General home lighting..

I shoot my own kids quite often... I usually grab them and the wife and head outside because the lighting in our house is HORRIBLE... CF bulbs everywhere and I am tired of not feeling comfortable catching those "candid" shots while the girls are playing in thier room, or reading in the living room, etc... So I would like to help the situation as much as possible be replacing all the light bulbs in the house (not a cheap solution, but maybe a constant one).

My question is this, which bulb? I want something that will provide a good amount and the right kind of "neutral" lighting. Suggestions????

i would go for ecobulbs in daylight color, at 60 watts, they are super bright but may need your WB set to flourescent, as they dont seem like daylight temps to me

The easy answer is just to add a good speedlite to your kit and learn how to bounce.

The hard answer is to get some high-wattage daylight (5000-5600 degree) bulbs for every room, but you will probably need higher wattage than you think. Video light setups usually have 500-1000W of bulbs to get a decent amount of light, which of course is too hot for the average light fixture. A couple of 125W equivalents should be a decent start, but still not THAT bright. Just a 60W still means you'll still be shooting ISO 1600 at f2.8 or faster.

oops, to clarify, my light fixtures hold 4+ bulbs in main living areas, i havent had any issues with that much light

thanks for the info... I would love to add a speedlite, but I am pretty sure the flash would distract the girls and I am already fighting them no longer being interested in taking pictures, plus I want the true candid moments.

As I sit here in the kitchen, I count 11 bulbs in this room, so at 125w each that should be some pretty good light... is there any particular brand of bulb you have found to be better at producing that daylight range?

tkbslc wrote in post #10894816
The easy answer is just to add a good speedlite to your kit and learn how to bounce.

The hard answer is to get some high-wattage daylight (5000-5600 degree) bulbs for every room, but you will probably need higher wattage than you think. Video light setups usually have 500-1000W of bulbs to get a decent amount of light, which of course is too hot for the average light fixture. A couple of 125W equivalents should be a decent start, but still not THAT bright. Just a 60W still means you'll still be shooting ISO 1600 at f2.8 or faster.

Wouldn't the shutter sound give you away, too? By the time the flash goes off you have your picture anyway!

I don't know any specific bulbs, but I would go CFL to save money on power. ANd the daylight bulbs are considered to be somewhat harsh light for everything but picture taking, which is why they are not the norm. Most prefer the "soft white" orangey bulbs that are standard.

11x125 watt bulbs is REALLY bright, i doubt the kids will sit in there very long

You've got top notch gear for natural/available light photos. Crank the ISO up, enable silent shooting and shoot pictures. You can easily adjust for tungsten lights.

You could add a Canon 85/1.8 or a 50/1.4 and you would be all set.

I apprecicate your comments, but I guess part of it too is that I also do my editing it the same space and I feel like I have a golden yellow cast thrown over everything that I see... So I thought that making to switch to a different temperature bulb might help on several fronts...
I assume that I could always just take them and then fix them in ACR/Photoshop but I just try not to venture above 1600 on the ISO and many times that is just not allowing me to shoot fast enough, especially with my kids.


By the way, I spent several hours looking over your blog the other day and I really admire your work. And my condolences to you and your family for your recent loss.

Titus213 wrote in post #10896249
You've got top notch gear for natural/available light photos. Crank the ISO up, enable silent shooting and shoot pictures. You can easily adjust for tungsten lights.

You could add a Canon 85/1.8 or a 50/1.4 and you would be all set.

Thank you....

What I would suggest you do either shoot a custom white balance or just set the camera to tungsten. That way there is no correction needed in post. I'm not sure what you are looking for but this was shot with the 7D and my Tamron 28-75/2.8, no flash. There was some cleanup done on noise but it is ISO 3200. Color temp was set to 4000°K in post.

That's really nice... i suppose I will have to setup a CWB, but I am not sure that 3200 ISO will be enough. My house is situated where the windows are on the north and south the house and with the porch overhang when I try to get natural light it just doesn't make it that far into the room. My girls are 1 and 3, so they don't really take direction like "come over to the window and play here"... not saying that I can't set that up but not really looking to do that.

I know, I know... you're thinking this guy has a complaint for every thing, but I'm really not trying to be difficult... I'd just like to make a cohesive environment for photography where I spend most of my time...

Titus213 wrote in post #10897087
Thank you....

What I would suggest you do either shoot a custom white balance or just set the camera to tungsten. That way there is no correction needed in post. I'm not sure what you are looking for but this was shot with the 7D and my Tamron 28-75/2.8, no flash. There was some cleanup done on noise but it is ISO 3200. Color temp was set to 4000°K in post.