Hot lights or strobes?

[Mike McCarty]

(Well, maybe I have a color problem, but nobody has flat-out said anything about it to me lately. )

Linda, you have a color problem.

I wish I had an Alien Bees set up because I love the name of the company.

I like the word Babaghanoush.

1 large eggplant
Tahini (sesame paste)
3-4 cloves of fresh garlic
1 pepperocini and brine from jar
Juice of 1 lemon Juice
Spices: cumin, corriander, salt, chilis, etc. to taste

Oh yeah, I like natural lighting.

[Steve Craighead]

Linda,
I used the White Lighting strobes in the predigital age. They were great at getting a nice shadow pattern and of course I could use a fast shutter speed and stop down the lens, but there was also a kind of sameness to the light that bothered me. I couldn't see any nuances. It was like playing the piano with only one octave. After awhile it was just plain boring. I much prefer natural light. Today, if I have to use photographs, I'll go to all kind of extremes to shoot with it. I've even taken photos of an active 5 yr old at f4 and 1/8 second just to able to use natural light.
There are situations though like painting a head and shoulders on location, when speed is important, where I find an artificial light works very well. I like the colors from my compact fluorescents much more than my strobes or tungsten.
Chris, thanks for passing on the information about the Caselights. I'll check those out. I like the case. Do you find the 2 bulb setup to be enough light?

Steve

[Steve Craighead]

(Congrats to Susan also for her First Place award in the PSOA-sponsored SC-NC-VA Tri-State competition this month!)

Thanks Tom. I'll let her know. She said you were very nice and did a lot hard work for the show. Sorry I missed it.
When and if I get the lights I'll post a review.

Steve

[Linda Brandon]

Originally Posted by Mike McCarty

Linda, you have a color problem.

I can stop coloring any time I want to.

[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.)

[Sharon Knettell]

I have been managing to get clients to sit. When I show them the color and proportions from life as oppose to the photographic reference, they seem to be more than willing to show up in my studio.

However as we all know, all days are not created equal. Would these lights ganged up be sufficient to add brightness to a lackluster day?

[Tom Edgerton]

Sharon--

You bet. I indeed use my compact fluorescents to supplement natural light on a cloudy day. As Stephen has stated, they're a really beautiful light, as the C.R.I. (color rendering index) is in the high nineties, percent wise, meaning they're very true for seeing and rendering color.

Also, I seem to be able to paint for long spells under them with my eyes not getting tired, as they do when painting under a single wavelength all day.

Best--TE