Need help with proper lighting

[Anonymous]

im about to shoot indoors making cooking tutorial videos for a chef. i have never used lights before cause most of the videos are shot outside and use natural lighting. i am just looking for any advice on what type of lights i should use. my budget for lights is about 300 dollars. thanks for any help!

[D0n]

here’s one idea:

you could also look at inexpensive halogen work lamps…

[paulears]

Why not spend your budget on hiring good quality proper lighting? Inexpensive work lamps, without modification are about as subtle as cleaning your windows with a brick! Those horrible yellow things that don’t have stands high enough, have metal beam protection and horrible edge blending. They’re great for the workshop, and just horrible things for any form of controlled lighting. For a cookery programme the secret is overhead soft lighting – so it either means big white panels to bounce off, or transparent panels you can downlight onto – or even banks of flu tubes. Getting light into the pots, pans and other gizmos needs a BIG light source.

[D0n]

many places have white ceilings… halogen work lamps bounced off those white ceilings are not really any different than using giant softboxes. depends on where you’re shooting I guess… but if the budget is $300.00, then that rules out a lot of the pro equipment right off the bat…

I’ve got lightstands that cost more than $300.00, add a single light like kino flo, and there is no way to meet the budget..

[Anonymous]

Can you hire a local corporate videographer who has their own lighting gear and a good portfolio? You can always rent a decent light kit for $300, but without the knowledge, you might as well toss it out the window. Lighting is a craft no less important than camerawork, audio and editing. Skimping in any area will be obvious in the final product.

[JackWolcott]

I agree with Paulears and Oren: find someone who has the equipment and, perhaps most importantly, the experience, and see if you can get their help. $300 won’t get you much, but it’s worth a try.

Jack

VideOccasions

[gldnears]

There is a reason why things cost as much as they do: equipment in order to deliver professionalperformance; and people because they have experience and can deliver a professional product. Ya can’t send a man to the moon aboard a bottle rocket . . .

Rick Crampton

[Author]

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