Tech Talk for Pro Photographers: Gear, Lighting, Resources, Etc. See Post#1.

[kelsea]

thank you so much for your prompt response!!
this is really helpful. i'm guessing the first three images were shot with continuous lights, and the other one with a flash?
i think i'm going to diy everything i can or buy medium to high-end used equipment as you advised...any suggestions for that?
i found some really good setups on stefantell.se too

 

[Imaginara]

If i dont remember wrongly from a comment on here by one of his assistants, Paolo uses a lot of continous light. There is no real advantage over each light if used properly, its more a matter of what you prefere and what you have accessible.

The picture i showed btw, uses 1 light with a softbox attached, a 90x120 size.

As for used equipment, i prefere profoto myself, but its all up to what you can find. The reason for getting used higher end gear is that even though old, they can be a lot more reliable than new cheaper brands.

 

[ched]

Flashes allow you to use a higher shutter speed with less energy (although flash sync usually tops out at 1/180th of a second), are normally inherently daylight balanced, and produce far less heat.

For less expensive lighting equipment, check out all the info from Strobist: http://strobist.blogspot.com/

 

[Imaginara]

The heat is definately why they are nick-named "hot lights" Though, to be fair, this time of year in a cold studio, they can be quite good

The shutter speeds will be longer in general (and even force you to shoot at a higher ISO), but thats also part of the "look" you get with hot lights.

Strobist is a good place to start. Just remember that there is a huge difference in power output between a normal hotshoe flash and a studio strobe. And if you are going to match the power by slaving several hotshoe flashes together you quickly end up with a much more expensive solution than getting a studio strobe. Having this in mind however, strobist is a very good source for DYI information.

There are ways to get faster syncs than 1/180th but faster than the max of 1/250 usually means using leaf shutters or similar lenses and generally means way out of the normal pricerange (unless you shoot the Mamiya RZ system or Large Format).

 

[ched]

A great thing about Profoto monolights is that you can flip a circuit and they'll go from US 110V to European 220V electrical current compatibility instantly, so if you're back and forth between the US and London/Paris/Milan they're perfect for sticking in a suitcase, compatible on both continents. You just change the cord.

 

[Imaginara]

Another good thing with the high end equipment (Profoto, Broncolor, etc) is that you can generally rent the units and also all the lightformers everywhere in the world. So even if you bring your own monolight along, you can rent the lightformers on location, saving you having to bring that giant reflector along

 

[ched]

Is there a good list somewhere of all the pro rental houses in the various international markets?

 

[Imaginara]

The different companies might have good lists. Profoto's for example is at http://www.profoto.com/buy-rent/rent

Not complete but quite often the rental places have full service, so they will rent you both lighting and camera gear.

 

[DaisyMay]

Well, when you say studio shoot i assume you mean a shoot with a solid background (usually black, grey or white) and either hot lights (continuous light) or flashes.

bare minimum would be 1 light (i prefere flashes, some like continous light more) and some sort of background (usually paper, but can be pretty much anything).

The rest of the advice is the same as for any shoot, lightshapers that works for your style of shooting (softboxes, beautydishes, snoots, spots, ringlights, etc. ).

What can be an issue in a studio environment is to control the light, how it bounces around the studio, so some way to block light is usually very good to have (normally screens painted black on one side (to block) and white on the other (to reflect).

Now to keep cost down, i would suggest going for a medium-high end budget light with a good reflector. Avoid the cheapest china brands, and if you can get a used Profoto/Broncolor/Hensel/Bowens/Alienbee etc. its probably better than buying too cheap. There are tons of ways to do simple softboxes yourself and even improvise using thin white fabric acting as curtains to mimic window light.

Then everything also depends on what you will be using as your studio environment, if its the living room wall or a huge former industrial building As i suspect it will be the former rather than the later, i'd say keep it simple. Use whatever backgrounds you have, and use fabrics and wallpapers on screens to easilly switch backgrounds.

And another tip when it comes to backgrounds. If you have the space and money to buy paper backgrounds (on rolls), once they get a bit murky and gritty (which they do don't cut them down or throw them away. Instead you can paint on them and create a new background with a unique look. Here is one example where i took a white background and painted with a normal household mop dipped in coffee =)

***Edited**** Please remove images when you quote previous posts, per tFS Community Rules.

So you can get creative with very little means. Now once you start working with paying clients, your image becomes fairly important aswell, and if you use homemade softboxes with duct-tape and cardboard boxes, the clients may think twice... unless you produce outstanding images ofcourse

Good luck!

Fantast information!

 

[andyking]

If you reside in the UK, I can recommend Lencarta (for studio lights) if you are looking for something cheap and functional.

 

[raerae]

Photography course - camera!

This fall I'm starting a photography course, so I have to buy a really good camera. When I finish this course I want to specialize in fashion photography.

But I don't know which camera is really good.
Can you give me some tips??

Thanks!!

 

[deflyricist2006]

I bought a Nikon D40X when I started my photography major back in 2007. I think you should get a camera that you will quickly become familiar with. Do not focus on solely the megapixels because that really is never the case on photography, but rather your eye as a photographer. I have seen people in my courses buy Canon Marks and the uber-high level DSLR camera, and produce really crap work to be honest. Even if you get something like a Nikon D40, which only has 6 megapixels, but can have a great eye for line, colour, and composition, then you are golden.

 

[purplethistle]

If you can afford a second camera have a film one as well. It'd really help hone in on your skills since each snap that you take is going cost a bit more your time deleting a bad picture. I don't do photography personally but my father does and he goes on about the company philosophy. He chooses Pentax because they seem to keep the fitting where the lens and the body join uniform for several decades, where other brands may change it up over time.

 

[bunburyist]

your priority should be on buying good glass instead of a top quality body if you're going for an SLR (which I assume you are).

As far as bodies go I shoot with Canon (and a really nice one) and they're great but - particularly if you're starting out - it's far more important to have a nice lens/lenses than a top of the range body. It's a bit hard to give you advice as far as good lenses goes because I don't really know what you're after but I would definitely recommend doing a lot of research as far as that stuff goes and making sure you really know your stuff when it comes to lenses. check out sites like dpreview and the-digital-picture.com for good lens reviews

 

[konik]

hey everyone... anyone have any thoughts on beauty dishes, in particular these wonderful looking yet painful on the wallet Molas? I have been using elinchrom's 27" maxisoft (white) and love it, but I'm debating whether I should try out a Mola... before I drop some bills, anyone have an opinion on whether these Mola's really improve the look that much over say an elinchrom? thanks for the great information in this thread btw

 

[Imaginara]

Never used the Mola, just elinchromes (not too fond) and profoto's (more fond of but how about checking with a rental place and rent one for a few shoots?

Best way to check out gear before buying it

 

[konik]

thanks imaginara... very nice work on your website by the way

 

[Imaginara]

Thanks m8 =) Lets hope the editors of Vogue reads this board aswell

 

[SoBlonde]

Okay, so, I'm looking to start off into the world of off-camera lighting.
Woo!
I think I want to start using flash first and then continuous light.
Now, I've been reading Strobist,
Who recommends this flash,
LumoPro LP160 Manual Flash.
Then, of course I'd want to buy a stand for the flash
And start working with a soft box.
Any suggestions/thoughts?

 

[Imaginara]

Hm.. well, it all depends on what you want to try to do. You can do a lot with that type of flash, and there is also a lot you cannot do. The strobist way is great when you need just a little flash, but when you need power it becomes to expensive (need multiple flashes and triggers to mimick one normal block-strobe in power).

As for continuous light that might be easier to handle when it comes to what you see is what you get as far as the light is going. The drawbacks are quite often heat (unless you have lots of $ for cold lights) and that you need to control the light of the environment, especially if you are shooting where there is a lot of sun. So need to make sure you do not get stray light from windows or similar peeking in and ruining your shot. Moneywise you can get away with supercheap variants (building lights behind a big silk/cloth screen acting as a diffuser) or go high end with "proper" video/film lights.

But the flash you was recommended will definately provide light for you, and add a softbox you will get a lightformer that provides a softer shadow and light. And it wont ruin you either so its a good way to get started. Just remember that they do have their limitations and there are good reasons why not everyone is going the Strobist way