Studio Lighting for a Complete Newbie?

Question

Hello!
I make small sculptures, around 6-15" high. They take a very long time to do, but unlike my paintings I find it hard to put them on my websites. My photography is downright shameful! I am absolutly clueless when it comes to setting up lights. I have resorted to photographing pieces outside and letting the sun do the work for me, but this is highly unpredictable, and I often have to wait days for good weather conditions.

So my question is where do I start with studio lighting? All I have right now is a desk lamp with a 75w "clear light" tungsten bulb! I cannot afford much, but I have another desklamp I could dig up, and I can probably afford another kind of light. I've found all sorts of information about soft and hard light, and diffusers and reflectors, and my head is swimming!

Could any photography pros help me out? Just an overview of what I should get, or a good small-scale setup? Any help at all will be greatly appriciated!
Thanks

Answer 1

Go to the forums on www.photo.net go to the lighting forum. On the right side of the screen under Older Questions (by category) select the Administration listing. They had monthly lighting projects with explanations and results with photos of different items and lighting methodologies. Best learning tool I've seen.

Answer 2

to do lighting inside its quite easy.. the desk lamps you have are great but if you want to invest in another light source go to home depot and buy one of those construction lights or I eve use a light that sits on my turtle tank. It fairly bright and it has a dome around it so it focuses the light.

not only do you need lighting but you also need reflectors and diffusers. It might seem complicated but it isnt. a reflector does what it says- it reflects the light while a diffuser sets a different tone. I use a simple white sheet or matte poster board. Its also good to use grey.

So now that you have these simple house hold things you can create professional lighting. A tip to remember your not going to get the shot you desire on your first try!! Try different lighting techniques and different angles. Dont be afaird to do something whacky or get on the floor. some of my best shots have been from laying in the mud!!

so set your light source from above at a 45 degree angle. set up a reflector on the opposite side and shoot a pic from below the reflector. remember to put the reflector at different angles to highlite different parts. Have fun, and dont only limit your self to one roll. It will take some time before you know exactly everything, Hey Im still learning also, so try everything!!

Answer 3

I don;t know hwat your budget is ad if you plan on making this into a business so it's a bit hard to make suggestions but here I go. 1- check local zoning laws to insure you actually can start a studio at home. Don't want a fine from the city. 2- check your house insurance ... if you make commercial usage of your house with clients coming in, it's quite possible your current liability might not cover you. 3- Gear wise (genreal): -One camera -One backup camera -Good portrait lens (this will depend on the room available but a 50mm f1.4 (350$), a 24-70 f2.8 (1600$) are good solid, portrait lenses). -Crappy portrait lens as a backup (your kit 18-55mm or a 50mm f1.8 could be used as a backup). -Laptop or desktop PC with long usb cable for tethered shooting (nice but not a must). -Memory cards and the likes. 3- Gear wise (studio): -Backdrop system (anything froma pole on 2 lightstands to a ceiling mounted system). -Various backdrops -At least 3 lights (alien bee 800 are pretty decent for a started kit) -3 heavy light stands -1 boom stand -Rolls of seamless paper -Tape -Various diffusers (softbox, umbrellas, stripboxes, barn doors ... depends on the look and style you are aiming for).

Answer 4

Hey! Go to ebay and look up Light Cube. Then get the highest watt bulb you can buy and one of those cords you can get at home depot that you screw a bulb into. Im a photographer and own a comic store online I use it for a lot of action figures and stuff with detail, if you have a flash on your camera use it at the same time as a fill. Also see if you can bump the iso settings up slightly on your camera. Good luck!

Answer 5

The best lighting you'll be able to get for slide-type work isn't studio at all. Take your backdrop/whatever outside on a grey cloudy day and shoot your pictures there. When I was in art school, the slides we took outside were vastly superiour to ones taken inside with a professional lighting set up. Its worth the wait, I swear.

Answer 6

The light cube idea is a good one. PhotoFlex makes several, but eBay probably has them cheaper. The concept is to get soft light and avoid harsh shadows. In the past I've made shooting areas out of three sides of white cardboard/foamcore, with a fourth as a floor.

Check out the instructions on PhotoFlex's site for use of the light cube. They have a series of photos showing the results with different lights, reflectors.

http://www.photoflexlightingschool.com/Equipment_Lessons/LiteRoom/Ring/index.html

Answer 7

Hi there,
I have a dslr camera and I was looking for a good online photography course. This is the best one I found http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=557

It really helped me a lot. I'm sure it will help you to become a better photographer as well