Plans for building portable studio lighting... (DIY and super cheap)

[KevC]

Heya all,

I can't afford Alien Bees or any studio lights, so I'm gonna try to do as much DIY as possible. Please let me know if it'll work.

I have a desk lamp I'm not using. I slapped a flourescent lamp in there. That's going to be my light source. I'm also going to order a cheap music stand from ebay. Going to fab some sort of reflector from it. I'm thinking aluminum foil and cardboard.

Softbox.... for now I'm going to droop a white cloth over the lamp (with a chair on top... so it spreads the light more. I'm considering fabbing a softbox with white styrafoam but I'm not sure if how that'll hold together.

Studio umbrellas can be found for very cheap on ebay (<$20). I'm not sure of the quality, but this will definitely be better than the lamp directly, correct? I'll hafta figure out a way to mount the umbrella onto the lamp though...

Any ideas on a DIY solution? I'm going to be buying an Alien Bees setup *eventually* (when I move out... ) but for now... I have very limited funds. I haven't even paid off my camera yet!

[Longwatcher]

I am not sure your desk lamp will have enough power, especially to get through a white cloth. But for a modest investment, you should be able to get a couple of work lights from Home Depot or equivilent. Just take off the grill on the front. They come with their own light stands. If you do go this route be sure to keep flamable material away from the lights. Your reflector idea should work well enough as long as you keep the foil flat (I recommend using the dull side out). A pair of worklights and a reflector should be more then enough to start out with until you can get the alien bees.

Just my opinion,

[KevC]

Thanks! I work right beside a Home Depot, I hope they have them! Do you think worklights + white cloth drooped over them (with enough ventilation of course) would be decent for a softbox for now?

How about those ebay umbrellas?

How about something like this?
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=30080&item=3869863098&rd=1

Shipping is huge though... $40!!!

//edit: Is 500W enough?
http://www.homedepot.ca/escalate/store/DetailPage?pls=hd_canada_gift&bc=hd_canada_gift&clist=018980323807:01898032388c:018980323a3e:&pc=568200

[Longwatcher]

Don't droop cloth over the Home Depot lights, they get way too hot for that. You don't want anything flammable actually touching the light or within a few inches in front of it.

If you want to diffuse them, buy some kind of post, pole or frame work that stands by itself and hang the cloth at least 4 inches (preferably 6 or more) away from the light. in a way actually the farther away I think you will actually get better results, but might be completely wrong here.

I just had a thought that may or may not work. If you get a work light like I have with a handle above the light to move it, get a clamp and a squeege (or T-bar) and run the cloth from the squeege in front of the work light. It should work if you have/get a work light like I have.

yes a 500W should work fine for most purposes.

And I can't access ebay from this particular computer.

[KevC]

Oh I was thinking of putting a chair in front of the worklight, and drooping the cloth in front of that. That should be at least a foot away.

Hm. Maybe my next purchase should be a dedicated flash...

[Longwatcher]

And I just checked your home depot light

I recommend something a bit more
http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=22565-290-HDS1000
or
http://www.homedepot.ca/escalate/store/DetailPage?pls=hd_canada_gift&bc=hd_canada_gift&clist=018980323807:018980323886:0189803239e1:&pc=125060

But I have the second one and the stand is too short.

Also my primary (before getting my ABs) is a single light with a 6 foot stand. I am beginning to think they don't make them any more.

Sears seems to have a better selection and price.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=03473825000&subcat=Work+Lights

Although a dual light actually diffuses the light better, it is a bit messier to aim them correctly. You want one that will go up at least 6ft (2M) because you usually want your light going down rather then up. I have a single and a double and I like the single better.

And lastly if you want a slightly more professional look, get a can of BBQ black spray paint and go to work on it after of course covering the light and reflector itself (or taking them out like I did).

***Please note, except for a single work light (which is bounced off the ceiling) to give me enough ambient light for focusing, I use Alien Bees as primary lights****

[KevC]

Alright. Bought a 500W light that sits on the floor. GEEZ that's bright. I blinded myself and I only looked at it for a split second (by accident). I think I'm gonna return it, it doesn't have a switch nor an extension cord. (always on, BAM it turns on when you plug it in).

I found one with a short stand and a 250W bulb. Not sure how I'm gonna mount a diffuser on it though. The light is utterly blinding, I'm hoping the 250W would be less harsh lol.

Or maybe I'm just gonna shoot wide open, high ISO, and with a tripod for now lol.

[Longwatcher]

You are not supposed to blind yourself, you are supposed to blind the model. ;)

[KevC]

:D

Alright, I've got one of my engineering friends to fab me a t-bar and I'm gonna try your idea. My friend's dad works with clothing so he can probably cut me some white cloth. What material should I use?

[jcost]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3870449316&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT



Is this a good light source for a home or small studio. I am just getting started in the studio work, and wanting to get some lights. Is the wattage good enough or is this for small product work. Any response would be great.

Thanks

John

[Longwatcher]

:D

Alright, I've got one of my engineering friends to fab me a t-bar and I'm gonna try your idea. My friend's dad works with clothing so he can probably cut me some white cloth. What material should I use?

I actually have no idea what kind of cloth to use. The best I can recommend is using something like lingere material (not too see through) as it tends to be somewhat shiny and yet will let a lot of the light through, which should give you the diffusion effect you are looking for. You want something you can see shape and shadow through, but not actually be able to see through it.

I don't recommend a heavy canavs as that would be too opaque.

That's my best guess. Me I used a photoflex reflector to bounce the light. It should work though. If I get a chance, maybe I will try it out sometime this week.

[keithufp]

KEVC, for some great ideas on using pvc and inexpensive fabrics to make diffusers, reflectors, gobos etc. go to a site call lightingmagic.com you can purchase the presewn material from this site but I recommend going to a good fabric store you can get the same or better material. For the price this site wants I was kind of disappointed in the fabric quality. He also has a good book that is worth the money on lighting techniques. You can use the halogen lamps but be VERY careful with placement to cloth/fabrics these lights get extremely hot. Good luck, Keithufp

[kndreyn]

Here is a link to some lessons by Jodie Connor. This has been a great learning tool for me. Lesson 7 shows how to build your own studio lights from a home depot flood light and some foamcore board. I tried it, and it works great. Hope you enjoy as much as I have.

http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php