Oh, isn’t that cute? You’ve got yourself a big girl camera, you’ve done a couple of sessions and now you’re taking the next step. You’re opening a studio. You’ve ordered a set of lights and are anxiously awaiting their arrival. You’ve let all your friends and fans know that the lights are coming in and you’re making plans to start shooting once they arrive.
That’s REALLY cute.
Kind of like when you see two little 4 year-olds playing house with a baby doll. They cuddle and coo at the doll and tell you they’re married. Awwww! If they only knew…
Yeah. That kind of cute.
It’s time to get your head out of the glitter cloud and think about what you’re doing.
Those lights you are waiting on? Let me guess…you got them from eBay and they cost less than $300.
Let me tell you a little story…
In 2007 I decided to try and learn studio photography. I had already shot for a newspaper for a couple of years and did weddings and events, but I didn’t know a thing about studio lighting.
I decided what my budget was and bought my first set of lights.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know any photographers I could ask for advice and the research I did was pretty inept. I decided my budget was $200 and bought a used set of lights off ebay.
OK, feel free to laugh your ass off.
When I opened the box, I had no clue what I was looking at. I figured out how to make the lights go off and discovered that one of them did not fire. I wrote the seller and they sent me another used light that was better, but didn’t match the other set.
Cue laughter track…
Why am I laughing? Because mixing lights of different powers from different manufacturers is NOT something you should throw into the mix when you’re just starting out. I messed around with this oddball light forever until I decided to just take it out of the mix and stick it back in the box it came in. It’s still there.
After some bumbling around, I realized that I couldn’t shoot with bare lights and each of them needed a modifier.
The lights remained unused until I could scrape up another couple hundred for some soft boxes. And shoot through umbrellas. And reflective umbrellas. I’ll laugh loudly all by myself here – since that time I have spent that entire budget on ONE modifier. Yet, I digress.
To make a long story short….. I wound up spending a BUNCH of money on CRAP. Yep. CRAP that is still in my possession because my ethics are keeping me from re-selling them to some poor unsuspecting schmuck.
I bought lights, cheapie triggers, soft boxes, shoot-through umbrellas, reflective umbrellas, rickety light stands and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t worth the money. The lights didn’t even have replaceable bulbs. Once they are burned out, you have to throw the light away.
The only two items I bought that were useful was the calibration target and the light meter.
I began teaching myself studio lighting. I took some courses and did a LOT of experimentation. It times it seemed that I would never get it right. I posted my work on some photography forums for critique and was blasted. Woah! Yeah, they were lit, but they were flat-lit. What the heck is flat-lit? Look it up. I did.
About a year later, after struggling with this cobbled-together studio, I bit the bullet and spent about $5000 on a lighting system. (I’ve since added to my arsenal and have no clue what I’ve spent on equipment at this point. I’d have to consult my accounting records to determine that, but I’m going to guess that I have more than $20K invested in my studio now.)
This didn’t result in instant lighting success, but it was SO much nicer to have equipment that worked well and lights that were strong enough.
So, I spent a LOT of money and a LOT of time learning and honing my studio photography skills. It was over a year before I felt confident enough to charge a client actual money for studio session.
So – yes, it’s really cute to see all you newbies excited about your purchases and making plans to begin shooting studio sessions as soon as you open the boxes.
But it’s cute in a sad way. It’s almost like a little bitty train wreck.
I know, and all the seasoned pros around me know – that you’re gonna fail at this. You’re going to post the most horrendously lit and posed photos we’ve seen in awhile. Your photos may even be submitted to YANAP by someone with less kindness in their heart than I. You’re going to struggle. A lot.
And I will shake my head and wish that you had slowed down and asked some advice from a professional. And taken some lessons and classes. And practiced at least for a couple of months before trying to shoot a client.
It’s not too late.
PS – The very best thing you can buy for yourself when starting out in studio photography is this book. My friend Twila mentioned this book ALL.THE.TIME. until I finally bought it. It’s my lighting bible, now.
I want to buy this Light How get it.
I have that book, read it ALL and I don't own studio lights. It is STILL important to know about it no matter what kind of light you use. Available light is the light that is available to you, be it flash, strobes or windows!
Amen and Amen. I do, however, applaud those who invest in lighting, even if it is a cracker jack box setup, because I know the path to improvement is to experiment. And sadly, way too many new photographers are adopting the "all natural light" business model. Fail. You want to paint with light? You gotta bring a little paint once in a while. Nice post Christine.
Yeah, my boss said he's never met someone who's great at natural light photography who has advertised them self as a "natural light photographer." At least they're trying with the light set up.
Now this is like reading a history book of things my wife and I did, (mostly me!). Seriously. THis is EXACTLY what we did, ordered a cheapie set from ebay, except our came with a softbox, (it felt like it was made of toilet paper) WE bought another set after that of hot lights, another waste of money, all from Ebay. Fortunately I met another photographer who suggested Alienbees, we got a set of those with softboxes from the same company and haven't looked back, with the money we waisted on the Ebay crap we could have gotten at least one good flash head from Paul C. Buff, darnit! Live and learn I guess.
Christine I do have a question for you though, we have been saving up for quite sometime to get the new Einsteins from Paul C Buff (Alienbee) since we are a miitary famiy we never know where we will be stationed so we like the universal wattage option, we might have to plug in to Italy one week, Iraq the next, ect. BUt what are your thoughts on this product?
Yep, ALL. THE. TIME! It truly is one of the best books on lighting out there. I think my recommendations on this book on all the message boards I belong to have spawned enough sales for the author to pay for his daughter's recent wedding! LOL (I originally said it was enough to put his grandkids through college, but he kindly pointed out he's not quite old enough for that yet and that his daughter thanks me! LOL)
But yes, to anyone reading, please take it slow, buy good equipment and modifiers and don't charge for your work until you can consistently deliver a repeatable product. If you're guessing at your lighting, you're not ready to charge for it! We all start out with our fair share of ghetto gear, but honestly, inferior equipment actually makes it harder to learn the right way.
Oh, and buy a light meter…then learn how to use it! I recommend Sekonic L-358 since it's a good combination of easy to use, plenty of bells and whistles to use as you progress all at a very reasonable price. Light meters are the ONLY way to assure that you're able to repeat your results!
I also second Christine's choice for Alien Bees. Again, bargain price for very good and sturdy units with plenty of available modifiers. Any modifier that will fit Balcar or White Lightning will also work with the Bees. And you simply can not beat Paul C Buff's customer service.
And I was also going to mention Calumet has 2 lines of store brand modifiers that are really good. I LOVE their Illuma line of softboxes…I think they rival the Larson quality in build and output at a fraction of the price. They also have the Nova budget line, which is great for kickers and accessory lights.
hey, I resemble that remark !
Did a shoot last night that made me take my setup streight to the dumpster
So funny I was just thinking about lighting, and am trying to hold off until I have the proper funds to buy something of better quality and lasting!
I recommend you start by buying 1 good quality light and modifier and light stand and learning how to use that until you have the money to buy a second light. The do the same until you can afford the third. Etc etc etc. I specifically recommend an Alien Bee 800 with the modifier and stand of your choice. They have a very nice 47" octabox. I have 2 of those, but my main light has a 4×6 Aurora box on it that is a little pricey. Hope this helps.