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"Lights and Lighting a scene"
Basic question and I've attempted to research it, but never hurts to ask those who know...
Of those that produce and shoot scenes, what sort of lighting are you utilizing?
Multiple Light Stands?
LED Panels?
Bulbs? Ring Lights?
What's a quality Light Kit setup and how much did you spend?
Of those that produce and shoot scenes, what sort of lighting are you utilizing?
Multiple Light Stands?
LED Panels?
Bulbs? Ring Lights?
What's a quality Light Kit setup and how much did you spend?
I can't remember what they cost (not a huge amount) but we run with 3 x 400W halogen floodlamps from B&Q. You can't get them any more, no more incandescent lamps - we have several years stock of spare bulbs, once those go we'll need to switch to LEDs and add a third electric heater to make up for the lamps no longer running hot, as they currently give us 1.2kW of extra heat.
Saturation Hall - Forth! The Gungemaidens!
Zan said: Basic question and I've attempted to research it, but never hurts to ask those who know...
Of those that produce and shoot scenes, what sort of lighting are you utilizing?
Multiple Light Stands?
LED Panels?
Bulbs? Ring Lights?
What's a quality Light Kit setup and how much did you spend?
Of those that produce and shoot scenes, what sort of lighting are you utilizing?
Multiple Light Stands?
LED Panels?
Bulbs? Ring Lights?
What's a quality Light Kit setup and how much did you spend?
I presently use Aputure 300 and 600D lights for both key and fill. RGB LED fill lighting for back lighting. For a simulated club effect during strip scenes, I'm using real RGB stage PAR lights with haze to add depth and atmosphere. That's my standard set up but for best results it is best to understand best lighting methods using key, fill, back lighting to get the best image while reducing noise if your running any specific ISO. It sometimes takes experimentation to get a good formula depending on what you're shooting and what you're shoot with. You can get great results from various LED manufacturers on the economic side however, this plays second fiddle until you understand how to properly light your subject. There are some decent resources on YouTube about it if you're interested
Making smut is easy. Making art takes more!
On a side note, if buying outright is too much of an investment, Borrowlenses is amazing and an affordable option for getting good lighting or even aux lighting for a day shoot.
Making smut is easy. Making art takes more!
Caveat everything I'm about to say with the fact that we've only being producing about 6 months and when we started I knew nothing about videography or photography other than point lens at the thing you care about. We started with nothing lighting wise other than spotlights in the shower room, got some very basic kit about 3 months ago, and have done another upgrade over Christmas completing 2 (not yet published) scenes this year so far. When I say we, I'm behind the camera when CheekyLuna is getting messy, so if you want to see some examples, take a look at what's listed on her profile.
First set of lights we bought were two 72-LED light panels with tripods. They came with a sheet of plastic that clips over the light panels to defuse them, but they only do a bit. There was a bit of a steal, double offer stacked on Amazon and ended up being about £13 (GBP) - cheap enough to take a punt on. I see similar stuff on there fairly frequently hovering around the £30 (GBP) mark. I'd be hard pressed to recommend these, as even with the diffusers, they create quite a harsh light and harsh shadow, and you'll see the dot matrixes on anything reflective that's angled badly. They were certainly better than the warm white bulbs we've got in the back bedroom/office/studio (delete as applicable) which happen to be not in a very useful place. I'm keeping hold of them as I think they might come in handy in a few specific situations - hotel shoots where we need to pack light and possibly for lighting specific areas like up a skirt whilst when the model is sat wide legged to see what's going on, but if not they'll get moved on.
Second set of lights were a pair of softbox lights also from Amazon. These were about £75 (GBP) and I'm aware that for softbox lights they are very much entry level. These ones have enormous 85W 5500K energy saving style light bulbs that take a few minutes to warm up, a big reflective umbrella looking thing and a cloth diffuser that goes over the top and some lovely big (but clearly cheaply made) tripods. I've only used these on 2 shoots so far, but they worked so much better for what I'm after (I'll add a still from one of those scenes). The shadows weren't as pronounced and even though the reflection of the soft boxes can still be picked up, I don't find it anywhere near as distracting as a dot matrix. I just want nice bright lights that will pick out shiny stuff and bright colours. Also gives me a half chance of getting the white balancing right on the camcorder that I'm also learning as I go.
Hope that's somewhat useful to someone at least.
First set of lights we bought were two 72-LED light panels with tripods. They came with a sheet of plastic that clips over the light panels to defuse them, but they only do a bit. There was a bit of a steal, double offer stacked on Amazon and ended up being about £13 (GBP) - cheap enough to take a punt on. I see similar stuff on there fairly frequently hovering around the £30 (GBP) mark. I'd be hard pressed to recommend these, as even with the diffusers, they create quite a harsh light and harsh shadow, and you'll see the dot matrixes on anything reflective that's angled badly. They were certainly better than the warm white bulbs we've got in the back bedroom/office/studio (delete as applicable) which happen to be not in a very useful place. I'm keeping hold of them as I think they might come in handy in a few specific situations - hotel shoots where we need to pack light and possibly for lighting specific areas like up a skirt whilst when the model is sat wide legged to see what's going on, but if not they'll get moved on.
Second set of lights were a pair of softbox lights also from Amazon. These were about £75 (GBP) and I'm aware that for softbox lights they are very much entry level. These ones have enormous 85W 5500K energy saving style light bulbs that take a few minutes to warm up, a big reflective umbrella looking thing and a cloth diffuser that goes over the top and some lovely big (but clearly cheaply made) tripods. I've only used these on 2 shoots so far, but they worked so much better for what I'm after (I'll add a still from one of those scenes). The shadows weren't as pronounced and even though the reflection of the soft boxes can still be picked up, I don't find it anywhere near as distracting as a dot matrix. I just want nice bright lights that will pick out shiny stuff and bright colours. Also gives me a half chance of getting the white balancing right on the camcorder that I'm also learning as I go.
Hope that's somewhat useful to someone at least.
We do what we love. If you love it that's a plus.
 Love you, too |
Whatever you end up going with, I recommend leaning into light diffusing.
This can be done by getting a light that's not a single point (think lightbulb), like a standard florescent light, or by putting a diffuser on a point light. If you had school picture day, diffusers are those things that were in front of spotlights that looked kinda like posterboard.
Diffuse light fills more of the area with light instead of a single bright spot, and it reduces shadows.
I have a couple of undercabinet tube lights I put out of frame, and a tiny point light up in the corner out of the shot, which reduces shadows behind the model.
This can be done by getting a light that's not a single point (think lightbulb), like a standard florescent light, or by putting a diffuser on a point light. If you had school picture day, diffusers are those things that were in front of spotlights that looked kinda like posterboard.
Diffuse light fills more of the area with light instead of a single bright spot, and it reduces shadows.
I have a couple of undercabinet tube lights I put out of frame, and a tiny point light up in the corner out of the shot, which reduces shadows behind the model.
Dr. of Splatterology
Platypus539 said: Caveat everything I'm about to say with the fact that we've only being producing about 6 months and when we started I knew nothing about videography or photography other than point lens at the thing you care about. We started with nothing lighting wise other than spotlights in the shower room, got some very basic kit about 3 months ago, and have done another upgrade over Christmas completing 2 (not yet published) scenes this year so far. When I say we, I'm behind the camera when CheekyLuna is getting messy, so if you want to see some examples, take a look at what's listed on her profile.
First set of lights we bought were two 72-LED light panels with tripods. They came with a sheet of plastic that clips over the light panels to defuse them, but they only do a bit. There was a bit of a steal, double offer stacked on Amazon and ended up being about £13 (GBP) - cheap enough to take a punt on. I see similar stuff on there fairly frequently hovering around the £30 (GBP) mark. I'd be hard pressed to recommend these, as even with the diffusers, they create quite a harsh light and harsh shadow, and you'll see the dot matrixes on anything reflective that's angled badly. They were certainly better than the warm white bulbs we've got in the back bedroom/office/studio (delete as applicable) which happen to be not in a very useful place. I'm keeping hold of them as I think they might come in handy in a few specific situations - hotel shoots where we need to pack light and possibly for lighting specific areas like up a skirt whilst when the model is sat wide legged to see what's going on, but if not they'll get moved on.
Second set of lights were a pair of softbox lights also from Amazon. These were about £75 (GBP) and I'm aware that for softbox lights they are very much entry level. These ones have enormous 85W 5500K energy saving style light bulbs that take a few minutes to warm up, a big reflective umbrella looking thing and a cloth diffuser that goes over the top and some lovely big (but clearly cheaply made) tripods. I've only used these on 2 shoots so far, but they worked so much better for what I'm after (I'll add a still from one of those scenes). The shadows weren't as pronounced and even though the reflection of the soft boxes can still be picked up, I don't find it anywhere near as distracting as a dot matrix. I just want nice bright lights that will pick out shiny stuff and bright colours. Also gives me a half chance of getting the white balancing right on the camcorder that I'm also learning as I go.
Hope that's somewhat useful to someone at least.
First set of lights we bought were two 72-LED light panels with tripods. They came with a sheet of plastic that clips over the light panels to defuse them, but they only do a bit. There was a bit of a steal, double offer stacked on Amazon and ended up being about £13 (GBP) - cheap enough to take a punt on. I see similar stuff on there fairly frequently hovering around the £30 (GBP) mark. I'd be hard pressed to recommend these, as even with the diffusers, they create quite a harsh light and harsh shadow, and you'll see the dot matrixes on anything reflective that's angled badly. They were certainly better than the warm white bulbs we've got in the back bedroom/office/studio (delete as applicable) which happen to be not in a very useful place. I'm keeping hold of them as I think they might come in handy in a few specific situations - hotel shoots where we need to pack light and possibly for lighting specific areas like up a skirt whilst when the model is sat wide legged to see what's going on, but if not they'll get moved on.
Second set of lights were a pair of softbox lights also from Amazon. These were about £75 (GBP) and I'm aware that for softbox lights they are very much entry level. These ones have enormous 85W 5500K energy saving style light bulbs that take a few minutes to warm up, a big reflective umbrella looking thing and a cloth diffuser that goes over the top and some lovely big (but clearly cheaply made) tripods. I've only used these on 2 shoots so far, but they worked so much better for what I'm after (I'll add a still from one of those scenes). The shadows weren't as pronounced and even though the reflection of the soft boxes can still be picked up, I don't find it anywhere near as distracting as a dot matrix. I just want nice bright lights that will pick out shiny stuff and bright colours. Also gives me a half chance of getting the white balancing right on the camcorder that I'm also learning as I go.
Hope that's somewhat useful to someone at least.
Out of curiosity, some of these Amazon sold brands have stores set up. By any off chance, do they offer grills for those softboxes? It might help with the reflection a bit. I typically run diffusion on all my shoots as I want more of a wash vs spot light. The 45 grill tames it a bit more by adding some contrast but also helps mitigate any glare you might get bouncing back to the lens. I want reflection and lens flare but I'd rather maintain some control over how much reflection and lens flare I get
Making smut is easy. Making art takes more!
By any off chance, do they offer grills for those softboxes? It might help with the reflection a bit.
The ones I've got are a fairly standard size and there are a couple of listing selling honeycomb for that size for not too much. Will keep that in mind and might give them a try. Thanks for the advice.
We do what we love. If you love it that's a plus.
20 years ago, I started with some 500 and 1000 watt concert stage PAR lamps. Worked OK in the winter, but by late spring, it was an insane amount of heat to deal with. Then I bought soft boxes with single sockets and I used twisty florescents. Those took up a lot of space and didn't really provide enough light, so I bought a bunch of the giant 85 and 105 watt industrial twisty bulbs, but they were too long for the soft boxes, so I switched to umbrellas. Used those for years, but in a small shooting space, they take up a lot of room and the shaft ends are kinda stabby.
About 5 years ago, I bought sets of LED panels from Amazon. They can be adjusted from about 3000k to about 5000k with a knob on the back. The best part is that they all "talk" to each other so you can set the brightness and color on one of them and all the others in the room also change. Even better, they have battery slots so the lighting positions that are overhead or in the traffic pattern don't need power cords of bricks.
One of the rooms I shoot in has an LED ceiling light that runs at 4000k so I set the stand lights to that. Another room has white translucent curtains so if it's daytime, I can set the lights to 5000k and take advantage of the natural light. Yet another room has standard "warm white" bulbs in the table lamps, so I can set the lights to 3000k there. It's a thousand percent easier than shooting with fixed color lights.
About 5 years ago, I bought sets of LED panels from Amazon. They can be adjusted from about 3000k to about 5000k with a knob on the back. The best part is that they all "talk" to each other so you can set the brightness and color on one of them and all the others in the room also change. Even better, they have battery slots so the lighting positions that are overhead or in the traffic pattern don't need power cords of bricks.
One of the rooms I shoot in has an LED ceiling light that runs at 4000k so I set the stand lights to that. Another room has white translucent curtains so if it's daytime, I can set the lights to 5000k and take advantage of the natural light. Yet another room has standard "warm white" bulbs in the table lamps, so I can set the lights to 3000k there. It's a thousand percent easier than shooting with fixed color lights.
Zan said: I figured the bulb was dying or dead. LEDs seem like the current standard.
Any recommendations on a decent Light Panel, and how many might be required to fill a standard size room?
Any recommendations on a decent Light Panel, and how many might be required to fill a standard size room?
Not necessarily. There are reasons why intermediate and advanced photographers/ videographers will spend hundreds to thousands in lighting that can mimic the color temps of incandescent (2900-3k range). LED panels exist to cover that range but because LED is naturally brighter in output, dimming and diffusion is necessary. Scanning Amazon, I see a few on there that meet the requirements however I never used them before so your mileage may vary.
Note: apologies. Apparently there is a post filter that won't let me post the links because abbreviations are capped and apparently we can't have too many caps in a reply? *head scratcher*
PM me and I'll send you some links to a few I found on Amazon that good spec wise
[Edit by MM: Added some terms to the all-caps whitelist, which is what prevented the previous post; Links are excluded from the all-caps preventer. Here is the link that Nostalgic tried to post: https://www.amazon.com/SmallRig-62600Lux-SmallGoGo-Lighting-Battery/dp/B09SH5N6L1/ref=sr_1_12_sspa?crid=3FWRG7KZXXDXN&keywords=video+lighting&qid=1673158406&sprefix=video+lighting%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-12-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyQ0VWUVlDSURRVzBLJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTE5ODM0S1pKUUlBQVhWWjE2JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyNDU0MTUzNlhSTjhLTklLSTJXJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfbXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== ]
Making smut is easy. Making art takes more!
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Love you, too |
Nostalgic Erotica Prod said:Note: apologies. Apparently there is a post filter that won't let me post the links because abbreviations are capped and apparently we can't have too many caps in a reply? *head scratcher*
MM put that in last year, there were some wetlook producers who despite being asked not to multiple times, kept posting all-caps promos, seemingly unaware that all-caps is actually much harder for the average person to read than mixed case or lowercase.
Have flagged this thread to him, possibly the filter should not apply within URLs.
Saturation Hall - Forth! The Gungemaidens!
Here's a little tip regarding posting Amazon links. 90% of the characters are bullshit tracking and spying stuff. You can just delete "/ref=" and everything after it in any of them. This is the real link
https://www.amazon.com/SmallRig-62600Lux-SmallGoGo-Lighting-Battery/dp/B09SH5N6L1
https://www.amazon.com/SmallRig-62600Lux-SmallGoGo-Lighting-Battery/dp/B09SH5N6L1
soundguy said: Here's a little tip regarding posting Amazon links. 90% of the characters are bullshit tracking and spying stuff. You can just delete "/ref=" and everything after it in any of them. This is the real link
https://www.amazon.com/SmallRig-62600Lux-SmallGoGo-Lighting-Battery/dp/B09SH5N6L1
https://www.amazon.com/SmallRig-62600Lux-SmallGoGo-Lighting-Battery/dp/B09SH5N6L1
Ya, I know but from a phone, It's a tad difficult to weed through all the bull while multitasking in the attic of a house so I just hit the share/copy/paste option. It's not ideal but it still works
Making smut is easy. Making art takes more!
1/15/23, 5:51am: This post won't bump the thread to the top.
