Light like a pro with Lights from Home Depot

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

it isn't a joke...lights...when made correctly IE using photoflood and are positioned using 3pt lighting is very effective at a minimum cost. There are many that argue that you have to have pars or Lowels.. or arris to get the effect. Well that is not true...if you are educated in being a gaffer then you know your limitations. Bottom line is if you know how to light with the equipment you have the you will be 10x better than a rich person to buy all equipment without research to back their goals.
 
smithy said:
it isn't a joke...lights...when made correctly IE using photoflood and are positioned using 3pt lighting is very effective at a minimum cost. There are many that argue that you have to have pars or Lowels.. or arris to get the effect. Well that is not true...if you are educated in being a gaffer then you know your limitations. Bottom line is if you know how to light with the equipment you have the you will be 10x better than a rich person to buy all equipment without research to back their goals.
Click to expand...

Not really. Certainly, a painting by a good painter with bad brushes would be better than a painting by a bad painter with good brushes...but given good brushes, the good painter will not only work better and with more nuance, but also FASTER. Much faster--and more intuitively. The same goes for lights.

Let's say I want to make my key light a bit dimmer but can't move it further back. With fresnels I can slide in a scrim, adjust the beam from spot to flood, etc. In a few seconds. And then I can adjust to perfection.

With home depot lights? I could use a dimmer. Oh, but that creates a hissing sound and changes color temperature. I could switch the light out for another light, but that takes a while and is imprecise. I could use an ND filter, but, lacking barn doors, where do I put it so that it doesn't melt? How do I make sure I use just the right amount when there are only a few strengths? And then I want to adjust it to get it perfect...and this will take a while. Generally, too long.

And that's JUST to get the right AMOUNT of light, let alone color, quality, etc.

Want your light relatively high up? With fresnels, use a 12 foot stand with sandbags. Or cieling scissors. Or clamps.

Home depot light high up? Sorry, the stand only goes to 5 feet.

With a decent fresnel I can control the beam from flood to spot, which is useful for dimming as shaping light. I get rotatable barn doors, I can use softboxes with speed rings and good light stands and clamps, I get a nicer quality of light (3200k versus 2800k and with that pretty fresnel look rather than a harsh open face look), etc. etc. Filters are easier to attach, too. And the lights are generally more efficient.

Can you light well with home depot lights? Possibly, but it takes forever. Time is money, and renting a decent light kit (or buying lowells at the very least) is very, very worth it.

That said, those 70 watt pars you get at home depot for $8 coupled with the $6 cones are my secret weapon and china lanterns are a pretty great instrument, too. Even work lights can be bounced effectively, but a lowel DP light isn't much more expensive and is considerably better. Film lights may be overpriced, but they're still usually worth it. And used moles go for pretty cheap, too.
 
Well,

I have more time than money, so I will have to settle for HD lights. Traditional Hot lights are out of the question for me and my budget......I am working on some CFL softboxes and china balls, as well as Fluoro floods rigged up some way..... Wish me luck.

Oh.....still waiting for the book........
 
Policar said:
Not really. Certainly, a painting by a good painter with bad brushes would be better than a painting by a bad painter with good brushes...but given good brushes, the good painter will not only work better and with more nuance, but also FASTER. Much faster--and more intuitively. The same goes for lights.

Let's say I want to make my key light a bit dimmer but can't move it further back. With fresnels I can slide in a scrim, adjust the beam from spot to flood, etc. In a few seconds. And then I can adjust to perfection.

With home depot lights? I could use a dimmer. Oh, but that creates a hissing sound and changes color temperature. I could switch the light out for another light, but that takes a while and is imprecise. I could use an ND filter, but, lacking barn doors, where do I put it so that it doesn't melt? How do I make sure I use just the right amount when there are only a few strengths? And then I want to adjust it to get it perfect...and this will take a while. Generally, too long.

And that's JUST to get the right AMOUNT of light, let alone color, quality, etc.

Want your light relatively high up? With fresnels, use a 12 foot stand with sandbags. Or cieling scissors. Or clamps.

Home depot light high up? Sorry, the stand only goes to 5 feet.

With a decent fresnel I can control the beam from flood to spot, which is useful for dimming as shaping light. I get rotatable barn doors, I can use softboxes with speed rings and good light stands and clamps, I get a nicer quality of light (3200k versus 2800k and with that pretty fresnel look rather than a harsh open face look), etc. etc. Filters are easier to attach, too. And the lights are generally more efficient.

Can you light well with home depot lights? Possibly, but it takes forever. Time is money, and renting a decent light kit (or buying lowells at the very least) is very, very worth it.

That said, those 70 watt pars you get at home depot for $8 coupled with the $6 cones are my secret weapon and china lanterns are a pretty great instrument, too. Even work lights can be bounced effectively, but a lowel DP light isn't much more expensive and is considerably better. Film lights may be overpriced, but they're still usually worth it. And used moles go for pretty cheap, too.
Click to expand...

Well I don't use those shop lights as you described. I use reflectors with photofloods that are 3000k to 3200k output. I use cinefoil to shape my lights and CTO.CTB or Diffusion to create my effects. Many times I bounce my fill light off of foamcore and use a china ball at certain times when needed. Those shop lights made with halogen elements tend to be way too hot that is why I don't use it. Using reflectors with c-47's to hold the gel in such a way to let heat out is very good alternative if you are on a tight budget. But if you have the money then go ahead and get what you want. As for using dimmers I usually use diffusion and use a light meter to setup my lighting to measure overall strength.
 
That works to a point, but photofloods aren't home depot lights.

Also, diffusion is a poor dimmer because it changes the quality of light quite significantly. But if you're using soft light, it's a good solution.
 
Policar said:
That works to a point, but photofloods aren't home depot lights.

Also, diffusion is a poor dimmer because it changes the quality of light quite significantly. But if you're using soft light, it's a good solution.
Click to expand...

Diffusion..works. I don't know the specs that you based on quality of light..but it is widely used where I work.
 
Is there an ETA for the release date on the book? Seems like it contains all the info I've been looking for.
 
I'm not a hobbyist...I'm an amateur. (with limited funds)

...and I could use a helpful book on inexpensive and creative lighting.

As long as I have time to set up the scene files, gammas, and white balance, I figure I can work with Home Depot lighting. A successful shot probably depends as much on the predictability and consistency than on the "quality" of the lighting fixture. Hopefully, I'll see "the look" through the viewfinder.

Now having said that, I would still love to have the high-end stuff.
 
There is definitely a market for a book like this. When young filmmakers start up, they might save up for a camera but lighting is always one of the last considerations. I remember buying home depot lights and idiotically trying to rig them with those clumsy clamps.

A book like this would be priceless for anyone.
 
I'm in... especially if it includes a chapter on how to not burn your house down... carrying around this fire extinguisher is murder on my shoulders. (lol)

I use many general purpose lamps for rigging... using lens filters and camera settings to offset the limitations the best I can. I'm sure the pros know some great tricks that I'd love to know.

Usually when cutting corners like this, I don't fret getting the look I have in mind and just play around till I stumble into something nice that looks like it was intentional. =-)
 
Before taking any decision on lighting kits, go have a look at Cool Lights:

http://www.coollights.biz/softlight....html?osCsid=51100a1f673ab04405badc6d78bfa40a

Their U shaped box support might be better than Fotodiox's: an important detail which you should consider. Bulbs are also included, which makes it into a real bargain.

What Fotodiox has which is very interesting is their Cool Light C-900 kits, which can take a softbox they also sell.

http://www.fotodiox.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=71&products_id=4122
 
Yea, I clicked on a banner ad for cool lights right before checking back on this thread. I'll be buying 2 of those CL-455's.

I do web design mainly, and have been using a home depot worklight setup with photography umbrellas which gets in the way a lot in small areas.

These CL-455's look the professional part and nicely priced.
 
Ralph Oshiro said:
Now all we need is a Key Grip from Paramount to write the companion manual, "How to Make any Piece of Grip Equipment from Stuff at Home Depot."
Click to expand...

Actually I made a pair of studded C-clamps that way. I had to buy the baby pins at a lighting store, but since they were threaded I was able to bolt two recievers (I forgot what they were called at the HD) to two positions on each clamp. That way I could mount at two angles but I only needed one baby pin for each, plus I could take them off and use them elsewhere. I priced Studded C's on a few different sites and even against the cheapest one I got a two for one deal.
 
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Anyone build a removable fluorescent bulb setup yet? For example like a kino 4 bank where you can detach the bulbs individually.
 
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