Homemade lighting

[advdesigns]

Hey,

New to the board. I was reading a post a couple days ago about product lighting but I cant find it now. Anyway, just thought I would share my inexpensive lighting setup that I use when doing product shots.

http://www.advdesigns.net/Photography/DSC02953.JPG

http://www.advdesigns.net/Photography/DSC02957.JPG

and here's a few quick examples of the results

http://www.advdesigns.net/Photography/CRW_3825.jpg

http://www.advdesigns.net/Photography/CRW_3827.jpg



The lights are 500w/ea and cost like $34 at home depot.

I just built a frame out of 2x2's and wrapped it with a canvas material available at any fabric store for around $4/yd

Its mounted with agle braces and the setup is very sturdy. You dont really need the reflector- a white piece of paper will do.

Anyway, hope this helps somebody.

JD

[evilenglishman]

i like your softbox a lot :D

[advdesigns]

Thanks it works pretty good. If i need softer light i can drape more material over and clamp.

[evilenglishman]

you just need to add a dimmer switch now :wink:

[Scottes]

Nice rig.

I was fooling with diffusion panels (which is more like you have) vs softboxes (sorta like what you have, but fully enclosed) and I found that the diffusion style loses a LOT of light. If it fully enclosed the light bounces around quite a bit and isn't lost to the sides.

However, you're using halogen, which I'd never use with a softbox because of heat. But you may get a lot more useful light if you enclose the sides. Foam-core board should work nicely.

[PhotosGuy]

you just need to add a dimmer switch now

I like it. A 'studio' is anywhere you want it to be & the subject doesn't care what instrument it's light comes from!

Remember, a dimmer switch will change the color temp of incandescent lights & may affect the life of quartz iodide lights as they need a certain actual temperature to keep the halogens recycling.
I don't know about other varieties.

[advdesigns]

I initially built this setup for shooting on the beach under a tent (just a random job) because I didnt want to take a full lighting setup and expose it to those kind of elements. But I decided to see how it worked in a studio enviroment and was pleased enough to continue using it.

I will continue to try to improve on it and keep you guys posted.

[JohnEBongo]

I have a similar set up. The difference is I made 18 inch cubes out of 1x2s covered in fabric with one side open to place over the light. Will these be more effective if I cover all of the sides except the one I want the light to come from with something that light can't penetrate??

[PhotosGuy]

Will these be more effective if I cover all of the sides except the one I want the light to come from with something that light can't penetrate??
It should increase the intensity a bit, but more important, it will decrease the light spill in the room which now reduces the contrast of your shot. It's a "control issue" - are you controlling it, or is it controlling you?

[Scottes]

Yes, it will increase it quite a bit. A lot more than a diffusion panel that's for sure.

I made a softbox with white foam-core on 5 sides (4 are angled) and 16-lb layout paper for the front. The foam-core ensures that all the light is reflected forward.

To compare I made a diffusion panel using a black foam-core frame and glued a piece of the layout paper on it. The "light emitting" piece of paper was about the same size as the softbox.

I set up a small quick test and tried the softbox on a subject. Then I removed the softbox and tried the diffusion panel. Night and day differences - I'd say the softbox was 3 stops brighter but that's really a wild guess. But it was huge.

Also, the softbox more evenly lights the paper, since light is bouncing all over the place inside. The diffusion panel style gets only what hits the paper initially.

Square sides on a softbox are much less effective than angled sides since the angles get more light reflecting towards the front.

[Bruce Hamilton]

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? ;)