Studio lighting accessories

Big_Bill

Big_Bill

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William
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Hi all,
I have been shooting studio portraits now for a few moths (I say studio but in fact it is a backdrop in my living room with a entry level lighting kit).

I feel like I have the basics under my belt so I want to start learning more now, and am considering getting a few accessories like barn doors, snoot, reflective umbrella etc...

I also really want to stop using a backdrop and start including some natural surroundings.

My current set up is 2 200w flash units and my accessories include 2 24" by 24" soft box's, 2 shoot through umbrellas.

I know I could invest in a better set of lights but I really don't want to spend that kind of cash till I am confident that I know what I am doing.

So, all that being said... any comment or advice you can offer, links to lighting guides, advice on accessories.... all welcome :LOL:

Thanks for taking the time to look.

Cheers :wave:
 
I'm pretty much at the same level so bought myself a snoot with a small honeycombe grid and some coloured gels. I'm yet to use the gels but have used it to good effect for hair lighting etc...

I'm fancying some gobo's but don't think they make any to fit my 'setup' (Interfix EX150)
 
I'm making my own snoot and grid - my next purchases are umbrellas and justin clamps then I'll be set.

Gels are useful for colour balancing the flash to the ambient light.
 
I was thinking a snoot for hair and some gels to cast some interesting colours on the backdrop...

What does a honeycombe/grid achieve (assuming they are the same thing)?
 
My knowledge isn't too extensive but I'll help out as much as I can! The honeycombe grid gives a more controlled light, for instance if using it as a rim light or hairlight (pointing in the direction of the lens) then using the grid would help reduce flare.
 
o ok, think I understand.
Cheers for that (y)
 
Easy bits first - grid is the American word for honeycomb. As Jambo84 says, it helps to control flare. It does this by channelling the light in more or less straight lines intead of letting it spread out. As an example, a 20 degree honeycomb only allows the light to spread by 20 degrees. That's important when it's pointing almost towards the lens. Honeycombs also concentrate the light to some extent. Snoots fitted with honeycombs concentrate AND control the spread of light.

Most people start off their photography by trying to get soft lighting, that's where softboxes and umbrellas come in (yours are too small by the way) but as people gain in knowledge they often graduate to harder light sources such as beauty dishes, honeycombs, fresnel spotlights or whatever - less forgiving on the complexion but capable of very striking results.

There are plenty of books, the best by far IMO is Light: Science & Magic. It doesn't include useless diagrams, it's all about the nature and quality of light.

And there's even more info on the web, a lot of it is rubbish so you need to be discerning.
Take a look at the various Lighting Themes here. I wrote half of them, the others are excellent. They aren't specifically about portrait lighting but the principles are the same.
Then there are a couple of short articles here, which I hope explain why light modifiers are important. There are only 2 at the moment, again 1 wrote one but the other one was written by Marc Gouguenheim. (read it with a French accent);)
Then there are some free downloads on my Photolearn website

And finally, best idea of all, buy my lighting tutorials:LOL:
 
Cheers gary,
That was very helpful, and come payday I will be makin my way back to your website
 
Garry Edwards said:
Easy bits first - grid is the American word for honeycomb. As Jambo84 says, it helps to control flare. It does this by channelling the light in more or less straight lines intead of letting it spread out. As an example, a 20 degree honeycomb only allows the light to spread by 20 degrees. That's important when it's pointing almost towards the lens. Honeycombs also concentrate the light to some extent. Snoots fitted with honeycombs concentrate AND control the spread of light.

Most people start off their photography by trying to get soft lighting, that's where softboxes and umbrellas come in (yours are too small by the way) but as people gain in knowledge they often graduate to harder light sources such as beauty dishes, honeycombs, fresnel spotlights or whatever - less forgiving on the complexion but capable of very striking results.

There are plenty of books, the best by far IMO is Light: Science & Magic. It doesn't include useless diagrams, it's all about the nature and quality of light.

And there's even more info on the web, a lot of it is rubbish so you need to be discerning.
Take a look at the various Lighting Themes here. I wrote half of them, the others are excellent. They aren't specifically about portrait lighting but the principles are the same.
Then there are a couple of short articles here, which I hope explain why light modifiers are important. There are only 2 at the moment, again 1 wrote one but the other one was written by Marc Gouguenheim. (read it with a French accent);)
Then there are some free downloads on my Photolearn website

And finally, best idea of all, buy my lighting tutorials:LOL:
Click to expand...

Garry, going off topic but thanks for taking the time to speak to me last night (it's Rob!) and the DVD was top notch (y)
 
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