Yet another "what lights to buy" thread - with a twist

JasonFox

JasonFox

Internet Sensation
Okay, sorry to start yet another one of these threads, but I'm about at my wit's end and certainly past the end of my experience.

My old boss asked me to suggest a lighting setup for the mini studio he's putting in his office. (I said yes because he still gives me a ton of freelance.) Now, I've bought a couple of lights before and know a little bit about stuff, but I don't want to give him bad advice.

His studio is about 15 feet wide by 25 feet long with a large bank of windows along one long wall. We're not really worried about the windows as they can either be blocked or we can go the 5600k route (maybe). Mostly, he wants to use the space to shoot stills, which he's done for years. However, he hates using strobes and so wants to go with continuous lighting, which he knows nothing about. Hence his asking me for help.

Most stuff will probably be portrait with some table-top. Video may be shot for talking head stuff. Obviously, we'd like to be able to do basic 3-point lighting, but I don't really know what qualifies as adequate light. Also, we will have a green screen backdrop to use at times, so I'm wondering if we need some flos or if throwing a softbox over hard lights will be okay. I've never shot chroma stuff before, so I really don't know.

Money is not a major concern, but I don't think he really needs super-high-end stuff as the lights will spend 98% of their time sitting on light stands in the studio.

Also, even though the room is 25' long, I doubt the camera will ever be more than 10-15 feet away.

Thanks in advance.

Fox
 
I'm a tungsten guy myself, but in this instance I'd say go with daylight fluos for now. If it's a north facing window, then the soft light will look great, and if it's not, then perhaps some kind of diffusing curtains with a black curtain on a track to seal it off when desired.

Plus it won't tax the Air Con or Wall Outlets.
 
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Given the idea of doing:

1. Portraits
2. Table Tops
3. Talking head interviews

I'd suggest a large softbox with the ability to gel for daylight (or HMIs), I'd suggest a couple of smaller Fresnels, and maybe a strong Fresnel that could be pushed through a 4x4 diffusion panel (and scrimmed/gelled).

That should offer a nice mix of hard and soft lights, all could be matched to daylight if desired. He might also consider a Kino-Flo diva 400 instead of a softbox. It will use less energy, and run cool.

I went with a Lowel Rifa for my softbox, and got the attachement to let me run compact flourescents for much the same reason. But I couldn't afford a Kino.
 
First, find out what kind of strobes he used and how (umbrellas, soft boxes, etc.?) Then, match the functionality of the new lights to the old.

SInce he is not used to hot lights and he's in a small office, heat and power draw may be a huge concern.

Second, since he has large windows, I'd go with daylight balanced fixtures. You can use the ambient light for fill (or even use the indirect window light as a key light. )Note that actual color temperature out the windows will vary substantially based on time of day, direction of sun, or sunny or cloudy. Also you can get some major color contamination from foliage.

Here's the basic kit I would start with (and I would go with Cool lights as a first choice, for the best quality for the money.)

1 x 6-tube portable dimmable fixture as a soft key. Dimmable because you are in a limited space and moving stands to adjust lighting level may be impractical.

2 x 4-tube portable dimmable fixtures to light your greenscreen (or use one for a fill light).

1 x 2-tube portable dimmable fixture for fill light or a backlight.

1 x 300w tungsten fresnel as a backlight alternative or to paint background "slashes" or patterns on a background.

Gels and diffusion:

Full CTO and 1/8 CTO for each fluoro fixture (Full to balance to tungten, 1/8 to slightly warm skintones when balanced to daylight)

Diffusion for the fluoros (216, 250 or similar)

Full and 1/2 CTB for the 300w tungsten.

Don't skimp on quality stands, and add a couple of C-stands with flags to control spill and further shape the light.

One other thought: it's a pretty small office, and if the walls are light colored, you will have a lot of light bouncing around. You may want to be able to "black out" the walls for better control. You could also conceivably go with smaller fluoro fixtures, but the shape of the fixture is significant to the type of lighting effect you can get, so the 6-tube fixture is most similar in size and shape to a chimera softbox.

If he likes the round catchlight that is produced by an umbrella, then a lowel tungsten kit with umbrellas might actually be the best bet.
 
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Most people these days are going with daylight if they have no legacy of tungsten fixtures to live with. And as an added bonus many camcorders sensors these days seem to favor daylight anyway. If I was building a studio, I'd go with all daylight flos and metal halide.
 
For those times when he wants COMPLETE lighting control, and not count of what daylight he can use coming through the windows, I would suggest he get 3-4 more 6 bank flo's(Richard's at Cool lights as a suggestion) to flood his white walled studio. I would suggest that these lights be semi-permanently mounted to a grid or the ceiling, or perhaps the moveable, scissor lift type grid system, found in several ,larger, professional photo studios ,with independent switches to turn them on or off.
The great thing about strobes, is that they can FREEZE action. The pulse firing of a strobe can have a duration of 1000th of a second or more, depending on the brand and the power setting they are set to.
If your boss is used to shooting ,say models, and he wants to catch them jumping in the air, for some ungodly reason, he'll have to stick to his strobes.
He probably likes or wants a deeper aperture for shooting still life's and table tops.
Your boss has probably gone the digital route by now, and less light will get him by, but more light is better to have than not enough. He'll definately want a mix of flo lights and hard edged fresnels or pars to round out his lighting package. Or skip the flo's entirely, and invest in JokerBug HMI's. 2- 800's and 3- 400 joker's would make a great photo studio, and with the addition of softboxes, pancake lanterns, and some nets and silks, he could also shoot video in his studio. I would also suggest he buy sturdy American or Matthews stands for his lights and add wheels to them for the greatest convience and versatility.
 
Thanks, everyone. I've definitely looked at Cool Lights as I have a 4-bank myself. I'd prefer using flos just for the heat factor, but I know I'll need a couple of hard lights, as well. I'll try to sort through all the suggestions this weekend and harass folks further with questions.

Fox
 
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