Lighting on a Budget

[troybliss]

I have a project thats coming up soon and i dont have a 3 point light kid that im saving up for. i want to use a Lowes light and bounce it off the wall. i have choices between 250 watt clamp on lights or this standalone 500 watt unit. its for inside shooting only. could i go wrong using the 500 watt unit and bounce it off the wall?:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=237830-52757-WL250DPT-L&lpage=none

[Rob]

Just get these. They’re a bit more expensive than lights from Lowes, but I’m sure they are moreversatileand look nicer than just bouncing lights off walls.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/298604-REG/Impact_401470_Tungsten_Miniboom_Three_Flood.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=sort&A=search&Q=&sortDrop=Price%3A+Low+to+High&bl=&atl=Brand_Impact&pn=1&st=categoryNavigation&mnp=0.0&mxp=0.0&sv=2247&bhs=t&shs=&ac=&fi=all&pn=1&ci=2247&cmpsrch=&cltp=&clsgr=

[NewBirthProductions]

The lowes lights works great. You can make them better by buying a $9.00 router speed control, that will let you dim the lights. another trick is to take the lens cover down to your local glass shop and have them cut you a piece of frost glass the type they use in showers “make sure it’s real glass and not plexi glass” this will give you a softer look. you can also hang a thin white bed sheet in front of your lights for a soft look.

you can’t beat the professional look of real lights, but you can get the job done just as well and a lot cheaper. check out http://WWW.Tubetape.com

[Anonymous]

“You can make them better by buying a $9.00 router speed control, that will let you dim the lights.”

I’ve got a shoot coming up this weekend and I’m going to begin experiment with lighting. I already have some shop lights I will use, and I was planning on using foam board and walls to reflect the lights, but I’d be interested in purchasing a couple of these units. Do you know who might have these in stock, since I dont have time for them to ship? I’ve checked lowes and homedepot, but have no positive results.

[NewBirthProductions]

Yes, some lowes and home depot has them don’t just call the one closest to you, call all the ones you don’t mind driving to. I found that they all don’t carry the same stuff. But your best bet will be places like ace hardware or a mom and pop hardware store. I got mine at a farm supply house. try a contractor supply store or a lumber yard.

Save your gas and call around they are not easy to find. and most people in these stores don’t even know what it is. tell them it is for controling the speed of a router table. they may still not know what your talking about.

Print this page and fax it to them http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43060

oh yea Harbor freight has them. the one i have handles 2400 watts. this one above handles 1800 watts.

if you can buy a 20 amp model

[videoswood7]

Lighting is very important on a video job. It can make or break the entire project. I would suggest keeping the lights diffused. I always shoot with a Chimera or softbox of some kind. In my opinion, it’s very important. My favorite lights to use are actually florescent. They are called Kino FLO lights. If you get the chance to try them out, you will love the quality and color you can pull from your camera. It’s a nice even wash of soft light.

http://www.kinoflo.com/

I have shot many projects using these lights and have been very happy. They are usually not that expensive to rent if you can find a place that has them. In miami, they were everywhere.

My website contains video of some projects that used these lights.

http://www.swoodmedia.com

[Author]

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