Three Studio Lighting Questions

[Thef/StopsHere]

Three boring questions I have to ask about getting a small portrait studio set up. Any advice in these areas will be a big help. Thanks, John

1- Is my space large enough? It's aprox. 17ft X 7.8ft. with 7.5ft ceiling.

2- What is the aprox. or standard distance for subject to background, camera to subject
main light to subject and/or to camera etc. Again, do I have enough room to consider
doing this?

3- How much min/max wattage will I need for the main monolight?
How much for the fill? Obviously, I do not want to overspend at this point but will buy
what's needed.

I'm ready to do this if it's feasible, so a lot rides on your collective input.
Thanks again, John

[Ronald S. Jr.]

1-barely, I'd say. I have a 20x40' space, and I'm cramped for room sometimes.

2-6-8', they say. Gives a good separation, as well as minimizing the appearance of wrinkles (sounds like a biore commercial :lol: )

3- that's completely up to you. Many will buy all the same lights, just to make for less math involved, and to make ratios clearer. AB400's would probably do just fine for your size space.

What were you looking at?

[burntpixel]

John,
Welcome to the POTN forums. First let me say I am no expert on this and have several questions myself. I too am in the process of building a studio in bonus room above the garage 20'L x 12'W. I have been reading these forums looking and asking for help in the same areas over the past week. I will try to help with your questions on what I have learned thus far.

1. Yes your space is large enough, it will be tight, but large enough.

2. Rule of thumb is to have your subject 6' - 8' from the background (this can vary with what you are wanting to accomplish) The camera should then be placed aprx. 7' from the subject, leaving you with a total distance of 13' - 15'. So your length at 17' gives you a couple of feet to spare. Your width of 7.8' should be plenty. I am going to be using the paper backgrounds wich come in 53" widths (cheaper, and really don't have the room for a 10' muslin, as the ceiling slopes). Should you use the same this will give you 3' (1'.5" on either side)

3. This area I am still researching. I will however try to guide you along with what I have read here on the forums. Take a look at the Alien Bees (http://alienbees.com). I have read that staying with the same unit is recommended. i.e 3 AB800's instead of 2AB800's and 1AB400. I am still reading more on this and can not give you a professional answer. I will be starting out with 3 AB800's (http://www.alienbees.com/b800.html), 1 softbox (http://www.alienbees.com/softboxes_detail.html), 1 umbrella (http://www.alienbees.com/usw.html), barndoors (http://www.alienbees.com/lmbd4.html), 2 LS3050 (http://www.alienbees.com/ls3050.html) stands, 1 LS1100 (http://www.alienbees.com/ls1100.html), 1 RFT1TX (http://www.alienbees.com/rft1.html) and 1 RFT1RX (http://www.alienbees.com/rft1.html)

You stated you would buy whats needed. When first researching how to build and light a studio, I found out quickly to stay away from continuous lights. They are cheaper however, you will be replacing them with mono's in a short time. If you are serious and know that you will be using them I recommend spending a little more upfront. I am expecting to see my first child in less than two weeks. Instead of loading her up and traveling to a studio at a $200.00 minimum, I will be using mine quite a bit. I do hope that this has helped and if any one needs to correct something I have said please feel free. Again I am no expert and just learning myself.

Good luck,

[TMR Design]

Since I have recently started assembling a small portrait studio and am also learning about lighting I can perhaps give some insight from a beginners standpoint.
If I have a dark background and want good seperation between the subject and background, it's a bit difficult to control the light that spills over if you don't have a distance of about 5 or 6 feet and 6 does a great job. I was originally trying things with the subject about 4 feet from the background and it was very difficult to have that seperation and not have the background lit from the main and/or fill lights.

I started with one light and a reflector and learned a lot. I have 2 AB800's with a third one arrivving tomorrow and I am still able to work within my space and I have a feeling I'll be able to take great pictures here.

I was also trying to keep my lights further from the subject than necessary and didn't really know why. Once I began to understand a bit more I realized that with strobes (and reflectors) that are not giving off heat you can bring them fairly close to the subject, which accomplishes two things... it helps with that same subject to background seperation just mentioned and also gives a larger,softer, more pleasing light on your subject.

You have to be creative with a small space and work with your lights close to your subject. The 7.5 ft ceiling might be a problem, depending on what you wanted to do but I have an 8 ft ceiling and so far there hasn't been any indication that I can't do great portrait work here with an 8 ft ceiling. Obviously is you are doing standing portraits or full length shots then it can be problematic. I have already seen that when I back up to a position where I would have the field of view to capture a full length body shot I'm also getting the roll of seamless that I have mounted near the ceiling.

For now I'm thinking in terms of head shots, and head and shoulder shots, perhaps upper body at most. Beyond that, it would get tricky.

[thekid24]

Im currently in the process of doing the same thing as you, putting together a home studio. And with large amounts of time on this forum asking and searching about home studio lighting Ive came up with the same answers as the others.

1- Yes your space large enough. I have similar dimensions in the garage.

2- Like the other 6-8 feet is probably the best, just to keep some harsh shadows appearing on the bg.

3- Now as for the lighting I have had mixed answers regarding watts. Some have told me a couple of AB400 wouldnt do and some have told me it would be enough. It really depends on what you need/want. The ones that I have talked to on here advised me it would be better to get more wattage than what it seems I need because I can always stop down light, I cant add light to a unit, I can only add more units.

The advise on these forums are rediculously helpful. You ask a question and youll get a direct answer. Personally I am going to get the Beginner Bee (http://www.alienbees.com/beginner.html) because right now thats all I can afford. I can always use reflectors and such to get the fill light I need. Also when the funds are there I can always add to the setup.One exciting and rewarding aspect of photography is the numerous ways you can accomplish certain lighting with home made equipement. If you find that reflectors are a little to high for your liking, then you can always make them.

[TMR Design]

Im currently in the process of doing the same thing as you, putting together a home studio. And with large amounts of time on this forum asking and searching about home studio lighting Ive came up with the same answers as the others.

1- Yes your space large enough. I have similar dimensions in the garage.

2- Like the other 6-8 feet is probably the best, just to keep some harsh shadows appearing on the bg.

3- Now as for the lighting I have had mixed answers regarding watts. Some have told me a couple of AB400 wouldnt do and some have told me it would be enough. It really depends on what you need/want. The ones that I have talked to on here advised me it would be better to get more wattage than what it seems I need because I can always stop down light, I cant add light to a unit, I can only add more units.

The advise on these forums are rediculously helpful. You ask a question and youll get a direct answer. Personally I am going to get the Beginner Bee (http://www.alienbees.com/beginner.html) because right now thats all I can afford. I can always use reflectors and such to get the fill light I need. Also when the funds are there I can always add to the setup.One exciting and rewarding aspect of photography is the numerous ways you can accomplish certain lighting with home made equipement. If you find that reflectors are a little to high for your liking, then you can always make them.

Hi thekid24,

I own Alien Bees B800's and I can safely say that if I thought I would never move to a larger space and this was going to be my final studio then I could have gotten B400's and been perfectly happy. You do want to make sure you get al the same lights so if you go with B400's then stay with B400's. If I were doing what I'm doing with 3 B400's in stead of B800's I would be fine. As it is, with what I do right now, If I don't want to be working at f/16 or smaller then I find my power output settings to be around 1/8 or 1/4 power. So if my math is correct then doing this same thing with B400's I would be at 1/2 power still have headroom.

If you think you may want your lighting gear to be portable then you have to think about where and what you might be shooting and perhaps you need more power.

But, to get back on point, if you are building a small home studio for portraits you would be fine with 1 or 2 B400's to start, a home made white reflector, and you could even create a hairlight with a silver reflector. Then, when you have money or need, you can add another B400 or two and have a full complement of lights to do wonderful portrait work.

[FlashZebra]

Three boring questions I have to ask about getting a small portrait studio set up. Any advice in these areas will be a big help. Thanks, John

1- Is my space large enough? It's aprox. 17ft X 7.8ft. with 7.5ft ceiling.

Thanks again, John
For images of faces and upper torso of human beings that are sitting you will be cramped, but still fine in this space. The 7.5 foot ceiling will by far be the biggest problem.

But, this space will generally be insufficient for images of standing adult human beings due to the height. You might even be able to squeeze in an image of a standing adult human beings, but this will be at the expense of optimal light control.

Enjoy! Lon

[DocFrankenstein]

You'll be able to shoot headshots, maybe head+shoulders, but no more.

As for wattage, what F stops are you planning to shoot at?

Even a low powered strobe will be able to give you decent apertures if it's close to the subject.

[Thef/StopsHere]

Thanks one and all for your help. I'm going to give it a shot and hope for the best, but I'll probably be back with more questions when I do. lol Again, thanks. john