Permanent lighting setup for workshop space used to shoot videos…

[Aaron]

Hey All!

I am a knifemaker and machinist, and I shoot a number of process videos as well as instructional videos in my workshop.

 

I've just moved to a new workshop and I'm trying to work out how I should setup the lighting in the space to be useful for both everyday work and video. I shoot video at different places all over the shop at different tool stations.

 

Right now the shop is equipped with 2 ceiling mounted fixtures, each carrying 4x T8-32W fluorescent tubes. There is also task lighting at each work station, which will be equipped with bulbs that match whatever other lighting I end up adding (in terms of color temperature).

 

There are no windows in the space, so light spill from sunlight is not an issue. The ceilings are 12-1/2' high, so I have quite a bit of space to play with.

 

Simply put I have a few questions:

 

1) Given that I don't have to mix with sunlight is there any issue with using warmer lighting? I can easily get 2700K, 5000K, or 6500K lights for the space but I generally find the 2700K lighting much more pleasant to work under. Will this this have any disadvantages that I should be aware of? (obviosuly I will set the white balance settings on my camera to suit).

 

2) What is the best lighting setup for a space like this? Should I just add a lot more fixtures to the ceiling? Should I setup some sort of key light (ring light maybe?) attached to my tripod so it comes with me when I move the camera from station to station? Should I bounce floods off the ceiling to use it as a diffuser? I'm kind of lost on this front…

 

I've included some photos of the space below so you can see what I'm working with!

 

 

Here's an example of a past video I did in my last shop, the space was much smaller and relatively easy to light in an acceptable fashion:

 

 

Any advice and input is appreciated! Thanks for your help!

-Aaron

 

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