In Search Of: Budget Lighting Kit (and settings advice)

[PermanentSexHair]

229483892_2646266942349831_5434959758633705282_n.jpg (47.34 KiB) Viewed 1088 times

This fellow is a Hickory Horned Devil caterpillar, it turns into a rather large and colorful moth. They are fairly common in the USA in the right woodlands environment and absolutely harmless. Seriously, those spikes do nothing other than look cool. And your eyes are not deceiving you that thing is the size of a fairly decent sausage.

I came into this hobby fairly regarded for my photography of caterpillars and the resulting moths/butterflies/skippers. I'm far from a professional, but I always get positive comments on the clarity and detail of my pictures. All I do is play with the white-balance a bit depending on the conditions and leave the ISO and the exposure as is. I should mention this is on a simple Samsung TracFone disposable phone. It does phenomenal outside. Inside, not so much.

I decide to take up the doll hobby. And now I realize that picture taking inside is a whole nutter ballgame. I realize I need to improve my lighting upstairs by a factor of "quite a bit." That said what is out there in terms of a decent but inexpensive lighting rig for taking photos indoors? I don't need overly elaborate but I need better than this:

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This is with the overhead light on, two lamps with two 60 watt bulbs each and a trouble-light with an 80 watt bulb, all the same type of LED bulb from the same manufacturer. Clearly I need something just a TOUCH better.

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Obviously this is a whole different set of challenges and my phone-camera may not be up to it...

Anyway, two biggest questions are: Best budget lighting rig and how to adjust the ISO/WB/Exposure settings on my phone-camera to get better results.

[Swan]

You are quite right. Good photography needs good light.
The type of light can make a big difference how your images look.
Here's a great lighting setup I purchased back in 2016. They still sell it.
Hope this helps...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CY ... UTF8&psc=1

[PermanentSexHair]

You are quite right. Good photography needs good light.
The type of light can make a big difference how your images look.
Here's a great lighting setup I purchased back in 2016. They still sell it.
Hope this helps...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CY ... UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the lead, Swan.

[Willendorph]

I use something similar to Swan as well - the big soft box lights make all the difference to shooting indoors. I don't consider myself anywhere near as good as some, but decent lighting for me is what makes a photo. I have a kit with 2 soft box lights and a basic backdrop which also helps if you want a neutral background.

[john1972]

Or if that first set it still too expensive I got these .

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DFMFQJ6?re ... tails&th=1

Very flexible and really bright when turned up all the way..
Only problem is they do not come with the USB blocks..
I got some really cheap 2 amp dual port blocks for 125volt USA plugs for like 5 bucks
each at Walmart ..
Depending on where you live in the world you might have some laying around for charging
your cell phones.
I did notice older 1 amp blocks do not light these as bright as the 2 amp blocks I bought do.

Also id be careful with these as they are on the cheaply made side and the screws for tightening
them after you slide the poles up or down are not the best and one of mine just turns now
and does nothing.
If you are creative you could probably replace with just a wing nut and I plan to do that with the
one that is no longer tightening but again for the price they are quite good really.
And you can use the colored films over them to change the colors or like I do and make two
of them white and one yellow and blend the yellow one into the two white ones to make a more
natural light tint.

I see the price went up ten bucks since i got mine..
I got mine around 30 bucks so might want to shop around as you might find them for sale some
place else for a lower price..
There are tons of LED light panels for sale on Amazon so shop around ..
I highly recommend LED light panels ..

[cryptid85]

Or if that first set it still too expensive I got these .

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DFMFQJ6?re ... tails&th=1

Very flexible and really bright when turned up all the way..

I've been using this same set.. Eventually once I'm out of the new user limitations I'll be posting some of my stuff to the Doll Album, but I plan to do so under a doll account (ConcubineKimbie)

[Nackers]

I've been thinking about getting some lighting gear for awhile and was looking at this setup. Seems pretty cheap, but it's got green/white/black backdrops, lights and stands. So it seems ok for a beginner without going too overboard on gear.

https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08LNCJZTL/?th=1

Do any of the more experienced photographers on here have any thoughts about it? Obvious problems, things missing?

[Nackers]

Was running out of time on the black friday sales so I ended up buying two different smaller kits that added up to the same price as the first, but included RGB LEDs. So now I can tweak colours not just white, warm white, bright white but practically any colour. Hopefully they've arrived around before my new doll turns up so I can tinker with them and get used to the setup.

[Arisa_]

Was running out of time on the black friday sales so I ended up buying two different smaller kits that added up to the same price as the first, but included RGB LEDs. So now I can tweak colours not just white, warm white, bright white but practically any colour. Hopefully they've arrived around before my new doll turns up so I can tinker with them and get used to the setup.

Hey Nackers … how has the light kit been for you? I’ve been considering getting some lighting and as an absolute beginner with indoor studio photography, wanted to keep budget down.

[Nackers]

I pulled them out and made sure they worked but haven't used them to do a shoot yet. Bad timing with christmas, family, then other commitments. They seem ok from the very quick look I had. Definitely cheap feeling. No surprise really given the price. When I get round to actually using the properly I'll post photos on here and do an update.

[Arthur1960]

Like others have said I'd also recommend Bi-Colour LED panel lights if you are on a budget and ideally you would want at least a pair to get started although I have 4 in my setup now. Where these panels have the edge over the older big soft light boxes is that you can adjust the colour temperature which is important when shooting dolls indoors, especially darker skin tone tpe gals. With a higher temperature (cooler/white) light then tan and cocoa tpe can look a bit greyish but with an LED panel with the colour temperature dialed down you get a much richer, softer colour. I'd recommend looking for deals on sites like Amazon where you can often find a pair of Neewer Bi-Colour LED panel lights for around £150 but do try and get the option that includes a pair of batteries as these are invaluable when you want to shoot somewhere without an available electricity outlet. Shooting outside requires a slightly different approach and again if you're on a budget you might want to try and find a compatible speedlite for your camera. Coupled with a diffuser they are great for getting an even light on your subject especially on sunny days.