"Studio" Lighting

[olds]

My wife has a plan to take indoor children portraits. I need some lighting help. I have watched a bunch of videos on youtube for lighting tips/tricks/help but need input on choosing lighting.

I need to get in cheaply just to get her started practicing on kids in the family to see if she actually likes/can do it well. How are the ebay light kits like this?
Text

Reflectors look easy enough to make but I am not adverse to buying them.

She already got her muslin for the background and some props for chairs.

TIA

 

[foghorn67]

I always shied away from these. I just can't seem to think whether those are bright enough or if they are cool enough to be around people comfortably. Also, do they come with dimmers? Strobes have adjustable outputs. that's almost necessary for any kind of studio work.

Even professional, balanced "hot" lights can present issues with shutter speeds.

have you tried pricing some old Nikon SB-24's or Vivitar 285's?

 

[soydios]

I wouldn't get hot lights for photography. I also do stage lighting, and damn those things get hot and bright, to the point of being unpleasant and dangerous to work around. Stick with strobes.

 

[randomlinh]

midwestphoto has some really nice sunpak 383 looking clones, but even better. specifically for the strobist.com group (look up the site if you haven't). I'm not a fan of the Vivitar 285's because they go from 1/2 to 1/8 power I think? I can't remember, but there was a giant gap that I did not like (and they don't swivel, which can be useful)

 

[spikespiegal]

Actually the kit oldsmoboat is talking about isn't a bad idea for starters. The stands and umbrellas alone are worth $62.00.

The lights used in the kit are 5000K CFLs, and bright ones to boot. They will be perfectly adequate for starters, and a far cooler and easier light source to work with than halogens. While CFLs aren't nearly as practical or bright or have the color rendition as strobes, they are very suitable for starting out because beginners need to first be able to pre-visualize and learn how to orient lights properly.

In the days of film I wouldn't go near a fluorescent studio light, but digital is far easier to correct for lighting.

You'll still need a fill reflector to go with the lights, but a large piece of spray painted carboard will work fine.

Stop watching training videos and simply take pictures and move the lights around to see what they do.

 

[magomago]

Oldsmoboat, you should get your wife a Dean Collins DVD. I found it incredibly illuminating and its definitely worth the price. OF course, I had to watch things about 5 times over before I realllly started to understand the details. It helped me understand lighting a LOT more, more than any book ever did (Although Science Light and Magic is great once you have the basics down because then it focuses on different materials. What Collins teaches is incredibly important fundamentals of lighting that focus on the incident light as opposed to reflected light. This book covers reflected light very well). Now I understand how to create the situations I want, but I'm just a lazy mofo at getting the required setup that is needed

Anyways: http://www.deancollins.com/

If she is just starting maybe design something based off of a strobist kit? That is what I did (although I know plenty go ahead and buy the strobist kits as they are sold). IF you want to do this stuff you should decide everything you need first before you buy anything

 

[olds]

Thanks for the input. I'll do a little more research ( and she will practice) and check out the DVDs.