Apologies for a big question - studio lighting

Hi chaps ... once a month I take photographs for a local auction house, 300 pieces of jewellery, 400 'table-top' size items and 200 big bits of furniture, at present I'm getting away with a Yongnuo trigger on top of my 5D Mk II and a 580EX II on a stand with an umbrella, this means I can walk around the warehouse for the furniture, set it up with a couple of simple continuous lights at a table and also I use it with a softbox for the jewellery.

This is all down-and-dirty and not art, speed is important because if I don't do it quickly the invoice becomes toooooo big !

Having said that I'd like to improve my work, I think I could leave a set of studio lights on-site ... a friend has offered me a used 'Elemental' studio kit (2 lights umbrellas etc) at quite a good price ... is this the way to go ?

Any advice to help me in the decision making process very welcome.

Heya,

Some big umbrellas with some bounced flash can be very nice. Depends on your desired result.

Depending on budget, I'd consider something like:

Yongnuo 560 III's (get several). They're wireless built in, manual flashes. Great values. Command a fleet of them with a Yongnuo 560-TX (it can control all the power levels of the 560 III's from that one controller; no need to buy any transceivers at all, these have it all built in). Simple, portable, inexpensive, and lots of light. Less components, so less batteries and less hassle. But, the compromise is that it's manual, so you have to adjust the light yourself. Tweak it to your exposure and then shoot away. Bouncing from modifiers like umbrellas would be great.

Otherwise, you could supplement your current flash with some Yongnuo 565EX II's, which have ETTL. Then, get some YN622 transceivers that handle ETTL wirelessly. Instant auto-exposure. Set up a few of them and bounce the light off modifiers (like umbrellas).

Get a few inexpensive light stands that can hold umbrellas, and I really recommend S-type brackets for holding umbrellas for now. Sure you could just get cheaper mounts that only hold umbrellas. But the S-types can hold an umbrella and be fitted to a softbox for future work (especially for jewelry and other stuff where you want close range, soft light). Example of a S-type mount.

Some huge umbrellas would be good. Something like 43" to 60+". You can use silver to maximize the light bounce and contrast. Or you can go with white and just go for a softer more diffused look. You can get umbrellas that have covers so you can do both with a sleeve. I'd more likely go for silver umbrellas here. The other option is big softboxes.

Example of a big softbox for cheap, that speedlites can be used with.

Food for thought.

Very best,

Certainly food for thought and thank you MalVeaux, just what I needed.

Roger

light is light. Without knowing any specifics of the kit you are being offered, unless you need more power i don't think the studio lights will benefit you. Well, unless you are interested in staying in shape by hauling more gear around the warehouse.

Frankly, depending on how many products (specifically the area you need to light) i don't know that larger umbrellas will help either. From the point of view of a neckless or ring a 33" umbrella is about the same size as a 45 inch umbrella, namely, huge.

this thread :https://photography-on-the.net …p?p=17249432#po​st17249432 has some good advice on understanding how to shoot highly reflective objects. If everything around the reflective piece is white, the object will have no depth. It's as much about the area that isn't lit as it is about the area that is lit. Carrying around some black foam core might be the place to start.

There are benefits to having the power and access to larger modifiers that come with studio lights. Whether you want deal with being tethered to AC power or the expense of portable power supply is another issue. If you do go studio strobes beware of cheap kits. Stick with a name brand where you can be assured of replaceable and servicable parts.

Folks have become so accustomed to 'shooting blind' without modeling lights on speedlights, that they totally forget that there is a major advantage to SEEING what the light does to flatter (or horribly accentuate) your subject WITHOUT TAKING A SHOT. That is why studio lights have a key advantage, particularly for any lighting novice who has no idea what effect there is by some subtle change of light position or size.

Wilt wrote in post #17284666
Folks have become so accustomed to 'shooting blind' without modeling lights on speedlights, that they totally forget that there is a major advantage to SEEING what the light does to flatter (or horribly accentuate) your subject WITHOUT TAKING A SHOT. That is why studio lights have a key advantage, particularly for any lighting novice who has no idea what effect there is by some subtle change of light position or size.

Or you could go with a video light that is constant. I use one of these sometimes for detail shots at weddings and I find it works well.

http://www.amazon.ca …=8-1&keywords=video+light

Well thank you all .... this is certainly helping me formulate a way-to-go. The studio lights could be, almost, permanently left in the 'table-top' area and moved just a few feet to the bare wall against which I shoot some of the more 'portable' furniture, I can then revert to the 580EX on a stand with an umbrella and drag that around the warehouse for the big items that the 'porters' refuse to move ... jewellery I will continue to shoot in a tent. Here's an example of what I'm doing now, generally the client is happy, honest representations of the items - I just feel there's room for improvement !

http://www.the-saleroom.com …talogue-id-2910905?page=1

Yes, there is (room for improvement): the spider-like reflections from the brollies are quite unsightly.

yes I use one umbrella on a stand with my 580EX, that's one of the things that I'm hoping some studio lights with softboxes will help with, I'm really stuck with various 'house lights' fluorescent tubes etc which have to remain 'on' ...