What type of lighting should I get for taking photos in a room with no natural light, such as a basement?

Question

I am getting ready to finish my basement and will be designing an area with backdrops, etc. so that I can take pictures of my son. I have a decent camera for a point and shoot (Canon A630)...and am hoping to start taking some portrait shots of my 1 year old. Since the basement has little to no natural light, I am wondering what type of lighting I should install in order to get quality photos. Do I need to invest in lighting specifically geared towards photography or can I re-create that type of lighting by finishing out the area with a certain type of light? I don't know much about the different types of photography lighting available, but I can use some of the advanced options on my camera. I am definitely still an amatuer in photography, but I am hoping to improve. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

You didn't say whether your camera was digital or uses film. If it uses film, the "color" of the artificial light and the amount of it will be more important than if it's a digital camera.

For indoor "portrait" photography, generally the lights are set up in a particular way, generally one on each side of the front of the subject and angling down, and possibly one shining on the hair from above. You can make the shadows and even tones be any way that looks good to you, but it's best to read about what creates what effect before you try to photograph a child. In fact, if your one year old is walking, you probably will do better to take the photos outdoors, or at least have the area well and evenly lit so that you can follow him/her all around!

You might want to check out some of the info on the page on photography at my site:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/photography.htm
... it has lots of tips about doing all kinds of photography with artificial or natural light, as well as various good links on general photography, you can check out. I'd recommend buying a book on "photographing people" too because so much of the info will be condensed there, along with visual examples... Kodak or some other company used to put out some good ones on various topics, including that one. In fact, it's probably at the library too, along with others.

Good luck!

Diane B.

Answer 2

Photography lights are rated in terms of degrees Kelvin. The higher the "temperature" the brighter, and more white the light is. There should be no shadows, or a little shadowing as is possible. That will mean that the lights will have to be near the ceiling, pointed down on the subjects. Your back drops should not produce reflection. They should not be glossy in any way. For even better information, I think you need to get some books on lighting. One very important point, to reduce "red eye" in the eyes of people, diffuse the photo flash if you use one. An easy way to do that is a single layer of tissue over the flash. Your camera would be best mounted on a tripod, that way your movement will not affect it.

Answer 3

DO NOT use built-in flash.

There are 2 types of lightings I can think of:
1. Focussed on the subject (something like a spot light, not exactly)
2. Uniformly distributed in the room.
First part is to be used if you want your subject to be THE center of the photo. In this case also please note that given that there is no natural light you must have some light uniformly distributed in the room AND on top of that you have an extra light focussed on the subject.
(with the second way) we don't have professional equipment to work with. Basic problem with other natural lights (e.g. bulbs, florescent lights...) is their distribution is uneven, so you'll see dark and lighted areas in your photo.
The workaround is to use a plain white bed sheet and direct the light onto it in such a way that the light is reflected onto the subject, hope the geometry in words is understandable. Use at lest 2 such sheets (one on each side of the camera. So put it in other words, if you are the subject you'll see a camera facing you and 2 lights on either sides of the camera. Behind the lights are the white bedsheets and lights facing the bedsheets.
(if you still didn't get it have a look at a program named Photographers on ftv (Fashion TV, a tv channel)

Answer 4

My husband's a pro photographer (www.raycarson.com). You're not going to be able to buy "normal" lights to get a great picture. I would say buy some pro lights 2nd hand. Fluorescent light will cause a green cast and tungsten (normal light bulbs) will cause a yellow cast. The pro light give true white light. In the meantime, go to the library and read up on photography. That's where he learned a LOT. Good luck & have fun!

Answer 5

you can go to a major camera store and they will have flood lights and such that are used specifically for photo shooting. or you can install rotating spotlights in the ceiling or track lighting that can be pointed one way or another, but still that will come from above and you really need some flood type lights down lower. just ask at the photo store. im sure they can give you some suggestions.

Answer 6

If your camera accept custom white balance, set the right White Balance for your light condition. That mean take a white paper, capture an image with that paper in the same light condition( in the room with bulb light open) Now set your custom white balance (WB) with this image. See your camera manual for how to set custom white balance or tell us what model is your camera. Good luck!

Answer 7

First, you should invest in a sexy model wearing a bikini so you can have her bring you a tall margarita (unless she IS a tall Margarita) after taking pictures of your kid. To be honest with you, though, it is not so much the lighting that matters as good reflectors.

Answer 8

I don't know the answer to your question, but thanks for asking it, because I've been curious about this as well. Especially " re-creating" or copying "studio" type lighting.