video: episode 12 , quality of light in the digital photography studio
In this video we’ll look at how different sized light sources affect the quality of light (hard and soft light) obtained in a studio setting. Understanding these basic principles lays the groundwork for learning to control your main light source. To keep things simple and accessible we’ll be using an inexpensive (but very nice quality) lighting kit (the Genesis 200 1-Light Kit from Calumet) that was purchased complete with stand, strobe, reflector, umbrella and cords for $170 (normally priced at $270).
Subscribers view video here.
I’m experimenting with more efficient ways to display the photos used in the videos (creating thumbnails and links within these WordPress pages is pretty tedious and time consuming). While this is just a start and needs some work and refinement, here’s a link to the photos used. Thanks for your patience, I’ll be refining and working on this particular gallery through the week as time allows. Soon it will be easier to use and with more useful information. Gotta start somewhere.
Studio strobe kit info
I’m really impressed with the value of the lighting kit. For the person wanting to play with studio lighting, the cost of entry has never been this low. Support for the product should be very good, also, since Calumet has 10 locations in the U.S. and 19 locations in the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands ( Shop Calumet Photographic – It’s Where the Pros Go ).
All of the components appear to be well made and durable. Even though the Genesis 200 is the lowest powered, entry-level unit, it has features not found on more expensive units: digital power settings, built-in slave unit (with adjustable sensitivity) and a built-in cooling fan (pretty much unheard of at this price). There’s also a more powerful strobe (Genesis 400) available for future growth. Here’s how Calumet lists the one light kit:
thanx alot,
i keep learning new stuff.
I want to thank you for all the good videos and information you are providing. Its a great source for beginning photographers like myself who want to take a stab at the photography business.
Keep up the great blog, people are watching
See, now I have to get a shoot thru… I think that would help a lot when I’m playing with/shooting food.
Can you comment on the accessories available? I’ve been looking at these lights for a while as my first studio strobes, but would like to get a soft box.
I know that the ad blurb says it’s compatible with Elinchrom speed rings, but does that mean that any soft box will work, only an Elinchrom, or what?
Can’t wait for the other videos….
very interesting basics. The next coming week should be also intersrting
Thanks for the video
Thanks, everyone, I’m glad you’re interested in exploring these concepts before we get into actual set ups. It really helps to understand the basics of controlling light.
Patricia, do you already have an umbrella? Check and see if the black cover comes off by pulling the tips. It might already be convertible to a shoot-through. You’ll be able to tell immediately if it is.
Nick, a softbox really is universal, most any softbox will work with most any light. It’s basically a cloth box with four rods in it. The key is buying the proper speedring, that’s what mounts to the light itself and what the four softbox rods mount into. All of my softboxes fit all of my strobe heads but I have to have three different speed rings: Calumet, Norman and White Lightning. As mentioned, Calumet and Elinchrom happen to share the same mount. Does that make sense? I demonstrate the softbox / speedring relationship in the studio equipment guide part two.
I like the way you are approaching things, as it helps me put things into perspective. As much as I like the Stobist’s site, I feel a bit left behind since I hadn’t been reading it from the beginning. That looks like a nice started strobe you found. Thanks for linking to it.
Yes, thanks for starting out slow. And cheap. I’ve seen other bloggers who swear by Elinchrom stuff and think everyone should start with a 600 w/s setup (not cheap at all). As lighting is still beyond me, I have a somewhat silly question: Why are flashes rated with guide numbers and strobes with Watt/seconds? Is there any way to compare a flash to a strobe, as in “My Nikon SB-800 would put out .002 watt/seconds”, or “My strobe has an equivalent guide number of 5280 ft.”?
Jason, good questions. I started writing a response and then it went on and on and on…and I think it will be this Wednesday’s post. Thanks! We’ll look at speedlights vs. studio strobes and also the more general question of making smart purchases when getting into lighting.
Hey Jim, yeah, the umbrella I have is just a bounce… they didn’t have the dual, or shoot thru, in stock when I had money burning a hole in my pocket.
Jason, I’m back here with a response, my article for tomorrow ran a bit long so it wasn’t the right time, after all, to introduce what I’d intended.
The whole watt seconds rating thing got cloudy for me about 10 years ago. At one time I fully understood it (honest, I did!) but then it got complicated by companies looking for interesting ad copy. They would say “we’re this many watt seconds but we really put out more power than that, so we’re equivalent to this many watt seconds”. Huh?
There is a technical explanation, though, and this is a great (again, highly technical) article on the subject:
http://www.scantips.com/speed2.html
One thing I do understand is guide numbers. That’s the amount of power reaching a light meter at a relative distance. The thing about speedlights is that most of them have a zooming head and that changes the guide number, and studio strobes accept different reflectors, changing the guide number. It’s necessary to compare them set to comparable angles of light.
I don’t own and SB-800 but I do have an SB-28. Since your question made me curious, I set the zoom head to 28mm and compared it to the Genesis 200 with the standard 8″ reflector. At 10 feet from the light meter the Genesis read f11 and the SB-28 read around f7.1. So, the Genesis appears to put out 1 1/3 stops more light.
I hope that helps somewhat…
The thing I don’t like about studio strobes like that is that you have to plug it in. So if you’re shooting outdoors somewhere you need a power source. $170 is a great deal for that kit, but is there a matching great deal on a power source?
I’m currently using a Sunpak 383 and a Nikon sb-24. Not nearly as strong of a light source as the above kit, but works well enough for shooting people. Now I just need to get my hands on some rechargeable AA batteries. I’m running through those very fast.
-joel
I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for all the wonderful information you’re providing to amateurs such as myself. You are very much appreciated.
I know this isn’t possible in all situations but can you fire a studio strobe off of a power invertor ? you can get a invertor (800 watts) for about 40 bucks….
if that would work you could probably use a deepcycle battery (marine) and the invertor as a portable poower soruce. not sure if it would work or not but it might.
battery would be about 50-60….
$100 total?
sean
A studio strobe draws a significant amount of current while recharging.
For example, from the Alien Bees product docs of the B400, they list the peak current draw during recharge at 18 amps. That’s actually more than a household circuit can provide, but the time period is short enough that you’re okay.
Average draw for one light (again, Alien Bees B400) is 6 amps. The 800W inverter you mention may be able to do it (800W / 120V = 6.66A supply capability approx), but that peak current could be a problem for it. If you’re lucky, they’ll actually list the maximum peak current capability in the product specs. Might be called the in-rush current.
As for using a lead acid battery for power, you certainly could, but I’d be pretty cautious. Remember that it’s the current that kills you not the voltage. So even though that battery is only 12 volts, it can supply 100′s of amps instantaneously. BTW, it only takes a few hundredths of an amp to electrocute you assuming it gets under your skin and flows through your heart.
If you do decide to try the battery route, make sure you cover the terminals so that nothing can drop on them and cause a short. Also, you’ll need a recharge method, but that’s the easy part as you can just buy a trickle charger.
Thanks for the info, Nick, I wouldn’t have had a clue on that one. I took a “solar energy for the home” course this past winter and my instructor would be disappointed to know I’ve forgotten the math. You’ve prompted me to get the books back out!
Sean, I have the portable Vagabond battery unit that Alien Bees sells and also just picked up the Calument Travel Pack battery for strobes. You might do a Google search on these for inspiration. If so, let us know what you come up with. As for me, the DIY stops when electricity gets involved. Now, engines, that’s another thing…
Dear Jim,
Thanks so much for the videos – they are so helpful! i have spent some time setting up my jewellery to photograph(i am a silversmith first and definitely a photographer second). My problem seems to now be in the use of lightroom and photoshop in the development of pictures. the raw files are very yellow and changing the light balance always results in the background becoming grey. what i would really like is white. Do you have any ideas/ tricks or should i move to using a coloured background and forget white?
Bev, getting a clean white is very tough. In my video episode 6 I photograph a camera on a clear stage (plexiglass) and light the background, which is below it. That gives a nice, clean, bright background. Give that video a look and let me know if it all makes sense.
In many jewelry shots the products end up getting “outlined” and the background completely removed, resulting in bright white. Time consuming? Definitely, but that’s usually how it’s done. Do you have any examples of what you’ve shot? I’m happy to take a look to see if there’s anything else I might suggest for the backgrounds.
Another great video tutorial. I like how you’ve shown the differences in the quality of light with very clear explanations of light sources and the effect they have on shadows. Thanks again!
Really great tutorial for beginner photographers like me, but you might want to look into pop-screens for you microphones when you use them close to your mouth to eliminate the peaks from consonants that causes the amplifier inside your camera/computer to distort the sound.
I heard that these lights (200 Watts )for some reason could not be sync’d at 250th/sec is that true ??
I understand that your camera must be able to sync at that shutter speed but i was just looking for an answer.
also whats the recycle time like at full power ??
Thanks
- Jonathan
Top sync speed is dependent on the camera, Jonathan. As long as you have a good way to trigger the strobes they will work at any sync speed your camera is capable of. Shoot, I forget the recycle time I’ll check the calumetphoto.com website…
Jim,
WOW, This is the greatest site I have come across and the info is FREE.
I thought free went out with Windows 95.
Question,
All I hear about with Strobes is that you need to use at least 600 or more w/s’s and 3 lights to start a studio.
Which is a little much for me.
What’s the true spin on this?
Oh ya, PLEASE
Thanks for the web site.
Bill C
How many strobes does a studio need? I’ve seen portrait photographers start a part-time business using just natural light…but if you’re seriously thinking about commercial work I think the three aforementioned lights is a good place to start. The most important thing is being able to produce consistent results and, for that, you’ll need enough light to pull it off. The good thing about lighting equipment is that a good setup is an investment that will last many years. What kind of work will you be going after, Bill?