Advice on small home studio set up.

[Esther]

I've seen the similar thread running on here and read the replies but didn't want to hijack his thread.

I'm in a similar position in wanting to buy equipment for taking photos of my own kids at home plus a few friends that have asked, my problem is that I'm not technically minded and despite hours of reading I feel more bogged down and confused than before I started, I definitely learn much faster being able to physically try things out so want to buy a basic starter kit to play around with and learn from my mistakes then add to it as I go along.

I understand the basic principles of lighting but it's the brand names and spec that's switching my brain off and I'm worried about making an expensive mistake.

I'm not keen on white backgrounds so plan to invest in more natural colours and perhaps add props to theme it, I've got two daughters aged 2 and 4 who really want to do fairy photos!

At the last two photo days at nursery I noticed the photographers had one big light in a soft box and an umbrella, the one lady also had her camera plugged into her laptop so the images showed up straight away but that's not something I need to do straight away.

I already have a double sided silver/gold reflector that I've been using outdoors.

I've seen this on eBay but again have no idea whether it's suitable?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/263120065697

Thanks.

 

[Garry Edwards]

If you're not going to shoot against a white background, a kit with one softbox and 1 umbrella is pretty well ideal, and very simple to use.

There's nothing technically difficult about studio lighting, although some people do seem to make it look complicated. This very basic article on getting started https://www.lencarta.com/studio-lighting-blog/getting-started-with-studio-flash/ is pretty much all that you need to know, and your approach of getting the gear and then learning through experimentation is 100% right.

The SmartFlash kit you linked to is a basic one, and a few years old - absolutely nothng wrong with it, and the only reason to spend more on something more modern is that it will have remote control, more bells and whistles etc.

 

[Esther]

Thanks Garry,
Funnily enough I read that article the other day!
When you say a newer one will have a remote control what would it control? Sorry I know that's probably a really silly question.
The kit lists a hotshoe trigger and receiver which I assume fires the flash as I press the shutter.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Well, the kit on ebay includes a basic radio trigger set, the transmitter plugs into your camera hotshoe and the receiver plugs into one of the flash heads. When you press the shutter button it fires the flash and the other flash head will fire as a slave, when it sees the flash from the one that has the receiver.
The new model has a radio trigger set with two receivers (one for each head) but also has remote control, which means that as well as firing the flash, you can change the power of each flash head independently from the transmitter in the camera hotshoe, you can also turn the beep and the modelling lamp on or off remotely.

This is a convenience, but doesn't in any way affect the quality of your photos.

This is the current version of that kit, showing as out of stock but I understand that it will be back in stock by the end of tomorrow https://www.lencarta.com/smartflash-3-softbox-umbrella-lighting-kit-600w

 

[Faldrax]

The newer units have remote triggers that will also allow you to adjust the power of the flash and modelling light, and turn the modelling light on and off.

Mostly that's just a convenience, but if the lights up high it does make things easier!

edit: Gary answered as I was typing

 

[Esther]

Thanks both I appreciate the advice.

I can see the convenience of the remote now but it's double the price and funds are a factor this side of Christmas.

 

[TimHughes]

Thanks both I appreciate the advice.

I can see the convenience of the remote now but it's double the price and funds are a factor this side of Christmas.

Take a look at second hand if funds are tight? I picked up a used kit with 2 x 400WS heads, umbrellas and stands for a lot less last year.

 

[simonbarker]

Thanks both I appreciate the advice.

I can see the convenience of the remote now but it's double the price and funds are a factor this side of Christmas.

Full control via a remote is nice but really not essential for average use, you're going to want to adjust a lot when setting up then not so much once you have things in place and with some practice you'll know roughly where you want the settings to be cutting down set up time.

Take a look at second hand if funds are tight? I picked up a used kit with 2 x 400WS heads, umbrellas and stands for a lot less last year.

The problem with second hand is you gotta wait for the right bit of kit to become available and b. know what the right kit is, which is tricky for a beginner.

 

[Retrophonica]

Ok, here are my attempts of the white on white - I've tried to take photos of the equipment and it's positioning so you can really direct me if I have this wrong.
My kit is now the Lencarta 85x85 softbox and with a Smart Flash and another separate Smart Flash (with honeycomb)

I have a feeling you are going to say it's still flashed out - and one big thing i've noticed is how different it looks on different devices - My iPad makes it look grey, my phone looks quite white while my work MAC looks quite grey. I bought a decent Dell monitor which I shoot via (I can't remember the program I use) but I can shoot in live mode from this big monitor.

I still can't quite get used to the honeycomb - I find it hard to light the foreground so this shot is without the honeycomb

Hopefully the shots will make sense and I welcome any feedback on positioning (of the lights) and any techniques

Also just to confirm - I used the Flash and reflector first to light the front until I was happy and then the same with the softbox - and then tried to balance between the two

As always - be brutal, you won't offend me - And remember that as it's baby wear they don't want harsh dark shadows ...and that I'm trying to shoot for a white background that I don't have to cut out in Photoshop

I've also added a grey show in there as well - as not all shots are white on white - but still need the same soft white look

Thanks
Andy

 

[Retrophonica]

Opps - Not sure what happened - I'll try again

 

[Retrophonica]

Now the lights

 

[Garry Edwards]

How can I say this politely?
OK, I'll be honest and brutal instead
You don't want harsh shadows but you DO need to have good definition, and although these shots are much better than the last crop, they still lack definition.
Why?
Because you're still coming at this from totally the wrong angle, you're trying to get the background white, which as I and others have pointed out a few times, doesn't even matter because it can be done very simply in PP, and because of this you're throwing light in the wrong place - the product you need to light is the shoes, because that's what your client needs to sell.

Looking at your setup photo 16.34.58, it's clear that the softbox is in front of the subject and pointing backwards - it needs to be behind the subject and pointing forwards, as previously pointed out!
And the other flash head is in totally the wrong place, as we've said before, it needs to be off to one side, fitted with the honeycomb and set to skim across the surface of the material, to reveal it's texture and make it look warm, cuddly and 3 dimensional.

So, go back to basics, set your lighting up as you have been advised to do it and forget about the background.
Even your existing shot can be edited to some extent (this was a very quick and simple edit in which I ignored the flower and the decorative button) and just basically involved a 10 second adjustment to contrast and then curves, but it does show how unimportant the background is

Edit. Once you've got the lighting right, I'll tell you how to sort the background out more professionally.

 

[GreenNinja67]

The newer units have remote triggers that will also allow you to adjust the power of the flash and modelling light, and turn the modelling light on and off.

Mostly that's just a convenience, but if the lights up high it does make things easier!

edit: Gary answered as I was typing

Never got my triggers to work automatically, I just adjust each head manually. Not fussed about the auto stuff to be honest.

 

[Retrophonica]

How can I say this politely?
OK, I'll be honest and brutal instead
You don't want harsh shadows but you DO need to have good definition, and although these shots are much better than the last crop, they still lack definition.
Why?
Because you're still coming at this from totally the wrong angle, you're trying to get the background white, which as I and others have pointed out a few times, doesn't even matter because it can be done very simply in PP, and because of this you're throwing light in the wrong place - the product you need to light is the shoes, because that's what your client needs to sell.

Looking at your setup photo 16.34.58, it's clear that the softbox is in front of the subject and pointing backwards - it needs to be behind the subject and pointing forwards, as previously pointed out!
And the other flash head is in totally the wrong place, as we've said before, it needs to be off to one side, fitted with the honeycomb and set to skim across the surface of the material, to reveal it's texture and make it look warm, cuddly and 3 dimensional.

So, go back to basics, set your lighting up as you have been advised to do it and forget about the background.
Even your existing shot can be edited to some extent (this was a very quick and simple edit in which I ignored the flower and the decorative button) and just basically involved a 10 second adjustment to contrast and then curves, but it does show how unimportant the background is
View attachment 114138
Edit. Once you've got the lighting right, I'll tell you how to sort the background out more professionally.

Brutal - You know I appreciate brutal Garry -

Honestly, thank you - You're right - One of the instructions was pointing backwards to light the back and the top - But I will re-shoot with the SB the other way and the light at a side angle

I also have a box I am shooting that doesn't look quite right - I will follow the same pattern and post my pics up here

Also - Honeycomb for the softbox - Should I use this with the lights pointing towards the camera - my shot was without it

 

[Garry Edwards]

Also - Honeycomb for the softbox - Should I use this with the lights pointing towards the camera - my shot was without it

The honeycomb has various uses/benefits...
1. It can be used to concentrate the light into a much smaller area
2. It can point towards the camera (needs to be off-axis by at least its angle of spread, which in this case is about 40 degrees, so it needs to be off-axis by more than 40 degrees, otherwise it will cause flare)

So, the honeycomb can point towards the camera, if it needs to, but it doesn't have to. With this job the honeycomb on the softbox isn't needed, but the honeycomb on the standard reflector most definitely is.

 

[Retrophonica]

The honeycomb has various uses/benefits...
1. It can be used to concentrate the light into a much smaller area
2. It can point towards the camera (needs to be off-axis by at least its angle of spread, which in this case is about 40 degrees, so it needs to be off-axis by more than 40 degrees, otherwise it will cause flare)

So, the honeycomb can point towards the camera, if it needs to, but it doesn't have to. With this job the honeycomb on the softbox isn't needed, but the honeycomb on the standard reflector most definitely is.

Got it - Am on it - Back soon

 

[Deleted member 49428]

Thanks both I appreciate the advice.

I can see the convenience of the remote now but it's double the price and funds are a factor this side of Christmas.

So how is your project evolving?

 

[Esther]

So how is your project evolving?

Sorry Soeren, I haven't been on here for a few days and didn't see your question.

Sadly I don't yet have the lights, just after my original post I had an unexpected vets bill which wiped out the lighting fund and more then a couple of days ago after building it back up I went onto eBay to buy them and they're out of stock.

I'm nervous about looking elsewhere because it still feels a bit double Dutch and I'm worried that I'll buy something unsuitable, if anyone can point me in the right direction to something suitable for £200-£250 I'd be very grateful.

My first project is to redo a school photo, my eldest is in reception and last week had her photo done and it's dreadful, it's against a white background which I really dislike and there's any overall orange tint to her skin, needless to say I haven't bought it and neither have several of her friends families.

One last question, I hadn't considered the fact that there will be another light source in the form of either the window or the ceiling light, does the flash override it or will it be something to consider when I'm setting up? I was planning to use the bedroom as there's plenty of space but the light is a chandelier type with about 18 very bright leds in.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Sorry Soeren, I haven't been on here for a few days and didn't see your question.

Sadly I don't yet have the lights, just after my original post I had an unexpected vets bill which wiped out the lighting fund and more then a couple of days ago after building it back up I went onto eBay to buy them and they're out of stock.

I'm nervous about looking elsewhere because it still feels a bit double Dutch and I'm worried that I'll buy something unsuitable, if anyone can point me in the right direction to something suitable for £200-£250 I'd be very grateful.

My first project is to redo a school photo, my eldest is in reception and last week had her photo done and it's dreadful, it's against a white background which I really dislike and there's any overall orange tint to her skin, needless to say I haven't bought it and neither have several of her friends families.

One last question, I hadn't considered the fact that there will be another light source in the form of either the window or the ceiling light, does the flash override it or will it be something to consider when I'm setting up? I was planning to use the bedroom as there's plenty of space but the light is a chandelier type with about 18 very bright leds in.

Whatever you do - and it can be difficult when budget is limited - don't buy cheap junk. Give lencarta a ring, they may have used stuff available that isn't advertised.
As for whether or not your ambient light sources will be a problem, take a test shot without flash at the settings that you are likely to use with flash, I.e. 1/200th, f/11, 100 ISO. If your ambient light sources are having a significant effect, you have a problem.
Room lights can be switched off, windows can be blocked, shots can be taken after dark.