Intermediate's Guide to Lighting Kits

Lighting Kits by Gary Miller

In our Beginner’s Guide to Lighting Kits we looked at some of the basic choices to make in getting started using artificial light. The next step up is one we’ll call theIntermediate’s Guide, to signify that for one reason or another you have decided to build on your initial investment of photographic lighting equipment. The reasons for doing so usually are the desire or need to do more professional (as in income-producing) work, wanting to expand your capabilities for artistic reasons or (like many of us) the desire to play with fancier toys.

Rent Before You Buy

Before we get into specifics on types of lighting kits and modifiers to expand your light kit, let’s talk about renting lights before you buy. Are you using lights professionally? The pro whomust come back with images cannot blame his or her lighting equipment. This is one reason the combination of renting lighting gear and owning is the most popular. You cannot possibly own every piece of gear you’re ever going to need. So, most professional photographers have a basic kit—either monolights or a pack-based system—then add to it when necessary by renting.

This is also a good way to try out other types, brands and modifiers of lighting gear. If, after a few assignments, you find yourself renting the same piece(s) of equipment, you may find it makes sense to go ahead with the purchase, knowing a lot more from experience than what comes from just reading the company’s literature.

And, depending on the client and type of assignment, many rental fees will be paid for by the client, as long as the arrangement is discussed in advance and both parties approve.

Before You Call the Rental House

Wouldn’t it be great if we could call a rental house and say, “Hmmm, I’m thinking of doing a shot of a light-skinned, light-haired model in a large room, with mostly light furniture and surroundings. I need the right lights for that. I’ll be by tomorrow to pick them up. OK?”

All kidding aside, when renting gear, you need to sit down and carefully plan your shoot, down to the last C-stand. All rental houses put together gear packages on an individual, or a la carte, basis, and as a result can’t (or more accurately, shouldn’t) read your mind or guess about what you need.

Draw a simple lighting diagram—or more than one—and label each item. Then transfer those items to a list, checking off each as you do. On critical items i.e. sync cords or extra flash tubes or modeling bulbs, make sure you order a few extra for good measure.

Most rental houses do have some gear available as “packages.” That usually consists of a strobe, head(s), umbrellas and stands, which will take care of your basic needs but you still have to carefully itemize everything else.

Don’t forget expendables like gaffers tape. Most rental houses will supply them but charge you purchase price—so you get to keep them.

Lastly, don’t wait until the last minute to pick up the gear. Allow sufficient time to get it to your studio or location so you can test it and call the rental house if you have problems or questions.

Renting a Studio

As your photography style grows and you tackle larger assignments, your need for a studio usually grows as well. Like buying lighting, it makes sense to rent before you go out and plunk down $2 mil for that state-of-the-art penthouse studio you’ve been drooling over.

An added advantage to renting is it enables you to procure only as much space as you need. If you’re photographing the latest sports car with people all around, you can rent the kind of space necessary for that assignment. But why rent 20,000 square feet of space for simple fashion or people shots? That’s definitely one advantage to renting.

How do you pay for the rental? Simple: ask the client. Explain that one of the reasons your rates are so reasonable is that you don’t have high overhead to pass along. But it also means renting a studio in certain situations. For this assignment, we recommend this studio with xxxx square feet, client space, set facilities, etc. Your client will appreciate your honesty and transparency, have a chance to weigh in on the kind of studio, and everybody will be happy.

What Kind of Lights?

As your expertise in lighting grows, you probably have formed a creative style or approach. Or, you may have just narrowed down your area of interest to portraits, interiors or outdoor action. This combination of factors has also probably given you a desire to build more artificial light capabilities in a certain direction.

In many situations, the choice of lighting is mostly arbitrary. A good photographer can make the same image with speedlights, monolights, packs, tungsten or HMI’s. In fact, the really creative ones will use a combination of light sources. One of the best photographers in the world and certainly one who uses lighting more creatively than most is Gregory Heisler. With more than 70 Time magazine covers to his credit, I have seen Greg use a theatrical spotlight from 500-feet away to illuminate then Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange John Phelan. This is not to say theatrical spotlights are the perfect portrait light. It says you have to think about how and why you want a photograph to look before you nail down the lighting.

Many photographers are also shooting video as well as stills. This would make a good case for constant lighting (quartz or fluorescent) or pack systems with modeling lights.

So let’s take a look at expanded kits, organized from the least expensive to the most expensive.

Speedlight Setup

Speedlights

We’ll begin with the ubiquitous speedlight, or shoe-mounted strobe. Perhaps you have purchased one or two of them, and have started to play around with an umbrella or other diffuser. Do you like working with them? There’s something to be said for being able to grab a couple of small bags containing enough gear to do justice to portraits, tabletops, small interiors or fashion work. Well, what’s the best way to expand your equipment arsenal?

My career has been largely on location, often in remote places with no electricity: Offshore oil wells, thousands of feet down in a mine or the middle of agricultural settings. In these instances you have no choice but to use battery powered strobes. Fortunately, today’s choice is wider than ever and includes units up to 1,200 watt-seconds (with modeling lights, no less). But being able to be free of AC power is one of the beauties of the speedlight (and now battery-powered monolights).

The other advantage of speedlights is low cost. Very often I needed ten or more sources of light, and the low cost of little lights made this concept a reality, both in terms of investment as well as portability.

Speedlight Portrait Outfit

Your decision-making, of course, depends on the kind of photography you do. Let’s take the portraitist. You have probably begun with an umbrella-mounted unit for the main light. Have you sometimes wished for more power? Simple! Put two strobes on a bracket that holds flash units and remote radios. This will afford you the option of using a larger umbrella or, my favorite, the umbrella softbox. If you already have a setup for the main light, a good addition is a shoot-through umbrella that allows for positioning the main and fill and roughly the same distance but giving you a relatively softer fill.

Gary Miller

Gary Miller

Your third light should be a hair or backlight. The first requirement is to shield this light so it won’t spill on other areas, especially into the camera lens. The easiest and quickest is to fold a piece of shirt cardboard to fit around the flash. But how inelegant! My favorites are some of the ingenious products from Honl Photo. In this case, the 1/8-inch Honeycomb Grid is just what the lighting doctor ordered. You need a speed strap to attach most Honl accessories, but this is simply a small wrap-around Velcro™ strap onto which you attach various accessories. Honl’s line of gear is very well constructed, uniquely designed and in this writer’s opinion nothing short of brilliant.

The fourth light is a background light (as opposed to a backlight). In a typical portrait situation, you would probably put it on a short light stand so it is hidden, yet doesn’t have to hit the background at an extreme angle (which would happen if you put it off to the left or right of the subject). Both the backlight and background light can be filtered, that is to change the color temperature of the light warmer or cooler. On speedlights, you can simply tape a Roscoe Filter to the front. Their sampler book has more colors than you could use in a lifetime. There are also filters and filter sets available for specific brands.

With four speedlights you can tackle a lot of assignments, for example:

• head-and-shoulders portraits
• full-body shots i.e. fashion
• environmental portraits i.e. surrounded by a related scene
• tabletop shots (products, how-to, etc.)
• simple interiors
• night time exteriors (using strobes to accent specific areas)
• outdoor fill (weddings, sports, etc.)

Monolights

I happen to favor the monolight for the intermediate user for a couple of reasons. First, if one goes down, you usually have at least one more as a backup. For generator or pack-based systems, you need to have an entirely redundant pack and head to insure against failures. For the really high-priced studios this is not a problem, but most of us are on a tight budget these days so thus it’s an important reason.

The second reason is you don’t have to deal with the cabling (and potential for cable failure) that runs from the pack to the head. Everything is self-contained; all you need is a common extension cord for AC.

Third is cost per unit or cost per watt-second. You can generally buy a three or four monolight system for less of an investment than for the generator route (remembering you need at least two generators for redundancy). However, when you’re buying top-of-the-line monolights the price evens out a little, leaving the choice more open to personal favorites.

If you’re doing architectural work, pack-based systems require cabling for every head, and it’s not unusual for pros to have a dozen lights hundreds of feet apart. With monolights, you just need to find a nearby AC outlet.

Bowens

For portraits, for example, it’s hard to beat a set of high-quality monolights like those from Bowens. Their 250-watt second unit is a great buy, on sale as of now for $300.00. This new digital unit is smaller than their manually controlled counterparts but comes packed with extra features. Power is controlled via a single rotary dial allowing control in exact 1/10 stops over five stops from full to 1/32 power. The large and clear digital display shows the current power level as well as other important information at the touch of a button; the display can even be inverted while using ceiling rail systems (way cool!). Trigger voltage is a safe 5 VDC.

The smart photocell on Esprit Gemini Digital units allow the photographers to set the cell to ignore pre-exposure flashes from their camera or even to learn the pre-exposure sequence to ensure perfect flash synchronization. And the advanced modeling can be set to Off, Proportional and 100%; the Gemini digital units allow users to set their own level of modeling light from f/5 to f/10. The modeling lamps can also be set to pulse when the unit has recycled to full power as a visual indication that the flash is ready to go again.

These are pretty sophisticated features for a monolight in this price range.

Profoto D1 Series

I have used the Profoto D1 Series which, at the other end of the price spectrum, is without a doubt the gold standard in monolights. The Profoto D1 series flash unit is fully digital, not just on the display panel, but in the flash output control circuitry as well. This to ensure a consistency in flash-to-flash color temperature and flash energy. The dual mode SMPS capacitor charging technology ensures flash-to-flash precision, and the 7 f-stop power range gives all the power the demanding photographer needs for creative freedom, to shoot with high speed and fully open lens.

The D1 series is designed by what the company calls their philosophy of look, listen and touch. Controls are easy to use, freeing your mind, eyes and hands, so you can focus on the image you are creating. The unique built-in reflector gives you full control and minimizes stray light. It is designed for use with softboxes and umbrellas and for use with or without additional reflectors.

Short flash duration gives images a crisp feel and the fast recycling time means that you never have to wait for the flash. If you’re really serious about getting the best monolights on the market, the D1 is your choice. They’re available in 250, 500 and 1000 watt-second models.

In between are a host of moderately-priced monolights from a variety of manufacturers. These range from about $300 to $1000 per unit. Buying a complete system is a good way to save money, and be sure to look out for specials which many manufacturers offer from time to time. One of the more popular brands is Alien Bees. They get high marks for dollar value, build quality and service reputation.

Generator or Pack-Based Systems

Before the introduction of such a wide variety of monolights, it was customary for the intermediate photographer to purchase a pack-based system. As indicated above, if you are doing assignments you must have a backup unit, so that means at least two generators and flash heads. For the less expensive pack systems, that’s not too bad, but if you go for one of the top brands all of a sudden you’re into some serious money.

Even if you’re shooting in a big city where it’s easy to rent a unit should one go down, do you really want to stop production while you go to get another strobe? Not good.

Nonetheless, there are some sound reasons to go for a pack-based system. The first is power. Most packs come in a 2400 or 4800 watt-second model, giving you a lot of light if, for example, you’re shooting medium format digital or lighting large areas.

Another reason is that some companies offer a wider variety of light shaping tools (ringlights, globe lights, focusable spots, etc.) for pack-based systems. Again, this comes at a cost, so unless you are a professional with a steady stream of assignments, it’s probably better to rent. We’ll get into more of this in our third installment, Professional’s Guide to Lighting Kits.

For most photographers, either a monolight or pack-based system will offer more than enough choices for light-shaping tools.

Dynalite

When I was shooting annual reports, back in the Pleistocene era, the more powerful strobes were big and heavy. Many pros were reluctant to carry them around, ship them, etc. Then along came a company called Dynalite, and I’m happy to report they’re still in business manufacturing great gear. At the time of this writing, the company is offering their RK5-1100 Kit for about $875. That includes one head and a carrying case. A full setup with another pack, two more heads and support gear will probably get you up around the $2500 mark, but that’s a good value for the dollar.

Another reasonably-priced system comes from Novatronwhich starts at about $800 for a two-pack system and goes up to about $2900 for a four-head complete system. Other well-known and reputable brands include Elinchrom, Norman, Profoto and Speedatron.

Again, purchasing used equipment is not such a bad idea if you’re just getting started. You can save a lot of money and as long as the equipment has been in use (not using strobes for many years causes the capacitors to dry out) and works when you test it.

Light-Shaping Tools

Without a doubt, any photographer could break the bank buying light-shaping tools. Umbrellas, softboxes, reflectors, scrims, flags, barndoors, and the like can quickly add up to more of an investment than the strobes themselves. (Take a look at the variety of light-shaping tools from Profoto as an example). So what do you really need?

Again, it depends on the kind of photography you do. If you photograph cars in a studio, for example, you will find the number one tool is a huge butterfly, sometimes as large as 20×40-feet. A butterfly is a piece of diffusion material held by an outside rigid frame. They’re useful outdoors, for example, in softening the effects of direct sunlight. But if you’re just doing portraits or fashion, your needs will be much less onerous.

Incidentally, the number of terms and phrases in the lighting business can be mind-boggling. Lowel publishes a terrific glossary that answers all your questions and then some.

Softboxes

Softboxes

If you do a lot of portraits, one or more softboxes are essential.

A softbox produces the same kind of wrap-around, soft light as a butterfly, although it’s rare you will find one larger than 4×6-feet. They’re also mostly used in a vertical position, where a butterfly might be used at 45-degrees or parallel with the ground. A softbox consists of an outside diffusion material held in a box shape and a way to mount the “box” to a strobe head. This device is called a “speedring” and, in most setups, allows the softbox to be mounted to the strobe head by rods (either aluminum or fiberglass).

Softboxes come in two basic varieties: recessed and flush front. The recessed models offer a little “flag effect,” keeping the light from hitting the lens. The flush models allow stacking with absolutely no seam between them. So two or four flush softboxes mounted together can cover a tremendously wide area with beautiful light.

Flags, Scrims, Flats and Reflectors

One of the cheapest yet often-used light-shaping tools is a 4×8-foot piece of Foamcore. These can be used to block or reflect light, depending on your needs and where you place the foamcore. Often studios will build a “flat” with 2×4′s to which is fastened a piece of Foamcore. The flat is self-standing and can be moved anywhere in the studio.

The other inexpensive tool is a flag, usually flat black in color. This is used to keep light from spilling on unwanted areas. Foamcore can be ordered in flat black for this purpose or you can simply spray regular white Foamcore flat black on one side — that way you have both a reflector and flag at the same time. Flags can be as small as 2×3-feet or as large as 4×8-feet (sometimes larger if necessary).

A must-have for any tool kit is a toolkit of color gels and diffusion material. Roscoe and other manufacturers make assorted sizes in sheets as well as individual filters. Bowens has a neat little kit “Advanced Lighting Accessory Kit with Softbox, Reflectors, Barndoors & Gels” that combines a lot of often-needed tools.

If you need a stronger reflector than plain Foamcore, try this old trick. Crumple up aluminum foil, then straighten it out and spray-mount it to a heavy-duty backing like pressboard. You can make this fairly large, up to 3×4-feet or 4×8-feet, but remember if there are strong winds you’ll need a strong assistant.

There are many commercially available reflectors these days, made more compact and easier to use by the “twist and pop” design. You take them out of their case, let go and, voila!, they pop up into a full-size reflector. To put them away, simply twist and put them back in their case.

One of the more innovative — as well as educational — companies in this area is California Sunbounce. They have a catalogue in ten languages, and a series of excellent how-to videos. Well worth checking out.

Positioning Lights

A task photographers always face is how and where to position lights. Sometimes where you want to put a light is in conflict with how you are going to get it there i.e. you’re working on a factory floor where it’s dangerous, there is no room because you’re at the edge of available real estate, the floor is tilted, etc. In these instances, you have to usually start with a clamp of some sort. The Bogen Super Clamp started the clamp revolution and it’s still a great choice. This can be affixed to pipes, door edges, ceiling fixtures and other places and has a reversible stud for mounting lights or other accessories.

Lowell also has an assortment of well-designed and assignment-saving support gear. Clamps, plates, flexible arms, etc. were originally designed for their tungsten lighting kits but most of them can be used for any lights. Remember, too, that Gaffers Tape is key to not only setting up lights, but doing things like covering potentially dangerous extension cords so people won’t trip over them. While on the subject of safety, if your lights hang over peoples’ heads, make sure you have a safety chain as an extra security measure. You can buy them from hardware or home improvement stores.

To properly position a hair or back light, a boom support is a very useful tool. This particular one, from Creative Light, is very cleverly designed for use both as a light stand as well as a boom fixture. It comes with a sandbag for counterbalancing the weight of the head/reflector. Others, such as the inexpensive boom fixture from Wescott are more straightforward and consist of a clamp that affixes to the top of the stand and a counterweight.

You will also find a variety of simple light stands useful. I have one bag with a few small, lightweight four-section stands best suited for speedlights. In another bag I carry a few larger stands, including a big Mathews fifteen-footer that can be fitted with wheels. This can hold most softboxes or other heavy setups.

When Will It End?

As you can imagine, a photographer’s light kit is always changing (usually getting larger, but once in a while we sell off some old stuff to make room for the new). How do we make sense out of all this craziness?

• Innovate when you can; use what you have in new ways
• Build or temporarily rig a fixture rather than buying a whole new strobe
• Rent a particular piece of gear before buying it – don’t buy on a whim
• Mix light sources
• Buy gear that you know will last, that has a wide choice of light modifiers

The last piece of advice in this department is to get out and use the gear often. You won’t know its features and/or limitations by sitting in your living room. Join a meetup group or camera club. Attend classes or seminars. Practice, practice, practice.