Video Lighting question (help me light tASSy!)
 

I'm super happy with my Alien Bees starter kit for still phtotography.

But now am eager to get some lights for video.

All I really know is that it needs to be continuous. Assuming I am just starting out, is this a good choice? Any other inexpensive suggestions?

Complete Digital Light Kit by DynaPhos?
Complete digital photo light Kit with SoftBox, accessory kit, light stand, casters and carry bag
http://www.amvona.com/v7/shop/?page=...roduct_id=1019

you can get away with home-depot work lights if you know where to put them ... don't go out and spend thousands on lighting until you know what you need to improve on ... and what light color your trying to create ... cheap lights with gels will do wonders .. i have even made up 1/2 dozen sets of 4'x 4 tube color corrected fluorescent fixtures that clip right into my big dollar light stands for about $50 a piece that match close enough with my $2000 keno flows.(waste-o-money)... start by improvising and reading some articles on lighting .. and try moving things around until you get it the way you like before you blow a huge wad...

cool. Very helpful. Thanks!

Good post :2cents:

Go the cheap route untill youve got it all figured out. Hell you might be shocked how well they cheapies treat ya.

:thumbsup Thats funny cause thats exactly how we started out a few years ago. With the 2 headed Halogen Stand :1orglaugh

http://www.lowel.com/kits_totaOmni.html

It's a great kit on a budget, I'm sure some will say otherwise but I know a lot of people using them.

I have a bunch of very similar lights that I use daily ... and have for years ... be prepared for expensive bulb replacement... and pain in the ass assembly if you plan on changing locations often....as well you always have to worry about "amperage" .... you need a fair amount of electricity to run a bunch of those ....one breaker will usually only run one or 2 lights...if nothing else is plugged into it .....as well it's gonna get hot in there .....

Hal, i use that exact same lighting system (2x1000W and 1x500W) you're asking about and got it from the same place... and i love them

took me a while to get the white balance sorted but now it's hella sweet :)

construction lights... put them far, put them bright... and bounce the light... dont do direct :pimp

I have a cool lightbulb in my reading lamp that every time i turn the on off thing it changes intensity. It's awesome.

But I also don't photograph anything.

Ah. Excellent. Thanks.

Sounds like i should experiment with shop lights for a while. But then I'll grab some of these.

have'nt you learned how to light her by now ?? :Graucho

For porn just use Kinos (or homemade Kinos). If not than I hope you like sweating your ass off.

I only use daylight balanced bulbs as fill in a room with lots of natural light. Looks good and keeps the talent happy.

Thanks to the sig above, i lose about 2hrs of work every day by staring at it... :(

I use both Kino Flos and Lowel Lights and i have pretty much shelved my Lowels. The kinos are excellent at lighting the scene, use very little energy and throw very little heat. The down side is they are expensive, but you can make a great Flousecant lighting kit out of stuff bought at home depot or Lowes. Hit me up and ill tell ya how

This company has a good selection. Iv bought from them befor- good customer service.
http://www.rostronics.com/

can't you use the modeling lights from your alien bees? that should work fine for video. while not ideal, it'll work :)

johnny o

I think Alien bee lights make too much noise for video.

I'm also interested in lighting for newbz...especially the "Do-It-Yourself Home Depot Porn Lighting Kit" :winkwink:

I'll try that tonight. :)

I don't think people really "get" just how important lighting is to video. If you don't know how to light a scene, then your video will look bad.

The big thing to understand is that you must be able to control the light. Using cheap halogens from home depot won't get you very far. Sure they provide enough light, but there is almost no control and that will look really bad.

Depending on how serious you are about getting good video, you could buy a cheap Lowel Light Kit for around $1,000 (and then spend some more for additional accessories to help control the light). You can also spend A LOT more and get a lot more.

There are all sorts of ways to control light, but the two basics are "barndoors" and diffusion filters. If you are creative, you can buy the cheapo Lowel Kit ($1000) and add diffusion filters and filter holders and (creatively) make really nice looking video. I don't think you can shoot nice looking video with any less than an (3 light) light kit (usually includes: lights, stands, barndoors) and diffusion filters and filter holders.

You can also buy a ton of other "light control" devices that can help you really get some great video.

The more control you have over your light the better. You also need to understand the basics of how to light a scene and you can find that by searching google. Good luck! It is so cool when your video comes out looking like hollywood stuff.

Another added element to having equipment designed specifically for lighting a scene is that you can set your lights so much faster than fiddling around with home depot halogens and homemade barndoors, flags and diffusion. Plus, you will have so many more options AND the homemade "accessories" to your home depot halogen kit usually catch fire at some point.

Great insight! Thank you.
We may get lost alot, but at least our journey from amateur to semi-pro exhibitionists is FUN. :)

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

lighting is an on going project. you never quite get it right, you just get better at it.
if you get one of the lowel kits your set. thats all you really need. In my opinion there are a few things to conqur that will get you on the right foot off the bat.
1. 99% of your shadows will be caused by yourself, especially in a gonzo scene.
2, always keep the bulbs at the same temp. I shoot at 3200 kelvin. It gives a good warm feel but also keeps the light white. Sometimes i throw a 5000 kelvin bulb if i want to add a slight blue tone. But i normally point that towards a white board and bounce it around so it simulates daylight.
3, white balance. Make sure you always white balance. And, white balance where the subject will be. Dont white balance in the corner somewhere, because thats not where you're shooting.

cheers
duke

*copy / Paste*
VERY helpful!!!
thank you.

This was my first lighting kit from 15 years ago, still got it.

Learn basics, shoot , shoot, shoot and then you will start buying, dedos, blonds, redheads, etc,

saw these articles some where: not bad basic info

http://www.ynot.com/modules.php?op=m...cle&s id=8992
http://www.ynot.com/modules.php?op=m...cle&s id=9043

Obviously it would be better lighting if I was there to hold one of the hotlights for you. ;)

OK brudda heres ya some good advice

The idea about home depot work lights is good if yer on a budget...they do work and learn to use them both direct and indirect. In addition get yourself some gels from any photo supply store...make sure they are video light gels and can stand up to the heat....diffusers and full, half and quarter blues are a must, even if you white baance to the bare light....haf or quarter blues will do wonders for her eyes and hair.

speaking of hair...hair lights can make for a great look too use a small "pepper" type light from home depot...again stick with the quartz halogen types.

IF you arent on a budget kinos fucking rock because they dont get hot...and you can build them cheaply from home depot parts as well...even with kinos supplemental hairlights and such are very usefull.

be sure you learn to use your lights and gels in conjunction with your white balance to get the effect you are looking for.

cool cool cool! More great stuff!

Did you read the second book I sent you it is the bible for video lighting?
want to go fluorscent there are very inexpensive options. http://www.adorama.com/SASLF6.html
Once again you have questions and dont come to your Uncle tony shame on you lol

I am SHAMED.
I was thinking that you were my photo expert, didn't realize you could help with video, too! I have been reading the book this morning, actually!!

Yes, those units work well. Dealers can ever tell me what the CRI is on those bulbs. Must be failry high because I know the results look good but would still like to know.

Lots of great tips here... hard to add anything but I do have a white balance trick that I learned from some Playboy folks that I worked on a shoot with years ago.

Instead of using a white card to set your white balance use a pale light blue like the color of a clear sky day in San Diego or a little lighter. It will have the effect of giving a healthy slight amber to skin tones and will not have such a detrimental effect to the rest of the colors as to make them distractingly peculiar.

i've been using Wescott TD5 light, flourescent lights so things stay cool when you're shooting :)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...hs=wescott+td5

NICE!


I actually manually white balanced for the FIRST time last night. Baby steps...

hehe awww :)

Seriously though, I've been working with a photog who has a full studio setup with kinoflow lights, and they're awesome for that daylight look, since they're cool fluorescents. Tres expensive, but soooo worth it if you're doing a studio, in my opinion. If you're staying amateur, my ex used Photoflex softboxes with a couple strobes that he could position to his heart's content. They were excellent for playing with different effects and situations.

the quality of the continuous light is important.

when shooting erotica you should have some "modeling" which makes the people more attractive.

and aesthetically you should clone the look of ambiant light to give an erotic mood.

people don't normally make love with lighting that looks like they are sitting in a dentist chair---and that's the look that home depot type lighting usually gives, like a deer caught in headlights.

the pink haired girl has beautiful skin and a beautiful physique---she should be lit properly.

and it doesn't cost too much.

use a 3 chip camera and 2 of these:

http://www.lowel.com/frenl/index.html