Hey guys,
I was looking to invest in some bulbs for my track lights that are in a small, personal studio I made in my house. I am not really sure which exact bulbs I should get... One of my photographer buddies gave me an idea that I should 200W, incandescent lights to start. I know I want diffused lights, but I do not which ones are proper for the studio. Also, he told me that color does not matter because it can be changed with Custom White Balance, but should I just be setting that to please my eye or is there a mathematical way to calculate the proper white balance. Please let me know which are the exact bulbs I need for my purpose and how I should use white balance in the process... Thanks
Full Version: General Use: Track Lighting?
Wait... you're going to use ceiling mounted track lighting for studio photography?
Yes, but it is only for general use. I will get soft boxes, umbrellas... later on.
What do you mean by general use?
I'm still not sure if I understand correctly... you intend to light portraits using something like this?
I'm still not sure if I understand correctly... you intend to light portraits using something like this?
Yeah that has me confused too. I have track lighting in my office and home, but certainly not for shooting purposes.
They are more on the lines of these: 
. They work pretty well as long as you have the right bulbs. That is what I need help with.
. They work pretty well as long as you have the right bulbs. That is what I need help with.
Okay....
Aside from the fact that they aren't suited for photography use for a number of reasons, there are a few things to be noted here:
Obviously your track lighting will differ from the thousands of other types of track lights available, and they all take different types of bulbs. Some are halogen, some accept standard incandescent bulbs (~3200K Color Temp) which may be replaceable with Daylight Balanced (~5500K Color Temp) bulbs which are more desirable for studio photography.
Also, still (hot) studio lighting is MUCH more powerful than track lights or any normal household lamp. Household lighting runs from 25 watts to maybe 100 watts.... studio hot lights are at least 250-500 watts if not higher... those higher wattage bulbs will a.) not fit in track lighting and b.) just aren't safe to run in track lighting, even if they did fit.
To be completely honest, I think you need to sit down and read a real book about studio lighting. Go practice using lights if you have a friend with actual studio lighting (not track lights) and you'll soon realize that there is a reason that you need actual studio lights to shoot studio work.
When you pick strobes, pick something that will provide enough power, will have easily replaceable parts (like flash tubes etc.... ebay strobe kits are usually very hard to find tubes for, and tubes break all the time!) You will end up spending $1500-3000 on a decent studio strobe set. Don't bother with studio hot lights (unless they're Arri lights - which are generally even more expensive than strobes) Hot lights are just that - Hot. They also demand a huge amount of power which your normal household sockets may or may not be able to handle.
In closing, I wish you luck with your track lights, but I honestly thing it's just a bad idea all around. That's just my opinion... Your mileage may vary.
Aside from the fact that they aren't suited for photography use for a number of reasons, there are a few things to be noted here:
Obviously your track lighting will differ from the thousands of other types of track lights available, and they all take different types of bulbs. Some are halogen, some accept standard incandescent bulbs (~3200K Color Temp) which may be replaceable with Daylight Balanced (~5500K Color Temp) bulbs which are more desirable for studio photography.
Also, still (hot) studio lighting is MUCH more powerful than track lights or any normal household lamp. Household lighting runs from 25 watts to maybe 100 watts.... studio hot lights are at least 250-500 watts if not higher... those higher wattage bulbs will a.) not fit in track lighting and b.) just aren't safe to run in track lighting, even if they did fit.
To be completely honest, I think you need to sit down and read a real book about studio lighting. Go practice using lights if you have a friend with actual studio lighting (not track lights) and you'll soon realize that there is a reason that you need actual studio lights to shoot studio work.
When you pick strobes, pick something that will provide enough power, will have easily replaceable parts (like flash tubes etc.... ebay strobe kits are usually very hard to find tubes for, and tubes break all the time!) You will end up spending $1500-3000 on a decent studio strobe set. Don't bother with studio hot lights (unless they're Arri lights - which are generally even more expensive than strobes) Hot lights are just that - Hot. They also demand a huge amount of power which your normal household sockets may or may not be able to handle.
In closing, I wish you luck with your track lights, but I honestly thing it's just a bad idea all around. That's just my opinion... Your mileage may vary.
My biggest concern would be the colour temperature of each light. Sure they are rated to a certain K rating but I think they would vary quite somewhat. That plus if the voltage varies from plug to plug and one is aging more than another...
Consistent colour light temperature belongs to studio flash - and in the more expensive units.
Even tried colour correcting an image with multiple colour-temps running through it? EEK!
Consistent colour light temperature belongs to studio flash - and in the more expensive units.
Even tried colour correcting an image with multiple colour-temps running through it? EEK!
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