Hot lights or strobes?

[Tom Edgerton]

Michele--

Got a big tungsten softbox from way back, with two Totalights for fill and accent lighting. Don't always use all three, sometimes just one. Depends on the effect I'm after. These all break down so I can travel, but they're not any too portable. In the past, I've shipped them ahead rather than trust the gorillas under the plane. I've got too much stuff and could pare it down; a more compact, more travel-friendly arrangement is on my to-do list.

However, the compact fluorescents have become my auxiliary painting lights, on cloudy days when my big window isn't enough. They look promising for photography on-site too, and the manufacturers are beginning to gang them up for higher wattage, as Stephen did intuitively himself.

I think shadow fill is a plenty viable option. A second light just gives you the extra control. Sometimes you want to bounce in fill with a card, but that's harder to predict. Previewing the result in the digital camera on-site helps with this. More importantly is to learn to meter well, then you know what you have in a given situation. Measuring is a good thing, as Martha says.

The point to me is, fill isn't inherently good or evil, it's just another tool. Try to experiment all the time, so lighting choices are numerous and as varied as the colors you use. Tools are just tools--there isn't an "official" approach--and it's good to know as many tricks as possible.

XXOO--TE

(Then there's my brother, Phil. When I use what he uses, neither one of us gets anything done at all.)