HELP skintones question conctant lvideo LED/ kinoc/cfl/tungsten amatuer bikini shoot

R

rhodycam

Member
Hi everyone.

I am generally a photographer, but I have been asked by a friend to do several short video clips for a few swimsuit mdels for her sales website. So I am very concerned about skintones with constant lighting and I am pretty green (get it?) with the options. And I am not a pro wanting to spend $$. The room I shoot has mostly white walls, no ambient light and is about 30 feet by 30 feet, not a huge space

I had made a pretty cool compact 8 bulb fixture that fit into an umbrella brolly. using 100watt high CRI home depot bulbs. It is good with light amount, but I am worried about skintones. I haven't tried it for that much. But it looks like CFLs are on their way out. I cannot find inexpensive high CRI CFLs at a home depot. My bulbs will break over time, so the whole setup seems dated. I also used a magenta gel on them to possibly get out green, but I have not tested it on different skintones. I did do a "test" of this setup with a white balance card awhile back and attached it.summary sheet cri bulbs.jpg Whe I made this etup a few years ago I was basically trying to do what this guy was preaching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE7z2qFW9KI

Here are some options rolling in my head:
1) regular tungsten: I own some old setups, but I tried them and they have a hum, so I don't like them for video work. But the hotness is not a super issue because of the swimsuit model may be cold anyways. But buying 2 or 3 lights like Lowell or arri of this type may work at my location but it seems a lot for a single purpose. I would have to get some diffuser panels etc.. I did think of setting up the lights behind a large sheet of diffusive material to make a giant softbox concept. A guy near me is selling 2K mole fresnels for $100 for two. too big but I thought I would bounce onto the back white wall, then through a large diffused material for a glowing wall concept.

2) kino flo: I can rent kino interview setup system for about $200 per week nearby. I have no experience in thm or their skin tone performance. I think they are generally used without any diffusive material straight on the model. Again, the $ for one shoot makes me think about buying some LED panels.

3) LED: So I also have seen some cheap LED panels. Aputure Amaran HR672W Yongnuo YN600 . But I am concerned about skintone and light falloff. How far do they "throw" light? They all claim crazy CRI numbers and power wattage, so I just don't believe their ads. I do like the idea of size, power use and portability. But I wanted to wait and see LED improve a bit more. I hoped I could use the CFLs setup I already have for awhile but now this bikini shoot puts it up in the air.

I know this topic is debated a lot. I would appreciate some input and take it easy on me and my inexperience please. Just trying to help out my friend with some video work without spending a lot of cash. Spending time with swimsuit models is kinda cool.

Any help is appreciated!
 
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Any thoughts on these $50 2K mole fresnels I saw used? They are pretty big and just seem too powerful but I have no experience with these constant lights. I am a flash guy. I thought I would bounce them and then maybe even diffuse them with a wall of fabric to soften and lower the amount of light. But they look pretty huge, like a small trash can!

If not I would think 2 or 3 lights of 1K would do bounced/diffused. I would want used.
 
2K lamps are not too strong & can always scrimed as needed.

Mole fresnels are very nice, & $50 a piece is an incredible deal, but can your studio's AC breakers handle a pair of 2k tungstens? Some, if not all, Moles be down-globed with 1k bulbs, so that may not be an issue.

Which model are the Moles & do you have stands that can support them? Do they come with barndoors, & wire scrims?
 
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Can't beat tungsten for skin tones. It's STILL my go-to even though I do love my Astra's. Forget Kino's. I just pulled mine out of regular service. At this point, they're only good for lighting a green screen.
 
they c0me with doors.412 Junior Solarspot Any idea on the amperage for them? I asked the guy he just said 110V. I could tray running cords to different circuits, but they probably are 15AMP breakers, household stuff. And I have medium duty stands, so I don't know about these units weight. Any ideas?

I rechecked my 1K dynaphos tungsten lights for noise, seems less and changes by which bulb I choose. Any thoughts, since I own them already.
 
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Thought the 2K Solorspot, & 412, were different products, but I'm not that fluent in Molespeak. Is the lamp a solid maroon color all over, or is most of it bare metal, & only the base is maroon?

The Solorspot weights just under 20lbs, & the 412 is closer to 30 lbs. With either lamp you'll need stands with Junior Recievers, & it sounds like your "medium-duty stands" have Baby Pins, so are not compatible. Perhaps the seller has stands they'd part with too. A rolling Mole Junior Stand would pair well with either style lamps.

And if one day you want to convert them to LED there's always ReLamp, which are available in Daylight, or Tungsten.

http://visionsmith.com/relamp-2k-led/
 
I have a 2k MightyMole. You might want to see if a similar 1,500 watt light is available for the lights you are considering, I bought one for my Mighty and it takes the "living on the edge" of popping your breaker away. A 2k or 1500 Mighty Mole light through a nice shower curtain (as long as it's far enough away from the light to not melt) or punched through bleached muslin or a 6x6 silk is beautiful. You can't beat tungsten for skin tone.
 
Hi the moles are all maroon. They look old, but come with extra bulbs. I may buy them as a prop!

But I am also asking about your opinion about my current 1K dynaphos tungsten lights for noise. They buzz when on, different bulbs buzz different.

they look like this and fit into a vented softbox
http://www.visiongrip.com/products/dp1497/html/view_details_close-up_2.html

I am now leaning towards tungsten, these dynaphos first, as I own them now. I may get the moles because they are cheap and look cool, maybe use them later.

so let me know about the buzzing problem if you can.
 
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The Mole 412 Junior Fresnel can be lamped as a 2K, 1.5K, and 1K. You will also need Junior stands for them. They will need a 15 amp circuit running the 1500w or 1000w lamp, and a 20amp circuit when running a 2000w lamp.
 
Again!

Followup to my general question. Thanks for your input. I have decided to use my existing tungsten light softbox setup, with some improvements. The 1000W big bulbs all buzzed. So I got an insert for the fixture and changed to bulb to FEL. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/586023-REG/Chimera_99304000_Mogul_Base_to_2_Pin.html

As you can read in the reviews the big mogul bulbs do buzz. I don't know why they are sold. So my current setup seems fine and only cost about $50 to change over. No buzz and it is now more portable, I never wanted to try transporting the big bulbs.

Yes, I thought I might add music, but I was very frustrated by the buzz on the 1000W moguls.

So I have 3 1000W softboxes or open umbrellas to use.

My thoughts were just to have a two point light setup, one lower, shooting straight and further back (fill), one higher shooting down and closer (key). I am not looking for any dramatic lighting setup, just basically flat., but good for skintones Maybe some small incandescent lights for ambient in the background.

Any comments appreciated.

Thanks
 
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