Home Depot Light Studio Portrait 1st Try

[boomer1959]

Here is my First Portrait try with my :rolleyes: Home Depot :rolleyes: lights. Now I need to figure out a way to defuse them. My Son Devin. 20D/100mm Macro :D Let me know what you think.

[Dimitry]

Picture is nice as it is but you are right, defusers would help

[picture-this]

So what one did you get 500w? I want to try my luck at the cheap studio also. Sorry to ad to the negitive but Ithink a bit of a white balance and sharpening are in order, you could also get the subject farther away from the background and get it to blur out. Goodluck and Id like to see more posts as you work out the kinks.

[smittymike19]

came out pretty good for a hd studio. what lights did you get? i wa sthink about doing this too. what are you going to try for a diffuser. if youa re using 500w lights you will melt alot of stuff, unless you keep it at a distance. keep us updated as i would like to do this too.

[am_pitbull_terrier]

Any way to set up a softbox to them? I know one of the ones I have can handle up to a 500 or 600 watt incandecent bulb. Or another thing that works ( I have used this ) is the plastic replacement covers for the round flo lights also available at Home Depot / Lowes etc. But like the others said watch you dont melt it, but it does work rather well.

[Harry Settle]

If saving money is the object, why don't you just build some light-diffusing panels using pvc and white sheets, or nylon?

[boomer1959]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I went about as cheap as you can go on these lights :o :D First pic shows the lamp with a 150watt halogen bulb and a dimmer switch that you can plug inline. seems to work not bad. the Second pic is the lamp behind a defuser I allready had. I bounced the other lamp of the white ceiling.

[boomer1959]

This my second attempt, same kid, farther away from background, same camera and lens, 2:1 light ratio, defused. I think this one is a little overexposed :confused: :(
but harsh shadows are gone :D

[Doug Rowan]

Good to see you trying...I never would have learned anything if I didn't go through this same thing myself. I would invest in a light stand and a good (big) white convertable umbrella. I like the 60" Photogenic Eclipse myself...covered ribs, you can remove the back & shoot through it like an octagon softbox, etc.

[DocFrankenstein]

I don't think 150W is even close for studio photography.

You want diffused/bounced ISO100 f/11 and Tv of 1/30+ and greater. Without that, you simply won't have enough light.

Try looking into something like this:
http://doityourself.com/images/200x200/2011310.jpg
A 1500W stand like that gives you much more control. I've seen a halogen worklight for 30 bucks on sale in Crappy Tire.

I appreciate what you're trying to do though. It's a challenge enough to produce something decent when you have a state of the art studio... let alone in a make-yourself-ghetto-lights-living room setup.

Good luck

EDIT: A double 1500W halogen worklight on a stand for 30 bucks. It was 4 months ago though. :rolleyes:

[Doug Rowan]

I've used just hot lights for much of my portrait work for over a year (when I was teaching myself lighting). My setup was much like this one for a camera test I did...

http://images.snapfish.com/34362%3C%3A723232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E2337%3D644%3D%3A%3 B3%3DXROQDF%3E23237535%3B4668ot1lsi

This shot was made using a similar setup using one 150W halogen hot lamp as the main & one 100W lamp as the fill (both reflected off of umbrellas).

http://images.snapfish.com/34362%3C%3A723232%7Ffp4%3Enu%3D3246%3E553%3E9%3C2% 3EWSNRCG%3D32328674%3B9399nu0mrj

[smittymike19]

doug couple questions.
1. are the umbrellas photographic umbrellas or regular ones?
2. did the light ever get too hot for the umbrellas??
3.. what positions did you use the lights for the above (hot) photo.
4. were these post processed at all? if so could you expand on your workflow?
thanks.

Great job.. mercedes quality on a chevy budget..:)

[DocFrankenstein]

Found it
Product code at crappy tire is:
52-4058-6
The thing costs 50 bucks with the stand. Kinda makes me wonder how bogen/manfrotto is still alive. ;)

I remember it was a 50% sale, so they were going for 25 bucks each. Should've gotten them. :confused:

It's 1000W though. My bad.

If you put four of them on a lightstand, you have a nice main light to work with. You'll need a large reflector/umbrella too.

[Doug Rowan]

doug couple questions.
1. are the umbrellas photographic umbrellas or regular ones?
2. did the light ever get too hot for the umbrellas??
3.. what positions did you use the lights for the above (hot) photo.
4. were these post processed at all? if so could you expand on your workflow?
thanks.

Great job.. mercedes quality on a chevy budget..:)

Thanks, although I'm reluctant to hijack Daves thread here...

1. Photographic umbrellas. Both were Wescott 45". The black backed one is silver inside & the white is a translucent white.
2. Nope. The lamps were at least 2ft away from the umbrellas...never had a heat issue.
3. Using the dresser top as reference...the main light (black umbrella back) is close to my normal main light in relation to the models head. If the dresser top were her face, the white (fill) umbrella is ususally a foot above eye level, aimed slightly downwards & closer to the camera in center. (I often shoot farther back from the fill light, zooming past the lower right edge).
4. Post work on her photo was a levels & curves adjustment, along with some healing brush on the background to kill some wrinkles.

One thing to consider when just using constant lighting is...the model has to remain very still. Any slight movement will be caught as a blur. Using strobes will freeze that movement. I often use a combination of both types of lighting (maybe because I learned the hard way & it doesn't make much difference to me, as long as I get the right results).

Yes. Only hot lights here too...

http://images.snapfish.com/34362%3C%3A723232%7Ffp4%3Enu%3D3246%3E553%3E9%3C2% 3EWSNRCG%3D3232743344475nu0mrj

[RJSorensen]

You done good Dave . . .

[DocFrankenstein]

Doug - how much power did you have at what distance? What exposure were you getting with that?

[nater]

Found it
Product code at crappy tire is:
52-4058-6
The thing costs 50 bucks with the stand. Kinda makes me wonder how bogen/manfrotto is still alive. ;)

I remember it was a 50% sale, so they were going for 25 bucks each. Should've gotten them. :confused:

It's 1000W though. My bad.

If you put four of them on a lightstand, you have a nice main light to work with. You'll need a large reflector/umbrella too.

Hope this isn't a silly question, but... what is Crappy Tire? Is there a website, or B&M only? Thanks.

edit: Found out it goes by the name Canadian Tire. They're out of stock on the website, but I'll check some local hardware stores. Thanks for the idea...

[DocFrankenstein]

Hope this isn't a silly question, but... what is Crappy Tire? Is there a website, or B&M only? Thanks.

edit: Found out it goes by the name Canadian Tire. They're out of stock on the website, but I'll check some local hardware stores. Thanks for the idea...
:lol: Yes, I meant canadian tire. whoops! :D

Even though they're out of stock "on the website" you can click "check store inventory", pop in your postal code and it's gonna show the stores around you.

In toronto, quite a few of the stores have them in stock.

Good luck

[berto]

boomer,
from what i learned is if you use the same wattage lamp you should try try the 2:1 approach.
meaning, if your mainlight is 3 feet away your fill light should be 6 feet away to create pleasing shadows-- of course, its best to use something to diffuse both lights.
set your camera to spot meter and aim it where your main light is pointing(left side of your son's face). experiment with different variations and you should come up with pleasing results.

bert

[Harry Settle]

Good to see you trying...I never would have learned anything if I didn't go through this same thing myself. I would invest in a light stand and a good (big) white convertable umbrella. I like the 60" Photogenic Eclipse myself...covered ribs, you can remove the back & shoot through it like an octagon softbox, etc.

I agree. I just bought two Impact 13' light stands for $37 each, and the photogenic 60 inch umbrellas for about the same price.

[boomer1959]

Wow thanks again for everyones input :D
Doc, I looked at those lights or something similar. I was concerned with the heat that comes of them. I understand what you are getting at with getting enough light to keep shutter speed up. I am doing this to see if it would be worth while dishing out the big bucks for proper lighting for a small home studio. I would realy like to do that but the rooms in my house are limiting.
Doug, Wow this is encouraging to see what this light setup can do in the right hands.
This is why I love this forum, a person can learn so much. :D :D :D :D