Lighting 101

NorBro

NorBro

Major Contributor
Hi.

I am completely new to lighting. I don't know ANYTHING about it.

But now, I need to start shooting an interview (by myself) once a month and need a simple lighting kit.

Does anyone have any recommendations of one from B&H or even a few items from Walmart?

I just need something to start with and then I'll start learning by myself how to properly light by practicing.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.
 
Here are a couple of suggestions on low cost/DIY solutions.


http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/2011/12/16/lighting-with-home-depot-lights-part-2/

http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/2011/11/05/lighting-basics-going-with-what-is-available/

As for a low cost kit to start out with, if you want to look a little more pro than Home Depot clamp lights. These lights, with E26 medium screw in base sockets, rated up to 500 watts are very versatile. Any thing with a medium base, from high powered photofloods to CFLs will work in them.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/48853-REG/Smith_Victor_401430_KT_500U_Photoflood_Tungsten_Li ght.html
 
I've found that something like this works great for interviews:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fabulous-Fl...723?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b9901aeb

You can also search Ebay for "video softbox" and find other choices. Most of these are made in China and are not up to constant professional use- but work fine for weekly use if you are careful with them. They have daylight balanced fluorescent bulbs so any light coming in the windows does not conflict. With the scrim, they will cast a nice, flattering,diffused soft light on your interviewee, making your job a lot easier. This makes them ideal for your key and fill lights, placed at a 45 degree angle to the subject. For your backlight, a harder light is preferable but I've found taking the scrim off and using these as a backlight can work fine.

Home Depot lights, by comparison, will cast a harsh light on the subject that can sometimes be unforgiving (can work well for a dramatic look such as you might want in short film though). They will also be blazing hot in comparison and the color temp will not match daylight that might be coming in from outside. Conclusion: If you can't afford Kino Flo lights, in my experience, these inexpensive softboxes will do the job nicely. I bought my last set for $60 (hard to match that price though).
 
Last edited:
I'm very low budget. $500 on lighting seems more than enough for me for a basic set up. $200 seems enough.

+1 on the rotolight suggestion -- for night-time interviews, and if you have stands or similar to raise the lights high enough (a chair, a ladder, hang it off the panning arm of a tripod or monopod). Can even have fun with colour, as "creative colour kit" suggests. Backlight with blue; use something warmer on the front.

They come with diffusion gels to optionally make them even softer. (LED lights are sort of in-between hard and soft.) So, what lights you need also depends on what sort of look you're going for -- hard or soft. The fact that they're well-balanced colourwise is also a big plus.

Note: you can sometimes use practical lights or household lights if you have a DSLR. Eg: if you're interviewing an actress in her changing room, maybe you can just use the lights around her dresser. Or, grab any old bedside table lamp, or paper lantern, position it close to their face, and frame it out of the image.

By the way, each subject's face is slightly different. People always says this in the books, but you'll find how it works in practice if you simply pick up your key light and aim it from different angles at someone's face. It's simply more flattering sometimes from three-quarters to the back, or the side, or more to the front, etc... Or, if you have more dramatic leeway, from the top or the bottom. There was a Scorsese interview once where he simply had the key light sitting in his lap.

A good video to watch -- there's a lady called Eva Hazelton or something who did a guest post on Philip Bloom's blog in November or December last year. The first of her three vids is good for interview lighting technique and low-cost solutions. There's of course other things you can do to make an interesting image instead of just three-point lighting -- think about the background, and think about adding highlights. Eva's video mentions eyelight, and, indeed, this is something that can add a lot to an image.

Oh, and don't overlight. If it looks fine with just one light, and that suits your project, just use one light. Usually better to reduce than to add.

If you're shooting during daytime, maybe you don't need anything! Just have them sit side-on to a window, or three-quarters backlit, and it'll already look all right... You might well need a reflector or white card (or open the curtains on another window) for fill, and something for hairlight.

Also check out el cheapo Hong Kong eBay CFL lights. Do a search on eBay for "lighting kit"; sort by lowest price. Get two softboxes with stands for $80 sort of thing. These won't be powerful during daytime, and the light from them feels a bit cold or harsh for some reason, and they're not designed to be taken out in the field and set up and taken down all the time, but they'll give you some sort of hair light or fill light if you need it (if they're not bright enough, position them closer, or put two lights together from same angle).

I know this reply is ridiculously rambling, but two more quick thoughts:
-- pay attention to the difference in lighting between one side of their face and the other; for normal interviews, there shouldn't be a huge difference; I personally also think it generally looks a bit unflattering on women if half their face is in shadow;
-- if you just need general ambient light in a room, and you have a fresnel or redhead or similar, have a think about bouncing it off the ceiling rather than pointing it directly at your subject.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the responses! I really appreciate it.

Given some thought, I think I'm going to get the rotolight interview kit. I honestly will do this once a month and I think I can get by with 2 lights just to create a "look". The absolute pros for me are that they won't get hot, they are powered by batteries, they are very portable and they have different color filters for different situations. I already have a few cheap tripods I can throw them on. If it doesn't work out, at least I'll have an onboard run-and-gun light kit and will 100% just try an ebay kit for less than $100.
 
My only other question is what can I use to diffuse these lights a bit if I need to. Is there some type of material/gel/filter I can clip on that will take it down a bit? I don't want to change the color, just make them softer if I need to..
 
If you get the rotolight creative colour kits, they come with a diffusion gel. If you'd like a different type of diffusion gel, just buy whatever brand, then cut it to fit. I think Rosco and Lee are probably the most common gel brands? If you're new to gels, I'd imagine there's some sort of introduction to the diferent types at their website (not sure; never visited).

In terms of how to attach gels to rotolights, when you get the lights, you'll see -- basically, there's a plastic lid that goes over the lights that holds gels in place.

How to attach the entire lights to a real or improvised light stand -- the creative colour kit comes with hot shoe mounts, and there are cheap adapters you can buy from B&H or eBay to attach hot shoes to real light stands. Otherwise, dodge something up with gaffer tape, or loop the lights over a pan handle of a tripod (or even a broomstick if you have to), and or stick them to a wall or a shelf, and balance them to point the right direction.

Big disadvantage with them is that they're not dimmable, although $30 eBay Hong Kong LED lights are. Instead, you have to add ND filters to cut down on light (or move it further from your subject -- every foot you move cuts the light in half, or something like that). There are two ND filters supplied with the kit.

Another disadvantage is that there's no barn doors to easily control the light. Always possible to create something with cinefoil + gaffer tape if you need to of course...

If you need a third source of light, and there's nothing else to hand, think about getting a white piece of cardboard or a mirror, or white foamcore, or even a proper reflector, and seeing what you can do with it. Such a thing will come in handy for daytime shoots anyway.
 
Last edited:
Hmm...I may get a Hong Kong as my third. I looked them up and I see a 126-LED and a 160-LED. Are those the watts? I know the roto's are 80w.

I'm definitely going to get a reflector just to have one in my kit. I feel that they are always useful.
 
By the way, video about rotolight at rotolight website (worth a look before you buy; I didn't realise they cost so much now -- $200 from Rotolight themselves; or two for $339 from B&H): http://www.rotolight.com/ . The main thing you're paying for is proper colour balance, nice even light, durable and long-lasting piece of kit, and ease of mounting and attaching gels. Otherwise, you can get similar ring-shaped LED lights from camping stores for $5.

Re HK LEDs, have a look at the "lux" rating in the description for each light for some sort of comparison of how powerful the light is. Rotolight says it's 50W/145 lux. 126-LED light says 332 lux. 160-LED also says 332 lux. (But from what distance? I don't know.)

Also worth a look (around $300): the "real" light of which the HK lights are knock-offs: http://www.litepanels.com/language/pages/micro.php
 
Last edited:
Now, I'm really debating it...which camping store can I check some out? lol I love DIYing.
 
Good timing on this thread. I do video work for my church and we do a lot of streaming as well as a cable tv prodcution. We are wanting to set up a semi-permanent studio with background(s) and lighting for interviews and one on one type of shoots. The links provided have helped alot in specing out some lighting and such.

For backgrounds such as a green screen, I am thinking you need to light it seperately from the subject, right?

Jeff
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top