Flash or Continuous lighting?

[gregstidham]

A 400 -500 ws monolight or studio strobe with an umbrella or softbox will get you f16 or 22 @100ISO. Add in a reflector for bounce fill and you have a nice portrait.

If you aren't shooting portraits everyday, try renting the gear for the weekend if you live near any camera shops that rent pro gear.

[C. D. Keth]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I'm much more comfortable working with tungsten light. I am seeing the exact light that will expose film, not modeling lights that are a different shape than the strobe and probably aren't proportional to the strobes in quantity, either. Plus, being a professional cinematographer rather than a professional still photographer, I'm just used to it more.

[Ron Marshall]

In the early days of the movie industry, using carbon-arc lights without UV shielding, retinal sunburn was an occupational hazard for actors.

[C. D. Keth]

In the early days of the movie industry, using carbon-arc lights without UV shielding, retinal sunburn was an occupational hazard for actors.

By the forties, maybe earlier, they were filtered to provide protection. Now, certainly, there is no danger of it unless one was to use HMI PARs without a lens.

[gregstidham]

I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I'm much more comfortable working with tungsten light. I am seeing the exact light that will expose film, not modeling lights that are a different shape than the strobe and probably aren't proportional to the strobes in quantity, either. Plus, being a professional cinematographer rather than a professional still photographer, I'm just used to it more.

WYSIWYG with tungsten lighting is very nice indeed. Getting a fresnal effect with strobes takes some doing and requires additional equipment but is quite simple with basic tungsten fixtures. (Unless someone here has a secret strobe fresnal system they would like to share about )

Another bonus to tungsten, HMI, strobes, etc. is that when working with IR BW film, the results are different with each color temperature.

[C. D. Keth]

WYSIWYG with tungsten lighting is very nice indeed. Getting a fresnal effect with strobes takes some doing and requires additional equipment but is quite simple with basic tungsten fixtures. (Unless someone here has a secret strobe fresnal system they would like to share about )

Another bonus to tungsten, HMI, strobes, etc. is that when working with IR BW film, the results are different with each color temperature.

Very true about the IR film. As for the fresnel effect, I don't any way to do it except with a fresnel lens on a light. I like fresnels a lot for portraits. A junior is just about the right intensity and softness to look great on most people.