Light Bulb Advice.....

[hummingbird3172]

What kind of lightbulb do I need to buy? This is one area that I am totally clueless. I have been taking my photocube outside when I need pictures...and Mother Nature does not always cooperate. I have two clamp lamps and I tried to use flood light bulbs that were supposed to have a light similar to daylight...if anyone could recommend something better. I can't afford to go out and buy a bunch of stuff so I am hoping there is a good lightbulb that will help me out.

[Holaday]

Anna,
Are you able to set your camera for a "custom white balance", or at least set it for the type of lighting you are using (daylight, tungsten, florescent, etc.)?.
I prefer to use tungsten flood lights, one 500 watt and two 250 watt in my typical set-up. They are cheaper than the daylight blue bulbs, last longer and have less color shifting... although when setting a custom white balance as I do, it doesn't really matter about the age of the bulbs. Lots of pros use a flash attachment, but I never learned to use that method with any consistency. On my web site there is a "studio tour" section with photos of the set-ups I use. I use many variations of tent, background, etc., to achieve the desired results depending on what I am photographing (tiny beads, larger sculpture, earrings that have to hang, and/or mirror polished silver), but I always use the same type of lighting.

There is more to it than what type or size of bulb you use, but that is the (relatively) short answer. Good luck.

Carol

[hummingbird3172]

Thanks Carol, I think I should be able to do this on my camera. It seems to have a lot of features that I know nothing about. I guess I bought the "blue" floodlight bulbs. I think I need another light too...I've only got two.

I appreciate your advice!

[squid]

Kalera (beadwife and bridgetownglass.com) uses, I believe, 5500K bulbs for her pics. You can find them at lowes and home depot. They are compact flourescents (daylight type) and have the K value in tiny print on the back.

[pipyr]

Awww, heck, I just use three (sometimes 2) 100 watt reveal bulbs that you get at the grocery store Give them a try and see what you think. At the worst, you've only wasted a couple bucks

[Emily]

Why not post a picture or two and ask for comments? Something other than new lights might be the answer. There seem to be a lot of people getting very nice pictures without professional-grade lights.

[pipyr]

Does your camera have a white balance? That will make all the difference in the world

[Lara]

I bought 2 of these lights. Yup, expensive, but so worth it. I rarely need to edit my pictures for brightness or color contrast anymore.

[Lara]

Duh, the link: http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/spiral.html