lights?

[monkeybort]

a friend of mine is doing some interior shots and needs to get a set of lights and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for brands or type of lights – strobes/softboxes, hot lights, etc.

any thoughts?

[zeke]

We got Elsinore her lights off EBay. Great price, fast turnaround, A+++++ yadda yadda yadda :

http://stores.ebay.com/STEVE-KAESER-BACKGROUNDS-SINCE-1989_W0QQsspagenameZADMEQ3aBQ3aEOIBSAQ3aUSQ3a45QQtZkm

Also, Amazon had some of the smaller components (softboxes etc) for reasonable prices.

[monkeybort]

damn, you all got lights??? sheeeee-it, i’m jealous.

[Elsinore]

Well, don’t be too jealous. They’re CFL bulbs, which are great on wattage/electricity usage, but of course you’ll need to white balance for them. It’s soft light, though, and since they’re continuous lights, you can see exactly where your shadows are. Still, it’s not full spectrum lighting, and that can be an issue for some folks and some settings.

[millera9]

Pssssht! Lights, tripods… DSLR’s… interchangeable lenses… you guys are a bunch of sissies!

/This post is the product of tremendous jealousy and is meant to be taken in jest.
//God I wish I could afford some real gear…
///Isn’t there a Strobist group that deals with lights in great detail? I seem to remember someone saying something about that a while back… *slips back into drunken stupor*

[staplermofo]

Pssssht! Lights, tripods… DSLR’s… interchangeable lenses… you guys are a bunch of sissies!

/This post is the product of tremendous jealousy and is meant to be taken in jest.
//God I wish I could afford some real gear…
///Isn’t there a Strobist group that deals with lights in great detail? I seem to remember someone saying something about that a while back… *slips back into drunken stupor*

Do day labor on the weekends and you’ll have an SLR in 2 months.
/dirt poor

[schnee]

Strobist

[caradoc]

a friend of mine is doing some interior shots and needs to get a set of lights

I’ve gotten some very nice shots with just a couple of Smith-Victor 45i AC slave strobes.

They screw right into a regular light socket. I’ve been using a couple of Ace Hardware’s “clamp lights” to hold them.

You can run ’em off a sync cord, or they’ll just slave to any flash that goes off. Not good for crowds. Plenty bright for interiors. They’ll run about $25-$30 each. Two of them have been more than enough for most interiors I’ve shot.

[monkeybort]

thanks everyone!

[caradoc]

Update for you, Monkeybort… and anyone else who’s interested in lighting.

The Strobist Blog has craploads of information on how to use little hotshoe flashes to get studio-quality lighting. I know a couple of guys who’re doing amazing things with $80 Sunpak and Vivitar manual flashes, optical slaves, et cetera.

Being more interested in getting the quality of my photographs up without having to MacGyver things more than I have to, I’ve picked up a few (well, three so far) Nikon SB-800s. The wireless (infrared) signaling system works surprisingly well, even in outdoor Arizona sun. It’s farking hot and bright, and the flashes work anyway:

Aside from a minor crop, that image is exactly what came out of the camera. I didn’t do any Photoshopping or even adjust any levels.

Now that I’m done attention whoring on my favorite shot in the past month, check out The Strobist Blog. Really cool stuff there.

[monkeybort]

nice Caradoc!!

i actually have been reading the strobist site, and planetneil as well for on camera flash usage – both super helpful. i just got a 580EX (upgrade from my 430ex) but i don’t have a stand or umbrella or any of that stuff yet so i’m a bit restricted…i DO have an off-camera sync cord so I can get the flash off the body, but no pocket wizards or anything like that just yet.

i’m still trying to get fill flash in bright sun figured out – i know how it SHOULD work, now it’s just getting the flash to do what i think it should be doing!

🙂

[Elsinore]

lol I’m working on that myself, ‘bort. The 580EX is nice, though, you’ll like it. I have the first version of the 580EX–the new one’s supposed to be even spiffier. If you have an off-camera sync cord, you shouldn’t need a pocket wizard–the 580EX can act as a master to your 430EX.

[monkeybort]

yeah, but i need to hold on to the 580 when it’s attached by a cord, which is sort of irritating and not very practical…

and i was playing master/slave (heh) with the flashes and the 430 was firing *after* the 580. but I haven’t read the manual at all on the whole slaving process so i’m sure there is just something i’m missing.

[Elsinore]

yeah, but i need to hold on to the 580 when it’s attached by a cord, which is sort of irritating and not very practical…

Ahhh. Try dragging an unused lamp over next to your camera and unscrew the lampshade screw on the top. Attach the flash shoe to your 580 (and/or 430 with a second lamp) and screw it into the top screw on the lamp.

[caradoc]

Heck, ball bungee cords work wonders in holding flashes in places they weren’t intended to be.

I’ve also used an Ultrapod II to strap an extra flash to nearby objects:

If there’s nothing to strap it to, the Ultrapod unfolds into a miniature tripod. Handy enough that I keep one in my bag at all times (unless I’m using it, which is difficult if it stays in the bag.)

[Author]

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