[Dave]

Looking for advice on number / combination of studio lights for Home studio - 16ft x 16ft, plus the occasional shoot elsewhere in room max of 30 ft x 20 ft

Have already used 4 light setup for this kind of shot :- .

This had Soft light & Umbrella light at front with 2 lights at back to bleach out white background.

Have also used same 2 lights for front, plus 3rd light with "snoot" for more low key shots. So I think I need 3 lights as minimum, but seeing as the kits offer better value I might end up with 4

Anyway, options of 2 favourite kits seem to be :-

1) 2 x Interfit EX150 kit - 2 x 150W heads £190 / $380 = Total Price £380 / $760
2) D-Lite 2 Kit - 2 x 200W heads £350 / $700 + Interfit EX150 kit - 2 x 150W heads £190 / $380 = Total Price £540 / $1080
3) 2 x D-Lite 2 Kit - 2 x 200W heads £350 / $700 = Total Price £700 / $1400
4) D-Lite 4 Kit - 2 x 400W heads £430 / $860 + Interfit EX150 kit - 2 x 150W heads £190 / $380 = Total Price £620 / $1240
5) D-Lite 4 Kit - 2 x 400W heads £430 / $860 + D-Lite 2 Kit - 2 x 200W heads £350 / $700 = Total Price £780 / $1560
6) 2 x D-Lite 4 Kit - 2 x 400W heads £430 / $860 = Total Price £860 / $1720

So which option do you think is most cost effective to meet my needs ? Any inherent problems with mixing & matching makes, or different power ??

[traer]

use the strobist method

[sawdust]

I think you will be the one giving me the advise Dave
I got the interfit kit but sent it back on taking it out of the box the flash head was faulty when I spoke to the lady on the phone about a return she said in her opinion they were crap and would go for the D light which I did . just geting to grips whith them now

[Dave]

Originally Posted by sawdust

I think you will be the one giving me the advise Dave

I wish I have the advantage to date of Hoffy setting up all the lighting .... I just take the shots

[Les Meehan]

Dave

I know one of your referenced articles said more power is not needed (but that was due to his working method) but in my professional opinion, and I have many many years experience of studio lighting with both flash and tungsten, more power gives more flexibility in the long term. But of course they cost more.

I assume you are setting up this studio mainly for people shots. The working method explained by one of the articles, having the lights very close to the subject (BTW the example where the writer calls it side lighting is actually NOT side lighting but three-quarter lighting), is fine for head shots but is more difficult for half or full length shots. More power gives you the flexibility to have the lights at more distance and/or bounce off walls/reflectors for softer results.

I use 500w and 1000w pro Elinchroms and this is good power. The 400w units would be my choice if budget allows.

OR

The 200w kit plus a 400w single head plus stand to use as a main light.

BUT

Two 200w kits giving four heads provides flexibility of numbers, i.e. main light, fill, hair, and background.

At the end of the day the usual constraint for all of us is budget and so the twin 200w kit looks the best compromise (but thought I'd mention the power thing anyway).

To learn about lighting, once you have your kits, I would recommend experimenting with only one light and reflectors to really master the various effects possible. The four light setup you show in the example pic is typical 'safe' club lighting but lacks atmosphere (no offense to Hoffy intended).

To help a little, I have uploaded a lighting tech sheet that I prepared many years ago for a C+G class I was teaching to my website if you want to download it feel free.

http://www.zone2tone.co.uk/lighting.jpg

The file is too big to upload at Pixalo and I'm not sure how good the quality will be when downloaded but it looked fine in photoshop when I checked.

Hope it gives you a starting point for experimentation.

Cheers

Les

[Dave]

Thanks Les

Same with most things in life .... that little extra pays off in the long run.

Re 4 light setup, this was an example where club members had asked how to shoot this style, so good old Hoffy showed us how. Last session good old Hoff was showing us how to get the Low key look , with much more drama to the light

I just want to make sure that if I'm going to invest in this setup, I get what is needed up front to cover widest options & as you say start playing with it in simple ways to learn the trade

[hoffy]

Stellar 3 Head 300W Kit £599 / $1200

Try something like this, buy the bigger power as within six months you will outgrow your smaller heads.
You will have to buy a snoot as extra, then you will need backgrounds and a trigger.

The bigger you buy the better the controll. If you are going to do single head shots the 150's will do, if you want full bodies then you need to go bigger.

Paul

[Dave]

Cheers Paul ...good compromise vs the 400W D-Lites