Are you ready to take your photography to the next level? Nothing can change your photos more dramatically than off the camera lighting. But, before you purchase that light kit, what type of set-up will work best for you?

Lighting gear is a serious investment. Knowing how and where you will use your lights will help you get the right light kit for your needs.

There are a few different types of light kits available to the photographer.

• Strobe

• Continuous or Quartz Lights

• Fluorescents

Let’s take a look at these types and their advantages and disadvantages.

Studio Strobe Lights

Studio Strobes are bright and heat-free. That makes them idea for people, who won’t sweat while modeling. Also fantastic for food items and other items that might melt under traditional continuous light sources. If you’ve ever been near a 500W light that has been on a few minutes, you’ll quickly appreciate the cool, quick strobes.

A studio strobe set-up is extremely bright when fired. The bright flash makes strobes ideal for using a small aperture opening and getting maximum depth of field. If you need lots of dept of field or super sharp focus on people or products, strobes will give you enough burst intensity to keep every detail crisp.

With flash bursts, some as short as 1/15,000 strobes are perfect for freezing action. The burst can capture the fastest motion and freeze it in air!

Strobe lights emit the same color temperature as daylight, so no need to adjust white balance in digital photography.

Purchasing a strobe kit will help you get your studio up and running in no time.

Our kit includes:

Flash Heads:

• 160 Watt/Second
• Tracking Modeling Lamps (which may be turned off)
• Stepless Power Control from 1/8th to full power
• Ready Audible & Light Indicator (sound may be turned off)
• Test Button
•  Flash Triggering 
  - Infrared - Slave
  - Sync cord (3.5 mini, included)

Infrared Trigger:

• Hot Shoe
• Uses 4 "AA" Batteries (not included)

40" Umbrellas

• 2 White Translucent
• 1 Silver

Light Stands

• 6 foot 6 inches
• 5/8" Spigot
• Secure Flip Locks
• 3 Included in kit

Bag

• Heavy Duty Nylon
• Heavy Duty Padding
• Adjustable Dividers
• Outside Pocket
• Hand Strap
• Shoulder Strap

This kit is a best seller! It provides everything you need to get your studio up and running.

For More Information or To Purchase This Kit Click Here

Continuous tungsten or quartz halogen (hot) lights can be used for still as well as video photography.

Because they are on, you can watch as you position the lights which will give you more opportunity to look and study the light as it falls on your subject. You can change the intensity, direction and quality of the light as you work in your studio. (A strobe’s modeling light will only give you an idea of how the light and shadows will fall and not much information about how the background will be rendered).

 Continuous lights are lighter than strobes and are less expensive than strobes.

These light set-ups tend to be less bright than strobes so you will be shooting with slower shutter speeds and/or more a more open aperture. This makes them best suited for product photography and low key glamour portraits.

The biggest disadvantage to quartz halogen lights are the heat they produce while on. Be careful not to burn yourself or melt your models. Quartz lights must not be touched while installing the bulbs. Because these lamps burn so hot the oils from skin contact will cause the bulb to burn out very quickly.

The advantage of the quartz halogen light set-up is the versatility of using many lights to control all aspects of the scene. Most photographers choose this set-up so they can take advantage of add on features to control direction and quality of the light, like barn doors, snoots, gels and more.

Our Quartz Light Kit

This kit allows broad even light and switches between 1, 2 or 3 250 Watt 3200° K. lamps. Features a seamless dimmer allowing just the right amount of light to fall onto the subject. The 65° bayoneting reflector produces a broad even light without hot spots or concentric circles. The double layer 3200 K bulbs prevent unsightly elements from appearing on the subject. Complete with 6' air cushioned medium weight stands, 250 watt. 3200 K lamps and 65° reflectors. Soft start electronic circuitry will prolong the bulb life. Switchable to one, two or three bulbs which controls the brightness without changing color temperature. The units include multiple ventilation slots to isolate heat and eliminate noisy cooling fans. These are made of heavy duty, fully enclosed aluminum casing. They have a ball bearing yoke with positive lock. Fits a 5/8" spigot. The reflectors accepts optional accessories. Includes illuminated main switch and 12 ft, 3 wire UL/CSA power cords.
 

• 3 lamps with dimmer control
• 65° bayoneting reflector
• 2 - 6' air cushioned stands
• 6 - 250 watt quartz lamps
• 2 - reflectors
• Switchable to 1+2+3 bulbs
• Long, 12 UL rated power cords
• Reflectors can accept optional accessories
  
   

For More Information or To Purchase This Kit Click Here

Fluorescents

This has become my light kit of choice for eBay and product photography. With each generation the Compact Fluorescent Daylight Balanced bulb (CFL) gets brighter. These lights are perfect for photographers who don’t need super-bright lights or photographers who shoot both still and videos.

This continuous light is cool to work under and environmentally friendly. The CFL will last for years and draw very little electricity while on. You can save as much as 25% on your electric bill by using them. Because they draw so little power they are also easier on your fuse box – no more blown fuses during that critical shot!

CFL bulbs are flicker free, making them the perfect choice for video photographers.

CFL bulbs come in daylight balanced color temperatures. You’ll be able to choose from different variations as well. Many resellers offer them in daylight balanced ranges from warm (5000K) to cooler ‘super daylight balanced’ (6500K). You can choose which color works best for your shooting needs.

These continuous lights help you control and gauge the whole scene during set-up. Although the CFL’S are dimmer than a strobe light set that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Strobe are often way too intense to shoot close-ups at wide apertures, even when you use a low ISO speed.

Many studio portrait photographers prefer to have the backdrop slightly darkened and softly out of focus. To create that soft focus background they shoot with f/stops of around 2.8. The intense burst from a strobe would wash it out at f/2.8. CFL’s are perfectly suited for that type of shot.

CFL’s are also ideal for product shots. The CFL’s are frosted so they already have some light diffusion another bonus for the product photographer who spends their time controlling shadows.

Our Compact Fluorescent Kit is ideal for the Product or Video Photographer:

• 2 x four bulbs reflectors
• 2 x diffusers
• 2 x light stands (up to 7 feet high, and come with light stand cover)
• 2 x light holders
• 2 x power cords (CE approve)
• 8 x 26w 5500k lumen daylight balance energy saver spiral light bulbs (CE approve)
• 1 x carry cardboard package with Styrofoam (everything in one single carry handle box)

This 8 bulb system is perfect for business or entrepreneurs to take catalog , eBay, online, yahoo store images in very affordable price.

For More Information or To Purchase This Kit Click Here

A handheld meter can measure precisely the amount of ambient or flash light. This is a quick way to determine a starting exposure. With practice using a light meter will help you get the perfect exposure without losing those highlights or shadow details.

Softboxes: Square or rectangle they come in a wide variety of sizes. These soften or diffuse the light and shadows falling onto the subject. They mount onto the light head using a device called a “speed ring.” Egg Crates (cloth grids) attach to the front diffusion panel to create stronger direction and deeper shadows.

Umbrellas: These are used to diffuse light as well. They come in several types and have many different uses in the studio. Translucent white “shoot-through” umbrellas soften the light while allowing the heat to vent, making them ideal for quartz or continuous lights.

Black backed umbrellas produce a strong, directional light that casts a light soft enough not to cause harsh shadows in the studio.

Gold umbrellas are used to warm up the light and cast a warm glow over the subject.

Silver umbrellas cast a neutral color and can fill in shadows without overwhelming.

With wires and cords winding their way across most studio floors, the unsuspecting may find themselves tangled up in the mess!

To clear some of the wire clutter a wireless remote can fire lights using radio signals. This means you don’t have to use the sync cord that traditionally connects to the camera and strobe.

A compact transmitter fits into a camera’s hot-shoe and a receiver plugs into the strobe’s PC terminal. When the camera’s shutter fires, the transmitter sends a signal to the receiver that its’ time to pop the strobe.

See You At CloverCity Photo!