Buying Studio Lights ...

I am often asked about studio lighting, and what the best lighting solutions for people who are setting up their first studios are.

When I refer to studio flash, I'm talking about a lighting head that gives out both a modelling light as continuous light to see what you are creating, and also a short burst of flashes which is the actual light creating the image. There are continuous lights that are designed to work like sunlight, and these will not be covered in this part of the blog, but have previously been mentioned in earlier blog articles.

My advice generally is to buy second hand lights, with the reason behind this being that they will  most likely come with a range of light modifiers at a fraction of the price of buying these items new and individually. Some have reservations about buying second hand items like these, fearing if these are studio lights that have been used many times before, they will break down and need expensive repairs. In my experience, this is not usually the case, as good quality studio flash/strobe lighting equipment is designed to last for a long time. The main things that need replacement  are usually the modelling light bulbs and eventually the light tubes. In fact, lights that have been used a lot generally perform better than ones used occasionally because the capacitors in them are regularly “exercised” and respond quickly, delivering the next burst of light when it is needed. I would try and stay clear of the latest “digital” models of lighting as they are lower powered and often have more of a tendency to malfunction than original studio lights that were designed back in the day, when film was still the favoured medium for most studios. If you buy light heads rated at 500 w/s (watts per sec) or more, they are going recycle fast on their lower power settings than having to push lower-powered lights to their higher setting.

There are two types of studio flash/strobe lighting: the first type is where the power comes from a separate power pack, and the second type, "monoblock", is where the lights each have their own power supply. The monoblock lights tend to be more popular because they can be placed a fair distance away from each other without  the need to run leads from the power pack to each light head, however, having the flash power in each head increases the weight of  the monoblock light, making it impractical or possibly dangerous to use as, say, a hair light at the end of a boom arm above someone’s head, whereas by comparison a light fed from a separate power pack is light weight and therefore very useful for such situations. I use both for this reason, but appreciate that this will not be an option to everyone, and given the choice, the monoblock option is flexible and I would go for this type first they are also usually less expensive than the second type.

Whatever brand of studio lighting you buy, make sure it is one that is safe and reliable, such as Prophoto, Bowens, Elemchrome or Broncolor. Cheap lights are a waste of money and can be very dangerous, as not only are they 240v, they also store power in the capacitor which has a massive amperage that could easily kill someone. Lights in commercial operation should also have an annual PAT test to ensure that they are safe to use. Imported lights, such as those from China, may fail this.

Broncolor Monoblock light with remote trigger.

I mentioned light modifiers earlier: these are the things that change the characteristic of light coming out of the flash tube by either softening , diffusing it or sometimes tightly controlling it. One consideration when buying a particular make of lights is what modifiers are available, and more importantly how much they will cost. Some modifiers command amazingly high prices, these items still need to well contrasted but there are sometimes a good range of third party modifiers available and it is worth having a look at these before making a final decision on the actual lights themselves, for instance Bowen’s “S” fit  is very common with third party manufacturers making them readily  available at affordable prices.

Two soft boxes to diffuse the light.

So, how many light heads should you buy? I would suggest two or three heads of the same make and power type. There aren’t many lighting situations where more are needed: in some instances, four heads can be used, but rarely more. Also, as long as they are the same brand, you may pick up a light later as either your fourth light, or a spare light. These don’t necessarily have to match, because they will have been sold initially new in kits of two or three. Also, if you are going to buy new, then I would suggest a kit is a good way to go as it will include lighting stands and some modifiers, as well as the heads and a bag to put them all in for easy transportation.

A soft box and a beauty dish - it is useful  to have lighting stands that will go both low to the floor and also high up.

One final bit of advice: if you buy second hand, I would try and collect the units if you can. They do not always travel well, and those packing them do not always realise that it is better with some makes of lighting to remove glass and other fragile parts before entrusting them to a courier or post office, resulting in very expensive damage occurring in transit.