Using hot lights
On Sunday I worked on some fitness images with Eric. Because my garage studio is not climatized I went to Home Depot and bought 3 $10 500W halogen lights to keep the model warm. Then I decided to use them for the shoot, so I rigged them to light stands. This image is done with those three hot lights only. The Home Depot lights are really something. First of all, they get super hot, so don’t think of putting them close to anything flamable, like foam core boards, reflectors, or seamless paper. I didn’t use the metal mask in front of the glass, I was lazy, but it’s a good idea to keep the glass from getting close to stuff in the studio. I did most of the work on a tripod, as I was getting f/60 at 1/4 or so, instead of the 1/250 and f/8 or f/11 I am used to working with - so it’s a challenge to be messing with the tripod in the studio. And finally, as I said above, there is no way to adjust them out of the box. I used them raw, both as rim lights and also the one in front of them - they project a pretty wide beam and act as 7-in or 11-inch photo head reflectors - you gotta know how to deal with harsh light.
Eric
Lighting diagram
Category: Photo Sessions