Basic studio questions

[aam1234]

Hello to all,

I posted these questions somewhere else but didn't get any replies, so i'll post it here if you don't mind.

I’m sure that you guys & gals saw some basic home studio setup, you know, the ones that look like boxes or small tents. I made myself one, so was wondering what material for the background people use and if they are household type or specialized type that you buy from photo shops. Second, what do you think is the preferred type of light i.e. fluorescent, tungsten …etc.

Appreciate any advice, and thanks

[chtgrubbs]

Virtually any translucent fabric or material will work. Most commercially made lightboxes or tents use nylon or ripstop nylon. If you need large sizes material used for drapery sheers will work. If you don't have to break it down and roll it up, my favorite diffusion materials are Tough Rollux and Tough Spun from Rosco Laboratories. They make filters and diffusion material for the cinema industry. These materials are designed for use with hot lights, very important if you want to use tungsten halogen light sources. They are available from The Set Shop (www.setshop.com) or Calumet Photo.

As for light sources, flash is by far the preferred source for me, but I have also used tungsten. Just be very careful about the high heat generated by tunsten halogen lights. Several new daylight fluorescent sources are becoming available, which may be best choice overall for a small studio. I intend to try some for small still life and product work.

Good luck!

Charles

[aam1234]

Thanks chtgrubbs,

"my favorite diffusion materials are Tough Rollux and Tough Spun from Rosco Laboratories"

Do you think this material is sold on the net. And sorry to sound lazy, as i'm on dial-up right now, but do you have a rough idea about the cost.

Thanks

[PhotosGuy]

Most fluorescent lights do not contain the full color spectrum. I'm not even sure that the special ones that say they do, do. So, unless you're going to be doing only B&W, stay away from them.

[leony]

There are full-spectrum continuous light sources. They are called HMIs, and you can't afford them... or the electricity bill after you use them.

That's what most big-name compaign stuff is actually shot with.

Go to: http://www.bhphotovideo.com and type in "HMI" in the search. You'll get this:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=S earchBar&A=search&Q=*&shs=HMI

scroll down & look at the prices :-)

I've seen them used and would probably kill for one.

[DaveG]

Hello to all,

I posted these questions somewhere else but didn't get any replies, so i'll post it here if you don't mind.

I’m sure that you guys & gals saw some basic home studio setup, you know, the ones that look like boxes or small tents. I made myself one, so was wondering what material for the background people use and if they are household type or specialized type that you buy from photo shops. Second, what do you think is the preferred type of light i.e. fluorescent, tungsten …etc.

Appreciate any advice, and thanks

I'd suggest a monolight system light the Alien Bees. You can get them for a fairly low price, they're smallish and have more than enough power for a home studio. You'll need two in order to use flash lighting ratios, but that explanation is for another thread.
I use umbrellas rather than soft boxes. This has been a function of my strobes being too old to have softbox collars, as well as ease of use. I use my strobes on location 99% of the time and the set up with umbrellas takes seconds while I've watched soft box users struggle a bit. Umbrellas are also so cheap that you can buy a couple for under $50 US (B&H).

I would absolutely advise you to stay away from any constant light source. As I've said on this forum before, they're extremely hot, and a bad burn or fire just waiting to happen. Photographically they are not daylight balanced and much weaker in light output than strobes.

You should be able to get fabric that you could paint or dye to use as a background. If you do your first one in grey you'll have a universal backdrop since you can make it any colour you want just by adding a gel - or changing it in Photoshop. If you choose a colour like blue, you'll have to "remove" that colour first before you do anything else with it.