Lastolite HiLite Help

Frey

Frey

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Matthew
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Hi Guys,

:help:Im trying to get some info on what lighting I would require to accompany my Lastolite highlite 7 by 6 illuminated background. I donot have a massive budget and could probably stretch to 300, 350 at the most.

Any advice would be much appreciated (y)(y)
 
I've got three Lencarta Smartflash 200 for my 6x7 hilite (bought all of it second hand as a 'kit') and they are brilliant.
http://www.lencarta.com/lighting-store/flash-heads

Two to light the hilite and the other with a 140cm octabox that I purchased on top.
Stock for the Lencarta Smartflash might be an issue though, probably worth a quick email to check.

EDIT: Apologies, 3 heads will push the budget somewhat as you need stands and at least one modifier. :(
 
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Depending on the lighting around you, you could get away with one in the hilite and one as key. You'll need to do some pp on the opposite side in Lightroom though, not a major hassle tbh. Smart flashes btw.
 
I use two speed lights in the hilite and unless you are doing full body shots of adults they do a great job.

I have one smart flash 200 which I fire into a 130cm Obctobox at the front.

All fired with rf602's

I think £350 would cover all that, cheap Konig light stands on top.

Have a look in the people and portraits forum for a thread called 'setups and shots with home studio setup' and you will see different methods for lighting hilite.
 
I'm not sure if one light would be enough to light a 6x7 evenly but I'm not very experienced with it yet. Hopefully someone knowledgeable will be able to say.
 
Personally I use 2 x smartflash's to light my 7x6 hilite especially for full length shots, for head and shoulder shots 1 would be fine but for wider shots it's easier to get even illumination with 2 in the hilite.
 
I'm in a similar position as I've just got a x7 high lite and based on this forum I'm getting 3 lights. Managed to get a pair of used old lencarta (not smart flashes) with stands for under £100. Not tried them in the highlite yet but they seem to work fine. Now looking for a key light and will probably go with lencarta.

In my limited experience I find that if you wait around and watch the classified or ebay, someone will either be gving up studio photography or upgrading their kit. Also have you budgeted for a light meter, as may need to be accurate with high key to stop overexposing the subject.
 
The Noir Dude said:
You only need 2 lights one key and one in the Hi-lite.
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Not good really, 3 lights minimum, 2 smart-flash 200s one either side of the Hi-Lite, and one to light the subject, i use 2 smart flashes in the Hi-lite and a 300 to light the subject, i also have 2 more lights, in case i need some more fill. If you use only 1 light in the Hi-lite you will get uneven light, ie bright over one side, and light drop off on the other, hence spending more time in photoshop, or lightroom putting it right.
 
Lastolite uses a pair of Lumen8 F400 to demo the Hilite, same as the pair I'm selling in the forum. But really any pair of 400watts should be powerful enough, it really depends on how quickly you need it to recycle and how cool do you need the lights.
 
The Noir Dude said:
It is possible to get even light
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Yes with 2 lights only, providing you get all your settings right, BUT the chances are you will still have to do PP work on the vinyl floor, this is nothing to be alarmed about though, as i think i'm right in saying most people here who use the Hi-lite always have trouble getting the floor the same as the background without using PP, their is always light drop off on the floor. It is possible to get the floor right using more lights on the floor, but it can be quite painstaking, particularly if your in a small space.
 
Ah your'e talking vinyl floor, I was trying to point our that it is possible to light the Hi-Lite evenly, not the floor. Full length with vinyl floor, thats a whole different ball game!!! :LOL:

I should point out also though that the hi-lite has many uses apart from a bright white shadowless background.
 
The Noir Dude said:
I was trying to point our that it is possible to light the Hi-Lite evenly.

I'm not quite sure how you would light it completely evenly, without either getting blowout on one side, or if you lower the settings, light drop off on the other side, that's what most people here find anyway, maybe you could explain how it's done evenly with 1 light, and maybe provide a diagram :)

I should point out also though that the hi-lite has many uses apart from a bright white shadowless background.
Click to expand...

Indeed your quite right, very good giant soft-box (never used it like that myself though) :)
 
Ever tried putting someone inside and using 2 lights either side? :D

Both of these shots are as taken and were on the 8'x7' not the 7'x6'

First shot is only one light in it, and it shows no discernible drop off in light evenness.

The second image shows the top left and right corners of the Hi-Lite to prove this is full width, again this is taken on the large 8'x7' with only on light inside.

In Lightroom the bottom right hand corner is 0.3% off-white compared to 100% top right. Also top right and left are both 100%

I should say that these are delegates from a recent training day, and not models, or taken at a real event. Thank you Kevin and the Gang :)

One mistake people make is firing the light directly into the Hi-Lite, when the light should really have a reflector on and be pointing onto the the back of the inside of the Hi-Lite thus bouncing off the rear inside surface.

_Q7W1942.jpg
_Q7W1947.jpg
 
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OMG.. its white !!!!

Just kidding Paul.

Paul's absolutely right when he says it's all in the placing of the light.

It can be done, but it is a little easier with two lights.

I shoot about a third of my pregnancy shoots inside the Hilite. The mum-to-be that is, not me !
 
could one of you post an example inside the hi lite. I'm not sure I fancy setting mine up and the strop my daughter seems to have spent the last week in means she's unlikely to get in it anyway
 
Jerm said:
OMG.. its white !!!!

Just kidding Paul.

Paul's absolutely right when he says it's all in the placing of the light.

It can be done, but it is a little easier with two lights.

I shoot about a third of my pregnancy shoots inside the Hilite. The mum-to-be that is, not me !
Click to expand...

I am capable of some photography without black backgrounds!! :D

Again it is important with 2 lights not to put them at the same height and pointing towards each other as you will get a strong bright band of light at their epicentre.

Here's another good one. Gel your lights and do silhouettes!! Great for kids!!

Only one light used on this shot (the one inside the Hi-Lite)
Pellier_Blanc_.jpg
 
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I am capable of some photography without black backgrounds!!
Click to expand...

Lol.. I know that Paul and I'm only jesting.

This is a test shot from a pregnancy shoot inside the Hilite.

As you can see I've over cooked it with the rear light as I've blown out her rear leg and the top of her bump.

Two lights were used, both from above (outside) the Hilite. The rear light was moved back about a foot after this shot, but thereafter the shots were topless.


 
Jerm said:
Lol.. I know that Paul and I'm only jesting.

This is a test shot from a pregnancy shoot inside the Hilite.

As you can see I've over cooked it with the rear light as I've blown out her rear leg and the top of her bump.

Two lights were used, both from above (outside) the Hilite. The rear light was moved back about a foot after this shot, but thereafter the shots were topless.
Click to expand...

Nice shot.

When you say lights were outside the hilite what do you mean? Positioned with the head poking through the zips at the side?
 
The Hilite was laid flat, and I stuck my camera through the zip end.

There were two lights both positioned above (outside) the Hilite, so pretty much the reverse of how you'd expect to use the Hilite. The first light was almost directly over the mum, hence you dont see much shadow except that directly underneath her.

The second light was about a foot away (towards the rear) and angled so that it over-lit the back of the Hilite, but it wasn't angled enough away from the subject, hence the over exposure of the legs etc.

I've just noticed that this image has had the jointing crease removed from the floor and it's been cropped, so it's not pure SOOC, but that's it in terms of editing.
 
I'm being daft again Jeremy, but I don't quite get this. Hi-Lite lain flat and lit from above. Presumably she is lieing on the white side, so the black is above her. How do you light through that? (I just can't see it, but I know I'm missing something)
 
She's inside the Hilite Hugh.

The black is on the outside. So the floor is white and the lighting, through the top is through the translucent side.

I'll try to post some more outtakes tomorrow.
 
Who first came up with that idea??? Have any clients ever found it an odd request?
 
Was reading this thread finally and if finaly got me motivated to pull out my hilite out for the first time tonight to experiment and see if I need a 3rd flash. Pulled in the only available subject around (the Mrs) and tried a few shots. Here is probably the best one.

hilite.JPG


I've use only one light in the 6x7 hilite and one small softbox next to the camera. Apart from cropping the edges it's unprocessed and I specifically put some of the white vinyl train in to see how that turns out. My light meter was reading f11 so that's what I ended up shooting but think I need to get it to f8, but didn't have the time.

So do you think I can get away with a 3rd light?
Would welcome any comments... but be gentle as it was my first rushed attempt.
 
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A third light will certainly give a more even background without the drop off at the bottom, but trying to light the train is another thing altogether, I don't even bother trying to light the train as it only takes a minute or two in Photoshop to fix it.
 
apollo said:
A third light will certainly give a more even background without the drop off at the bottom, but trying to light the train is another thing altogether, I don't even bother trying to light the train as it only takes a minute or two in Photoshop to fix it.
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Didnt really notice the drop off at the bottom. Is it that noticable?


Thanks for the photoshopping example. :clap: Guess I'll be doing that quite often from now on!
 
The light drop off isn't that noticeable just a bit more yellow towards the bottom but easily corrected. Just for your info I used Nik Viveza on a separate layer to whiten the train then a small amount of dodging to finish it off.
 
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Jerm said:
Lol.. I know that Paul and I'm only jesting.

This is a test shot from a pregnancy shoot inside the Hilite.

As you can see I've over cooked it with the rear light as I've blown out her rear leg and the top of her bump.

Two lights were used, both from above (outside) the Hilite. The rear light was moved back about a foot after this shot, but thereafter the shots were topless.


Click to expand...

Unfortunately, i'm just getting the little red x on this image, so i can't see what you mean, when you say getting someone inside the Hi-lite, i'm just not getting this, i'm obviously missing something.
 
TG. said:
Unfortunately, i'm just getting the little red x on this image, so i can't see what you mean, when you say getting someone inside the Hi-lite, i'm just not getting this, i'm obviously missing something.
Click to expand...

Me too I'm afraid. As someone mentioned earlier if she is laying in the white side then the black is above her and although you tried to explain about lighting her I still don't get it.
 
dan_yorkshire said:
Me too I'm afraid. As someone mentioned earlier if she is laying in the white side then the black is above her and although you tried to explain about lighting her I still don't get it.
Click to expand...

The only black surface on a Hi-Lite is on the back of it. So it would be on the floor with the subject lying on it. The wall on the inside of the Hi-Lite is white.
 
dan_yorkshire said:
Me too I'm afraid. As someone mentioned earlier if she is laying in the white side then the black is above her and although you tried to explain about lighting her I still don't get it.
Click to expand...

From Jeremy's explanation the black side is on the floor and she's lit from above through the white side. Remember the black side is white on the inside
 
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