dollars.
Fluorescent? kino? Led? Tungsten? What size? Watt??

[Brian C. Miller]

First, you need a good light meter.
Second, you need a window with light coming through it. (Free!)
Third, you need a chair for the person to sit down.
Pose the person, then click the shutter.

From a quick perusal of your other posts, you are using B&W film. This is good, as you don't need to balance the light for color. Fluorescent = soft light, tungsten = hard light. You can get as fancy as you like with what you can build for yourself, and that will save you a lot of money. Also, scouting around on Craig's List, eBay, or wherever will yield commercially-made systems for not much money. You will need quite a bit of light for LF, but I can't give an exact wattage recommendation because it also depends on the light modifiers, film speed, aperture, and all that other stuff. You can use tungsten work lights from a hardware store, and build your own light modifiers (barn doors, etc.) for them, but a cheap commercial outfit won't cost too much.

[Indio]

I have a spot light meter and 6 chair (yes, I like the chair) about the window is that the light change always and after the 4:00pm I can't shoot anymore, also I like to get more control on the light.
I use the Ilford Hp5 (400 iso) so I don't need to balance the light.
Usually I shoot with a 5.6-8 F aperture.

[Darin Boville]

The bright halogen work lights can be used for all sorts of things, they are bright (small apertures on slow film!) but they are hot hot hot and a bit dangerous.

You might also like the mini tube fluorescent--you can get them in a plastic housing with a cord, easy to tape to a light stand and position juts off camera. I've seen this done in video for interviews. Cheap and effective with a cool look.

Used Lowel hot lights are starting to come on the market cheaper and cheaper as people start the shift to LED. Lowels are great. Even new you would be in budget. Lowel Tota and Omni are video/film standards. Rugged, simple, great.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/294038-REG/Lowel_Tota_Omni_Two_Light_Kit.html

Tons more kits like that and lots of used hear out there, like I said.

--Darin

[Daniel Stone]

The other option you can consider for a "multi purpose" option is construction/worksite type lighting. They're bringing out higher-powered LED versions, so if you're only shooting B/W film, it'll make it easier on you since you won't have to gel color film to have it balanced correctly.

They're cheap, and many can come with stands included in the kit.

see what I mean here:
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Electrical-Tools-Accessories-Work-Lights/N-5yc1vZbm8p

-Dan

111466

[Daniel Stone]

Also, if you want to make a "softer" source than these lights provide(point light source), use lightweight bedsheets(white/just off white, lightest, thinnest ones possible, so you don't lose too much light power) to tame the contrast, and make your source broader. As described in this video here, albeit he uses a frosted shower curtain(I've used these, and they work well, although they don't handle "hot"(halogen work lights) light sources very well:

-Dan


http://youtu.be/8mI3VFdcd9g

[Bernice Loui]

Quite a few choices here depending on style of portrait, type of lens used, color or B&W and more... Constant lighting for portraits have a great advantage over strobe/flash when expression really matters. Subjects are more often than not anticipating when that FLASH will go off and are often traumatized when the FLASH goes off. This problem worsens as strobe power goes up.

Typically lighting required would be one key, one fill and use reflectors in both white and silver and consider using negative fill or black as required. Using a single key light with one reflector is easiest, beyond this it lighting can become complex fast due to lighting ratios and more.

Soft focus lenses usually prefer hard or non diffused light to balance out their softened rendition. Traditional focusable spots with or without barn doors can deliver very good lighting control. Or plan halogen with reflector and brand doors can work quite nicely.

Most commonly used is diffused lighting (soft box or similar) close to the subject (about 12" to 24") with low power for head/shoulder portrait with a non-soft focus lens.

There is also natural light from a sky light or window, this can be a option beyond using artificial lighting.

B&W, mixed lighting can be used with impunity and be taken advantage of based on the color sensitivity of the B&W film used.

Color, single source lighting is good as mixed lighting usually results in a color balance night mare.

Lighting choice pretty much comes down to the specific type of portrait in mind and creativity. Shop used lighting first before considering new as there is typically lots of used lighting on the market and lighting usually has low resale value.

How much power, depends.. I like to use 1,000 watt barn door tungsten lighting for small groups or less than four, diffused 200 watt tungsten close in on a solo subject will do. Power requirements are driven by light to subject distance, film speed, lens aperture used and how still can the subject remain.

Do look at the catch lights in the subjects eyes to get an idea of lighting used and for setting up lighting.


Bernice



Hello,
I'm looking for 2 or 3 continuous light for portrait and my budget is 300-400 dollars.
Fluorescent? kino? Led? Tungsten? What size? Watt??

[Drew Bedo]

Window light with a large white reflector for fill is hard to beat.

A large open space like undder an aawning, car-port or inside garage can also work well with a sheet draped over a stretched wire for a reflector.

[mdarnton]

Yes, you don't need anything fancy. I shot this the other day using three monolights, but
the important part of it is that the lights could have been anything. I made a V around
the front of the subject, with the bottom open for the camera to look through. On the left
was a white shower curtain liner (as in the video above!), and on the right a large sheet
of thin paper, both with lights shining through them, and one dim light shining low on
the background, to give a bit of separation.

Both front lights were about two feet from their diffusers, and the diffusers were a bit less
than that from the subject. I could have exchanged any type of hot light for the strobes,
and had exactly the same picture--the quality of the light is coming from the extremely
cheap diffusers, not the lights themselves: the farther the lights are from the diffusers,
the softer the quality of the light because a larger area of the diffuser is lit.

https://v4s2.yimg.com/sk/3724/12840076623_224e4a71a7_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdarnton/12840076623/)
Stefan Hersh (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdarnton/12840076623/) by Michael Darnton (http://www.flickr.com/people/mdarnton/), on Flickr

[mdarnton]

Before switching to strobes, I shot 30 or 40 million bucks of 3D art work using two lights like that, and the only reason I switched to strobes was elevator vibrations in the building shaking the camera. That type of reflector has a hidden advantage, if you don't use the umbrellas, in having a very gentle hot spot in the center, fading out towards the edges. In the current context, that means you can light a face and not burn out hands if they're in the picture. The hotspot also works well on backgrounds, too. In that respect, they're better than any type of halogen or LED in a smaller reflector, and that's the specific reason I wasn't using Lowell Tota-lights.

[jp]

The other option besides window and reflector is Mortensen's basic lighting setup. 2 continuous lights with aluminum reflectors. I've done this with 2 brooding/work lights with 100w cfls in them.

[mdarnton]

I find Mortensen confusing. Sometimes I think he must have had a tiny studio with bright white walls, because I can't make small lights work as softly as he does!

[dsphotog]

Why don't you want to use studio flash? They won't melt your subject, like photofloods do.
I have a bunch of old Norman gear, works great.

[AtlantaTerry]

Before switching to strobes, I shot 30 or 40 million bucks of 3D art work using two lights like that...


Like what?

[Brian C. Miller]

Why don't you want to use studio flash? They won't melt your subject, like photofloods do.

I know one reason.

Once upon a time, a coworker asked me to help him with his Christmas card pictures. They would feature him, his wife, and appx. 2 year old daughter. I only had strobes with me, and not hot lights. At first, the strobes freaked the kid like you wouldn't believe. Screams of terror, etc. It took hours for her to calm down and accept the strobes, and then I had the problem of the strobes would go off, and then she would laugh with glee. So it took about four hours for the Christmas photo shoot.

[Jac@stafford.net]

We use these in our school for inexpensive lighting. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/298404-REG/Impact_401486_Tungsten_Two_Floodlight_Kit.html

Add to that one more light and some more powerful bulbs, if the unit's wiring can handle it.
http://www.1000bulbs.com/category/photo-flood-stage-and-studio-500-watt/

[mdarnton]

Like what?

Like the hot light kit being referred to directly above, both in that post, and this time, too.

[John Olsen]

I know one reason.

Once upon a time, a coworker asked me to help him with his Christmas card pictures. They would feature him, his wife, and appx. 2 year old daughter. I only had strobes with me, and not hot lights. At first, the strobes freaked the kid like you wouldn't believe. Screams of terror, etc. It took hours for her to calm down and accept the strobes, and then I had the problem of the strobes would go off, and then she would laugh with glee. So it took about four hours for the Christmas photo shoot.

Everyone needs to experience a shoot like that. It sounds great as a story - probably Hell while it was happening.

[Peter De Smidt]

I had a local seamstress make a 10x16 foot "silk" out of white ripstop nylon for a small amount of money. It's very useful for portraits. If you're in a studio, V-flats made out of foamcore make great reflectors.

[8x10 user]

I use flash lighting but if I was looking into constant light I'd be very tempted by the new ceramic metal halid (http://www.gelighting.com/LightingWeb/na/solutions/technologies/hid/cmh-lamps.jsp) bulbs. They are efficient, cool, and have a very balanced and complete spectrum. Its what the higher end department stores are using because the high CRI makes the products look extra bright and saturated.

Many say that a good headshot takes at least 3 lights.

I have found "superbooms" to be very useful light accessory. Its great for the "hair light".

There are a lot of older Mole Richardson lights on craigslist. They can be converted to compact florescent for cooler temps and more efficiency.

[AlexGard]

I got some good use out of some shower curtains for diffusers. I think when I get home I might rig them up for strip lighting. I liked them better than the softbox and umbrella I bought.

[vdonovan]

When I was starting out shooting portraits I used inexpensive continuous fluoro softboxes from Britek:
http://www.briteklighting.com/cool-fluorescent-lights.html

The advantage of continuous lights is that you can see exactly how you are lighting the subject. You can even use a spot meter to fine-tune the ratio. Fluoro lights are nice and cool, so you can bring them close to the subject. The disadvantage for me was that these lights were just on the edge of not-bright-enough. I always found myself wishing I had another stop or two to work with. Brighter continuous lights, however, can make your subjects squint.

[Kobe Levi Photography]

As a photographer I find Tungsten warmer without proper filtering because it emits heat, that's why they're called hot lights. While Fluorescent casts more of a cool look and feel to your shots.In my shots, I'd prefer fluorescent.

Also I wouldn't want my clients to feel warm and uncomfortable surrounded by hot lights. What is important is to find the right amount of light closely balanced to a natural light.

Hope this helps.

Kobe Levi Photography (http://www.kobelevi.com/)

[Kobe Levi Photography]

You also might want to check out color spectrum and on how tungsten light differs from fluorescent light, to guide you more.

[photonsoup]

Heres a three part video series on making florescent light setup for awesome headshots. It work great with digital, should be fine with black and white, I imagine you could find the correct filters to use it with color film.


http://youtu.be/mtsKPaLMP7o

I made a set up for about $100.00 and it worked very well. I just used a bunch of shop lights from Walmart, I think they were about $11.00 for a two tube fixture at the time. I put three fixtures on a piece of masonite, and hung it on a light stand with a cable tie. I think it would cost a little more if you use the new style bulbs. He covers that in the last video.

[Scott Davis]

I have a pair of 1000w halogen Fresnel lamps that I bought on Ebay for $250 (for the pair!). I'm going to add some more and some less powerful versions, ideally with built-in rheostat. Fresnels make beautiful light and I highly recommend them as an option.

[DrTang]

if I HAD to use hot lights


I think I'd look around for a mini mole with a snoot (hair or BG) and a couple Lowell totas

couple that with a Matthews medium kit stand and a collapsable white shoot thru screen.. mabe a magic arm to hold it in place

cheap and portable

[Jim Noel]

No need to spend a lot of money. Go to Home Depot or similar store and get either some work lights which come with their own stand, and or clamp on units into which you can screw any bulb with a screw base. It takes far less wattage to amply light a portrait than most people use. Many years ago I attended a portrait lighting session which the presenter began by lighting a subject with a bare 5 watt bulb to show that it is not the quantity of light but the quality which makes a good portrait. Although I have floods up to 1000 watts, I rarely use more than 100-150 watts per bulb to light a portrait subject. Plenty of light, and easier on the sitter. It is also important to remember that in general more good protraits are taken with apertures of 5.6 or larger, than with f16 or smaller. Mine are always made with maximum opening unless they are old men, like myself, with lots of craggy features which I want to emphasize.

[Scott Davis]

In my last foray into shooting portraits with hot lights, I was using 5x7 FP4+ behind a Hermagis Eidoscope f5, at f5. I was getting roughly 1/30th second @ f5-ish (somewhere between f4-f5.6, close enough for gummint work) with a single 1000w Fresnel, with the lamp a comfortable distance (for the sitter) away from the sitter (6-8 feet). I'm not sure how you are pulling that off with 150 watts without using fast film and/or having the light very close to the subject.